At the crossroads with Hekate (Hecate)

Hekate was a universal goddess of great antiquity and one of the most fascinating in the ancient world. Throughout history she took many forms, but she was always a liminal goddess associated with transitional (‘in-between’) places (crossroads, thresholds, gateways, boundaries, uncertain places), events (transformations, birth, menopause, death) and times (twilight, during the various phases of the moon).

She was a triple-headed goddess, sometimes depicted as a woman, sometime as a combination of three animals. She could see three ways at once and was known as the ‘evil-averting protector and guide’. As the ‘light-bearer’ at all liminal places and during liminal moments, she bore two torches representing the light of the moon. And these, with her other symbols were associated with her role as the goddess of transformations and as guide through the Mysteries associated with these events: the key (representing the ability to transition from one liminal point to another, and unlock the secrets of the Mysteries), the whip/snake (to strike fear in those not prepared for the Mysteries) and a dagger (for cutting away that which is no longer necessary for a transition e.g. the umbilical cord).

Hekate was believed to roam the roads of ancient Greece with her cult companions: two black hounds, and when people heard the baying of dogs at twilight, they knew she was approaching. Ritual meals were often left beside her statue at crossroads to appease her.

With her attributes of magic and her psychic abilities, as well as her association with birth and death, she was often described as the Mistress of Witchcraft and the Dreadful Queen of the Dead. It is no wonder that she was both revered and feared by the ancients. Over time, she was syncretised with other goddesses, and at some point became associated with the three phases of the moon, but it was really only in recent times that she became the Crone or Wise Woman. She remained a figure of power and awe throughout history.

These days Hekate can be seen as the archetype of psychic wisdom. According to Jean Shinoda Bolen, an archetypal psychiatrist, when we are at a major crossroads in our life, perhaps at a time when certain aspects of our life are no longer working for us and we need to discard outmoded ways of thinking, she may speak to us in dreams, oracles or through our intuition. Because she ‘has a three-way perspective of seeing things, ‘she can help us see the larger picture. ‘It is wise to remain at the fork in the road until you hear her. She will make it clear which road to take’. [Goddesses in Older Women, pp. 46-47]