Tag Archives: Hecate

The Rite of Hekate Eurippa – A response to the Greek Wildfires

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I would be surprised if we hadn’t all read a report something like this in the last few days.

Wildfires north of Athens leapt back to life on Thursday as searing conditions persisted and emergency crews battled blazes across Greece for a third day running. Red flames and sparks glowed in the night on the outskirts of the Greek capital, residents fled suburbs, asylum seekers were evacuated and authorities warned of more blazes on Friday as temperatures hovered around 40 degrees Celsius (107 Fahrenheit) and gale force winds were expected. Twelve people were taken to hospital including two volunteer firefighters who were treated for burns in intensive care, health officials said. Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said emergency services faced a difficult night with westerly winds set to strengthen and he urged people to comply with evacuation orders and avoid unnecessary travel. “We are dealing with unprecedented conditions as many days of heatwave have turned the whole country into a powder keg,” he said in a special televised address. – Reuters Aug 5

The Message

You’d be forgiven for having read it, and unless it somehow it directly affected you and yours passing on by with a sorry shake of the head. That’s exactly what I did for my sins. After all much of the world is crashing and burning in one way or another. But something happened this morning that made me sit up and take notice.

I went to do my usual weekly shop. There on the sanitation station was an ornamental key. I never ignore a key when it randomly appears in my life, especially one so bizarre as a small brass key in the middle of Aldi. Mere moments later a dear friend and Priestess contacted me asking if we could do anything to help the Ranch-Eros horse sanctuary who are in dire need after the devastating fires in Greece. Horses are sacred to Hekate and she even has her own horse headed aspect “Hekate Eurippa”.

Yes Hekate, well played my dear, well played, the Message was received.

What has happened since then is mindblowing, amazing, and restores my faith the Pagan and Goddess community. We have a facebook page – Horses For Hekate, a just giving page (which is already at 21% of goal in less than 3 hours) also by the same name (click here to donate) and now we have a ritual for all those that are so inclined can use as part of their dark moon rites tomorrow night. I do find it amazing that what we have this weekend is a new moon in leo, one that is part of what some call a “Lionsgate Portal” where the constellation Leo, the Sun and the Dog star Sirius align in a very specific manner and is considered by some to be very cosmologically important. For me the importance is that its Leo and Sirius, the dog and the lion are together at new moon, 3 very sacred symbols for the Goddess Hekate. The Chaldean Oracles actually state that “if you call upon me often you will perceive everything in lion-form.”  C’mon this is starting to get to be a perfect a storm.

If you can please share this ritual it is free for all to use, the prayer is by the wonderful Mabh Savage and all I ask is if you use it you credit her, I also ask that you consider donating either your cash or maybe an item or service to the Silent Auction which will be announced properly in the coming days – we’ve already got some amazing donations so please come and look. And finally if all you can do is give your energy that is as important, please consider taking part in this rite both this weekend and every new moon until we reach our goal.

So without further ado here it is The Rite of Hekate Eurippa (ps if you like the FB page you can download it as PDF to work from at your altar).

HEKATE EURIPPA DARK MOON RITUAL

Set your sacred space in your normal way, this isn’t about fancy and fan-fair this is about raising energy and heartfelt devotion to the Goddess. Simple is good all that is needed for this rite is yourself, a singing bowl and a candle but you of course can make your preparations as you like. You may like to add flowers, incense, grain, wine, garlic, eggs or honey as offerings, these are all traditional to the Goddess and will be well received.

Opening Invocation:

Observe the fire burns without form, hear the voice that whispers from it.

Behold the soul, Dark Hekate, Numeric, Harmonic, Chaotic, Chthonic

I strike the Bell, I/we light the flame, we call you by your sacred names.

Ring bell/strike bowl 3x3x3

Light Candle

The Summoning

Hear our call, she who is our chosen accomplice, to whose presence this rite is dedicated.

Three times three we call as is your right, three times, for earth and sea and sky.

Hearken to your dread hounds calling, turn your magic wheel Hekate, Eurippa hear our prayers.

Hekate of the Many Names – Polyonumos, Come forth from the sea, Stand at our head with your ravening hosts.

Hearken to your dread hounds calling, turn your magic wheel Hekate, Eurippa hear our prayers.

Hekate of the Many Ways – Polytropos, Come forth from the earth, Stand at our head with your ravening hosts.

Hearken to your dread hounds calling, turn your magic wheel Hekate, Eurippa hear our prayers.

Hekate of the Many Ways – Polymorphikos, Come forth from the sky, Stand at our head with your ravening hosts.

Hearken to your dread hounds calling, turn your magic wheel Hekate, Eurippa hear our prayers.

 

The Prayer to Eurippa by Mabh Savage

Hail Hekate Eurippa

Horse headed

A horse leaping from her shoulder

Creature of fire

A fiery soul

So no flames need come near

As twin torches light

The night instead.

Speed away from danger

Solid and safe

Swift and sure

Hekate Eurippa

Horse finder

She of the animals

And of the land

Guide your charges

Away from harm

The fire without form,

Form barriers of protection

Let your fire breathing head

Protect its kin

Let the horses leap away

As you raise your hydra head

Towards the sphere of water

Cooling and drenching the land

We call to you Great Lady

From our land to theirs

Eyes upward to the skies

Minds joined across seas

Liminally poised

We pray for protection

Hekate Eurippa

With offerings and libations

We pray for safety

For horses and people

And the other inhabitants

Of Kria Vrisi (Κρύα Βρύση)

Rancheros Farm

And the surrounding areas

Affected by wildfires

Hands on heart

Mouth and brow

We send our prayer to you now

Hail Hekate Eurippa

Hail Hekate Kleidouchos

Hail Hekate.

HERE IS WHERE YOU MAY LIKE TO DANCE, SING, MEDITATE, SPEAK DEEPLY FROM THE HEART OR EVEN JUST SIT QUIETLY AND SEND YOUR ENERGY OUT ACROSS THE SEAS TO THE GODDESS AND THE HORSES ON HER LAND.

The Closing

I strike the Bell, I/we put out the flame, we thank you with your sacred names.

Polyonumos, Polytropos, Polymorphikos, Eurippa,

By Air, and Land and Sea Farewell this night Blessed Be!

En Erobos Phos!

Tara xXx

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hekate: A Devotional

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Hekate Devotional Buy Now!I have had this little gem on my desk for a while now, and as I have five minutes on this smashing Friday afternoon I thought I would take some time to tell you about it.

I’m not always keen on devotional works, but this book is head and shoulders above most books of that ilk. It’s been an absolute delight to read. Well edited. Well formatted and most importantly well written.

Seriously I’ve read a few book recently that would make your hair curl so this was REALLY refreshing.

The book is arranged into eight chapters covering such subjects as Household shrines, Crossroads, Death and Transformation. Vivienne has a fluid and gentle “voice” that smacks of someone that has done the work. Her writing in passionate and intensely personal. I couldn’t help but smile at the following statement:-

The writing of this book is an offering to Hekate. The sacrifice is knowing that not everyone will agree or like what I say within these pages. Some, I’m sure, will not understand the way I see and feel Hekate. I may get negative feedbacks, or worse, none at all. Maybe some will laugh or be offended with what I have written. That is the chance I am willing to take. For Hekate – for myself. Even if just one person is touched by this devotional then it will be worth it.

I could feel that statement deep in my soul, having been there myself it is a deep knowing you cannot shake. Well I am not laughing, I am applauding. I think this is a wonderful book and if people havent bought it I want to know why not. Because Its NOT been put out there to cash in on what is currently a very popular market. Its a work of magick in the truest sense of the word. Well done Moon Books for publishing it and well done Vivenne for writing it. I hope we get to meet someday I think we might have a lot in common.

 

And in the absence of facts…..Modern Festivals to Hekate

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If there is one subject that is guaranteed to get some folks hot under the collar it has to be the trend of celebrating thoroughly modern and historically inaccurate festivals. It is a practise that until just a few years ago I disagreed with quite vehemently. Looking back now it is fair to say that in the early days of writing Temple of Hekate I felt that it was very important that people understood how the ancient Attic calendar really worked and wrote upon it at some length. Although those pages didn’t make the editorial cuts I felt strongly enough about it that at a later date I posted a blog entry so the details were available for all to see. This opinion hasn’t been a passing fad either, but as I stated when I discussed the Deipnon way back in 2009 and is worthy of repeating, I am not a reconstructionist, far from it. But I was and still am very heavily invested in debunking some of the more common “myths” that I had stumbled over myself in my early days of research and practise, so I tended to shy away from the modern, the unverified, and the inaccurate.

I’ve done some perspective changing since that time, quite surprisingly so. I think the first inkling of the change was when we realised that Her Sacred Fires was here to stay. Now hurtling towards its 7th anniversary and showing no signs of slowing down we appear to have created a thoroughly modern festival enjoyed by thousands. And this isn’t the only one. August the 13th is another, a modern date fixed as the result of a mis-understanding of how the Attic calendar worked, but it has grown and swollen and truly become a thing, a world-wide thing. A thing that people can get behind, work together with, create and share and laugh and love. How can this thing be bad?

Furthermore we have literally just celebrated Hekate’s Day on the 16th of November in The Sanctuary of Hekate Enodia. When Mima, my friend and CoH Torchbearer who co-runs the Sanctuary with me suggested we do something to mark the date I nearly fell off my chair. This festival doesn’t even have the dubious honour of being a festival that once existed and got dumped into a modern calendar. This festival has, as far as I am aware, no historical precedence whatsoever. In fact it is the epitome of everything I hate about modern practise, a new thing pretending to be something old. And then it hit me, it’s not the celebration that I hate, in fact I love a good excuse for our Sanctuary to come together and do work. It is the belief that it dates back to some long ago historical practise that fills me with dread.

So we put up some information regarding the provenance of the festival and ahead we went. And all I can say was that the connection between some of the group was quite startling. We were all working remotely but the imagery shared was so similar. So similar that I had to feel that we were getting nothing less than a resounding stamp of approval for our actions and the work and effort we have all been putting in recently. We certainly shall be celebrating this date again, along with Her Sacred Fires and August 13th (which traditionally is the Roman festival Nemoralia and the ill dated Festival of Kourotrophos, Artemis and Hekate – which should actually be celebrated on 16 Metageitnion but let’s not split hairs). At the end of the day the religion of the Greeks and Romans and many others was fluid, it grew and changed and was subject to regional variations. Somethings were adopted, others allowed to pass into memory only, some lost to the ages. If we fail to recognise that then we fall into dogma and fundamentalism. An ethos I decided I did not agree with a long long time ago.

So we shall celebrate these rites, knowing their true nature we shall perform them anyway. We shall lift our heads proudly and say, we created this in honour of the Goddess Hekate, we honour you just as our ancestors did but in times and climes appropriate to us.

En Erebos Phos!

 

 

 

Wait for the Bright Constellation of the Bear to Decline

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I have spent the last few days immersing myself in the folklore and magic of Brittany. My main intention was to visit some sites renowned for their Fairy lore and others for their Arthurian connections. Both are topics I am currently writing about for various projects and I often find that visiting a place connected with my work can spur my imagination and get my creative juices flowing, and it has certainly been the case with this visit, but not always in the way that I have imagined.

Today I took the time to visit the Tumulus of Kercado. A tumulus is a burial or ceremonial mound normally of the megalithic or Neolithic period which has maintained its earth work, where as a Dolmen is normally the menhirs (standing stones) and table-stone covering it without the earthwork which would have originally covered it. The Tumulus of Kercado according to the leaflet I procured at the gate is dated to around 4500BCE and is considered to be one of the most complete of its kind, and although it isn’t as big or impressive as the Tumulus of St Michel which I visited yesterday, it actually had a stronger atmosphere, possibly this could be attributed to not having a ruddy great Christian Chapel built on the top of it.

But I digress.

Carved upon the roof of the table-stone, inside the chamber is a “double headed axe” a symbol quite common both in the Megalithic monuments of Brittany and else where in the world. Some scholars have argued quite persuasively that these Axe engravings were a method of stellar and solar time keeping which automatically got me thinking of Hekate. Firstly her connection to the stars through her mother Asteria. But more importantly her potential connection with the Snake Priestess. In Minoan myth, Priestesses were said to carry into ritual the Labrys, another form of double headed Axe.

Whilst there is no proof that the Minoan Snake Goddesses statues dating from 1600BCE and found on Knossos during excavations in the early 20th Century, were either images of Priestesses of Hekate, or even Hekate herself, there is a lot of circumstantial evidence that leads many (myself included) to believe there is a connection of some form. One of our most famous descriptions of Hekate comes from Apollonius of Rhodes who claimed that when Jason called upon Hekate Brimo she arrived “garlanded by fearsome snakes that coiled themselves round twigs of oak; the twinkle of a thousand torches lit the scene; and hounds of the underworld barked shrilly all around her”. And her connection with snakes continues for some of the infamous lead/curse tablets found around ancient temples call upon Hekate who is depicted upon the lead strip with snakes. And Medea who depending upon the myth being told was either a Priestess of Hekate or possibly even a Granddaughter had the ability to charm the snakes, and called them forth to aid her in her creation of poisons and also as offerings to the Goddess herself.

But what is very curious about the quote by Apollonius is that he claims that Jason has to wait until for the “bright constellation of the Bear to decline, and then, when all the air from heaven to earth was still” before he could perform his rite to Hekate. Which leads me back to where I started, the Double Axe in Kercado is believed by some to be a form of Astrolabe, circling around Polaris just as the great Bear constellation does. This carvings dimensions allow for calculation of the Equinoxes, the Solstices, as well as moonrise and sunrise. How clever is that, now I wonder is this why the Minoan Priestesses were carrying Labrys’ too? Would it be amazing if we could prove that?!

The Scent of a Goddess

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I am aware of how certain smells can evoke very powerful images and the use of fragrance is something that fills both my everyday and my devotional life. It doesn’t even have to be smells you particularly like very much. A couple of years ago I was lucky enough to attend a wonderful workshop entitled “Sacred and Ritual Perfumes” held in Glastonbury by the wonderful Marina.

Marina is a fantastic natural perfumer who owns The Perfume Garden and as part of the workshop we had to discuss smells we did and didn’t like. I expressed my deep disgust at the scent of  unadulterated Patchouli, it has such negative connotations. My first clear memory of it was in the late 1970’s. I cannot have been more than 7 years old and we were eating in the Vegan cafe in our local town, a treat I normally relished. But his particular day the person who was waiting table smelt terribly of body odour overlaid with another smell, the combination was so sickening that it stayed with me all day hanging around under my nose and I was physically ill on the bus ride home. The other smell as I discovered later was Patchouli.

I can recall the clothes the person was wearing, the gaudily painted walls, the ethnic hangings and the beaded curtain that separated the kitchen from the customers. I can even feel the wooden table under my hand and recall swinging my legs from the seat which was too tall for me; so strong are my memories. And every time I have smelt Patchouli on its own since then, those memories come flooding back so strongly that I have to take a moment and centre myself.

The connection with smell and the ability to recall memories is not a new concept and it is a phenomena we can use in our work with Deity. After all if smell can quite literally summon up a memory so strongly that it can physically make us sick, then imagine what we can do with our primal mind and smell, what we can connect with when we use the right smell and let our conscious minds go.

This is one of the primary reasons in my opinion, for using incense during ritual or path-working. Yes of course you can use it as an offering of sorts as we tend to blend incenses that are aligned with whichever entity you are working with and there are of course many historical references to using fine perfumes and smoke as offerings to the Gods. But when we work we want to align ourselves with and summon up an aspect of something. And there really isn’t a quicker way to evoke an image of something than through our sense of smell.

I tend to blend a lot of my own incense and I have provided recipes for a few of my own in my book but from time to time I venture into the world of prepared blends from skilled artisans, and I have to say that the Hecate Oil from Rosarium Blends is possibly one of the best ritual scents I have come across in a very long while and to me it evokes the very essence of Hekate. It is deep and rich and earthy, with a sweet undertone which stops the combinations of Oakmoss and Myrrh and Frankincense making the smell too masculine. And funnily enough, it contains Patchouli 😉