Hecate and Me (Part 1)

Dear Reader,

I gave the following speech as part of my course I am fighting to stay on, we were tasked with researching Greek Gods and Goddesses. I chose the wonderful and much misrepresented Hecate. Keep your eyes peeled for part two, where I reveal what the lady herself had to say when she visited me late one night. Oh I do love being clinically insane. . .

'Hecate is an ancient Goddess from an earlier pre-Greek stratum of myth. The Greeks came so see her as a daughter of the Titans Perses and Asteria, making her cousin to Artemis. She was one of the main Gods worshipped in Athenian households as a protective Goddess and one who bestowed all the blessings of everyday life. A Goddess of Magick and of Witchcraft.

She was viewed as part of the Olympian company, however she was unique in that fact she had dominion over the Sky, Earth and the Underworld. Zeus honoured her above all. She ruled over the point where three paths met. These places were treated as sacred, the crossroads were hers.  Perhaps she was there on the junction when Oedipus murdered his own Father fulfilling the prophecy. It could be that Sophocles knew her, as within our Human Sphere she presides over the three great mysteries of birth, life, and death. 

The Patriarchal society which developed in the later classical period gave rise to a dualistic view of spiritual forces warring against each other in the human soul, turning Hecate into a prime target for demonisation. Reflecting right the way down  into the medieval period with it’s organised Church of men hunting Witches. To this place right now, where you’ll be looking for a long time to find a positive depiction of the wise woman archetype in our own popular culture. The kind old Hag. Where is she?

The current image of the wicked old witch is merely a document of an unconscious fear of the feminine that men have suppressed into  a completely one sided patriarchy.

The ancient Greeks knew her power. She is connected with, but totally independent from the masculine principal. Guardian of the unconscious, our dark side, and a personification of the need to explore the three fold nature of us which manifests as mind, body and soul.   

Hecate was often viewed as a triple moon goddess, the moon is dark planet being that it has no light of its own. The light that comes from the Moon is reflected sunlight so it is interesting that Artemis is the brother of Apollo, meaning that Artemis is a direct link to the solar forces for our beloved Hecate. Don’t be scared of the dark boys, Mummy knows best.'

Peace be upon you dear Reader,

Rednaxela