Learn the myths and legends behind this beloved goddess plus practices and suggestions for making Hekate part of your spiritual path. Courtney Weber (author of Brigid and The Morrigan) offers an informed, accessible journey through the lore and history of Hekate, the ancient goddess of crossroads, ghosts, and witchcraft, and reflects on Hekate’s relevance today. Tools and techniques for incorporating this goddess into your personal journey round out the book. Similar to her other works, Weber strikes a balance between the scholarly and the spiritual. Her exploration of Hekate combines solid research with practical, modern applications. The spiritual content is accessible to anyone with an interest in witchcraft, regardless of their faith or background. Each chapter focuses on a different aspect of Hekate, exploring original mythology, historical context, and contemporary connotations, concluding with spells and personal rituals. The final chapter is a grimoire full of rituals, offerings, and other practices designed to help readers align themselves with this extraordinary goddess. The book also explores magickal ethics, what it means to be a witch in the twenty-first century, and best practices for successful witchcraft.

The Temple of Hekate is a vibrant and exciting collection of modern rituals and practices exploring the mysteries of the Goddess Hekate. In this book Tara Sanchez draws together her knowledge of ancient practices and literature merging it with her personal experiences and ideas. Thoroughly modern, but steeped in history, this is a book of rituals, meditations, divinations and other techniques through which the reader is invited to explore the magick of this ancient goddess of the crossroads, sorcery and witchcraft. The reader is introduced to essential practices such as keeping a magickal journal, setting up the altar, ritual purification, sacred space, preparing incenses and making a ritual robe; as well as more advanced practices such as ritual gestures, sacred vowels and dream incubation. Other techniques covered include knot magick and phylacteries, psychic development and the use of banishing rituals. The exercises in this book present the beginner with everything they need, and the experienced practitioner with a new and fresh perspective. Divination is a very popular area of study amongst those interested in modern witchcraft and magic, and this book presents a unique Hekatean approach to using and interpreting the Major Arcana of the Tarot. Through drawing together ideas from ancient literature and applying it to modern works, the author has created the Oracle of Her Sacred Fires. This oracle is a system of divination by dice and draws on the writings of dozens of modern priests, priestesses and mystics who contributed to the anthology Hekate Her Sacred Fires (d'Este, 2010) - a wonderful blend of old and new! The comprehensive appendixes provide additional reference material which can be used to enhance workings with the Goddess Hekate. They include material on Hekate and the other Gods, herbs, plant and animal correspondences, other spiritual beings such as daemons, the winds and the four elements - as well as techniques for reduction sigils and planetary hours. Filled with a blend of ancient and modern wisdom, ritual, technique and theory - this book is essential reading for complete beginners, intermediate students and experienced hands who are looking for relevant 21st century insights and ideas, which also honour the past - and in the process it opens up entirely new ways through which to explore the magick of the Goddess Hekate today.

A collection of devotional essays on working with Hekate.

HEKATE - Keys to the Crossroads A collection of personal essays, invocations, rituals, recipes and artwork from modern Witches, Priestesses and Priests who work with Hekate, the Ancient Greek Goddess of Witchcraft, Magick and Sorcery. Hekate is one of the most fascinating Goddesses of the Ancient World. Loved, feared, hated and worshipped by people throughout history, the Witch Goddess of the Crossroads, facing three-ways, with her three faces, remains an image of power and awe in the modern world today, amongst those who understand and respect her power. This book "Hekate: Keys to the Crossroads" brings together the experiences and perceptions of more than twenty modern day Witches, Priestesses and Priests all of whom work with this awesome Greek Goddess in the UK today. Through their essays, rituals and artwork they present a unique view into the realms of this multi-faceted and popular Goddess. Part I - Hekate's History, Myths & Powers Here author and Priestess, Sorita D'Este, presents a detailed and comprehensive study of the history, myths and powers of Hekate. This invaluable section offers the reader insights to some of the roles, relationships and powers Hekate held in the Ancient World. Part II - Hekate's Witches This section contains essays by sixteen Witches, Priestesses and Priests who work with Hekate on a regular basis. Each contribution is as unique as the person who wrote it, clearly illustrating through both their differences and similarities that the many faces presented by Hekate in the ancient world continue on today in the twenty-first century. Hekate is a Goddess of transformation, initiation, childbirth, death and rebirth. She is the Mistress of Magick, Witchcraft and Sorcery. She is the key-bearing Goddess of Night who illuminates the paths through the mysteries with her bright torches, guarding the entranceways and guiding travellers through the realms of Heaven, Earth and Sea. Powerful and respected by Gods and mortals alike, she has the power to bestow gifts and blessings upon those who call upon her with honour and truth. Part III - Recipes, Rites & Rituals A collection of modern invocations, pathworkings, incense and food recipes, together with a group mystery play of the Abduction of Persephone by Hades in which Hekate plays a key role. Combining the best of research with a wide range of experiences this compact volume opens doorways in to many of Hekate's realms. It is a unique journey - enchanting, funny, scary, magickal and daring, challenging and informative. Whether you find yourself agreeing or disagreeing with the perceptions you will find within, one thing is certain: there is always more to learn and experience when it comes to Hekate!

Fascinating texts written on small gold tablets that were deposited in graves provide a unique source of information about what some Greeks and Romans believed regarding the fate that awaited them after death, and how they could influence it. These texts, dating from the late fifth century BCE to the second century CE, have been part of the scholarly debate on ancient afterlife beliefs since the end of the nineteenth century. Recent finds and analysis of the texts have reshaped our understanding of their purpose and of the perceived afterlife. The tablets belonged to those who had been initiated into the mysteries of Dionysus Bacchius and relied heavily upon myths narrated in poems ascribed to the mythical singer Orpheus. After providing the Greek text and a translation of all the available tablets, the authors analyze their role in the mysteries of Dionysus, and present an outline of the myths concerning the origins of humanity and of the sacred texts that the Greeks ascribed to Orpheus. Related ancient texts are also appended in English translations. Providing the first book-length edition and discussion of these enigmatic texts in English, and their first English translation, this book is essential to the study of ancient Greek religion.

The authors draw from a wide range of sources, bringing together historical research which provides insights into the magical and religious practices associated with the Goddess Hekate. In doing so they provide an indispensable guide for those wishing to explore the mysteries of Hekate today.