Hekate (Hekate's Night, Deipnon, Associations & Offerings)
Hekate/Hecate is the goddess of magic, witchcraft, the night and the moon. Daughter of Perses, titan god of destruction, and Asteria, titan goddess of divination.
She is often depicted with three heads, or as three entities. This is often associated with the triple moon, or maiden mother and crone symbolism. She is connected to and has power in the three realms of the cosmos, earth, sea and sky. She is also associated with a number of symbolism. She is often seen with keys, torches, snakes, and dogs.
She is the key bearer of the underworld, a goddess of liminal spaces. The keys can unlock knowledge and transformation. She is often depicted carrying torches, to illuminate your path, to guide from one realm to the other.
Hekate can be an intense deity. She is not for the faint of heart, and while she will guide you it won’t necessarily be a gentle road. It is one of shadow work, of outgrowing and leaving behind the old, of transitions. It is said Hekate will often find you when you feel that you’re at rock bottom or stuck at a crossroads that you don’t know which direction to go. It will often be a rough journey but a worthy one.
Modern Hekatean devotees have associated November 16th as Hekate’s night. This is a night of ritual, offerings, feasts. There are also some who celebrate her on November 30th. While I can’t find any exact historical associations with either of these dates, both are valid as religions and practices change and adapt over time. I would guess that because November is a transition month, one between seasons, one that is walking the path from the harvest seasons to the death of life going into the winter months it is associated with her ability to walk between worlds.
Hekate’s is a moon goddess, like Artemis, but is specifically associated with the dark moon. Hekate’s deipnon or Hekate’s dinner is also a monthly ritual on the new moon. The November 30th date may also be related to the Greek lunar calendar and how the 30th day of the month aligned with the dark moon. So if you missed Hekate’s night, you can still do any of these any time, especially any night in November or any month on a dark moon.
Food offerings may include: honey, eggs, garlic, fish, mushrooms, wine, or pastries and bread made in the shape of crescent moons. Other offerings could include herbs or incense with lavender, sage, mugwort, bay leaf, rosemary and myrrh. A few crystals to leave on a Hekate altar could be amethyst, black tourmaline, obsidian and labradorite.
She is also associated with many poisonous plants, as she is known for her deep knowledge of herbs and poisonous plants, so please pursue that with an abundance of caution.
Many will leave Hekate offerings when they are at a crossroads in their life and need guidance to a better path in their lives. For many, they leave her offerings as requests or thanks in guiding them on their magickal journey.
Offerings can be left on your personal altar at home, in a doorway to represent walking between worlds, or at a crossroads - specifically a crossroads of 3 paths. If you are leaving something at a crossroads, it is tradition not to look back after you’ve turned around. You may hear dogs barking as you walk away, Hekate’s hounds.
As a goddess of witchcraft and magick I also find that learning or practicing witchcraft as a tribute to her could be an offering as well. Other than feasts and offerings to celebrate and honor the goddess, you can do divination. I find pendulum divination best for her.
