Break the Trance-Call the Spell Breakers! Metis, Hekate & The Crossroads. Baba Yaga, Sophia,  Make Decisions.

Baba Yaga-

Remember the Baba from the story of Vasilisa? Baba Yaga is the powerful witch, controller of the universe. Vasilisa goes to the Baba to bring back warmth and knowledge symbolized by fire, held in a very heavy skull.

Vasilisa needed to go through many steps to be given this well-earned reward. Baba Yaga does not suffer fools, nor tolerate mortals well. She is a demanding teacher. Vasilisa emerged from her home alive because she passed tests like feeding Baba Yaga and washing her clothes. She was also wise enough to not ask too many questions, which would have prematurely aged her, nor pretend to be more or less than she was.

A summary of Baba Yaga wisdom from the Healing Goddess Tarot states-

23. Maven of Earth Baba Yaga

Upright:

When Baba Yaga shows up in your cards you are being tested. She is interested in seeing what skill level you are at. There may be difficult tasks in front of you. Baba Yaga is very powerful and mysterious. She wants you to prove your survival skills and inner resourcefulness. Baba Yaga is not interested in you ‘talking the talk’. She likes tangible evidence of how you think and act under pressure. If you are able to stay calm, be sensible and not ask more than you need to know, you may survive her stringent training. It is important to represent yourself as you are, not more, not less. Stay humble, but not invisible. Keep your wits about you and you will graduate. Baba Yaga rewards her students with self-knowledge and worldly wisdom. You will be hard to fool or intimidate after her training.

Reversed:

If you ask a favor of the Maven of Earth you’d better be prepared to meet her demands. If you are applying for a new school, or new job be sure you are ready to put in the time, money and commitment. Do not start programs that will advance you, unless you are ready to work hard and make the changes necessary. This is also true of relationships. Baba Yaga likes to see integrity and clear intention. You will succeed if you truly commit yourself. Think before you leap. Do not make promises you cannot keep.

You break spells when studying under Baba Yaga by being practical, truthful, and resourceful. Vasilisa also left much up to her subconscious to finish. She responded, but didn’t over-think issues. She was grounded and never presented as more than who she was.

When the spell was broken- living with her stepmother and stepsisters, they were burnt to an ember. So, any untrue illusions about someone false loving and protecting to you get burned to ash and the truth emerges. It is painful but better than existing in an untruthful, cruel environment.

Sophia-

Story of Sophia-http://www.goddessgift.com/goddess-myths/sophia-goddess-wisdom.htm

In the Judeo-Christian tradition, the goddess Sophia is the beginning, the source of wisdom, and keeper of the knowledge of all that is righteous and just. With her sound wisdom and guidance, rulers lead their kingdoms to prosper. In the darkness and ignorance that thrive in her absence, the proverbial wasteland eats away at the soul and nations perish.   Known as the Mother of All or simply as Wisdom, Sophia was born of Silence according to Gnostic creation myths. She gave birth to both Male and Female who together created all the elements of our material world. Female then gave birth to Jehovah in all his emanations. But she also gave birth to Ildabaoth who was known as the Son of Darkness. When humans were created, Sophia loved them all dearly.
Unfortunately, her affection for humans sparked jealousy in both Ildabaoth and Jehovah. Hoping to keep humans weak and powerless, the brothers forbade humans to eat the fruit of the tree of knowledge. Female then sent her spirit in the form of the serpent to teach the humans to disobey the envious gods.Sophia so desperately loved humans that she decided she would live among them. To her dismay they mostly ignored her. She tried speaking to them. When they turned a deaf ear, she screamed from the tops of the highest walls. Still, she was not heard. In her anguish at being so neglected, she left humans with one last thought: You have denied and ignored me, so will I do when calamity strikes and you call for my help. Only those who earnestly search for me and love me will merit my love and assistance.
There are those who believe that Sophia, so desperate in her desire to relate, later returned to humans in another attempt to bond with them. Sophia is often symbolized by the Dove of Aphrodite, which later became the dove representing the Holy Spirit.The dove appeared to the Virgin Mary in the form of the Virgin of Light, entered her and conceived Jesus. In this sense, Sophia attempted again, into the form of a man, to be united with the mortals she so loved.
		Sophia’s traits include: righteous, wise, loving, communicative, knowledgeable, creative, protective, giving, and truthful.A Sophia woman sees it and tells it as it is; she has no fear of the truth. She brings meaning to human experience with her gift of understanding “the bigger picture”. Only when you stand back, gaining some emotional distance, can you see that even the most traumatic experiences can be the birthplace of your most treasured strengths? It is only in times of great stress that heroic feats are truly appreciated.
Sophia was also the mother of Faith, Hope, and Charity. They are Sofia’s gifts to us,  gifts that can overcome the despair, confusion, and suffering that frame human life. Sophia reminds you that clear vision and understanding line the path that leads to the discovery of the meaning of your life.Sophia, the Jewish goddess of wisdom breaks spells by having a mature viewpoint and a good overview of any situation. She is neither impulsive nor indecisive. She is not punishing nor paralyzed with fear. Her actions are appropriate for the situation. She is the adult in the room.

Upright:

Sophia brings deep wisdom. Her knowledge is rare.  It is the result of integrating feelings and deep understanding of the world. She rewards maturity, empathy and clarity. Sophia is all seeing. She is the part of you that is able to speak to the goddess directly. She is your deep sense of knowing. Sophia illuminates your soul purpose. The Maven of Air is universal. She rises above biases and prejudices. Her love is unshakable and unconditional. Sophia knows you are capable of weaving a thread of compassion into each day. This thread may be for those you love, but she also trusts you will care for all of her children. She has chosen you today because she knows your contribution will be of great significance. Become still and attune to Sophia daily to understand how your talents will contribute to the world.

Reversed:

This is the time to look at the big picture of your life. Do a review of what the major events and lessons have been, to this point. When did they happen: How did they change you? Integrate lessons from your ancestors. What did they sacrifice for your freedom? You are the vessel for all of their hopes and dreams. How can you move forward and realize these? She reminds you that information is not knowledge. Knowledge must be earned through becoming good at a skill. This only happens with practice, focus and dedication. She asks you to commit to what you are here to do. Go through the apprenticeship and learn your skill.

There are no shortcuts to wisdom.

Metis- Using Your Innate Wisdom- Metis

Metis–

Athena’s connection to Zeus is unquestionable, but at times she might wonder why she doesn’t have a mother? The answer to that is a bit of a shock and in terms of popular movies could be termed, “Honey I shrunk your mother”.

Athena’s mother Metis was an ancient Ocean goddess of wisdom. Because of her great ability to strategize, she helped Zeus achieve victory over his own oppressive father Cronos. Cronos had followed the family pattern of keeping his children “close” to prevent them from usurping him. All of Zeus’s siblings lived in the dark recesses of their father’s gut. Their mother Rhea was exasperated with the oppressive way he treated their children. When Zeus was born she tricked Cronos into swallowing a rock swaddled in clothing, rather than her youngest son.

Unbeknownst to Cronos, Zeus was liberated by Rhea and raised in safety. His mission was to free his siblings. His father, Cronos was tough, well-connected and savvy. His rookie son needed the help of many allies willing to take on his father, uncles and other Titans that wanted to stay in power.

Athena’s mother Metis was well known for her brilliance. Prior to his relationship with Hera, Metis helped win Zeus and his sibling’s power. He was understandably grateful to Metis, as she helped him become ruler. He was also enamored with this ocean goddess’s beauty.

Apparently, Metis did her best to resist his advances, knowing a personal alliance would be dangerous, but Zeus persisted and eventually made her pregnant.  Worried that Metis would produce a son that would usurp him, he tricked her into becoming small and then swallowed her whole. By all accounts, he loved her, but not as much as he loved power.

With Metis captured in his belly, Zeus was able to channel her superior wisdom from his own gut. Athena, their resulting child was born to a man who had devoured her own mother.

Athena did not experience being raised by the ocean goddess she did, however, inherit her mother’s wisdom. Somehow, during gestation, her mother equipped her with what she would need to survive with her father, armor, strength and brilliance. The origin of this gift was invisible, as Athena did not consciously know her mother or her contribution. She instead attributed her gifts to her father.

Not knowing her female lineage disadvantaged Athena. She did not grow up with the Ocean goddess’s soft touch. She did not knowingly benefit from the positive effect of a female guide. There is no evidence to suggest that she even knew what Zeus did to her mom. Because she was lied to by Zeus and never knew the real story about her parentage, she felt women had abandoned her.  The nurturing she knew came from men. Her allegiance was with them.

As a result of this wound, Athena types often have a hidden desire to be unconditionally loved by another woman and to be mothered with great warmth. Yet, to protect themselves from disappointment they often fight or ridicule the women who attempt to get close.

Metis excerpts Goddess Wound Workbook

 

Honey, I Shrunk Your Mother

Metis was a wisdom goddess, powerful enough to help Zeus an Olympian win the war against his father Cronos and the Titans. He initially seemed to love Metis, but a prediction was made about him losing his position to a child that she would create. To prevent this fate he tricked his loving mate to make herself small.

 

When she did this he swallowed her. She resided in his stomach, and probably helped him dispense wisdom, which he then claimed as his own.

Metis was the mother of Athena, but Athena never knew about her mother’s existence.

Metis is the archetype of women’s wisdom being swallowed by the dominant culture.

 

This is a wonderful chapter to embark upon when you would like to be authentic and claim your power.

Metis Questions.

1. Did you grow up with a mother?

 

 

 

2. Do you have wisdom passed to you by your mother and her family?

 

 

 

3. What is this wisdom?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

4. Do you suspect some of the feminine wisdom in your family has been suppressed, forgotten or downplayed?

 

 

5. If so, what makes you think this?

 

 

 

 

6. Have you ever seen your mother sacrifice herself or her ideas in the family?

 

 

 

 

7. How did this play out?

 

Painting by Paula Pesonen

 

 

 

8. Who did she sacrifice her ideas for?

 

 

 

 

9. How did that affect you? (Emotionally, behaviorally?)

 

 

 

 

 

 

10. How did your father act when your mother had more power than he did?

 

 

 

 

 

 

11. Did your mom sacrifice any of her educational or job opportunities to be a wife or mother?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

12. How did she feel about this?

 

 

 

 

 

 

13. Are you able to think of a time or two when you made your emotions small or changed them for someone else’s convenience?

 

 

 

14. Have you ever changed your behavior to keep someone else calm or happy?

 

 

 

15. Have you ever not fully claimed your ideas?

 

 

 

 

 

16. Have you ever made someone else feel small?

Why?

 

 

 

 

17. What was the outcome?

 

 

 

 

 

18. Have you been taught that there is only so much ‘spotlight’ in a room,(i.e. there is only “so much” attention and glory to go around)?

 

 

 

19. Is this true?

 

 

20. Is there a way to reframe this?

 

 

 

 

 

21. What is a strategy for keeping your power and self worth and helping others keep theirs?

 

 

22. How can you monitor yourself to ensure that you are implementing this strategy?

Because Metis is an invisible, swallowed piece of us, how can we make her more visible and be more in touch with her wisdom?

 

 

 

 

23. Attune to Metis- Breathe slowly and deeply. Get into a meditative state. Picture Metis in your mind. What is it she would like to tell you about holding your own power, being visible and following your own considerable wisdom?

 

 

 

 

24. What is her message to you? (Take your time to listen and understand. Write down the message while it is still clear in your memory. Thank her for her gifts.)

The main spell breaker is Hekate. Here is more about her.

Hekate-The Wizened Crone

Genealogical Origins:

Are you wise beyond your years? Can you be detached, calm and self-knowing? If so, you may share some of Hekate’s qualities. To find out the role she plays in your life, let us first explore where she came from.

Many theories exist about Hekate’s mysterious origins. She is the wise, transformative, frog-headed Goddess, women called before giving birth. To the Greeks, she represents the dark moon, while Artemis signifies the new moon. She is also part of the triple goddess triad, with Persephone as the maiden, Demeter as the mother, and Hekate as the crone.

Depending on the cultural interpretation, her parentage is in question. She may be the daughter of either the Titans, Perseus, and Asteria, or of Erebus and Nyx (night). Starck p. 116 Hesiod records that she may have been a child of Gaia and Uranus, (Earth and Sky). Her name relates to the Greek word for will or one that has far reaches, but it eventually became associated with Hex’s and curses, as her identity as a witch evolved.

 

The domain of Influence:

As goddess of the underworld, Hekate was not to be interfered with and was given the ability to grant gifts and wishes. Her main form is an elder, but as a triple goddess, she represents all facets of birth, death, and re-birth. The church adopted this idea of a triple deity but turned it into an all-male trinity, the father, son and Holy Spirit. At the same time appropriating the sacred goddess number three.

Starck relates, “The Holy Spirit is the breath between Christ and God. The holy spirit is related to speaking in tongues and the gift of prophecy.” This gift of ‘seeing’ was originally Hekate’s. The church tainted her with an evil reputation for using it, but somehow when they used this gift of prophecy, their messages, were holy.

Hekate is called upon, in Greek myths, to help keep the oceans calm, influencing the safety of sailors, and weather conditions, including storms. Occult and visionary properties such as dreams, spells, visions, divining, fortune telling, and potion-making, encompass a large part of Hekate’s repertoire. Like Artemis, Hekate is associated with midwifery. She has a special ability to birth the sun.

Hekate As a Visiting Teacher:

Hekate appears mainly as a visiting teacher. She shows up at times of major transitions when we are ready to make choices, changes, or start on a new path. Hekate is a goddess of thresholds, easiest to spot in the twilight or at dawn, the betwixt and between. She is anywhere where there is a shift of situation or perception. She is connected to the mysterious and hard to pin down.

She may visit at times in our lives when we are marginalized from society for having a certain opinion or affiliation. Shame may have been brought upon us for having a disease, disability or being ostracized, abandoned or committing the unpardonable sin of becoming old and unattractive.

Hekate is also a goddess of deep understanding. She is an observer who watches for clues. It is this keen ability to see and comprehend that allows her to walk in many terrains, the underworld, upper world and on the seas.

She is a celestial anthropologist who understands the different ways to get by in diverse cultures.  She is steeped in self-trust. She unflinchingly follows her own path. In the arms of Hekate, we are challenged to prove that we are strong and are capable of handling whatever occurs.

It is this self- knowing and ability to act upon what she knows that allows her to visit any physical or psychic domain with assurance. When she shows up as a visiting teacher, she advises: as humans, we do not know what lies ahead, but must trust ourselves to do our best on our journey. Each path will have challenges and joys. We can heighten our learning and decrease our suffering, if we stay present, as we walk on.

Soul Essence-

It is less common to have Hekate as a Soul Essence guide, but this is often the case for people who work with the dying, possibly in a hospice situation. People who are natural psychics will also be heavily influenced by Hekate or Persephone, as are dream guides. These individuals will spend this lifetime receiving training into matters of great mystery, such as the collective unconscious. They will often find themselves on the fringes of society. They will be put through tests that teach them to value their personal insights and knowing, above social values.

Hekate Soul types will be taught to remain authentic and true, often through painful losses. Through these they learn how to thrive in many situations, learning to be an observer and helper. Hekate soul types may often be suspected of being a little “crazy” due to their insights and ways of seeing. They do not fit into society and are marginalized in some way. They may be viewed as unattractive, old, overweight, disabled, or have unpopular viewpoints. Society, somehow finds them creepy. They must learn to accept the validity of their own methods, but at the same time not force their views or visions on others.

Symbols

Hekate is often shown with three heads –“ lion, dog, mare, or dog, snake and lion.

She stands at these paths of choice, with six arms bearing three torches, for better vision and clarity. She holds a key for her role as a guardian of ancient mysteries, a rope to bring souls to the underworld and help them to be reborn and a dagger, which is also a symbol of witches.  Sometimes one of the tools she carries is a serpent, which may represent medical knowledge and transformation. Following her example and equipping ourselves with the tools she carries, will help make us roadworthy on unknown terrain.

She is also symbolized by spinning wheels, like old witches in fairy tales, such as Snow White. Her association with packs of dogs probably relates to watchdogs, when she would guard entrances and warn the occupants or deter unsavory guests, with the warning signal of barking.

Hekate is often seen with Cerberus a three-headed dog, who also serves Persephone and Hades. The Harry Potter series depicted a similar dog, guarding the access to Hogwarts basement. Similarly, Cerberus guards the entrance to the Greek underworld, not letting the dead out, nor the living in. He sniffs out deception and decides, who is worthy to enter. Dogs are thought to be threshold creatures, sensitive to ghosts and threatening visitors.  The mare is an animal of endurance, intelligence, and power. The lion is a totem of bravery, loyalty, and strength.

Wild animals of all types are related to Hekate and Artemis. Frogs and snakes show up as animals of transformation. Occasionally Hekate is shown with an owl, a creature of wisdom, but it is more commonly associated with Athena. Hekate’s colors are black, purple and smoky blue.

 

Myths–

One of the best known, Greek Myths of Demeter and Persephone, involves Hekate as a key player. (Refer to Demeter’s chapter for the whole myth). Hades god of the underworld kidnaps Persephone, as his bride.  Her father, Zeus grants Hades permission to marry his daughter but does not inform her mother, Demeter, goddess of agriculture and growing life, of his decision. Demeter cannot find her daughter and is grief stricken. She looks everywhere for her daughter and becomes exhausted from the search. In her sorrowful state, she creates perpetual winter, where nothing can grow. Possibly afraid of repercussions from Zeus, neither god nor mortal helps Demeter. Only one being steps up to assist. She asks a key question; only a dangerous old hag would dare pose.

“Who do you think took your daughter?”

Before this cutting, mental clarity, Demeter searched without focus or direction. The goddess of the thresholds slices through Demeter’s grief-induced, emotional paralysis, with her dagger of precision.

This question mobilizes Demeter. Together they visit the sun god Apollo, who sees everything from his keen perspective, high in the sky. While the other gods and goddesses remain on the sidelines, these two brave souls quest on.

Apollo dares to break the old boy’s network, consisting of his father and uncle. He admits that he did see Hades god of the underworld and Zeus, makes a deal allowing Hades to take Persephone as his underworld bride. This brave act of defying unethical, governing powers, allows the first crack to occur within the power structure made by the unholy alliance of Zeus and Hades.

Knowing the secret pact made by her brothers, allows Demeter to advance on her quest to free her daughter. As it turns out, Persephone eats pomegranate seeds, while in the underworld, sealing her destiny to remain there, part time. This is where Hekate appears again. She takes Persephone, as a student, into this dark reality and teaches her to be the queen of a world that is initially unknown and frightening.  After hearing this tale a student once observantly asked, “If I thought Hekate was upset that Persephone then became queen of the underworld, even though Hekate mastered it first?”

I feel that Hekate is not bound to the ego state of wishing to control a domain in that way. She knows the way to freedom is to be able to enter and exit, as she needs, not to be saddled with the day-to-day responsibility of running the empire. Old age too often frees people from monotonous tasks and the need to be “the boss.”  Rather, a true ancient teacher can relish the freedom and the experience, understanding the power of just living the moment, rather than being locked into the ego’s need to rule.

Her detachment from desiring power allows her the objectivity to know and speak the truth. She is not afraid of punishment that results in loss of her rights. She knows she will lose more by keeping silent, than speaking up, when a voice of truth needs to be heard.

In the Myth of Jason and the Argonauts dating to the 3^rd century, Jason works with Hekate’s priestess Medea, to sacrifice an ewe, in her honor. Here Hekate is known as a master potion maker, who can teach this dangerous talent to mortals, but we also acknowledge that she needs a sacrifice.

In another Greek myth, Hekate teaches the witch Medea, to make an ointment, which if applied, will protect a man from “sword or fire and for that day to surpass himself in strength and daring.” Internet article, Hekate goddess of witchcraft.

Another Greek story connects her to midwifery. She is made impure from the blood of childbirth and thrown in the water to be cleansed. Walker, p. 378, says that this is an old myth “derived from patriarchal anxieties” about contact with childbearing women.

Rites, Rituals and Festivals

The elaborate Elysian rites, which mainly honored Demeter and fertility, also included Hekate. By some accounts she is the guide, who initiates newcomers into the mysteries. The Elysian rites involve 3 days of ritual, around the theme of birth, death, and rebirth.

Hekate Goddess of Witchcraft, www.pantheon.org/articles/h/hecate.

Walker, p. 378, says Hekate was worshiped at places “where three roads met, especially in rites of magic, divination or consultation with the dead.” Nightly offerings of food were left at roadside shrines during the full moon for her.

Nov. 16th is Hecate night in Greece and starts with a sunset feast. Hekate’s followers prepared suppers for her. The rituals were late at night, and it is whispered that initiates were taught the mystical workings of astrology, tarot, numerology and how to make herbal medicines and incenses.

The Greeks appealed to her on August 13 to help keep storms from destroying the harvest. The Romans said the 29^th day of each month was her sacred day. The Hutchinson Encyclopedia, Hecate encyclopedia.farlex.com/Hecate, says that black dogs and lambs were sacrificed to her.

Probably the largest ritual that still reflects, but does not name Hekate, is Halloween. On this night, originally designed to honor the dead, many young “witches and goblins” celebrate nature’s descent into the underworld, as the sun declines and temperatures drop.

Cultural Herstory–

To understand Hekate we need to explore our common past. To bring in some background I have used Barring and Cashford’s, Myth of the Goddess, in the next few paragraphs.

Many anthropologists believe that early in human existence, cultures were much more matrilineal. There may have been more reverence toward life, at those times and respect for those that could create the miracle of new beings.  Round places of worship, such as caves, looked like the female body and nature herself. It is also probable that these cultures were less warlike and more egalitarian, based more on consensus and less on hierarchy. People shared their wealth and worked and lived together to survive.

The triple goddess symbols were used by many cultures to represent the various stages of the female life cycle. Typically they were known as maiden, mother, and crone, or also depicted as the life, death, and rebirth. This spiral showed both the tendency to age, but also to regenerate. Death always follows life and rebirth follows death. This is the message of the seasons and nature as a whole. It is also the symbolism of the cosmos- the moon moves from new, to dark each month, so here too, rebirth follows darkness.

Women were the original midwives, as their bodies taught them to understand the mysteries of childbirth and equipped them to know how to facilitate delivery. In many cultures, women were also thought to be the gatherers of food and herbs, while men due to their larger physiques and greater strength were often more suited to hunting.

Learning about the food and natural medicines of their area, plus the need to practice midwifery gave many women enough medical knowledge, to care for their families. Older women would have had the life experience to gain more of this expertise, giving them value in their communities.

Baring and Cashford, in The Myth of the Goddess, have suggested that this peaceful time ended as stronger metals, which allowed fighting were developed and people tamed horses, which permitted them to travel and conquer. Matrilineal cultures were destroyed, as male dominated hierarchies replaced them.

The role of women was diminished. Belief in a single male god replaced the goddess cultures. Women were now the property of men and no longer carried their own names, owned property or had sovereignty over their lives.

Hekate Wounds–

The major Hekate wound is that she is marginalized and rejected by society. Yet, when we need her particular talents, she is expected to help and then leave again, when she has performed her task. She does not easily fit into regular society. This shunning may happen because of some disability, old age or extreme non-conformity. It may also happen because Hekate has such a sharp tongue and low tolerance for the shallowness and deception rampant in society.  This societal rejection, either mild or extreme, hurts Hekate in a deep way. She does in time learn to tolerate the pain of banishment. In fact, she often does better being alone, free from expectations of conformity and hypocrisy.

Being isolated causes her truth radar to become even sharper. Living mostly by herself, or in community with others who do not fit in, easily either, allows her to be herself in a raw and unrestricted way. A freedom few are granted.

Perceived by mainstream society, as ‘witchy’ Hekate is vulnerable to economic hardships, loneliness and public scathing. On the personal level, Hekate women can appear detached, cool, and aloof. They can be abrupt, to the point and harsh. If they are in a situation where they lose their inner compass and ability, to tell the truth, they become confused and paralyzed with indecision. This usually happens when they are younger, in a relationship and have much to lose by speaking the truth. Much like Artemis, they do not swallow their tongue easily. When they do, they lose their psychological orientation. This causes them great unhappiness and may compromise their ability to stay in a relationship.

In society, the Hekate wound is cultural and mostly carried by elders. Those who do not meet the standards for cultural beauty are made to feel as if they do not belong. The role of older women is often that of an outsider, as crones are still not particularly esteemed. They are not culturally redeemed with the beauty of youth or ability to have babies. Age dampens our significance. We are seen as burdensome, especially if widowed and penniless.

Hekate is one of the rare goddesses who presents, as an old woman. In the original myths she was a healer, but before the time of the witch burnings, Hekate’s role mysteriously changed to the Queen of the Witches. Catholic authorities said that “The people most dangerous to the fair were those whom Hekate patronized- midwives, healers, and seers.” Starck p. 116

The arts of midwifery, healing and seeing, were strengths in both the Neolithic and Paleolithic eras. But where church politics exalted males and diminished females, the mysteries of birth, natural healing and rebirth, were viewed as threatening and evil.

According to a wonderful documentary called The Burning Times, produced by the Canadian Film Board, there was a vested interest in the male medical profession to marginalize and eliminate female healers. The midwives, psychics, and herbalists were cutting into their business. They were uneducated, as most women of the time, except in the way of the oral tradition of passing on healing from woman to woman. They were also vulnerable to accusations.

There was a huge economic benefit to lawyers, bailiffs and church officials to make the healers into witches and supportive men, into scapegoats. The mainly uneducated rural folk and town’s people were told by the clergy that getting rid of these women would eliminate bad luck and evil. The women were tortured and killed, bringing shame to their families and community for the heinous crime of being healers and wise women.

Disbelievers were afraid to speak out, as their protests would identify them as conspirators and put them at risk of suffering the same agonizing death. Any land or wealth these women may have owned or occupied became the states. The business the midwives and healers had held became the male doctors by default. The church congratulated itself for getting rid of evil- but a terrible stench of injustice remains and is still palpable, as Hekate’s wound even today.

How to get her Center Back-The cure is in the wound.

In the myth of Persephone’s abduction, Hekate helps Demeter move out of emotional paralysis. Hekate’s ability to ask the right question coupled with Apollo’s ability to see clearly and objectively creates a formidable alliance, capable of creating a catharsis.

Sometimes insights triggered by this clarity may arise from dreams, at other times observation or experience. Hekate knows what questions to ask to get untangled. She makes choices even when there are not enough facts, sensing when the delay will just feed misery.

Hekate brings together outer signs from the environment and inner signals, such as hunches, as ways to tap into her intuition and move forward.

She understands that no path is challenge-free, but carries many tools for when the going gets tough. This crone is self-reliant, self-trusting and resourceful, an uncanny companion in any circumstance.

She gets her center back by focusing on who she is, rather than who she is not.  Getting caught up in self-doubt and demeaning societal standards will only delay her from making her dreams come true.

Rebuilding Self–

There are times when Hekate women need to shake off societal standards of being “too old, too fat, or too unattractive.” Knowing she is on the sidelines can sting. Yet, Hekate is equipped with tools such as a dagger to cut through illusion, a torch to illuminate her next move, and a rope to draw her toward what is possible.

She also has keys to succeeding in many realities, cultures, and mindsets. She is crafty, wise and gutsy. She knows what she can control, and what she cannot, this wisdom sets her free to move on.

Crossroads, Borders, and Thresholds

Hekate shares the honor of the goddess of the crossroads with Hermes, the messenger god. They are both protector of borders and thresholds. 3-sided totems were often placed on doorways and gateways to ward against danger. This position highlights her ability to look into the past, present and future. It also tells spirits that the inhabitants are her own kind, and not to bother them.

She can come and go in different places. She can walk comfortably in both the underworld and the upper world. This implies she has the knowledge to live and get by, in many different environments.

It is at the threshold that anything is possible. This is a place where we come in new, naked, without skills or preconceptions. In this fecund terrain, we can invent and shape shift.  It is also where we come when we have been stripped of everything we thought had meaning in our outer lives.

We end up at thresholds at times like graduation, divorce, job loss, severe illness, disappointment, great insight, or loss of a loved one. It is a time when nothing that we previously relied on works, but we cannot go backward. Yet moving forward offers no concrete promises.

It is a time of extreme vulnerability and great power. We have the opportunity to make ourselves anew, to be who we truly are. The crossroads offers a place to make authentic decisions that come from the deep soul.

When we are at crossroads in our modern lives, Hekate may help. She possesses the ability to integrate lessons from our past, remain grounded in the present, and be aware of future possibilities.  This assuredness aids us because if we cannot move past the crossroads, we remain stuck. This dark moon goddess holds the tools to equip us, for this transformation. One may visualize that she carries a torch to see clearly and discern, a dagger for protection, to cut through the past, or deception, or sever that, which no longer serves us. She also holds a key to open both our internal world, and “the mysteries of the universe”. Starck p. 116

The Sacrifice

In the study of myths, we find it is often something outside oneself that needs to be killed off, to get knowledge or entry into a new terrain. But sometimes, it is something inside ourselves that is holding us back.

To move forward we often need to sacrifice something to gain entry- be it old ideas, beliefs or comforts. Believing we can have it all is an illusion.  At other times allegiances or relationships hold us back. Giving them up is indeed difficult. It is this fear of loss that is the primary reason we cannot cross a threshold or crossroads. We simply are not willing to let go of what we have, for what could be.

Deciding on a Path

Also, how do we decide which path to take? We come to crossroads many times in our lives. Sometimes they are minor and sometimes major. But they all involve making choice, that important and human privilege. Usually, we make the choice without knowing the details, because what lies on each of the roads is obscured. So we need to use our keen sense of perception when there are few external clues. The road that looks the easiest is not always the most rewarding. We need to feel where we are most drawn and then to walk and sometimes stumble, down the path we have chosen.

So the goddess of crossroads is significant in determining how our lives turn out.

Is one path better than another? Is there a wrong choice? Do we know when it is time to make a change and shift paths?

Managing the Crossroads:

When you are at a crossroads, look with soft eyes at all 3 paths. Notice the feel at each juncture. If a path feels unpleasant or unsafe, it may predict a painful journey. Notice the lighting level in each direction. The brightness level may give a clue about how clear you are about each potential path. Pay attention to your excitement level when you entertain the idea of walking down each road. If a road feels familiar, but not enticing the desire might be one of ease, but not of growth. If the path draws you in a profound way but is unknown, it may be worth the risk.

Use Hekate’s torch to see with all the clarity you can muster.

She is a deep mentor in the arenas of unconscious knowledge and death. She shares the privilege of holding master keys and the secrets of entry and exit into different portals, with Persephone. Some of the levels of consciousness both of these goddesses know well include meditation, dream time and ability to merge the past, present, and future. Both goddesses can enter these worlds, understand them, and still return to other dimensions.

She teaches students that all states of consciousness, be they life, dream, or death can be navigated without fear. The trick is to see them as temporary states of perception and to keep steady and hold our center, throughout each of them. She also teaches the unique signals and symbols we might experience in each state. Because she understands these levels of consciousness so thoroughly, she is able to teach others, the way in and out.

Integrating Her Male Side–

Zeus

There are not many myths that align Hekate with males. Indeed as an older goddess, she is at a life phase where she is complete within herself. In one version of a Greek myth, she was mentioned, as the only Titaness to work with Zeus, to help take the throne from his father Cronos.  For this, he granted her freedom in all ways.

So one-way that Hekate women integrate their male self is to dethrone the old King. This theme is common in myths and fairy tales and reflects the ability to dismantle old beliefs that keep us stuck. In many cases we learn to deconstruct old beliefs centered on ideas that take away our freedom- not being the right sex, age, educated enough, or worthy enough. Killing off these oppressive ideas, the old King harbors, allows us to move forward. In a more literal way, this myth could mean a Hekate woman could find helping a powerful man who returns the favor enhances her freedom and potential.

Apollo

Another productive alliance with a male comes when Hekate accompanies Demeter, and they ask Apollo, god of objectivity and clarity, “who took Persephone”. The alignment of Hekate (wisdom), Apollo (clarity) and Demeter (love), creates a force strong enough to change the plans of two of the most powerful beings in the universe- Zeus and Hades. When we line these mighty forces up in our psyches we can change deep-rooted, malevolent forces inside our psyches and in society.

Hekate and Hermes- Threshold Beings

The effect of a Hekate woman finding her Hermes masculine is alchemical. She learns that anything is possible, because all things, no matter how solid, can transmute. This applies to ideas, situations, and relationships. Hekate is a truth teller and Hermes stretches the truth, now instead of seeing things in black and white, everything has color. Hermes expands Hekate’s realm of possibilities- any creative or magical feat is possible. Hermes also brings out Hekate’s desire to travel and explore.

Hekate’s Gifts–

Hekate is a healer and truth teller. She is a seer and phenomenal observer of patterns and human nature. She is a wild and potent force, who will not be bullied or shamed into submission. She helps when others are vulnerable.  She is also a nonconformist and eccentric, who has great freedom. Over time she becomes fearless and powerful.

Social Systems that need Healing–

A great wound still exists in many women, knowing that at various times in history women’s rights were taken away and their power to heal and love were turned against them. Bonnie Burstow, author of Radical Feminism, p. 22 & 23, discusses how women’s knowing, spirituality, and healing abilities threatened the medical system and were part of the force, behind the inquisition. She says, “It was the power to do good, not so much the power to do evil, that the clerics and the doctors explicitly objected to.”  Many argued that the bad witch might be spared because she was so hated that she was of minimal danger, but that the good witch or healer was much sought-after and appreciated and therefore should be put to death”.

The ensuing attitude held by many feminists and ecologists today, which reflects the idea that the medical system is self-serving, and motivated mainly by economic gains, becomes understandable. Taking midwifery out of the hands of wise women and labeling birth, death, aging, and menopause as a disease, has influenced our view of women’s health today.

Up to 9 million “witches”, were destroyed because they were healers, intuitives or otherwise “undesirable”. Their demise according to Starck p. 116 “has never been fully discussed in the annals of Western history.”

The church labeled sacred abilities to midwife, bring forth life, heal, and “see,” as dangerous. These skills still threaten the churches hierarchy, which relies on only a special few, to interpret the word of God. Women’s spiritual rituals involve females being the experts, showing the ability to have direct contact with cosmic consciousness, without the “help” of priests, ministers, and the church.

For intuitives and healers today, some of these old scars remain. The balm of time has helped heal some wounds of the past, but many wholistic healers are still eyed suspiciously by the medical establishment, and conservative religious groups. Yet, the children of this ancient midwife goddess still exist and deliver her gifts of clarity, intuition and the promise of re-birth.

Telling on the Patriarchy–

To prevent destruction, such as the Witch Burnings, women must learn to speak the truth, when harm is done. We also need to stand together and not have our united power broken. Asking the right questions- such as, “who is benefiting from this harm,” will help turn our fear into knowledge? When trying to solve large societal problems or small business issues, my husband advises, “follow the money trail, to figure out who is benefitting”. This simple formula often yields surprising discoveries. In the case of the witch burnings, clerics, doctors, judges, bailiffs and even neighbors profited from the executions.

Dreams:

Although we will visit Persephone, Hekate’s prodigy to learn more about dreams, Hekate yields much influence in this domain of the unconscious. Dreams are a threshold. Unconscious or universal material breaks through this accessible portal. Dreams that involve crossroads, decision making, keyholes, doors, tunnels, and portals could all indicate Hekate’s visitations. She may show up as the crazy, ostracized old lady, who scares you. Getting to know her and inviting her in, for a conversation, while you are awake, may yield surprising results. Crazy ladies can offer large gifts of consciousness. Dreams of aging, losing your teeth, decrepit old women, witches, mystical older women, and dogs, could also be indicators of her presence. Dreams of being frozen in indecision, or stuck, could point toward needing her assistance. She may also be present if you are learning about a new culture, or way of being. Torches, daggers, snakes, rope, birds of prey, spirals, cauldrons, and the number three, are all signs of Hekate’s presence.

Aging

Ancients believed that when women stopped menstruating they became wiser. Hekate appears as an older woman. Her age makes her more susceptible to being marginalized, and also more dangerous and powerful than other goddesses.

Becoming old is treated like a disease in our culture. Older women are very vulnerable, both economically and socially. Women as a whole live longer and have had less income through their lives, making them more prone to poverty as seniors. Our societies beauty standards also make old age, dreaded, as wrinkles, sagging skin and an elderly appearance are deemed repelling.

If you are unsure of this, tell me when the last time someone gave you a compliment by saying, “my dear you look older each time I see you, I see new wrinkles and sags, what a great crone you are”.  This wound of not being attractive enough is both cultural and personal. It can also affect younger people, who may not live up to magazine standard beauty, leaving them feeling not good enough.

This standard affects older individuals more cuttingly. Older widows, divorcees, and single women may feel less desirable, even to men their own age. Even attractive older women, often report feeling invisible after age 50, no longer a part of the dating scene. This can be very painful and nudge women toward excessive dieting, plastic surgery, and depression, in attempts to forge a connection. Yet, a few Hollywood actresses, such as Jamie Lee Curtis have taken sides with the Hekate archetype and refuse to be less than they are, that is less old, less wise and less formidable.

Writer and counselor, Vivian Diller, in her book, Face it! talks about problems that arise with self-identity, as women age. She discusses, that when we no longer look the way we used to, we see ourselves differently. The way we react to our loss of youth and beauty varies for each of us but causes some upset. The feelings this life passage causes are strong and may include: depression, running from the truth, resignation and hurt. We often mask the root of this pain even from ourselves, because admitting it makes us feel vain and hopeless. Facing our true feelings about the distressing aspects of aging helps us claim our cronehood and come to terms with getting older. When we pinpoint what is bothering us about aging, we are able to address our real fears. This frees us to move forward on our journey.

Older people do have a huge power base. They have accumulated more knowledge and have less to lose, by telling the raw truth. This makes them both valuable and unsettling, to the status quo.

Death-

As an underworld goddess, she is also familiar with death, both of our cycles and of our bodies. Starck p. 118 says she is in charge of the  “regeneration or transformation” of souls that come into the underworld.”

In the Dictionary of Mythology: www.explore-religion.com/mythology/H/Hecate, her job is explained as “cutting the umbilical cord, as well as severing the link between the body and spirit at death.” She stands on the boundary between life and death and encompasses the mystery and sacredness of these momentous events.

There is a deep understanding in goddess wisdom, that we are all a part of the deep cycle of nature and that our bodies will die and that there is a proper time for this. Unlike new age thought’s shadow side, which insinuates death is failure or punishment for improper thoughts or behaviors, old Hekate wisdom knows death is a meaningful and significant event, that happens, at exactly the right time.

Undoubtedly, the most unknown crossroad we take, this path is non-negotiable, requires courage and can be very lonely. But Hekate the wise crone goddess knows the way there and is comfortable with the terrain. Asking her for help, to prepare and guide may make the journey less lonely. Goddess wisdom based on nature shows that death always precedes rebirth, as in nature, spring follows summer and new moon, follows the dark moon. Contemplating how to leave a legacy and getting one’s affairs sorted, before this transition, requires great maturity and respect for natural cycles.

It is also a Hekate talent to mentor and to teach, passing on great truth, talents, skills and understanding and living on through these gifts. As a mentor and teacher, Hekate guided souls in occult and magical rites and was part of the Elysian mysteries along with Persephone and Demeter. These rites prepared participants for their personal spiritual journeys, hinting at reincarnation and rebirth as the next steps.

Asking the right question- illuminates Hekate wisdom:

Finding and keeping perspective involves work. Spend time each day, asking questions that really matter. Follow up by putting the action steps into your daily schedule and journaling your response.

How am I marginalized from society? How do I feel like an outsider?

What have I learned from being separated from the mainstream?

Is there a gift in this marginalization?

Am I lonely? If so, who do I want to be in my life and how do I extend that invitation?

What am I on the planet to do? What really excites me?

How is each part of my body feeling? Am I moving at the right pace? If not, how do I slow down or speed up?

What messages are coming through my body? What insights are flowing through my feelings, visions, and dreams?

How am I incorporating this knowing into my life? What in my life is no longer feeding me? What should be allowed to fall away?

What in my life is nurturing me and needs more attention? Does my schedule reflect my priorities? Does my routine give me time to do what is most meaningful to me and support what I am on the planet to do?

Am I telling myself the truth? How are my lies keeping me trapped?

Am I moving forward and making choices in my own interest?

If you are in a soul season of paralyzing grief, like Demeter was, maybe it is time to work deeply with Hekate. Some questions for these periods of grief might be:

Why am I so sad? What is keeping me stuck? What am I afraid of losing if I move forward?

What will happen if I persist down the path I am on?  What is stopping me from choosing on my own behalf?

Enlisting a Hekate therapist as a guide can be valuable when dealing with strong and sneaky, internal forces. Demeter did not travel this road alone, nor should you.

What most often keeps us stuck is the fear of loss.  As terrifying as this worry is, the cost of not changing may be higher. Also, at certain times in our lives, the choice is made for us. At these thresholds, even though our knees are scraped and psyches are bruised, we must move. If you like Demeter, find a Hekate guide, to light your way, remember one foot forward, and then another. The path from winter to spring is not easy but is within your reach.

Remember to answer your questions and create your schedule on a daily or weekly basis. It is easier to keep on the right path than to make corrections that can set you back decades.

Hekate in the Organs and Chakras:

Hekate resonates to the 3^rd eye or pineal gland- a pine- cone shaped gland, about the size of a grain of rice, located in the center of the brain, between the two hemispheres. It influences melatonin production, which regulates sleep and wake cycles, and seasonal and circadian rhythms. Mystics think it is associated with visions and deep knowing. Seasonal affective disorder, a common problem in northern climates, causes seasonal depression and is a symptom of having too little light.

Hekate wisdom involves balance. If your daily life is too dark and full of work, or duty, bring in what makes you feel lighter and more joyful. She may also guide you into the underworld when you need time to reflect, integrate or heal. Pay attention to your natural rhythms or the seasons of your soul, to determine the right time, to restore or create.

Hekate is related to the sixth chakra, located in the middle of your forehead, further forward than the pineal gland, also known as, the third eye. Hekate teaches us to look inside for clues, rather than relying on experts in the outer world. She teaches self-reliance and self-trust.

Most of us who have lived for a while, know that going against our deep knowing, however inconvenient or socially unacceptable, brings only despair.  Like Artemis, Hekate teaches us to honor the signals from our body and trust our instincts. She has the wisdom to observe personal messages, as well as, universal symbols to find meaning and direction.

Afflictions of Hekate include delusions, and not being able to separate anxious thoughts from true visions. The best way to clear this confusion is through deep relaxation exercises that unwind stress reactions. Become mindful, focus on breath and body and keep present. Travel at a turtle’s pace, not jet speed.

Your Body’s Wisdom:

When you have slowed down sufficiently to decipher your body’s messages, take the time to journal the meaning of these physical signs and symptoms, which are its language. Link your body’s reactions to emotions that occur at the same time. Check the work of Gary Zukav and Linda Francis and Eckhart Tolle for further illumination between emotions and body signals.

Learning to understand body wisdom helps us to trust ourselves and to determine what is real. With the information, you acquire, act on your own behalf. Break the links to unhealthy patterns or people that make you feel crazy. These actions can take courage and persistence but will reward you, with a more truthful and authentic existence.

Herbs:

In reaction to the church designating Hekate as a witch, the domain of poisonous plants fell to her. Dosage is certainly to be respected with these botanicals. Many healing plants were associated with Hekate in her earlier incarnation, as a midwife. As her reputation shifted more toward magic, she became associated with hemlock; belladonna and I will postulate, even amanita muscaria mushrooms. Homeopathic use only (extremely minute dosages, where there is no physical substance left in the mixture) of all these potentially toxic plants is advised if you wish to remain on the earthly plane.

Belladonna (nightshade) is used to relieve travel sickness. This is interesting, since Hekate, as a portal goddess can visit other realms, maybe this plant keeps nausea associated with interplanetary travel, to a minimum.  Other plants under her domain include Willow, which is used medicinally to address arthritis, an affliction of the elderly. Divining rods are also made from Willow. Cypress is associated with Saturn, graveyards and the elderly. Wolfbane, which customers used to ask for when we owned an herbal store, is cited in old spells, as a way to shape-shift. Aconite is a deadly plant, (except in homeopathic doses) is used mainly as a hallucinogenic. Yew, a plant once thought to be useless and discarded, is now known to be helpful in preventing breast cancer.

In his book The Fungal Pharmacy, my husband, Robert Rogers, master herbalist and mushroom expert, talks about how Amanita muscaria used in tiny quantity and prepared properly, has helped the human spirit expand through hallucinogenic experience. Shamans and mystics across many cultures have also used toxic plants in the appropriate dose and preparation method. Minute amounts of these toxic materials have broadened and deepened their spiritual abilities to enter other worlds, get insight into client’s lives and learn about future events. Only use these remedies homeopathically, as larger doses may be toxic.

But a greater part of Hekate and Artemis’s healing legacy is to bring back full knowledge of traditional plant medicine, not just that of poisonous plants. Feminist writer Bonnie Burstow has said that women who know or use herbs, midwifery and other healing arts, require less medical intervention, and diminish the need of a priest, and doctor, threatening not only spiritual but economic systems.

The skills many women once possessed to aid their families and communities in the natural acts of birthing, dying, and healing, have been turned into a medical machine. A glance to the ancient Goddesses of healing, remind us that, there is much we can do to keep healthy. Develop trust in our bodies and heal day-to-day problems, by learning about our local native plants. Keeping attuned to our bodies and choices can steer us toward balance, and away from a reliance on drugs and unnecessary medical intervention.

You have the power in your thoughts and words to show your respect toward the croning and aging process. Change your perceptions and descriptions of aging from unattractive to worthwhile. Rewording how we speak about aging and how we embrace our accumulating years, can re-direct us, from a path of self-loathing to self-love. Careful self- monitoring can filter out the negative societal critics inside us. In the outer world, promote this change by cheerleading the journey toward the next great adventure, wrinkles and all.

Essential Oils:

Do not ingest oils, as they can be toxic internally.  Use in a diffuser or add about 3 drops of the essential oils in your bathtub, into whole milk or vegetable oil. Stir the water vigorously to ensure the oils spread throughout the water. Test before using to determine if you have sensitivity, to any of the plants.

Pine needle associated with the pineal gland is a Hekate favorite. This oil is useful for disinfecting and regenerating. Patchouli is useful for the 3^rd eye, to help with visions and is also a wonderful skin regenerator and mild anti-fungal.

Labdanum a deep, earthy scented oil resonates to Hekate’s personality. Use very little, as the scent is potent.  Amber can be related to pine and other tree resins and is mostly used as a heady perfume. Clary sage, one of the most complex oils in aromatherapy, is useful in massage or baths to balance hormonal reactions, such as menopause, a transition associated with Hekate.  Frankincense has a long historical use in western religion and is thought to connect us with our karmic past, and aid visions and shamanic journeying.

Flower Essences:

Remember these are made from very minute quantities, containing a vibrational rather than physical resonance. Large doses of some of these plants would be lethal.

Try sage for cleansing old patterns and moving into a new life. Use Californian borage for courage in the journey. Angel’s trumpet to help let go when it is our time to move on, and to hear the angelic trumpet, signaling the next part of our journey.  Try the Californian, Flower Essence Society’s, Angelica to bring the angels and guides. Mugwort may facilitate dreams and visions. Prairie Deva’s, Henbane, (picture above), is about making choices at the crossroads. When we made a flower essence with it, the flower itself, formed a triple crossroad pattern. Prairie Deva’s, nightshade may help with traveling to new dimensions. Prairie Deva’s, wolf willow protects the new boundaries we have chosen. The visualization for this essence involves imagination. Picture yourself calling in, and then instructing a wild pack of Hekate’s beloved canine beasts. Tell them how to guard your fragile boundaries and to alert you, if there is a trespasser. Prairie Deva’s, Aloe Vera, invites in the fat, irreverent Deva, Vera to dissolve both old scars about physical appearance and cutting remarks that paralyze you.  Probably most importantly, Healing Herbs, Scleranthus is useful to help make choices, when not choosing, keeps you stuck.

Mystical Techniques:

Crossroads Visualization:

There are such a plethora of mystical techniques to access Hekate wisdom that it is hard to choose just a few. One method is to call on this threshold goddess when you are making decisions. So go to a doorway, entrance or 3-way crossroads to make the interaction tangible. Remember to bring this great goddess a gift possibly a beautiful black stone or carving of a black dog, ewe, or frog. She also expects a sacrifice and this can mean, that you understand, that whatever road you take, there will be losses. There is no other way with a choice. The illusion of being able to have it all regardless of what choice you make is just wishful thinking that keeps you immobilized.

Visualize your issue clearly in your mind and think of the wise crone coming to you.  Imagine breathing from your 3^rd eye, located on your forehead, a little above, and between your two regular eyes. Pose your question and breathe deeply, as she gives you a response. Notice the tools she carries- keys to enter different portals, a dagger to cut through illusion, torches to light up dark corners and a rope to pull the future forward or, move the past back.

What images, feelings or ideas wash through you, as you stand at this threshold of change? Ask her for an illuminating dream or signal.  Envision yourself heading down one of the paths and see what that is like. Where does it take you?  How do you feel if you go there? Is this the right path for you? This is a safe place to try the other two paths if the first one leaves you uneasy. What are the light levels like on each path? Which one is most clear? Which one has the strongest draw? If you don’t know, ask yourself, which ones you can ‘live’ without exploring? Which one are you unable to give up on?

Notice the shoes and clothes you wear, as you walk down each of the paths. What do they tell you about your age, economic situation and level of freedom? Are you ready to make a choice? Remember to thank Hekate and give her your gift. Journal all of your insights. Follow your intuition and move forward.

Scrying:

The practice of scrying is a method used to get a glimpse into our future. This is the ancient art of looking into a dark mirror, stone or water, to see what we can see, and gain more insight. When scrying, find a quiet place externally and a silent place within. Pose your question and wait for images, thoughts, and sensations to occur. Do not question the images, but let them wash over you as possibilities. Write down your visions and don’t judge or interpret. Watch for synergies or confirmations to occur in your outer reality. Do you see a similar symbol appear in waking life as when scrying? Does a person you thought about appear in the next few days? Is there a feeling of déjà vu?

Neo-Shamanic Journeying:

Neo-Shamanic journeying is another effective way to tune into collective knowledge. Indigenous populations have all contributed technique and information about this skill.   Michael Harner and Sandra Ingermann are two instructors, who help make neo-shamanic techniques accessible to modern individuals, seeking clarity. You may wish to pick up some of their work. When I was trained as a neo-shamanic practitioner, I found journeying approachable and reliable. Try it yourself, to see what you think.

Buy some shamanic music. It will be a slow, steady, drum sound that is reminiscent of the heartbeat. Turn off your phone, close your curtains and find an eye mask, to block out daylight. Ensure your journal is close by, to record your memories, while they are fresh.

Lie down comfortably, put the eye mask on, and pose a question to your psyche. Imagine a place, from which you can travel to the underworld. Usually, a tree root or body of water that reaches into the earth will suffice. Remember that the underworld is not hell, as pictured in Christianity, but in the indigenous framework, a rich, earth-like place where many lush plants and animals exist.

Often people visualize traveling from their tree root or water body, into a long tunnel that ends up in the underworld. Journeying is safe, but it is traditionally advised that you do not talk to insects or anything that looks or feels threatening.  Seeing an animal or plant 3 times, often from 3 different views, is an indicator, that being may be your totem or special tutor. If this happens, get to know it. Allow it to reveal itself and its special properties to you. Often people will acquire underworld skills directly from this underworld mentor. Learning to hear its wisdom requires the same patience and trust you practiced with scrying. The messages may appear as thoughts, feelings; sensations- however, you receive the information is the right way.

When it is time to leave the underworld, the music on your CD will change to 4 sharp beats and then speed up. At this point, thank your totem. Never bring any creatures or beings with you, back up the tunnel. Come back the reverse way you went down. Breathe yourself back into your body and record your memories.

The Pendulum:

Pendulum work and muscle testing are tools I think Hekate would enjoy.

Find a pendulum that feels right to you, one with a fairly slim point will move with sensitivity. Hold the pendulum in your dominant hand, over your dominant knee. Ensure the chain is of a good length. For me this is about 3-5 inches, anything longer or shorter can inhibit movement. Find out how the pendulum moves when you say yes, and when you say no. For some people, this will be clockwise, for others counter clockwise. It may also move up and down or sideways, but whatever it does, you should practice until you get consistent readings.

Always be hydrated when using a pendulum, as accurate answers depend on your electrical circuitry to work properly. Ask clear questions, with binary, yes or no answers. “Is my name_____Doris, Pete?” Do not ask something that is not a clear yes or no, for example, “what is my name”?

Do not use the pendulum for life or death issues, as you need to involve more aspects of your intuition and intellect for complex questions. Yet, many people will find it useful to consult for day-to-day decisions.

Muscle testing is based on similar kinesthetic reactions; you can find articles on this technique in books, and on the Internet.

Parting words for Hekate as a visiting teacher:

Dear Hekate, goddess of thresholds and crossroads. Thank you for coming to me, at my time of decision. Thank you for visiting, when others have banished or rejected me.  It is through your truth and wisdom that I gained the clarity to make a choice that moves me forward. It is through you I find the wisdom of my body and intuition. By studying your lessons, I will become equipped with self-trust and self-knowing, on all of my paths. I build my tools to emulate what you have shown me- the keys, torch, rope, snake and dagger.

It is through you Hekate that I learn to enter various portals and alter my consciousness. You bring me to the arts of herbal medicine, scrying, shamanic journeying, and self-healing.

Words for those on the Hekate Soul Path-

My dear soul guardian you continue to show me the way to clarity. It is my work to help lead others out of their despair and toward their destiny. I know my differences and disabilities have become my teachers. Being alone and at times lonely has brought me gifts. I have learned to turn inside myself for clarity. No one, but I can find my truth. I trust my intuition and knowing and help others to access theirs. I accept my uniqueness and know each of us brings great gifts. I find peace through trusting the great mystery and myself.

Affirmation: I have the courage to tell myself the truth. I am authentic and honest.  I allow life to flow, and that which is no longer real, to move on. I am intuitive, self-knowing and honor my dream life. I trust birth always follows death.