November 16th is Hecate's Night

Witchy Wisdom
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“November 16 is the Night of Hecate which begins at sunset. This is the night of the Three-formed Goddess. Hecate is part of the most ancient form of the triple Moon goddess as Crone or Dark Moon. This is also the night of Hecate’s supper at the Crossroads. People who worshiped Hecate honored Her by performing Sympathetic Magick and holding a supper at what they believed to be the Crossroads.”

Those are the first words of a lovely Article on Crystalwind.ca that gives some great information on the Goddess and her role in the Greek pantheon.

So I thought I’d post a few useful links on things to do tomorrow. Of course, we have two lovely prayers to Hecate on-site, on is a Devotional Chant to Hecate and the other is Hecate’s Justice Devotional Prayer.

Then there is a lovely Hymn to Hecate on the Keeping Her Keys YouTube channel that I thought I’d share. You can find it here. That channel is pretty much dedicated to Hecate so there’s oodles of information there.

And if any of y’all have good links to information for Hecate, chime in and share!

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Thanks for this timely post, Kasie! Another suggestion for those interested is to read Hekate’s page on Theoi.com.

And, like you mentioned, the book Keeping Her Keys by by Cyndi Brannen has a Dark Moon Ritual that could serve as inspiration too:

Hecate’s Dark Moon Ritual :new_moon:

• What is your intention: Do you want to focus on specific blessings you’ve received? Will you be using certain epithets?

• Choose the offerings that best match your intention.
◦ If you are working with particular epithets, select offerings that correspond to them. For example, you may be honoring Hekate as Gatekeeper, so offerings of keys would make sense.

• Design your altar for the ritual. What correspondences, objects and tools will you be using?

• Select music if you’ll be using it.

• Choosing the ritual:
◦ Doing an existing one – such as using the Evocation of Hekate Suitable for Any Rite or using the Orphic Hymn.
◦ Writing your own ritual script:

  • A ritual script can be called many things – a hymn, a prayer or petition are examples. A hymn is generally just a piece of poetry, prose or song that is about Hekate and a prayer or petition are to Her.
  • Start with the opening welcome to Hekate, including any epithets that you are honoring. This summoning of Hekate is known as the exaltation.
  • State your intention as it corresponds to the epithets being called upon.

• Offer your gratitude for Her protection and blessings and bid her farewell at the end.

• Set up your offerings beside your image of Hekate. Light a candle and then recite your hymn, prayer or do the evocation.

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Hooray for Hecate’s night! :old_key::full_moon: This is some great information @Amethyst and @Francisco- thanks for sharing! Wishing everyone who chooses to worship in Hecate’s honor tonight all the best- blessed be :sparkles::candle:

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@Amethyst how’d you know that I wanted to work more with the lovely Hecate? :blush: Thank you for the wonderful information :heart:

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Thanks @Francisco this is great information as well! :blush::pray:t2:

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Sorry if I stole your thunder @Francisco. :grin: This article came up on my Facebook Page and I thought we should all read it here. It has some good information. Glad you didn’t mind me posting about it!

I sensed it! LOL. No, really I found this article on Facebook. Glad you liked the information!

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Last night when going to bed, I asked Hekate how I could honor her on her special night, using my tarot deck. The answer was pretty much: don’t worry about it, just go to sleep! :grin: In the morning I had the answer, and I also wanted to thank her for the best sleep I got in a long time! :blush:

I had bought a small antique key :old_key: in her name before, and it’s been something I’ve carried with me for protection, squeezing it in my pocket has reminded me that I am a witch and I’m not alone, and I can handle whatever comes my way. :smirk_cat:

In a dream I had that key and I was spinning a thread around it in a particular way, from the end that goes into the lock to the one you hold in your hand, two threads splitting and then joining back together at the center. I repeated the motions while awake, and my intuition told me to add a hair from my head to the handle too, intertwining with the black sewing thread which I see both symbolizing the thread of fate and a hair from Her lovely head. :black_heart:

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To make it a proper talisman I also wanted to consecrate it, and for that I created a recipe for an oil. I used these resources to come up with it

Magical Anointment Oil
https://coven.thethriftywitch.com/pages/magickal-uses-of-herbs
Essential Oil Correspondences | Sacred Wicca
https://www.theorganicwitch.com/magical-correspondences
https://www.aromaweb.com/essentialoils

Here is my recipe:

1 oz (28 ml) Carrier Oil (I used olive oil)

3 drops Cinnamon (spirituality, success, healing, protection, power, love, luck, strength, and prosperity)

3 drops Myrrh (spiritual opening, healing, blessing of talismans)

3 drops Lemon (cleansing, spiritual opening, purification, and removal of blockages)

2 drops Geranium (overcoming negative thoughts & attitudes, lifting spirits, promoting protection & happiness, protection from psychic attacks)

2 drops Frankincense (successful ventures, cleansing, purification, manifestation, consecration, spirituality)

I mixed the oil in a small jar for spices I found in my cupboard which was perfect for the occasion

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On my altar I lit a black candle, put the key in the jar and sealed it, shaked it gently and said a prayer

Great Hekate, mother of witches
Queen of the night
With this key blessed in your name
I thank you for opening the doors to greater understanding
And closing the ones that lead to harm
Both in the worlds without and within
In darkness and light
You keep me safe in your arms

I tried to blow out the candle but it didn’t quite go out… then I added some more words including thanking her for the sleep, and then she allowed me to extinguish it! :smile_cat: :two_hearts:

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WOW! It sounds like you have an incredible bond with Hecate! What a beautiful key charm and spell :heart_eyes: Thank you so much for sharing! :heart:

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I’m glad to, thank you for your beautiful words :heart:

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What a beautiful ritual @CelestiaMoon! Full of meaning and eloquence. And the key is great! Well done!

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Thank you @Amethyst! :blush:

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You’re welcome @CelestiaMoon! :hugs:

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I have read Here that red mullet is a good choice for Hecate’s night sacred supper. Unfortunately, it is not commonly available in the US. Does anyone know of an online source?

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Whatever you do Ron, do not look on Amazon. Some things can never be unseen.

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Lol, Im tempted, but I have a pretty good idea what I’d see!

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My only child was born just before sunset on November 16, two days before the new moon, a Scorpio, of course. So Hecate is my total home-girl, er, goddess.

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I’m gonna go out on a limb and say that one of the reasons red mullet might have been a good choice for Hekate is because its a fish found in the Mediterranean and it would have been a common food choice from that time period. I would say substitute a local fish from your area in the recipe if you can.

Edit:: It could also be because in that time, this fish was seen as a delicacy (because it’s delicate and hard to do right, I think) and was very prized [Source]. Often, when we cook food for the Gods or give Them offerings, it’s a form of sacrifice on our part. Giving up an expensive, tasty fish for Hekate would have been seen as a sacrifice then. You can carry that same sentiment over today by using a more expensive fish, one from your area that maybe you don’t get to eat often.

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Thank you! I was thinking about something along those lines if it proved unavailable.

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Sigh. I made the mistake, I must live with the consequences. LOL!

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There is a book that I wouldn’t mind tracking down. Keeping Her Keys - An Introduction to Hekate`s Modern Witchcraft by Cyndi Brannen

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