Hekate Anassa Eneroi by Laurie Bianciotto
First published in NN Issue 53
The Poison path is a path in which we work with our shadow side, with death, and of course with poisonous plants. From them we learn how to manage the poisons of daily life such as envy, greed, auto-sabotage, etc., to grow wiser and become at peace with our whole being.
It is also a path of magic and witchcraft aligned with natural elements, in which we learn to respect all forms of life as potential spiritual allies and not just tools. And with them we can heal as much as we can curse.
Paracelsus wrote that “everything is poison, and nothing is poison; it resides in the dosage” often shortened to “the dose makes the poison.” Balance is the key.
Speaking of key, what is the link between Hekate and the Poison path?
Hekate is a goddess of witchcraft, the spirits of the dead, and one of her epithets names her as an eater of filth: borboraphorba.
She also supposedly learned the art of poisons to Kirke and Medea, her Greek mythological priestesses, and daughters as we can see in Diodorus Siculus work, Library of History 4. 50.6:"[Medea] said [to the Argonauts] that she had brought with her many drugs of marvelous potency which had been discovered by her mother Hekate and by her sister Kirke (Circe); and though before this time she had never used them to destroy human beings, on this occasion she would be means of them easily wreak vengeance upon men who were deserving of punishment."
And in Library of History 4. 45. 1:"She [Hekate] married Aeetes and bore two daughters, Kirke (Circe) and Medea, and a son Aigialeus. It is also said, Kirke devoted herself to the devising of all kinds of drugs and discovered roots of all manner of natures and potencies such as are difficult to credit, yet, notwithstanding that she was taught by her mother Hekate about not a few drugs."
The “garden of Hekate” (located in Colchis) as we often talk about when mentioning poison plants, consists of many healing plants, some of which are baneful ones as we can read in the Orphic Argonautica, C4th CE.
The most notable (toxic one) is Aconite (Aconitum napellus / Monkshood), which was born from Cerberus’ saliva, the three-headed hell hound when Hercules fought them and dragged them out into sunlight. The flower was then found by the goddess Hekate and made sacred to her, according to the myths. Aconite is no less than the most poisonous herb of European flora!
We can also find the baneful white Hellebore (veratrum album), famous Mandrake (mandragora officinarum) and beautiful Opium Poppy (papaver) which are explicitly named in the Orphic Argonautica description. Depending on how we interpret the traduction, there may also be Yew (Taxus baccata), Belladonna (Atropa belladonna), Italian Sarsaparilla (Smilax aspera), One berry (Paris quadrifolia) and Black Nightshade (Solanum nigrum).
We can then read there are “many other noxious plants” growing in this garden, meaning we can’t really know for sure what these plants were, though probably Hemlock, Henbane, Datura and more were present.
Through this description of Hekate’s Orphic garden, and the description of how she taught the art of poisons to Kirke and Medea, we can easily assume there is a strong link between poisonous plants and Hekate!
As she taught her mythological daughters, we might be able to call on her to learn how to walk the Poison path, to gain knowledge and daring to experience actual poisons on us. Not to a deadly dosage obviously, but trying the recipes on ourselves is the best way to get to know the spiritual and physical action of a plant, before we even consider trying to heal other persons with them.
The most fitting epithet (although there is historically near to nothing about it) for this work is Pharmakeia, which is the ancient practice of plant medicine and plant spirit witchcraft. We can also call on her as Pharmakis, meaning “witch.”
When we practice the art of Pharmakeia, we must understand that the physical actions of he plants should not be separated from its spiritual and magical properties to heal one properly. Again, we must see the plant as an ally and not just a tool if we want to explore all its potential.
Hekate Pharmakeia teaches us the life/death/rebirth cycle by the means of nature’s own magic. It is thought that She is mentioned as pharmakeia in the lost play of Sophocles, “The Colchian women” in which Kirke invokes Her for help in demonstrating her skills at herbal magic.
Here is another example of the link between Hekate and the path of poisons: The goddess was celebrated in the Eleusinian mysteries cult alongside Demeter and Persephone. It is said that the initiates of the cult of the Greater Mysteries fasted for several days, then ended their fast by drinking Kykeon, a psychedelic drink alternatively composed of opium poppy, pennyroyal, alcohol, ergot, or mushrooms before replicating the journey of Persephone to the Underworld, and so imitating their own death by going through numerous caves and underground tunnels. One of the mysteries taught in this place was the fact that death was not the end but only a passage, a step towards immortality of the soul. Talk about shadow work!
It should be noted that Poppy, a symbol of Hekate as well as one of Eleusis, is also a poisonous and medicinal plant which was known as early as 3500 BCE for its narcotic properties; which illustrates well the concept of poison as medicine in the Poison path.
Some Olympian gods and goddesses also used of the baneful plants from Hekate’s garden: in the work of Ovid, “The Metamorphoses”, we learn that Pallas Athena used the juice from one of “Hekate’s herb” to transform the human Arachne into a spider. Although the plant’s name isn’t mentioned, we can guess it is about Datura or Henbane - the effects are just like Circe’s potion’s, transforming Ulysses companions into pigs; or transforming Scylla into a monster, out of spite and jealousy ( both also seen in Ovid’s “The Metamorphoses”).
Henbane (Hyoscyamus albus) being a sacred plant to Hekate and growing in her garden, it is both highly hallucinogenic and medicinal; It was equally used for divination purposes, weather magic and healing medicine- which makes it a perfect example of powerful magic/medicinal/poisonous plant.
But Hekate is not the only one to possess a magical garden ! Her daughters/priestesses Medea and Kirke also do. So what poisonous plants can we find in there?
In Seneca’s drama “Medea”, we can see Medea preparing “her drink” by using the following poisonous plants : Ferula communis “produce of Caucasus, those ridges smothered in endless winter, splattered with Prometheus’ blood “, Aconite (Aconitum spp.) “ toxins into which they dip their arrowheads“, Black Hellebore (Helleborus niger) “Grasses virulent with dead flowers” , and Mandragora “Harmful juices squeezed from twisted roots”.
It is said that where Medea’s elixir of youth dripped on the ground, a plant named “ephemeron” was growing. This plant has been interpreted as being either Autumn Crocus (Colchicum autumnale) or Lily of the valley (Convallaria majalis).
In Kirke’s garden we can also find Black hellebore and Mandragora, as well as Opium poppy, Rue (Ruta graveolens), Syrian rue (Peganum harmala), multiple nightshades, Baker squill (Scilla maritima) and Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera or Physalis somnifera).
Being given all this information, what can we say?
Hekate can be considered the mother of pharmakeia and of the Poison path. When threading this path, let us call on Her for supervision over our work, just like a mother would lovingly do!
She and her daughters, Kirke, and Medea, are excellent teachers of magic and poisons, they are the original witches.
“Ô witches of old!Great Hekate and your daughtersPoisoner Kirke and beautiful Medea I ask for your help here and now.Please guide my hand and bless my work,With these deadly poisonsAnd baneful plantsSo, I can achieve my goalAnd successfully obtain what I need.Hail HekateHail KirkeHail MedeaMay your power forever accompany me.” Originally published in Noumenia News Issue 57
Wow thank you so much 💜 this is so interesting to read!!! I love plants and the poisonous are especially fascinating 💜 beautiful!!! Thank you 🤗