Hekate – A Starter Guide

Created by El (@elthealchemist)

Introduction

Starting your journey with Hekate can be both exciting and overwhelming. She is a goddess of many names with many domains. With so many qualities, where do you begin? Throughout history, she has been honored and worked with in different ways that reflect the eras of her existence. 

You don’t need prior knowledge, a formal practice, or elaborate rituals to begin. All you need is curiosity and an open mind. This guide acts as a lantern at the crossroads — offering the light you need to step forward and walk your path with the goddess Hekate.

A Very Brief History of Hekate

The earliest known literary reference to Hekate is found in Hesiod’s Theogony (8th century BCE). The Theogony is one of the oldest known cosmologies of the Hellenic pantheon. Within this text, she is named as the daughter of Perses and Asteria. Her domains of the sky, earth, and sea are outlined, and she is honored by both Zeus, King of the Olympians, and other immortal gods. 

It is widely believed that Hekate’s origins are outside of the Greek pantheon. Evidence suggests that Hekate originated among the Carians of Anatolia. The remains of Hekate’s Temple at Lagina can still be visited in modern Turkey. In polytheistic cultures, deities were customarily adopted or equated with the gods of other cultures or tribes. These regions were places of culture and trade, and where people gather, ideas and knowledge spread. It is possible that Hekate evolved from an earlier cult of the Magna Mater (The Great Mother) in Asia Minor, and practices were assimilated into her worship over the centuries, along with the epithets and symbols we know today.   

By the 5th century BCE, Hekate’s worship became closely tied to thresholds, crossroads, and city gates. In Athenian households, families made Deipnon offerings to her during the dark moon. During these nightly rituals, food and sweepings from the household were offered to Hekate at the crossroads. Texts such as the Greek Magical Papyri (PGM) and the Argonautica by Apollonius of Rhodes present her as a chthonic being that can be invoked in rituals. By the end of the Hellenistic era, Hekate’s associations with magic, the spirits of the dead, and the night were solidified.  

Works Cited

D’Este, Sorita. Circle for Hekate. Vol. 1, Avalonia, 2017.

D’Este, Sorita. “Many-Named & Faced Goddess: An Introduction to Hekate & Household Devotion.” The Many Gods Anthologies – Hekate, edited by Vikki Bramshaw, vol. 1, Avalonia, England, UK.

Hesiod, and Glenn W. Most. Theogony ; Works and Days ; Testimonia. Harvard University Press, 2018.

Symbols and Correspondences

• Crossroads
• Torches
• Dogs
• Keys
• Serpents
• Polecats 
• Saffron-Colored Robes
• The Night 
• Daggers
• Strophalos – Hekate’s Wheel 
• Flames

Offerings

• Food Offerings
  • Garlic – Traditional protection from the restless dead
  • Eggs – Offered raw or cooked
  • Cheese – Hekate is sometimes depicted with a goat head, so goat cheeses are appropriate
  • Honey – Standard offering to chthonic deities and the restless dead
  • Amphiphon – A Flat Cheesecake surrounded by torches (candles)
  • Barley – Both as a grain and made into cakes
  • Mullet – Fish were included as a sacrifice to her, and mullet was sacred to her
  • Onion – A traditional apotropaic offering
• Libations
  • Water
  • Olive Oil
  • Red Wine
  • Milk

Frequently Asked Questions

“Hecate or Hekate?”
The Greek transliteration of Hekate (with a ‘k’) and the Roman transliteration of Hecate (with a ‘c’) are both taken to mean the same deity. Both are correct! 

“How do I pronounce her name?” 
There are many different pronunciations of the name “Hekate” – there is not a single conclusive answer. Native English speakers pronounce her name as “he-ka-tee” while some prefer the pronunciation of “e-ka-tay”, which is more aligned with the Greek pronunciation. The pronunciation “he-kah-tay” is also an example that is used by younger practitioners. Pronounce it in the way you feel most comfortable with. 

“I feel like she’s reaching out to me. Where do I start?”
Start by reading about her. We have a fantastic reading list that contains sources of all lengths that you can read through to begin your journey with her. When you feel ready, sit with her energy and have your first conversation with her. Pray to her, write her a hymn, visit the crossroads, anything that you feel called to do. 

“Do I have to wait for her to reach out to me?”
You do not have to wait for her to reach out to you! If you would like to initiate the connection, you are more than welcome to do so. Just make sure you are being respectful to her when you establish contact. 

“Is Hekate a Triple Goddess?”
The Triple Goddess or “Maiden, Mother, Crone” archetype exists in Wiccan traditions across the world. It refers to the three stages of a woman’s life and three phases of the moon. Robert Graves, a 20th-century poet and novelist, claimed that Hekate was the “original” triple-moon goddess, but this is not the case. In Ancient Greece, Hekate is described as being a maiden Goddess, depicted in either a single form or in her later triple form. The depictions we have of her triple form show her as three identical women of the same age, standing back-to-back, holding the tools symbolic of the mysteries associated with Hekate. Within her source material, there is no mention of her being depicted as an old “crone,” so she does not fit into this Wiccan archetype. 

“How do I leave offerings for her?”
Hekate has domains in the sky, the earth, and the sea. Because of this, she is a goddess that can be classified as Ouranic, Chthonic, and Einalic. Offerings to her can be placed on an altar (standard ouranic practices), buried in a pit in the earth (standard chthonic practices), placed at a crossroads, etc. If you choose to leave offerings for Hekate in nature, please make sure the items that you leave are not harmful to the earth or the beings that dwell upon it. This means staying away from salt, non-biodegradable items, and toxic materials. 

“Can I eat the offerings I leave for her?”
This depends on which epithet/aspect of Hekate you are calling upon. If you are calling on any of her Ouranic aspects, then the answer is yes! If you are calling upon her Chthonic aspects, the answer is no, as offerings to Chthonic beings are not meant to be consumed. 

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