Hekate, Goddess of Witches

Hello my Lovely readers, and welcome back to Femme Fatale Friday! For this week’s Femme Fatale I have chosen the Greek Goddess of witchcraft, Hekate. She is a powerful and shadowy figure that I felt is perfect for this dark time of the year, and she is a truly fascinating Goddess!

Hekate is one of the most popular Goddesses in modern witchcraft traditions. So hers is a name many will have seen or heard (in its various pronunciations). She is part of the Greek pantheon of Gods, and she was actually a Titan, who sided with the Olympians during the Clash of the Titans. Later she would be able to choose where she wanted to reside, the mortal realm, the seas, or the Underworld. Being a Goddess of witchcraft, she chose to live in the Underworld!

It is in this aspect as an Underworld Goddess, who could freely travel between realms that she was able to take pity on poor Demeter, who was searching for her lost daughter. Hekate is the one that helped Demeter find Persephone, and discover what had actually happened. Later, when Persephone was Queen of the Underworld Hekate was a great friend and confidant of hers. Both were powerful Goddesses associated with inner searching and the descent into the subconscious and unconscious because of the connection to the Underworld!

Hekate was famous for her association with Crossroads and Thresholds. Her image was often placed at crossroads, along with Hermes (given that he was the messenger of the Gods, and associated with travel). This association we have of Hekate with these places is connected with her being a Goddess of the liminal spaces. That is to say she ruled over everything that was in between. This is why she could freely travel the worlds (again like Hermes could) and why she is viewed within the twilight realm.

She is often depicted carrying torches, to light the way, and with keys, as she is also a Goddess of the household. Most people associate Hestia with the household as a hearth deity, but Hekate is also associated with protection of the home. That is the association we have with thresholds! She was sought to help protect the thresholds in order to prevent robbery.

In her lunar aspect we see her associations with the woman’s life cycle and mysteries! In all, she was a Goddess who could help people much, and light the way in the darkness. One just had to be brave enough to follow the darkened twilight path she was telling them to go on. Just as she could direct travelers at crossroads, she could direct those seeking spiritual enlightenment!

I hope you have liked this brief overview of a very complex Dark Goddess! I also hope that you can see that though thought to be dark she is far from all bad. Let me know your thoughts in the comments below, and please join me next week for Femme Fatale Friday!

Note on Name: As I said her name can be pronounced various ways and also spelled two ways (Hekate or Hecate). She can be referred to as He-Kay-Tay, Heck-Ate, or He-Ka-Tee. All are technically correct (the middle being the Shakespearean pronunciation), I personally like the third one as it is the Greek pronunciation.

Note on Image: The image at the top of the post is one of Hekate. I found the image on https://fineartamerica.com/featured/hekate-cambion-art.html.