This is Hekate, a Hellenic Titaness of the Crossroads, of Spirits, of Psychopomps, Witches and Magic, Prophecy, Torch Bearer, Keeper of Keys and Liminal Spaces, Hearth and Home; Earth, Sea, and Sky; and Protector of Women (cis/trans), those in-between, and children. And so much more that I can’t cover in this post.
Hekate is a popular goddess, so there’s a lot of resources about her, such as:
Covenant of Hekate. https://www.hekatecovenant.com/
d’Este, Sorita. Hekate Liminal Rites: A Study of the rituals, magic and symbols of the torch-bearing Triple Goddess of the Crossroads.
d’Este, Sorita. Hekate: Her Sacred Fires.
d’Este, Sorita. Circle for Hekate - Volume 1: History & Mythology.
Gill, Nikita. Hekate.
Holub, Joan. Hecate the Witch. Middle School Level Book.
Keeping Her Keys. https://keepingherkeys.com/ & https://keepingherkeys.com/books
Moss, Viviene. Pagan Portals - Hekate: A Devotional.
Sannion (Editor). Bearing Torches: A Devotional Anthology for Hekate.
Weber, Courtney. Hekate: Goddess of Witches.
Some (Traditional and UPG) Symbols associated with Hekate are:
Strophalos
Keys
Torch
Moon
Pumpkins / Jack O'Lanterns
Masks
Tombstones
Skulls
High Priestess Tarot Card
Belly Dancing/Fusion Belly Dancing
Animals: Hound, Boar, Bat, Cat, Spider (I specifically associate orb weavers), Serpent, Horse, Winged Wolf, Toad, Frog, Raven, Crow, Grackle.
Colors: Gold, Silver, Black, Purple, Red, Saffron.
Offerings:
Donations/volunteering for the Homeless
Donation/volunteering to fight against human trafficking
Donations/volunteering to help domestic/childhood/sexual abuse survivors.
Donations/volunteering to Human and Animal Shelters.
Becoming an Advocate.
Your Actions.
Whatever From Your Heart.
Garlic
Egg
Blood
Menstrual Blood
Keys
Dirt and grime cleaned from your home.
Some Spellings and Pronunciations:
Heh-kah-tay
Heck-ah-tay
Eh-cah-tee
Heh-kate
Hekate
Hecate
Some forms Hekate has taken on our journal together:
A Barefoot 20-something, wearing all black, with either a black or saffron hooded cloak, with bushy curly black hair.
A 40-50-year-old Woman with long black hair, wearing black dresses or hooded cloaks, barefoot, often carrying a torch.
Sometimes She has white, olive, or brown skin.
Sometimes She has three heads: three identical human heads OR the head of a Hound, a Boar, and a Horse or Wolf.
Always green eyes.
An Orb Weaver.
A Giant Serpent (specifically the form of Kaa from Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle).
A Winged She-Wolf.
Various Friends and Family members.
Who She is to Me:
Spiritual Mother
Psychic Mentor
Underworld Guide
When I do Oracle Work, Mama Hekate decides who can possess me and who can’t. She has ripped unwanted entities from me who didn’t have Her permission. She is my Guardian and my Guide.
When I do Ancestral Work, Mama Hekate is the one who brings the Dead to me.
I work most of my magik, orcular, and spirit work with Her (except for runic magiks and seiðr).
Content Warning: Mentions of Child Loss, Depression, Suicide.
Hekate’s been in my life since my teen years, and perhaps earlier, but I wasn’t aware of Her then. The first encounter that I’m aware of was when I was given a tarot deck—Tarot of the Witches by Fergus Hall (although I wasn’t aware of the WHO until much later). This deck’s energy was strong, too strong for me at the time. I put it in a purple leather pouch that I had gotten from the Ren Faire. Years later, in my mid-20’s, I felt drawn to learn tarot. I was a witch afterall—divination and witches seemed to go hand-in-hand, at least according to most of the books I’d read at the time. The only deck that I had was that one. When I handled it, I felt that strange powerful energy, and put it away again. I ended up getting myself the Robin Wood deck to learn with. But I struggled.
I decided that maybe divination just wasn’t for this witch?
In 2014, a friend of mine gifted me a fat and stubby peach moonstone pendulum for my birthday. I bought myself a set of Witch Runes, too. After practicing with the runes and the pendulum, I felt confident enough to pull out those two tarot decks. The Tarot of the Witches deck felt different. Still powerful, but more welcoming. As I shuffled, the High Priestess card stopped me—Hekate.
A goddess that I officially had met when I was in college, in dreams and in visions.
When I was in college, Hekate came to me in a dream and asked me to deliver a message to a friend of mine. So I told my atheist friend about my dream. My friend said that while she doesn’t believe in the Gods, Hekate was one of her favorites (she still reads books about Hekate to this day!).
After that, Hekate would pop in from time to time, but She never wanted a shrine or altar, no statues, no offerings. I still gave them, as a child may give gifts to their parent. Gifts of love and gratitude.
In October 2011, I had a miscarriage and fell into deep, dark depression. I was suicidal. A Winged She-Wolf began coming to me for comfort and healing, often laying her head on my lap while I cried.
I found a statue of my Winged Companion, who soon revealed Herself to be Hekate.
A few months later I got pregnant with my rainbow baby, and Hekate said that She has a claim on all of my children. They are protected in this life and after. Through Her, I would meet my son on the other side—know he is safe and I’d invite him to play with his brothers (he has).
In 2014, after crazy psychic experiences, when I asked the Universe for a guide and a teacher, Hekate and Dionysus answered. But She still didn’t want a shrine. However, I got a small wall plaque and hung it over my kids’ room door, facing inside, three faces to see all directions. (A hanging threshold shrine that’s still in their bedroom.)
Hekate never really had an altar, but I did keep the Winged She-Wolf, a strophalos, and a High Priestess card in our Ancestral Shrine for Her.
Over the years, Hekate’s been a stern and loving Spiritual Mother and Teacher. One who encourages me to use my psychic abilities without the reliance of crutches—tools, such as pendulums, cards, and runes. To learn how to step outside of my comfort zones and trust myself.
In 2024, my faith in Her would be shaken. I know many of us were told one thing about the election and then were shocked when something else happened. A Bigger Picture lesson, She called it. I was angry with Hekate for a while. Unsure if I could trust Her or any of the Godden again. I turned to my Shadows and began working, and reminding myself that the Godden aren’t human. They can see the Bigger Picture, whereas we tiny amnesiac immortals in our mortal meat suits can only see a fragment—what we’re seeing may not even be set in stone. More like water. Ever changing water.
Individual Entities with Their own morals, ethics, principles, perspectives, agendas, and so on.
Things have to happen regardless of what fickle humans with millions of ideas and perspectives think is right or wrong. Regardless of what we want, selfishness or not.
A humbling experience, although I never thought my psychic self as arrogant, although I still struggle with knowing what is confidence and what is arrogance. I’m learning how to be confident and humble—sometimes when I think I’m being confident, I’m actually being an asshole. It’s all confusing and still new to me. Being roughly reprimanded isn’t going to help me, though—but it is comforting to know that I wasn’t the only one. Other well respected psychics and diviners and seers were lied to, too. We all have something to learn, apparently.
I thought I was doing well with trusting myself last year, especially as my readings where lining up with other professional and Big Named Pagans, Practitioners, seers, and psychics. Yet I had a small voice that I thought was a intrusive imposter—turns out that that quiet voice was my intuition.
WTF?
I’m been learning what that voice actually sounds and feels like. How it presents itself to me. Learning to trust without tools.
It’s important to remember that Mama Hekate is more than just my Spiritual Mother, She is also my no nonsense, stern Teacher. Teachers are sometimes Tricksters. Sometimes they do things that may hurt our feelings, but for good reason. For now, She is distancing Herself from me, but this isn’t the first time, nor will it be the last. Others have already stepped up to aid in this lesson.
Thanks for all of the Hearts, Follows, Subscribing, Purchases, Bookings, and Recommendations. I really do appreciate the support.
Trust in Sunna. Trust in Joy. Follow the Bees…
~ Priestess Foxlyn
I offer psychic readings if interested. I’m a Psychic Medium who can channel Deities, Spirits, and the Dead—human and animal. These entities may use pendulums, cards, runes, automatic writing/typing/drawing, possession, or energies to answer your questions.
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