Hekate as the Cosmic World Soul
Many of Hekate’s followers view Her as something called the Cosmic World Soul. This position includes a number of roles and responsibilities for Her as a goddess that developed out of Her earlier associations. For this post I will be working from my own thoughts and from Hekate Soteira by Sarah Iles Johnston, which is an absolutely essential read for anyone who wants to dive deeper into Hekate’s cosmological roles. The beginning of the post is working directly from the text and is more theoretical and philosophical, but I will summarize at the end. I just want to make sure everything is established before getting into what my experiences and takes on this role of Hekate are.
What is the Cosmic World Soul?
The Cosmic World Soul is a philosophical and mystical concept that is often attributed to Plato. This Cosmic World Soul represents several different things and is originally not necessarily linked with any one deity in particular. In Plato’s Philebus, he notes that Socrates explains that “the souls of individual bodies are derived from that one which ensouls the body of the Cosmos; this should is similar to, but fairer, than the souls of men” (Johnston 13). Furthermore, this Soul lies at the center of the Cosmos, but is also present throughout its entirety (14). The Cosmic World Soul of Plato is a fundamentally balanced and liminal being or phenomenon, encompassing a unity of opposites and serving as the intermediary between them. Johnston explains that this Soul, “infiltrating and enclosing the entire body of the Cosmos, provides a divine and eternal source of rational life; it is the crowing creation of all intelligible and eternal entities and is endowed with reason and harmony” (14).
The Soul serves as the balance between two worlds, as well as the facilitator of the passage of physical forms and ideas between the two. Furthermore, the Soul also takes part in creation as well. Johnston notes that “the Cosmic World Soul played a role in generating the physical Cosmos” and “also generated, or was the source of, individual souls” (19). So, the Soul is both the axis and middle of physical creation and the Cosmos, as well as that which helps form it. It is balanced and pure and a source of perfect thought and being.
Hekate as the Cosmic World Soul
Hekate as the Cosmic World Soul is largely attributed to the Chaldean Oracles, a set of oracles dated around the 3rd-6th century CE. In these oracles, Hekate sometimes speak directly or is spoken about as the Cosmic World Soul. In this role, She is seen to have three main responsibilities or powers as the Soul, which Johnston lists as “1) transmitter of the Ideas and thereby structurer of the physical world; 2) dividing bond between the Intelligible and Sensible worlds; 3) source of individual souls and enlivener of the physical world and of man” (49). She was said to be a creative fire or Holy Fire which brought about the physical manifestation of divine ideas. She also served as the boundary between realms, the Heavens and the Earth, life and the afterlife, the world of man and the world of the Gods, the world of man and the Underworld, etc. And she also was the body or soul from which every should of every being upon this Earth has come from. Hekate is also given a savior role, hence Hekate Soteira, in which She, “by controlling the crossing of boundaries between humanity and divinity, either could aid the ascent of force the descent of the soul” or was able to provide divine enlightenment or knowledge through theurgy and oracles (Johnston 38).
Some might think that this seems like a leap for Hekate to be granted this responsibility, but it actually makes a lot of sense considering Her earlier roles. Firstly, as a goddess of the crossroads, She is a goddess of the space of transformation and of liminality, as well as a guide along the pathways of life. Secondly, as a goddess of thresholds and doorways, She represents the middle and intermediary space between domains, just as the Cosmic World Soul does. She also is a goddess of magic, taking active part in the shaping of reality in new ways. Finally, Her role as Mistress of Souls is clearly in line with the Chaldean understanding of Her. Johnston explains that “Hekate was a goddess of birth and a goddess of death, accompanying souls across the greatest boundaries they crossed” (35). Further, She serves as the goddess that is the boundary between life and death, being able to recall the dead from the Underworld and serving as its key-holder. It is not an illogical leap for this system to then understand Her as the source of those souls as well.
Also, Hekate has a share in every realm of existence. Hesiod in the Theogony explains that Hekate was the goddess Zeus revered above all others and was given a share of the Earth, the Heavens, and the seas. This places Her as a goddess of extreme importance. It would make sense that She would have an active role in the structuring of the world.
Worshipping Hekate as the Cosmic World Soul
Many people use the epithet Soteira to appeal to Hekate’s role as the Cosmic World Soul. I also use Ourania, or “heavenly”, as it refers to Her cosmic duties. Devotees of Hekate may pray for a kind of salvation or wisdom from Hekate, as well as praying to Her to make circumstances unfold in their favor.
While Hekate is the boundary between life and death and holds the keys to the Underworld, Hekate as the Cosmic World Soul or as the Savior is an Ouranic role and She should be worshipped as such. This mean cleansing and other normal Olympian ritual procedures should be followed. Offerings for chthonic deities are usually somehow placed into the ground, either by burning them in a pit or pouring them directly onto the Earth. With Hekate, especially in Her role as Cosmic World Soul, offerings may also be done like those of Olympians and done inside the home.
Hekate as the Savior and the Cosmic World Soul also means that She absolutely has an interest in your well-being and ultimate potential and can be prayed to for growth. Theurgists, priests, and magicians prayed to Her for guidance and divine knowledge, as well as for salvation in the afterlife. To me this indicates an active interest in the well-being of mankind, and an inclination to assist them. Many of the other gods in the Hellenic pantheon may be partial to humans who build kharis with them or are of significant importance, whereas Hekate could be seen to view all humans as equal and favorable. As we are all equal in death and in spirit, Hekate can be appealed to by all as the Cosmic World Soul and the Savior. After all, if we all come from Hekate, there is a part of Her in all of us, and I think that’s really beautiful. And following from this in my own personal understanding of cosmology, Hekate then also has a particular interest in the equality of all beings in life, and can be prayed to for bringing about a more equal world.
The whole book Hekate Soteira goes much more in depth, but this is my way of summarizing things in a way that makes sense outside of academic language and for the actual worshipper/devotee. Basically, Hekate as the Cosmic World Soul is a pure and harmonious goddess, who is involved in each of our births, lives, and deaths, as well as creating the world around us. This places Her as not a minor goddess which many modern perceptions would, but as the powerful and all-encompassing figure Zeus revered above all other goddesses. Worshipping Hekate in this role can bring a lot of positive change into your life, and brings warmth, love, and transformation to Her followers.
