Goddess Hecate Essay, Research Paper

Goddess, wise crone of the crossroads

protectress to Witches, Hecate!

Hold before me the mirror of the dark moon, that I may see my true self in its reflection.

I call to your wisdom as I stand before the before the three- pronged path, the time for decision has come, help me choose

that which is right for me.

She who rules the realm if dreams, the starry wisdom

of the night sky, I welcome you! Let the mysteries of the night

be mine!

Fill me with visions,with Crone energy. Whisper to me the

secrets of magic. As I endeavor to honor my inner voice,

teach me the Power of Prophecy. Hold your torch and light

my way… I will choose, I will meet the challenge.

The Goddess Hecate is the goddess of darkness and the daughter of the two Titans Perses and Asteria. She is the goddess of very many things: Goddess of dogs, Goddess of snakes, she?s the moon Goddess in her dark form, Nurse of the young , Mighty Queen of Witches, and Mother of ancient Heka Magic.

At night when the moon was dark. The goddess walked the roads of ancient Greece. She always was accompanied by ghostly, howling, sacred dogs and carrying a bright, blazing torch. Sometimes , she would stop to take what was left by her worshipers. where the three roads crossed, crossroads. Hecate and her pack of wild dogs,would haunt ,the crossroads. Travelers thought these places were evil and ghostly. This three-folded goddess was known where a person could look three ways at once. Some say the reason she can look three ways at once, not because she cause she has a three folded body but, because she has three heads; a snake, a horse, and a black dog.

While, Hecate walked at night. Her worshipers would stay inside their

cozy houses, afraid to see her but, have a great feast in her honor. While they were inside the old people would tell the little kids stories of sorcery and witchcraft to scare them. Hecate had the powers of sorcery, witchcraft, and many more. She gave them to people who worshiped her well. After super the people would leave there leftovers on their door step as offerings to Hecate and her dogs.

The Goddess was the companion of Persophone in the underworld. She also ruled the spirits of the dead . ?Queen of Death, she ruled the magic powers of regeneration addition, she could hold back her spectral hordes from the living if she chose.? So the Greek women prayed to her for protection from her evil spirits whenever they left their houses. The women would put up three headed or bodied images around their door to let the wandering, evil spirits of Hecate know that inside lived friends of their queen. This kind of reminds me of the story of Passover, in the bible.

Hecate shared a great power with Zeus. The power was giving or taking from people anything they wished. People would sacrifice, honey, black female lambs, black dogs, and even sometimes black human slaves to the goddess of darkness. Zeus calls to Hecate whenever any man on earth offers sacrifices and prays for protection. She has been called supreme in heaven and even in hell.

Hecate was also the light bearer. The old myths say that she always carried a blazing torch when she walked the lonely, dark streets of Greece at night. And on the 30th of a month worshipers when the moon and sun come up together her worshipers would place a flat round cake with candles on it and leave it at the crossroads for her. Hecate and Apollo are the two light bearing gods. Apollo lights the skys with the sun during the day, and Hecate lights the skys at night with her torch. Apollo was also called Hekatos, the masculine form of Hecate. In Sophocles? Root-cutters it says,

?O Lord Helios (Apollo) and Holy Fire, the spear of Hekate Enodia, which She bears frequenting Olympos and dwelling in the Three ways of the Holy Land.?

Apollo and Hecate were the only ones who knew about the disappearance of Persephone. Persephone was kidnapped by Hades (the god of the underworld). He took her to the dark underworld and she became his wife. However, Hecate only heard she didn?t see what happened to Persophone. So she told Demeter, Persophone?s mother. ?Demeter , bringer of seasons, what god of heaven or what mortal man has taken away Persephone and pierced with sorrow your heart? For I heard her voice but saw not with my eyes who it was.? So she told demeter to ask Apollo what had happened to Persophone, since he was the sun and he looked over everything. Well Apollo told demeter what happened to Persophone. Demeter got really mad and took away all the fruit in the world until she got her daughter back. So Zeus got mad and was afraid that the people on earth would starve to death. So he asked Hades to give Persophone back to Demeter. Hades said yes and the fight ended with a compromise. Demeter would have her for six months and Hades would have her for the other six months. Hecate is also the companion with Persephone in the underworld.

Hecate is the mediator between our world and the Underworld; she is the key holder and the gate keeper of the Underworld. She is also called the lady of Tartarss, Phobola (guardian), Propula (before the gates), Kleidophoros (key-bearer), and Kleidoukhos (key-holder. Priestess).

Medea who knew Hecates mighty powers and dark secrets. Was priestess of Hecate, because she was excellent at sorcery and she did it under the guidance of the goddess. The Median lands of Persia was named after Hecates priestess Medea. Some even say that Medea taught Heka Magic (Hecates magic) to the Persian Magi. Medea was believed to be able to stay the course of rivers, and to check the paths of stars and the moon. She was also said to be He cates daughter.

Hecate was also Known to haunt graveyards, Because she would lead the souls of the dead across the lake to the underworld. She would also haunt crime scenes. It was said that she could send demons send demons to haunt and terrify peoples dreams. She was also known to drive people crazy if they made her mad. She also has a son that many don’t know about he is Museos, the Muse-man. The Greeks an instrument called ?Hecate?s Circle? used for divination. It was a golden circle with a sapphire hidden inside of it. One of her sacred animals was the toad, because she was the goddess of transformation and she could change into any form she wanted or any age she wanted. Hecate?s chariot was pulled by dragon. The women who worshiped Hecate put hena on their hands and feet. Her festivals were held at night. Every year on the island of Aegina , a mysterious festival is held for her. Hecate still has worshipers to this day.All the people who think they are witches believe in Hecate.

Well I guess that is all I can tell you about Hecate. I hope you enjoyed!