The Oracle — Hekate Calling
Tending the underworld queen and her night visions
~ Welcome to The Oracle, a monthly divination to open the archetypal field through a blend of tarot and dreamwork ~
Hekate — great goddess of the night, mistress of the crossroads, keeper of dark and magical mysteries, she is the focus and guide for our studies and inner work this month.
Of all the Greek mythic figures, she seems to exhibit a unique kind of draw for the modern psyche, especially those navigating spiritual and psychological inner work. It’s curious, for as Titaness, Hekate is older and more primordial than her Olympian brethren. Further, she lacks the large body of mythic stories that many other gods have. Rather than narrative allure, it is Hekate in practice, Hekate in ritual, Hekate as a living archetypal force that truly captures our imagination.
She is, however, most famously associated as an alternative psychopomp in the story of Persephone’s abduction. In the Homeric Hymn to Demeter, it is the sun and moon, the heavens and the chthonic depths through Helios and Hekate, who hear Persephone’s cries as she is drawn into the underworld. Torches bared in hand, she guides Demeter to her long-lost daughter, and eventually becomes companion to the Underworld Queen.
Then Hekatē approached them, the one with the splendid headband.
And she welcomed back the daughter of holy Demeter with many embraces.
And from that day forward, the Lady [Hekatē] became her [Persephone’s] attendant and substitute queen.
From the hymn, we can gather that Hekate is seen as a sort of secondary underworld authority. Where Hades and Persephone rule explicitly, Hekate rules from the shadows. Thus we see her worshipped and honored in all sorts of dark and liminal spaces. As archetypal presence, she captures these marginal, borderline areas of life, acting as Goddess of:
The waning and dark phases of the moon
Thresholds, doorways, and crossroads
Magic, witchcraft, and occult arts
The underworld and death
In this, Hekate dissolves rigid boundaries of archetypal categorization. She rules many realms and is ambivalent as both helper and provoker.
For our studies this month, we will explore the goddess in these many forms: as Great Mother, Sorceress, Psychopomp, and Crone. We will reflect on her symbols: the key, the crossroads, the torch, and the dog.
But first, we invoke Hekate in our divinatory work, appealing to her unconscious wisdom. Hekate is calling, through the images of the tarot and in the symbols of our dreams.
With Hekate in mind, let’s see what The Oracle has to say…
Hekate’s Call…
