Hecate - Does anyone work with her?

[SunflowerP]

And no, I responded to a posting and addressed the points raised.  Points presented as if I should acknowlege them as fact ie You have read that she was the nurse to the baby Zeus while he was secreted away, no?

Oops, should address this specifically.

The only fact-claim I see here is that there are stories that recount that incident.  Are you disputing the existence of those stories?

Sunflower

[SunflowerP]

And I am sorry to have inadvertently caused an unrelated argument.

 
I don't see any fault whatsoever on your part; no need for you to apologize.

Sunflower

[SkySamuelle]

 
Again which aspect?  She does not guide souls through the dark she drives them with the aid of her hounds.  

This comes like quite a surprise to me. While Hekate certainly was known as psychopomp in a different 'function' than Hermes was, Her aspect of Lightbringer - revealer of the truths of soul, by definition breaking through the darkness with Her twin torches - is guiding souls through the dark, is not? Even if they are not bodyless souls.
 

It also falls into the notion of liminal places again in regard to civilized vs uncivilized or wilderness.  

 

And doorways. Shrines to Hecate were placed at doorways to both homes and cities.

 Even the usage of Witch is a suspect term.  In Greek literature she'd be called the guardian of Enchantresses or Sorceress (sp).  In many ways one does not really see a connection to "Witches" until the middle ages or later.

Yet, yesterday's sorceresses are today's witches. The method behind the spellcrafting can be different, but in the end, regardless of labels, they both use material tools and/or energy to  accomplish sorcery. So I don't really see the problem with applying to Hekate the title of patron of witches.

 In many ways her influence seen and felt at non-places.  The problem arising that modern usage of liminal does not mean the same as it did in antiquity.

True, but if a goddess is a force and that force was present in liminal places of antiquity, can we really say that Her essence is not manifest in today's liminal places?

 
 sort of like the fact she is listed as a Virgin goddess, it doesn't mean she was unknown to man only that she was not beholden to man.

:nod: there's also at least one written source that named Her as Hermes' lover.

 

The Hecate / Hekate I know and follow gave me spirit and mind that I may make those decissions and suffer the consequences of my decissions.  She does not stand there awaiting my arrival for she gave me the keys to make those determinations myself.  Thus does she hold the triple keys and the guidance and ensieghts they convey or reveal.

Each cross-roads being a matter of what maybe, what will be and what has been.

I would also argue that a choice denotes growth.  A person may arrive at the cross-roads and retreat back from whence they came and that is not growth.  A person may elect to allow another to make their choices for them, again not growth.  Only when they make the choice themselves based upon their ability to make that choice and learn from it does one have growth.

But to claim Hekate / Hecate stands at the cross-roads to guide and inspire is no growth for it places the responsibility and outcome upon her.  So failure is not upon the shoulders of the one failing but upon the shoulders of the one who they lay claim upon for making it.

Similiar reasoning can be applied for most, if not all, of deities. No god or goddess will make the hard work for us, I think no poster ever implied it at any point of this discussion - growth is a responsability that is always on our shoulders, even if gods can push or open the way.

The Hekate I have known, tough, showed Herself as both a guide and a teacher.    

 UPG is a true minefield.  Yet the thing is many of those UPG's may acutally be closer to SPG's (Shared Personal Gnosis) and gain some support due to the broad scope of followers and practitioner's arriving at the same spot.  But other's are so unique and individual that it raises great mistrust and doubt as to whether it is inspired by divine inspiration or simply ego on the part of the person arriving at it.
 
With Hekate / Hecate I find that many arrive at something they create and desire not something even remotely supported by any of her lore.

 
Much in the same way, it might be said that in your drive to connect to 'one true and original' version of Hekate, and in your belief that deities doesn't change or evolve over time, you are led to not connect to and discount completely aspects of Her that  genuinely exhist.

I am, naturally, theorizing in general terms- believing or not believing that deities change over time is subjective and I have my issues with modern depictions of Hekate as a Crone, for example-... I aim merely pointing out that others might dismiss your upg with just as much condiscendence and self-entitlement as you dismiss theirs, so I don't really see the point of making speeches like that every chance you get.

[SkySamuelle]

Does anyone work with her often? I know she sometimes gets a bad rap, but I'm trying to look past all that and figure out where I fit in. Does she have anything to do with plants and "green witch" type of things?

 
I have worked with Her for years... while my personal practice doesn't frequently relies on the usage of herbes, one off Hekate's ephithets is  'Pharmakeia', which marks Her as an expert in the use of plants for both healing and poisoning.

I am going to link you to the old thread we had on Her because I figure out I cannot add anything new to what I already wrote there: http://www.ecauldron.com/forum/showthread.php?1471-Hekate

[Aubrey_Rose]

I hope you have a rewarding time!

And I am sorry to have inadvertently caused an unrelated argument. But just in case, please dont take my interpretation of some characterizations that I have read to be anything other than that.

 
No need to be sorry.
These things happen. I am really good at skipping over conflict.
Especially long winded conflict.

[Catherine]

UPG is a true minefield.  Yet the thing is many of those UPG's may acutally be closer to SPG's (Shared Personal Gnosis) and gain some support due to the broad scope of followers and practitioner's arriving at the same spot.  But other's are so unique and individual that it raises great mistrust and doubt as to whether it is inspired by divine inspiration or simply ego on the part of the person arriving at it.
 
With Hekate / Hecate I find that many arrive at something they create and desire not something even remotely supported by any of her lore.  Granted specific offerings or rituals are difficult to say as much of that is missing from the records.  But much is also assumed and when pursued it many times falls into the "I don't know category" much like her Wheel figure today as to what its orgins are.

I think the problem here is that when there is UPG/SPG if you personally haven't shared it, you look for ways to invalidate it. Or at least, it appears that way. A good example is this conversation. Someone says, I experienced X. Others may chime in and say, me too. You ask what source inspired X, which is fine. But then when you're given the reasoning behind it, you fall back on "that's from later writings" as a way to invalidate the experience that you haven't personally shared.

I'd like you to think about something. If a bunch of people are having the same experience and you're not, maybe the issue isn't with the others. Maybe the issues is with you and your relationship with Her. When I say issue, I don't necessarily mean problem, either. This goes back to my different devotees, different experiences, different expectations theory. Perhaps your relationship with Hecate is unique.

I see this a lot in my relationship with tM. Many people here speak of experiences and interactions with Her that I haven't had. That doesn't mean they're wrong or making it up. It doesn't mean that their UPG/SPG is ego driven, or that they're not reading the right text, or whatever. All it means is that I haven't had that experience. Perhaps my relationship with tM is a little different.

I'm not trying to knock you down here, I'm just trying to give you a different perspective on UPG/SPG. Others can speak on the scholarship issue much better than I can, so I'll leave that alone.

[hecate8]

Thanks everyone!

The new moon is right around the corner, I think I may go sit outside that night, gather together an offering and sit and meditate and maybe include ;)a small ritual.  See what she has to say.

Any advice in the offering/ritual department world be awesome.
I have found a few things on my own, crossroads, lavender, garlic, mint.
But any additional information would be great. Especially from those of you have performed a ritual for her previously.  

I have never performed a ritual where I was calling on a specific deity before so I must admit I am a bit nervous.

 Yes I work with her. A red candle anointed with your blood (or honey if you're squeamish) would be good. Most suggestions in this thread were good. Please give.us an update. It's quite a privilege and responsibility to be chosen by her.

[Riothamus12]

So the other night, I had the strangest dream. It involved a few Goddesses, and they were all basically trying to put each other down. Blah Blah - Dream nonsense.
The only strange part was that when I woke up, I distinctly remember one of them being called Hecate. I am not all that familiar with her. Before that dream, I hadn't even bothered looking into her at all to be honest. I lean more towards Gaia typically, but the fact that I could remember her name, stuck with me.

I'm an earthy kind of person, I plant, and garden, and spend a lot of time outside. I don't understand why she would be calling to me, but I feel like that's what she was doing.

Does anyone work with her often? I know she sometimes gets a bad rap, but I'm trying to look past all that and figure out where I fit in. Does she have anything to do with plants and "green witch" type of things?

 
She is only unsettling at a distance. Hecate, nurse of children, the tender one gets a worse rap than she should. The Mother of Night is not the monster people make her out to be. Hecate is a fertility Goddess as well as a Goddess of the waters and the earth. In addition to this she reigns over the moon, entrances, death, magic, protective charms, childbirth, herbs, motherhood, and the crossroads.  She who is wreathed in black is not one you need to fear, but she is to be approached with respect and an open mind as one should with other deities.