This is an article I wrote some monthes ago, which was published in Witchology Magazine (Summer 24), but somehow they didn't include the diverses references I provided in my initial text. Anyway, this is gonna be a long one !
Hekate is a Greek goddess of thousand faces: Daughter of the Titans Perses and
Asteria (Hesiod, Theogony C8th BCE) , She played a crucial role in the retrieval of
Zeus’ daughter, the goddess of spring Persephone who was taken by Hades, god of
the underworld. Zeus , to thank Hekate, gave Her power over sea, land and heavens.
This makes Her one of the most important goddesses of Greek antiquity, both a
chtonic (meaning “of the earth”) and celestial deity.
Hekate was revered as a guide and protector, as the mistress of witchcraft and
herbalism, and as holder of the mysteries of life and death – notably through Her
association with the Rites of the Eleusinian mysteries along with Demeter and
Persephone.
There was several types of offerings traditionally made for different purposes, or
different kinds of worship; but most of them occurred in Her sacred places : three-
ways crossroads.
On one hand, there was Deipna Hekates (Hekate Supper), happening each month
during the night of the new moon , which consisted in an offering of food left at the
crossroads , to gain favors from the Goddess. These food offerings could be Magides
(a kind of loaf), Mainis (sprat), Skoroda (garlic), Trigle (mullet) , Psammeta (cake),
Oon (eggs), Tyros (cheese) and Basunias (cake).
It is noted thought that these meals were promptly snatched by the poor (Sorita
D’Este and David Rankine, Hekate Liminal Rites , 2009), implying that She held a
role of protector towards the homeless .
On the night of the full moon, it was customary to make an offering of a small
cheesecake called Amphiphon (Athaneus, The Deipnosophists, C3rd CE).
However, Hekate -being the goddess of witchcraft and necromancy- demanded
another kind of offering from her worshippers, depending on the type of sorcery
performed;
In Seneca’s tragedy Medea Act 4 (50 CE) , we can read about an invocation to
Hekate performed by Medea , and the offerings she gives: “To thee I offer these
wreaths wrought with bloody hands, each entwined with nine serpent coils” [771]
“To thee with bared breast will I as a maenad smite my arms with the sacrificial knife.
Let my blood flow upon the altars […]” [787]. Medea’s goal here was to gain favors of
the Goddess in her revenge against Creusa (Jason’s bride) by poisoning a golden
robe supposed to be a wedding gift , imbuing it with Prometheus’ fire causing Creusa
to die , burned.
Sacrificing a black animal (dog, lamb..) was customary in works of necromancy or
involving the chthonic facet of Hekate . The poet Horace (C1st BCE) wrote in his
Satires about witches invoking Hekate : “They began to dig up the earth with their
fingernails and to tear a black lamb to pieces.”.
When looking upon more “positive” sorcery, the offerings were incenses like storax
and frankincense, but also food ; “[…] and that he also honored the Gods with
frankincense, and sacred wafers and cakes.” (Porphyry, On abstinence , C3rd CE) .
Honey as a means of “sweetening up” the Goddess when asking for a favor also has
been reported (Rhodius Apollonius Argonautica C3rd BCE).
There was, beside offerings for aid in witchcraft , three sorts of offering following
rituals existed, all of them left at crossroads:
Katharmata, an offering of waste ingredients remaining after a ceremony, which were
burned. Katharsia, the offering of sacrificial remains like the body of a dog , which
were considered as a supper for Hekate and served as apotropaic offering (meaning
averting evil). Then, there was oxuthumia, which was the act of fumigate one’s house
with a clay censer to gain protection, then was taken to the crossroads.
Overtime , the sacrifice of animals disappeared due to Christianization . But what
about now?
The worship of Hekate did not die, far from it.. Many witches and pagans around the
world are turning towards Her, and thanks to historians, archeologists and poets,
rituals honoring Her are still happening.
A surviving practice is the deipnon (Hekate’s supper). The same meals can be
cooked and the same offerings made, but instead of leaving it at a crossroads
(depending on where you live), you can offer the food to a homeless person .
On an hekatean altar , fits offerings can be keys, pomegranate, candles, plants from
Her garden (poisonous or not), representations of Her sacred animals, the colors red
black and white, sometimes purple..
In your everyday life, no need to sacrifice a black dog every morning to ensure the
favors of the Goddess (just kidding)! You can make an act of devotion out of any
conscious decision or action. Offerings are not always tangible, and can look like
volunteering in an animal shelter, helping someone in need, a prayer or a vow which
you will keep …
You can make offerings from crafting items, art, poetry in Her name. Incenses and
beverages are still the same on antiquity and today witches’ altar.
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