Hekatesia, meaning Hekate’s night, can appear to the newcomer more than a little confusing. It is a much-used term, with some groups using it to refer to ritual devotion to Hekate performed at the full moon whilst others use it to refer to specific ritual observations which they link to ancient Greek and Roman cults, or as entirely modern practices. Of the four dates cited for the observation of Heketeisia, two occur in the same month of November, three coincide with the ide’s (midpoint) of the month which can be between the 13th and 16th depending on the month in question and two in particular can be linked to ancient cults which are associated with Hekate either directly or indirectly.
A Couple of Spanner in the Works
There seems to be some level of conflict as to where the celebration is planned and what focus is taken. There are three aspects which may be focused on in a given Hekatesian ritual;
1) Hekate as nurturing and protecting harvests and the young
2) Hekate as a protection against storms and madness
3) Hekate as a Goddess of the Moon, Witchcraft and the Crossroads.
There is a historical basis for all three of these associations and ritual focuses, which we will cover below.
Similarly, there is some issue around timing with Metageitnion, a ritual month within the Attic calendar, spanning the modern months of August and September and even the day within the modern calendar to which they should be allocated. It is possible to place a ritual date for Hekate at the midpoint of either month either on the 13th or 16th of the month depending on the modern author and the source used to render the Greek and Roman dates into a modern calendar. Because these dates are used interchangeably it can appear confusing however it is possible to perform Hekate on either of them or any point between if it fits your personal schedule better.
Broadly speaking the August and September rituals are dedicated to Hekate in a protective guise whilst the later November dates are associated with chthonic nature as a Goddess of Witchcraft in modern writings. I intend to partially ignore the dating of one ritual to allow it to fit better into this energetic pattern, but there will be plenty of nods to this historical truth of the matter. I am also bucking the trend of association Hekate and Storms with and August dates, for reasons I will explain below. As with all things modern and pagan, there is a healthy element of UPG in doing so however I hope the information I provide will constitute a convincing explanation.
Kurotrophos and Harvests
13th August
Offerings are made to Kurotrophos throughout the Attic calendar, intended to protect women in childbirth and young children. These are usually performed in association with other deities, such as Athena, Poseidon, Zeus and Apollo, but it is the Kurotrophoi that received the initial honours and sacrifice in ritual.
The 16th of Metageitnion, in particular, is associated with Artemis and Hekate. Both goddesses are given the title of Nurse of the Young or “child-rearing” but with our focus on Hekate, we will concentrate on Her.
The earliest reference of Hekate in association with this title, our old friend Hesiod and his Theogony:
“So, then, albeit her mother’s only child, she is honoured amongst all the deathless gods. And the son of Kronos made her a nurse of the young who after that day saw with their eyes the light of all-seeing Eos (Dawn). So from the beginning, she is a nurse of the young (kourotrophos), and these are her honours.” [404]
Equally, this is a title given to Artemis and the clearest naming can be found in the 5th book of Hellenic Historian Diodorus Siculus.
“And Artemis, we are told, discovered how to affect the healing of young children and the foods which are suitable to the nature of babes, this being the reason why she is also called Kourotrophos.” [5.73.5]
As with many ancient rituals, we know little about the details beyond the rituals are attested to have occurred in Erchia and the Acropolis in Athens but modern Reconstructionist groups have established their own rituals around this.
The period of 16th of Metageitnion falls between two harvest periods, grape and grain, the season would not have been known for its storms. Neither remaining evidence nor modern reconstruction contains appear to make reference to storms, and as such, I tend to lean away from this association and toward the more protective and nurturing qualities of Kourotrophos. Such rituals do not need to be restricted to children of the loins however, and an August ritual to Hekate Kourotrophos should have something for everyone. We all, regardless of gender, nurture children of the mind; our ideas, projects etc. Many of us have pets, or children we know through family, friends and our wider social networks.
Lady of Storms
16th September
Hekate has a number of epithets which can be used to link her to storms. From Brimo to Persia, her overwhelming nature is connected to these great conflagrations through her connection to the ocean and sky. The main tangible piece of evidence for connecting Hekate to Storms and cultic worship of her in this form can be found in Samothrace, in the form of a cave based cult dedicated to Hekate as a cause and cure for madness in the form of thunderous storms.
“In Samothrace, there were certain initiation-rites, which they supposed efficacious as a charm against certain dangers. In that place were also the mysteries of the Corybantes and the Corinthian cave, where they sacrificed dogs. The initiates supposed that these things save [them] from terrors and from storms.”
sigma79 via Suda online, original referal here
The Corybantes were an ecstatic cult which celebrated its rites in caves accompanied to the clashing of shields and stamping of feet. I say “were”; I recently watched a BBC 4 documentary on Baccus which included a reference to a traditional folk celebration seemed to contain undertones of the cult, with the loud clashing of goat bells as men leap around in sheep and goat skins. The legendary went far beyond what we know of the Corybantes and included an element of cross-dressing, but one must wonder…
Primarily associated with Dionysis Zagreus as guardian of his birth, the Samothracian Corybantes are sometimes conflated with the Idaean Dactyls and Cretan Kouretes who in of themselves have a connection to Hekate. Through the Orphic and Bacchic mystery cults, we know that Hekate has an ongoing connection to Persephone, mother of Dionysis Zagreus, so it is unsurprising to find her referenced in connection to one of his cult centres and black puppies are by no means an unfamiliar motif in the worship of Hekate.
Suda is not the only reference to this connection. Strabo refers to the Samothracian Corybantes as being the ministers of Hekate in Geography whilst Nonnus links her to the discordant noise, music and animalistic aspects of the Cult in Dionysiaca. In particular, Nonnus refers to Hekate by the epithet of Perseis and oceanic title with concepts such as “to destroy” at its root.
That there was a cult of Hekate associated with storms located in the caves of Samotrace is not in doubt, but it is far from clear when these rites of near madness, propitiation and initiation actually took place. It is likely a modern conflation which has lead to the themes of this cult to be combined with the timings of the agricultural ritual rather than anything else. I look at the modern rituals for Hekate of the storms and I tend to find them lacking and have always failed to connect with this form of Hekatesia during the month of August. On completing the research outlined above I has come to realise why.
There is little ecstasy in modern ritual and whenever we talk about Hekate as a Storm goddess I imagine the noise and the stamping of feet. In moving this form of Hekatesia in closer proximity to the Autumn Equinox, and all the Eleusinian connections that bring, I can almost hear the cry “the Lady Brimo has brought forth a holy son, Brimos” (the sacred Eleusinian exclamation as is given to us by Christian writer Hippolytus) accompanied by all the sounds and madness of an ongoing storm. Hekate Persia, heralding the arrival of the infant Dionysis, with the fires of her torches and the thundering of clashing shields and bells, calls to me on a very deep level but sadly I am never going to replicate such ritual madness on my own in the back bedroom. This is just one of those rituals I need to find a compromise for, but it will most certainly be one which places the celebration of Hekate as Stormbringer firmly in September.
Hekatesia Nemoralia
13th/16th/30th November
Can you tell I’m hedging my bets here? The date cited for the November Hekatesia varies wildly from dates mirroring the rituals early in the year to a 30th date, which I like to think of as second Halloween.
The other name for this date of “Day of Hekate of the Crossroads” and as that might imply, the ritual celebrations focus on Hekate in her Chthonic forms of Keybearer, Crossroads and Goddess of Witchcraft. There are a couple of different cults and rituals I could focus on here but as Lagina has a post of its own I will focus on the Roman Dianic festival of Nemoralia.
Nemoralia was a festival where Diana was celebrated in three forms over three days and it is possible, even likely, that Hekate was conflated with one of these forms.
During the ritual, the dies Trivia of Diana were honoured at Nemi with ritual acts such as torchlit procession and races around the sacred groves. Though the finer detail of ritual is unclear the overarching purpose of the ritual was to follow the descent of Diana Nemorensis (terrestrial huntress) into the Underworld where she would assume an unnamed chthonic form. Because this Goddess form is associated with the crossroads and infernal spirits it is assumed that this second form of Diana is conflated with the Roman Hecate. The high point of the ritual cycle was the transformation and ascent of this infernal Goddess to become Diana Lucina (celestial/lunar).
As I’ve already said, it is not clear exactly what was involved in the rituals of the dies Trivia, but we know that it was conducted over three days and involved a torchlit race around a lake sacred to Diana. If I were to indulge my imagination I would suggest that the rituals began on the first day with a round of ritual purification, perhaps bathing in the lake, and honouring Diana Nemorensis with prayer and sacrifice. At moonset, the translation of terrestrial Diana into her infernal counterpart would occur and participants would face a second day of perhaps mourning or acts of appeasement. These lamentations and offerings would be to ensure that this infernal Goddess was released and allowed to ascend the next night as Diana Lucina. It may even be possible that the act of sleep that night was an attempt to receive personal oracles from the Goddess during her time in the Underworld. Moonrise on the second night would be the return of Diana Lucina and perhaps it is at this point that the waters of the sacred lake were doubly purified in the light of both torch and moon moonlight and Diana honoured in a swift-footed race. Celebrations would continue into the night with moonset being the natural point of conclusion, leaving the third day for final rituals of thanks and appreciation before participants departed for their homes.
The timing of Nemoralia does not fit the November date however, and this is the danger of trying to harmonise Greek and Roman calendars. Nemoralia was actually celebrated at a time equivalent to the Greek Metageitnion, expressly stated as the Ides of August, and as such modern practitioners are just as like to incorporate this aspect of Hekate into an August Hekatesia as anything else. For me, however, the energy associated with the descent of a lunar Goddess into a chthonic form fits better with the dark half of the year. Regardless of how well the themes fit we should try to look for another ancient ritual associated with Hekate which better fits the November date.
Thesmophoria
Thesmophoria is a women-only ritual celebrated during the ritual month on Pyanepsion (October/November) which was dedicated to Persephone and Demeter. The ritual falls under the umbrella of the Eleusinian Mysteries, though is a ritual act apart from the Lesser and Greater Mysteries we are more familiar with. Forbidden to men, Thesmophoria was only available to aristocratic citizen women of Athens and was of a similar tone and nature to the ribald crossing of the bridge during the procession to the Greater Eleusinian Mysteries and within the wider myth cycle is analogous to the encounter between Demeter and Baubo. The women of the city would gather in the Agoge to eat, drink and generally get merry as they honoured Demeter and her children Persephone and Ploutos. The best-known account of the ritual can be found in Aristophanes’ comedy Thesmophoriazusae
“Woman Herald: Silence! Silence! Pray to the Thesmophorai, Demeter and Koura [Persephone]; pray to Ploutos, Kalligeneia, Kourotrophos [Hekate], Ge (the Earth), Hermes and the Kharites (Graces), that all may happen for the best at this gathering, both for the greatest advantage of Athens and for our own personal happiness! May the award be given her who, by both deeds and words, have most deserved it from the Athenian people and from the women! Address these prayers to heaven and demand happiness for yourselves. Io Paean! Io Paean! Let us rejoice!”
In this translation (O’Neill) the title Kourotrophos is attributed to Hekate, and this is likely correct given the Eleusinian connections this ritual has. As with the rest of the cult, Hekate’s part is a small one, a supporting figure to the great Goddesses Demeter and Persephone, but it is likely that the date of Thesmophoria influenced the investiture of a Heketean celebration in November, particularly if we are keen to maintain the mid-month as the time when such rituals were performed.
Final Musings
All that is written here is for your consideration rather than instruction, I’ve tried to keep my thought process and research as transparent as possible to allow you to replicate it in your own time and way.
To close off today’s post I wanted to share one piece of inspiration which came to me in the process of creating this post.
“The Lady Brimo has brought forth a holy son, Brimos born of fire and maddening storm. Come forth Hekate Persia, guide the storm and my journey through it.”
©Vicky Newton
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