Daily Angel Oracle Card: Hekate ~ Illumination, from the Goddesses and Sirens Oracle card deck, by Stacey Demarco, artwork by Jimmy Manton

Hekate ~ Illumination: “”Examine your darker aspects. You are being shown the way forward. Your path is illuminated, and there is no need to feel lost or indecisive. Something that has been lost to you will be found.”

“The Greek goddess Hekate is one of the most mysterious of all the Greek Goddesses and one of the most loved and feared. Said to the daughter of the titans Perses (destruction) and Asteria (stars) Hekate is a goddess of witches, night, and illumination.

Perhaps the most famous of stories featuring Hekate is that of Persephone’s abduction. After Hades whisked Persephone away to the underworld, her mother, Demeter, went looking for her but, alas, she could not find her. In her grief, Demeter stopped paying attention to the fertility of the earth, causing a deathly winter. Hekate took her twin flaming torches and descended into the underworld in search of Persephone. Persephone had eater while in the underworld, so she had to spend six months of the year with Hades – with Hekate as her companion – and six months above ground with Demeter. Hekate and her torchlight guided Persephone in her underworld travels.

Hekate is a goddess of the dark underworld and, paradoxically, is a torchbearer who brings the light to this same darkness. Illuminating the darkest pathways, this magnetic goddess invites you to travel the shadows with her, but only under her wise guidance. Hekate is often depicted standing at the crossroads with a three-headed dog (past, present,future) so she is the ideal goddess to call upon if you feel lost, you do not know which direction to turn, or you are working to improve yourself.

An increasing number of modern people honor Hekate, and those who wish to learn more about the witchcraft tradition should ask her for assistance in their learning.”

Shadow Side: “Hekate is a goddess of the underworld and so a source of fear. She is of the dark, and this can be a challenging energy if you are only used to working with lighter energies. She is said to honor those who honor her, but is not particularly interested in those who do not seriously examine their shadow sides as well as the Craft itself. Hekate often teaches through tough love and challenges you to go that one step further. While you want to dig deep and consider darker things in your personality when working with Hekate, you do not want to become bogged down in this darkness. After all, Hekate is a torchbearer as well, so immersing yourself in darkness for long periods is not the key to working with her.”

Symbols: “Torches, maiden with three heads or bodies, white dress, keys, snakes, polecat, black dogs, three-headed dog.”*

~by Stacey Demarco, artwork by Jimmy Manton

What aspect of yourself or your life do you need to shed some light on to gain a deeper understanding? Are you willing to do this work? Hekate will assist those who are willing to pull up from the depths of their being what makes them most uncomfortable and illuminate it’s every detail. This is the only way to move forward; move through the discomfort and pain, acknowledge any lost parts of yourself and see what you have not been willing to see. What does your intuition tell you? What have you been hiding from, refusing to acknowledge or sweeping under the carpet?

Time to stop tucking things away to be dealt with “later” and time to bring it all up to the surface. This does not mean that we are going to wallow… it simply means that the pain will be acknowledged, learned from and released. This is the only way to move forward on a new path… illuminate the crossroads and make a decision. Focus your intention on the Light, the new chapter, the new beginning.

Bless and release the rest.

And so it is

Blessed Be Hekate

Dee

~Archangel Oracle

*Goddesses and Sirens Oracle card deck, by Stacey Demarco, artwork by Jimmy Manton