Famous in both Ancient Greek mythology and modern spiritual realms, few deities inspire as much fascination as Hecate. As the Greek goddess of witchcraft, crossroads, and the underworld, Hecate has been loyally worshipped for millennia. As a goddess of magic, she plays a key role in many modern witchcraft practices.
Mythology of Hecate
Hecate (also spelled Hekate) is a goddess from the Ancient Greek pantheon, who rules over crossroads, spirits, and the underworld. She holds extensive knowledge of herbs and magical arts, making her the chief goddess of witchcraft. She is the daughter of the Titan Perses and the nymph Asteria. In art, she is often shown holding a pair of torches and accompanied by dogs. In later periods, she is depicted in Triformis, or as triple-bodied. Her most famous appearance in mythology is in the Homeric Hymn to Demeter, where Hecate hears Persephone’s cries as she is abducted by Hades. With her torch, she assists Demeter in searching for her daughter.
The History of Worshipping Hecate
Some of the earliest records of human worship to Hecate date back to circa 1600 B.C.E. Although many know Hecate as a Greek goddess, her worship probably originated in Thrace, which today covers parts of Bulgaria, Greece, and Turkey, where she was revered as a goddess of wilderness and childbirth. As a Greek deity, she evolved into a goddess of crossroads and the underworld. The ancient Greeks dedicated temples to Hecate, and she had two important cult centers in Eleusis and Samothrake. Small household shrines, or altars, dedicated to Hecate would be erected to ward off evil and malefic witchcraft.
Associations of Hecate in Witchcraft
In modern pagan religions, Hecate is known as the Triple Goddess, representing the maiden, the mother, and the crone. These forms, depicted as three separate women, often represent different aspects of femininity or the stages of human life on Earth. Hecate’s three forms are also associated with different seasons and the phases of the moon. The Maiden is associated with Spring and the waxing phase of the Moon. The Mother is tied to the Full Moon and the fruitful season of Summer. The Crone is associated with the Autumn and Winter seasons and the waning phase of the Moon.
Deity Offerings to Hecate
If you feel called to work with Hecate in your practice, an excellent first step would be to set up a shrine or an altar dedicated to her and make regular offerings. Hecate was said to favor offerings of garlic, which was closely associated with her cults in Ancient Greece. Other herbs associated with Hecate include lavender, mugwort, and rue. A cup of red wine is also common for deity offerings. If you feel unsure about where to start, our pagan supply store stocks handmade kits with all the ingredients and tools you need to start connecting with a deity. Our Hecate Offering & Spell Kit includes a special herbal blend, incense, oil, a candle, and a scroll with suggestions for how to use the ingredients in your deity offering. In addition to herbal and food offerings, you can also use images or statues of Hecate to decorate your altar or to hang in the doorways and crossroads of your home to invoke the protection of Hecate.

Hecate continues to play an important role in the landscape of witchcraft today. She represents the power of transformation, ancient wisdom, and the cycles of life and death. Whether you seek her as a guardian, a guide, or a source of inspiration, working with Hecate offers boundless possibilities for personal growth. You can purchase all the materials you need to start working with her from our online store, or you can stop by our physical shop and speak to a member of staff for more guidance.

The July Sabot box is dedicated to Lughnasadh / Lammas, usually celebrated August 1 to honor the first harvest of the season. This is the halfway point between Summer Solstice and Autumn Equinox.

Lughnasadh is the Gaelic name for this celebration and means 'Lugh's Gathering'. Lughnasadh sources from a combination of the Irish god Lugh, wise warrior hero/God of light/sun, and 'nasad' which means 'gathering or assembly'. Lammas is the Anglo-Saxon name for the festival and is a contraction of the phrase 'loaf mass' celebrating the first harvest of grains.

Before the Wheel turns to the darker months, we can take time to appreciate the warmth and sunlight and how they support this season of growth. By celebrating Lammas as a harvest holiday, we honor our ancestors and the hard work they had to do to survive and secure our lineage.

 

Colors of the Season

Green for growth, fertility, health, abundance.

Every shade of sun and harvest, from yellow to gold to deep orange for solar energies, happiness, communication.

 

Plants of the Season

Flowers, fruits, grains, vegetables represent the fulfilment and potential of the harvest.

All Grains wheat, barley, oats, rye, all representing both fulfillment and potential.

Meadowsweet, Queen-Of-The-Meadow, Bridewort and Bride of the Meadow. Sacred herb of the Druids, often worn as a garland for Lammas celebrations and a traditional herb for wedding circlets and bouquets at this time of year.

Mint, another revered herb of the Druids, magical properties are both protective and healing at this time in the year. Also represents abundance and prosperity.

 

Traditions and Symbols

Lugh Celtic Sun King and God of Light. Feasting, market fairs, games and bonfire celebrations were held in honor of his mother Tailtiu with Circle dancing and community gatherings.

Grain Mother, Harvest Mother, Harvest Queen. Demeter, as Corn Mother, representing the ripe corn of the harvest and Her daughter Kore/Persephone representing the grain - the seed which drops into earth, is hidden through the winter, and re-appears in the spring as new growth.

 

Suggestions of ways to celebrate.

Going outside to enjoy some sun and green magic. Breathe in the scents of the season with mindfulness of the beginning of the harvest season.

Gather flowers and food from your garden. If you do not have a garden visit one or your local farmer’s market.

Collect seeds for next year.

A traditional Lammas activity is baking bread and can be a fun activity for the entire family. An alternative is to buy a whole loaf from a local bakery. (See Recipe for a simple Irish Soda Bread)

Create an altar with the items in your Sabbat Box.

Use the Lammas oil and anoint each item and then yourself with a dab on your wrists and middle of forehead. As you prepare the altar, think about the bounty that fills your life. What are you getting ready to harvest? What have your intentions grown into? How are you preparing to shift into the darkness of the coming months? Do you need to let go of something that just did not make it? Every plant does not survive. Letting go allows you to be fully present in the now and ready to take the next turn of the wheel.

Place a piece of bread and a cup of tea on your altar as an offering. Eat a piece of the bread yourself (add honey and butter if you wish) and wash it down with your tea. Offer your thanks for the abundance of the coming harvest. You may want to handwrite a blessing for continued prosperity and abundance.

When you are ready go outside and give your offering of bread and tea to the woods, garden, balcony, potted plant or even a safe street corner. Share with the land the harvest it has given to you, thanking the light for the bounty, and welcoming the cooler, shorter days knowing you have abundance in your life. Bury or burn your handwritten blessing. Offer thanks to the gods and goddesses associated with the sabbat or those you work with through you own practice.

Have a Happy Lammas! Blessed Be.

Metal Never Lies is a book by Sam 'Bo' Thompson covering the use and manipulation of common metals. It starts by describing Sam's journey into learning about these metals from a complete novice to becoming an expert in blacksmithing and their magical metal application. We are surrounded by metal but how many of us think about what properties these metals possess? This fantastic book explains what Sam has learned about metals, learning with rudimentary tools going all the way to using professional blacksmithing supplies. What I find to be one of the best elements of this book is midway through when we are given the same tools that Sam started with. Many of these are made from common household items that we all have access to. As a magic practitioner I found all of this fascinating and enlightening. From beginning to end this book has everything anyone needs to start their journey in manipulating metal and using it to amplify pre-existing magic practices. Metal never lies should be a staple within anyone's magical library and ritual tool set. We are surrounded by metals. If we learn what they mean, how they can be augmented, Sam's sense of humor and easy going nature come through in his writing making it easy to read and comprehend. He has a way of simplifying the magical process to be easy to comprehend and follow. 10 out of 10 and added to my home library.

The Wheel of the Year turns this month on the Summer Solstice,  June 21.

Celebrated on June 20 or 21st this is the longest day, shortest night of the year. Litha or Midsummer is a Celtic holiday celebrating fertility, and fire. The height of the year before the wheel turns towards fall. On this day,  honor the sun and everything it rules over: warmth, light, creativity, fire, action. Bonfires are lit, honey cakes are shared, and love is in the air.

Colors of the Season. Yellow, orange, gold and green

Plants of the Season. Fruits and vegetables that are in season. Oak leaves, flowers associated with the sun, are sunflowers and marigolds or any orange or yellow flower. Other plants associated with the sun are St. John’s Wort, Fennel, Rue, Rosemary, Lemon Balm, Mallows and Ferns. The lore of Midsummer is that herbs gathered at dawn have special magical and medicinal uses.

Litha/Midsummer Symbols. Objects and items that represent the sun. Stones associated with the sun such as citrine and carnelian. You may want to add drawings or artwork representing the sun.

Suggestions for ways to celebrate.

Traditionally people stayed up all night on Midsummer's Eve to welcome and  watch the sunrise. Bonfires were lit to honor the fullness of the Sun . A reflection of the Sun at the peak of its strength. The wood for fires would often be Oak and aromatic herbs were scattered into the fire.

People dance around the fires and leap through them.

Herbs are lit from the bonfire and used to bless the animals.

Blazing torches are carried sunwise around homes and fields.

Coals from the Midsummer fire are gathered and scattered on fields to ensure a good harvest.

Midsummer Ritual

If you can set up a bonfire or fire pit for this ritual wonderful, if not use candles or a heat resistant container to simulate one.

Begin by brewing yourself some of the Midsummer tea. This is a solar holiday so you may want to brew a solar tea by placing the tea blend in a jar with a lid, adding cold water and placing in the sun for several hours. Save a cup for an offering.

While your tea is brewing set up an altar space. You may want to set up your altar outside in a sunny location or indoors by a sunny window. If you plan to stay up and watch the sunrise, set up your altar somewhere you can watch the sun move over the horizon.

When you are ready to begin your ritual go to your altar and anoint candles, stones, and any other items you have with Litha oil. Add a Midsummer herbal mix to a muslin bag and holding in your hands let it absorb your troubles, sorrows, illnesses, problems, and pain. Tie it with the red string and place on your altar. Light the candles. Cast a circle using a Midsummer Incense.

You may now want to sing, read a poem, or say a few words that reflect the Sabbat and your personal intentions.

When you are ready pick up your pouch and say something to the effect of,” Now is the time for purification. I allow the sun to burn away the hurtful and the bane”. Light your pouch and when it is burning drop it into the fire or your fireproof vessel. Say something to the effect of “I banish you by the powers of the Sun, I banish you by the powers of Fire.” Watch the bag burn and visualize the thoughts and energies you put into the bag burning away.

Meditation. Close your eyes and visualize your self being filled with the bounties and warmth of the summer season. Allow yourself to connect to and receive messages from the deities, ancestors, and other energies you work with in your practice. When you are ready say something to the effect of “Litha fires, Midsummer night, I thank and honor you. May the sweetness of life and the warmth of the sun fill me. May the bonfires burn bright for all my beloved and friends. Hail Litha, Hail Midsummer night! So, mote it be”.

Extinguishing the candles. You may leave the altar up overnight it you chose. Any objects on the altar may be carried with you or kept on your home altar.

References

Midsummer, MAY 2015 BY LLEWELLYN, DEBORAH BLAKE

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