cthonic deities: hekate (greece) - crossroads, ghosts, witchcraft, necromancy

Hekate: Queen of the Witches

Origins: In Greece she was a pre-Olympian Goddess who aided Zeus in the battle against the Titans. He shared some of his power to with her in return. Hekate was the daughter of Perses and Asteria, she never married or had a regular consort. The monster Scylla was said to be her child. Originally she was Goddess of the wild places, childbirth and the crossroads. These are all in between spaces that are associated with the spirit world; for the wilderness is not yet tame, birth is the moment of life where death stands in waiting and the three ways cross roads intersect at a point that is between all the directions. She was called upon by the ancients to provide protection and wisdom at these critical points. As the in between spaces are the places where the veils between the worlds traditionally believed to be at their thinnest they are also associated with witches, magic and ghosts. From these links she gained the titles of Queen of witches and Queen of Ghosts and became a crone Goddess. Today she is considered to be a Goddess of crossroads as offerings were made to her on the night of the new moon. Hence she is also Queen of the night as she is linked to the darkest night. It was Hecate who heard the screams of Persephone as she was kidnapped by Hades. Later she became a good friend of Persephone, visiting her in the underworld.

Strengths: She was the powerful and wise gate keeper between the worlds.

Weaknesses: She was demonized in the early Christian era when she depicted as an ugly old woman.

Symbolism: Often shown as a triple Goddess with three faces or faces of a horse, a snake and a dog. The dark of the moon is linked with this Goddess. 

Sacred Animal: Dogs, horse and serpents were sacred to this Goddess, and black female lambs were sacrificed to her.

Sacred Birds: The owl which represents wisdom and far sightedness was associated with Hekate as she had the ability to see into three different directions at once and also had the ability to see and travel in the hidden realms.

Sacred Plants: Many hallucinogenic plants are linked to Hecate including: Belladonna, hemlock, Mandrake and poppies as these can all induce visions. The Yew tree is sacred to this Greek Goddess as it is linked with death and is often found in ancient graveyards. Other plants associated with this Goddess include aconite, dandelion, garlic, lavender and willow.