Healing with Hekate: a COH project

“The purpose of this project is to explore the diverse ways that Hekate, Her many epithets, and Her symbols may assist with one’s journey of healing – physically, mentally, emotionally, or spiritually. We acknowledge that healing is not linear but, rather, cyclical like the changing seasons, with comparison being drawn to the story of Persephone’s yearly descent into the Underworld and her subsequent return to the Land of the Living. As we continuously grow and evolve, our healing journeys may take us through our own cycles of death and rebirth. We wish to shed light on the seemingly darker aspects of Hekate that may be called upon in such workings, but also Her lighter elements that will inevitably be found in the ultimate restoration of balance that healing affords us.” - Rev Renée Sosanna Olsen

DISCLAIMER: Please note that all information given in this article is the opinion of the author, it does not constitute medical advice. Some plants can cause allergic or other unwanted reactions, or even death. Please do not burn, ingest, or apply plant products to your skin until you have considered all the possible side effects and checked the laws in your country regulating some of these plants. The plants and herbs listed here are provided for information purposes only and if you should use them, you are fully responsible for the effects and consequences, or lack thereof.

The first way we explored healing with Hekate was through connecting with the plants, trees, and herbs of Her Sacred Grove listed in the Orphic Argonautica. You can read the blog here. Next we’ll explore integrative healing with Hekate.

Integrative Healing with Hekate

by Felipe Barcellos

In this article you will find a suggestion for an integrative healing workflow, visiting the three elements—Earth, Water, and Air—and their correspondences with different types of healing. Each element is associated with a particular aspect of our being—Body, Emotions, and Mind—and each is connected to a specific epithet of Hekate, who can be called upon to guide and bless these practices.

The idea is to work with the associations between Earth and the physical body, Water and our emotions, and Air and the conscious mind. By engaging in rituals and practices aligned with each of these aspects, the aim is to achieve a holistic approach to healing under Hekate’s guidance.

These are general recommendations open to adaptation as the practitioner sees fit. What is important here is not following the steps exactly as described but connecting with yourself and finding symbolic meaning that resonates on a personal level, enabling the desired change or transformation. Healing is often less about making the pain disappear and more about embracing and accommodating what is hurt so it can be cured.

These recommendations are based on my own experiences, context, and interpretations of various readings. Take everything here with a grain of salt, a pinch of rue, and a drop of lavender oil.

Disclaimer: The rituals, practices, and invocations presented in this article are intended to serve as spiritual and supportive practices within the context of personal healing and connection with Hekate. They are not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. If you are experiencing physical, emotional, or mental health challenges, it is essential to seek assistance from qualified healthcare professionals. These practices are meant to complement, not replace, any medical treatment or therapy prescribed by a healthcare provider. Always consult with a professional for your specific needs and circumstances.

Mind and Air - Hekate Ourania

Addressing the Mind and Air correspondence makes sense in our current moment, marked by great mental turbulence and anxiety. With changes and decisions on the horizon, it’s crucial to cultivate concentration and focus, enabling us to think clearly and take the appropriate path.

Goal

The goal of this ritual is to reduce anxiety, organize thoughts, and provide a sharp mind and focus for action. The meditative approach will center on breathwork to clear the mind, lower the volume of internal chatter, and allow us to analyze situations from a calm and distant perspective, so we can plan our next steps effectively.

Preparation

Plan ahead and schedule the ritual for a quiet time in your week. Align it with an introspective moon phase, such as the waxing or new moon. Gather your usual ritual tools—candles, incense, and incense burners are sufficient, but you can include a special key, athame, or wand if you like. If you find a feather in the days leading up to the ritual, it can also be a useful tool.

Ritual

The ritual begins with calling upon Hekate Ourania, asking for Her blessings of clarity and wisdom:

Invocation for Hekate Ourania - Mind

"Great Hekate Ourania, Heavenly Queen, I call upon Your wisdom and clarity to calm the storm of thoughts within me. Illuminate my mind with Your sacred light, dispel the shadows of anxiety, and grant me the serenity to see clearly. Hekate Soteira, guide me towards divine harmony; Hekate Paiônios, bless this work with healing, that my mind may be sharp and still, as the stars in Your celestial realm."

Start a refreshing meditation, with full-lung inhale and exhale. Focus on your breath and as your mind calms, visualize the energy of the wind coming from the sky and flowing right above you. Guide this energy to your head with your fingers or with the object you brought. See it going through you, taking away dense gray clouds representing distractions, anxiety, everything that is keeping you from focusing on what you need. The more the energy flows, the less dense and dark these clouds are, until only the energy of the wind is flowing. Feel the freshness of your mind, how ready it is to focus now. 

Finally, you will thank Hekate for the blessings and close the ritual.

Body and Earth - Hekate Chthonia

Our physical health and well-being are rooted in the earth, much like Hekate Cthonia, who embodies the mysteries of the land beneath our feet. This ritual is designed to help strengthen the body, cultivate healthier habits, and connect with the nurturing power of the earth.

Goal

This ritual aims to make the body healthier and stronger while cultivating good habits that support physical well-being. By grounding ourselves in the earth’s energy, we draw strength from Hekate Cthonia’s deep connection to the physical realm.

Preparation

Plan the ritual during a time when you can connect with nature, even if it's just by placing your bare feet on the ground. If possible, perform this ritual outdoors, where you can feel the earth beneath you. Gather your ritual tools, and consider including natural items like crystals, stones, soil, a wood staff or broom, or plants. 

Ritual

Begin by calling upon Hekate Cthonia, asking for Her strength and guidance:

Invocation for Hekate Chthonia - Body

"Holy Hekate Cthonia, Keeper of Earth’s mysteries, I invoke You to strengthen my body and root me in health. Nourish me with Your sacred soil, that I may grow strong and resilient, free from ailment. Hekate Soteira, lead me to balance and vitality; Hekate Paiônios, heal my body as You guide me to nurture it with care, as You sustain the life that springs from Your depths."

Engage in a grounding meditation, focusing on the energy of the earth. Exhale and inhale deeply, listen to your heartbeat and feel it synchronizing with the vibration of the Earth. If you can, stand up, and visualize this energy flowing from the earth in the shape of strong roots and beautiful vines, going through the broom, staff or the natural item you selected (you can hold it), and also flowing from your feet entering your body, strengthening and healing it. Feel the energy of the earth embracing you, as if you were at the core of a big and strong trunk of a tree, making your bones and muscles thicker. If you have any specific physical pain or a disease you can locate in your body, visualize the energy passing through it, embracing and moving it around until it is dispersed at the end of the branches and leaves of the spiritual tree that embraces you. 

Close the ritual by thanking Hekate for Her blessings.

Emotions and Water - Hekate Einalia

Emotions flow like water, and just as the sea can be calm or stormy, so too can our emotional state. This ritual is designed to help recover from emotional pain, whether due to loss, heartbreak, or other difficult experiences, by embracing and healing these feelings under Hekate Einalia’s guidance.

Goal

This ritual aims to help you recover from emotional pain, gently accommodating the hurt and allowing healing to take place. By connecting with the element of water, you align yourself with Hekate Einalia’s nurturing and empathic energies.

Preparation

Plan the ritual near a body of water if possible, whether it’s a river, lake, or even a small bowl or chalice with water. Water is a powerful conduit for emotional energy. Gather your ritual tools and consider including items that hold emotional significance for you. If you want to focus on a specific event that happened to you, bring something that has a connection with it, it could be a piece of paper with the description of the event. 

Ritual

Start by invoking Hekate Einalia, asking for Her aid in healing your emotions:

Invocation for Hekate Einalia - Emotions

"Majestic Hekate Einalia, Ruler of the deep, I call upon Your grace to soothe the turbulent seas of my heart. Embrace my emotions with Your gentle waves, easing the pain of loss and heartache, and restoring peace to my spirit. Hekate Soteira, steer me towards emotional harmony; Hekate Paiônios, heal my wounded heart, and let Your waters carry away the sorrows that weigh upon my soul."

Engage in a meditative practice that involves visualizing your emotions as waves, observe them without judgment. Breathe in and out as naturally as possible, allowing them to flow and eventually calm: feel the waves moving at the same pace of your emotions. Focus on the object or paper you brought, visualize waves of water going through it, and flowing to your heart. At first they can reflect your emotional instant response to it, but as the waves pass, make them go calmer and slower, until they are gentle as the waves that slowly reach your feet at the beach, accommodating the sand where you stand. 

Conclude the ritual by thanking Hekate for Her guidance and support.

Integration - Hekate Soteira

The final step in this healing journey is integration—bringing together the mind, body, and emotions in harmony. This ritual, under the guidance of Hekate Soteira, seeks to purify the soul and elevate the practitioner’s spirit.

Goal

This ritual aims to integrate all aspects of your being, purifying the soul and connecting with the divine. By working with Hekate Soteira, you seek to align your mind, body, and emotions with the higher vibrations of the aether.

Preparation

Plan the ritual during a time when you feel ready to bring together the work you’ve done on your mind, body, and emotions. Gather your ritual tools, and consider including symbols of the three elements you’ve worked with—earth, water, and air. Also, bring a representation of Hekate - alternatively, you can perform this ritual in front of your altar to Her.

Ritual

Begin by invoking Hekate Soteira, asking for Her aid in integrating the different aspects of your being:

Invocation for Hekate Soteira - Integration

"Blessed Hekate Soteira, Divine Savior, I invoke You to bring forth the integration of mind, body, and soul. Unite these aspects of my being in a harmonious dance, elevating my spirit to the highest realms. Hekate Paiônios, I call upon Your healing touch to purify my essence, that I may rise above earthly limitations, embraced by the divine aether that flows through all."

Engage in a meditative practice that involves visualizing the elements coming together within you, harmonizing and purifying your soul. Visualize the roots with the earth energy growing from the ground to your feet - feel your body healthier and stronger, the waves of water gently flowing through your heart - feel your emotions accommodated with empathy, and the winds softly blowing through your head - your mind is fresh and free of clouds. Take a moment to really feel these three aspects of Hekate in communion with your spirit, their energies flowing also through the respective objects you used in each ritual.  Feel Her presence around and within you through Her three great domains. 

Once you feel that all these three energies are in sync, flowing as one, focus on the image of Her that you brought, feel Her light reaching and touching you, encapsulating all the other energies - feel hekate Soteira warming your spirit, guiding and protecting you. Slowly visualize Her light becoming concentrated and smaller in the direction of the center of your body, see it as a bright star within you that never fades and illuminates all around you. Take a moment and receive her blessing, feel the connection She grants, from your soul to the stars, the Moon, the Sun, and the Cosmos - feel yourself as part of the Divine. 

Close the ritual by thanking Hekate for Her guidance and blessings with great gratitude. You can make a special offer for her in this ritual, something that brings everything together, that represents this journey of triple healing.

My goal was to provide a structured yet flexible approach to healing with Hekate, aligning with both traditional and modern practices. By working with Hekate in Her various aspects—Ourania, Cthonia, Einalia, and Soteira—we can create a holistic healing journey that addresses the mind, body, emotions, and soul. Remember to adjust the practices to suit your personal needs and context, and may Hekate guide you on your path to healing.

References

PGM (Greek Magical Papyri)

Ancient texts that provide insights into Hekate’s worship and invocations.

• PGM IV.2785-2890 (The "Hymn to Hekate")

  • This hymn offers an invocation to Hekate and highlights her liminal nature, serving as a basis for creating modern invocations.

• PGM IV.2441-2621 (The "Eighth Book of Moses")

  • Contains instructions and invocations that provide insight into calling upon Hekate in magical contexts, particularly in rituals involving protection and purification.

• PGM LXX.1-25 (A "Magical Prayer to Selene")

  • While directed at Selene, this prayer is often associated with Hekate in her lunar aspect, influencing invocations that call upon her as a guide and protector.

D'Este, Sorita.

Provides a thorough exploration of Hekate’s roles and epithets, as well as modern practices.

• Hekate: Liminal Rites (Avalonia, 2009)

• Circle for Hekate - Volume I: History & Mythology (Avalonia, 2017)

Johnston, Sarah Iles.

Analyzes Hekate’s role in late antiquity, particularly in the Chaldean Oracles.

• Hekate Soteira: A Study of Hekate's Roles in the Chaldean Oracles and Related Literature (Scholars Press, 1990). 

Von Rudloff, Ilmo, Robert.

A scholarly look at Hekate’s worship in ancient Greek religion.

• Hekate in Ancient Greek Religion (Arx Publishing, 1999). 

Brannen, Cyndi.

 A modern guide to Hekatean witchcraft, blending ancient practices with contemporary perspectives.

• Keeping Her Keys: An Introduction to Hekate's Modern Witchcraft (Moon Books, 2019).

Cullen, Jeff.

Discusses contemporary devotional practices centered on Hekate, with a focus on her chthonic aspects.

• Liber Khthonia: A Contemporary Witchcraft & Devotional Tradition of Hekate (Self-Published, 2020). 

Silva, Marcia C.

A collection of essays and invocations from modern practitioners of Hekate’s worship.

• Hekate: Her Sacred Fires (Avalonia, 2010) (Edited by Sorita D'Este). 

Theoi Project

An online resource that provides detailed information on Greek deities, including Hekate, her epithets, and mythology.

• www.theoi.com