Finding the Keys during the Dark Season of the Year
Historically, Hecate was once a much-loved and helpful goddess, and by the 5th century BCE, she became more associated with witchcraft, the night, and the underworld. She is often depicted with three heads or bodies, representing her ability to see all possibilities at the crossroads. Some depictions show her with the heads of a horse, a dog, and a lion. Hecate embodies the wild woman archetype—resisting, persisting, and living her truth without apology. She evokes the essence of both life and death and is often linked to the thirteenth moon of the year, a time of endings and new beginnings.
Hecate’s symbolism includes torches (as a guide through darkness), keys (to hidden knowledge or the underworld), and associations with witch hazel trees, which are seen as magical and resilient. She is honored as a goddess who helps individuals reflect on their shadows, make choices, and embrace both the light and dark aspects of life.
Temple of Hekate at Lagina in what is now present day Turkey flourished over 2200 years ago. It was a center for Hekate (Hecate) a Goddess of crossroads, magic, and the underworld.
Courtesy of the Dr. Carla Ionesuc of the Artemis Research Centre – be sure to follow their TikTok channel!
A simple ritual for the Goddess Hecate involves creating a fireless altar, which can be just a table with a few things you love to help keep you grounded. This can be done outdoors in the dark or inside with the lights turned off to avoid distractions. Invoke Hecate and sit in the darkness, pondering the crone you may become. Request a crone encounter and ask her to be present at your dark altar. Look carefully at the crone who appears with the goddess in the dark mirror and reflect on what she can tell you about your life in the coming season or years to come. This ritual is about seeking wisdom, guidance, and light from Hecate during the darker months of the year. From Barbara Ardinger on Feminism and Religion
“Wisdom of the Darkness
Guide Our Way”
– Sharon Knight and T. Thorn Coyle
Sources for this post include:
Embracing the Dark Goddess – Empowering Paradigm Shifts, Part 1 by Judith Shaw
Stepping Into a New Year of Study and Goddess Work by Dr. Carla Ionescu
*Picture credit: Relief of triplicate Hekate. Three female figures framed in aedicula, with high poloi on their heads, dressed in chiton and peplos, holding torches in their hands. Marble (small), Hadrian classicism. NG Prague, Kinský Palace, NM-H10 4742.
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