Hekate as a Civic Goddess

When we think of Hekate and where she might be found we think of many things but we don’t particularly think of her in an urban setting. We might imagine her walking along lonely windswept cliff top where land, sea and sky all meet, or waiting for us at desolate forest crossroads, but not so much stood at the intersection at the end of our road. Graveyards might be found in urban environments but historically this wasn’t the case, the living and the dead being separated by distance and walls for many different magical and mundane reasons and this now artificial distinction still holds true. We rarely recognise the chthonic nature of the descending steps of the underpass or tube station as being an opening to the Underworld, preferring to see Hekate as being stood before a cavern in the deepest darkest forest rather than anywhere that might be close to home. 

Over the Wall   © Vicky Newton

In part this could be construed as being a lack of imagination on our part but a large part of it is that we really aren’t trained to think of Hekate as being a Goddess concerned with, or involved with, city life. When we play up her associations with the dead and with witchcraft we immediately cast her out of the city and into the wilderness, reinforcing the image with her associations with wild animals and the hunt. The truth of her history is far more complex than that, and if we pay attention to it confirms what some consider to be modern UPG in bring her into the city.

Celebrating Deipnon 

I’m sure everyone reading this is familiar with Deipnon, the devotional act which take place on the last day of the lunar month according to the Attic calendar to honour Hekate. Deipnon features in Aristophanes “Plutus” where the titular character say; 

“Ask Hekate whether it is better to be rich or starving; she will tell you that the rich send her a meal every month [food placed inside her door-fronted shrines] and that the poor make it disappear before it is even served.”

Aristophanes, Plutus 410 ff (trans. O’Neill) (Greek comedy C5th to 4th B.C.)

The meals described in Plutus are most likely the remains of a family meal, with and remaining food being taken from the table and transported to the closest shrine of Hekate, which may be as close as the families own doorway, or to the nearest crossroads or public shrine for deposition. As I posit in my post Hekate and the Homeless, the food was probably deposited in such a way that only food that touched the floor was considered offering to the Goddess and that a portion of the food may have been gifted to the homeless and destitute in a manner not dissimilar to alms given in medieval times. 

It is highly likely that the Greeks, though not afraid to go the extra mile in their religious and devotional endeavours, kept as close to home as possible during a time which was fraught with many spiritual dangers. Venturing out into the countryside for long walks would have been hazardous to the physical health (bandits) and their spiritual health as it was during the hours of darkness the dead wandered the world and the living were at risk of contracting miasma, a spiritual stain which would affect not only their lives but the community at large. 

Gate of Mazaeus and Mithridates Original Credit

Crossroads within the polis grid are not uncommon, nor are liminal spaces such as monumental gateways. A good example of this would be the Gate of Mazaeus and Mithridates located in the agora of Ephesus. The gateway, consisting of three archways, bears a carved relief of Hekate as a triformis goddess and bears the inscription “he who urinates this place will be pursued by the avenging spirit of the goddess Hecate”. 

I do like the idea that people participating in the Deipnon would go from their home to a central point, like the agora, making idle chit chat with friends and neighbours before making their deposition and hurrying back to their homes to avoid the avenging presence of the Goddess. Meanwhile the poor and destitute take their portion before finding a space for the night. There is no evidence for this whatsoever, and I suspect those who kept this devotional act most likely did so at a shrine located in their own porch way or much closer to their property, but the words of Aristophanes make a circumstantial case for Hekate’s association with a civic matter such as homeless and poverty, one which is mirrored by modern practice as many devotees combine Deipnon with charitable donations to homeless shelters. 

Civic Processions

“Two sacred stones (guulloi) are brought. One is placed beside Hekate in front of the gates (of Miletos); it is gardlanded and a libation of unmixed wine is poured. The other is placed at the doors of Didyman. And doing these things, they march the broad road as far as the Heights, and from the Heights through the woods.”

Source

Hekate features in two processional celebrations, the first being the procession from the city Miletos to sacred temple of Apollo at Didyman where her statue, situated before the gates of Miletus, was the starting point of the Sacred Way. 

Hekate is the starting point of the Journey. Her statue is located before the gates in a position which implies protection both of the city of Miletus and of the sacred journey which participants are about to undertake. The stones described (or gulloi, a cuboid or four sided stone which may have held special powers or celestial associations such as having fallen from the sky) represent the two points by which the two cities will be joined. The position of Hekate’s statue before the gates of Miletus, and its use as a starting point for such an important journey implies that not only was Hekate considered important to the city, perhaps one of the main protective deities, but that Her protection was invoked as part of commencing the ritual journey.  

Lagina Original Credit

The second, and perhaps more significant to Hekate as a goddess Alone, is the Procession of the Key which took place between the city of Stratonikeia and her cult centre at Lagina, where she was the sole focus of a processional celebration. 

In this celebration a young woman, often related to the serving priest of the cult, carried a ceremonial key south from the temple at Lagina to the northern city gate and into the Bouleuterion (roughly council house or assembly house) where the rules of the religious celebrations for the cult were recorded. This act or carrying the ceremonial key, undoubtedly representing either the physical key used to secure an important door within the temple or a ritual object which formed part of the temple treasure/regalia, forged a link between temple and city. The young woman was usually referred to as the Key Bearer (klaikophoros) which is a title shared with the Goddess herself. The links between the temple and city were strong, with the civic priesthood being drawn from the ruling elite and much of the cost of celebrations being shouldered by the wealthier residents as an outward display of piety. It is clear that Stratonikeians held the Goddess in high regard, featuring her on numerous coins and incorporating her in to many friezes along side Zeus and dedicating numerous festivals to Her.

Hekate as Protector of the Poli 

Another way in which Hekate showed her concern for the Greek polis was as a protector in and hour of need. As seen in my post regarding Hekate and Epiphany, the Goddess is associated with a number of incandescent manifestations which lead to the salvation of a chosen people. In particular, the warning and illumination attributed to her during the 340/39 BCE siege of Byzantium shows that not only did people believe that Hekate was both willing and able to intervene on the behalf of a city but that she should be honoured with statues and celebrations.  

Hekatean Worship in a Civic Setting

Ancient Greece covered a very large area and given it was not the hegemony that we are lead to believe. Whilst I have referred to four different locations in the course of this post this really only represents a journey of 900km by road, crossing one international border which wouldn’t have existed in the periods we are talking about. Whilst 900km may seem a long distance Greek settlements can be found throughout the Mediterranean, extending as far as the plains of Russia and the deserts of Egypt. 900km is but a fraction of a civilisation which contained many regional variations when it came to the worship and understanding of the Gods. 

Whilst we cannot say clearly that Hekate was universally viewed as a goddess which could be found at the centre of city/town life it is clear that she was not only viewed as a denizen of the wilderness. This is something to keep in mind when placing ones own devotion within the modern landscape. 

Yes, there is something “more” to performing midnight rituals at a deserted forest crossroad, or deep within an abandoned graveyard. It is nice to be able to get out into the countryside, away from distraction, noise and invasion of privacy, and place offerings in places where they will not be found but these locations can be equally found within your urban setting. Many devotees perform their rituals within their own homes, taking offerings from the altar after the ritual is closed and placing them at a local intersection or the boundary line of their garden for deposition in a smaller secondary act of devotion. Though it may feel to some that to do so is drawing Hekate out of her liminal spaces and into the city the truth is that Hekate was already present within our cities, just has she had been close to the people of Stratonikeia, Byzantium, Miletus and Ephesus all that time ago. 

Additional References

• Hekate as a Civic Goddess 1
• Hekate as a Civic Goddess 2
• Hekate as a Civic Goddess 3
• Hekate as a Civic Goddess 4

A Deipnon Ritual

As a process of rededication and to celebrate the dedication of a new statue to Hekate I decided to review my current depinon practices in light of my recent study, changes in praxis ect. The resulting ritual is a blend of things I have done before and new ritual elements which I have developed over the last couple of years and feel ready now to share with everyone.

You can download my ritual outline via the link at the bottom of this post, in the meantime this post will deal with some practical considerations one might want to think about before planning a Depinon ritual.

This post is intended to read in conjunction with a post on the history of Depinon which can be found here

Location

Offerings from the Deipnon ritual are traditional left at a three way crossroad however any liminal location, such as a property boundary, is equally appropriate. If you choose to perform the ritual at a liminal site (secluded crossroad, graveyard etc) then some ritual items will not be necessary and actions such as the cleansing of sacred space and home will need to take place in advance of the ritual and fumigation would take place after it. Equally you may be in a position where you make the initial offering but complete the ritual in full before leaving the offerings at the crossroads. Use this ritual structure flexibly and adapt it to your personal situation and preferences.

Offerings

The following are a combination of traditional and modern ritual offerings given to Hekate at Deipnon.

Libation

• Water (spring or purified)
• Wine
• Milk and honey

Food

• Garlic
• Eggs
• Sweet cakes
• Fish (mullet)
• Goat meat
  

Other Items

• Sweepings from the home and altars, including any previous food offerings
• Things you don’t want to bring into the next month as a written list
• Details of a devotional act to be carried out before next Deipnon

You are neither limited to the list given here nor should you feel the need to include everything I have suggested. At minimum you must have a libation, one food offering, and ideally one thing that from the cleansing of the sacred space or your person/al life.

When considering your offering plate keep the following things in mind. The plate should not be one from with the living has, or will, eat from. Ideally it should be dedicated to use in deipnon rituals and/or similar practices involving the dead however if this in not possible wash the plate in salt water between uses to purify the object.

To Circle or Not

In magical practices circles are usually constructed as a method of protection, as a process of making a space sacred or as a containment for energy raised for a particular purpose. In deity devotion these conditions do not necessarily apply and thus it is up to the person conducting the ritual as to whether or not they wish to include the process of casting a circle.

When performing my Deipnon ritual I do not include the casting of protective circle as

1) I am performing the ritual in a space already sacred to Hekate

2) I do not include spellwork in this ritual and therefore do not raise energy

3) the presence of a circle can cause a delay between deposition and completion of the ritual.

Circle of Candle

Particularly on this final point it is important to note that whilst we carry the ability to cast a circle within ourselves, meaning we can cast them at a time and place of our choosing, a constructed ritual circle is static once it has been established. If the practitioner leaves the circle they leave its protection behind. I’ve seen a couple of discussions suggesting that if the practitioner leaves the circle to make depositions they carry the protection of the circle with them which is untrue, at least in accordance with all my years of training and research.

Personally I use a method I developed which is not too dissimilar to the opening stages of the Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram which I call the Ephesian Compass. This process allows me to achieve balance and establish personal protections at the same time as clearing down the energies around me whilst at the same time invokes the presence of Hekate through the use of barbarous words and phrases commonly used to honour her. Using this method I am able to forego the full ritual circle and move between ritual space and deposition site freely and with confidence about my personal protections.

Were I performing the ritual out doors and away from my own property I would most likely incorporate a full circle casting (situation and location dependent) however because I am already at the deposition site the circle does not become restrictive in any fashion.

So – have fun. Use what is relevant, adapt or replace what isn’t, feedback to me here or via Facebook what you think of my mad crazy ideas. Remember, you are free to download and use my ritual but if you share it please do so with credit and a link back to this page or the blog overall.

Deipnon Ritual

Give Me Your Tired, Your Poor…

The question of Hekate and the Homeless is a subject that comes up from time to time and is one that can divide the community. Some modern practitioners see it as whole consistent with the wider ethos of Hekate’s role as a liminal Goddess, with some even considering it a integral part of the Deipnon rite, whilst others see it as new age and irrelevant to their practice.  

There are many Heketean Paths, so it is not my intention to devalue one persons perception by sharing my own. I personally feel that there is a connection between Hekate and various ‘liminal’ groups within society including, but not limited to, the Homeles so it something that I personally advocate. Not withstanding it is a complex connection, particularly historically, so it is worth examining like.

Hecate – Goddess of Crossroads – by 7th-Pillar

Deipnon and the Homeless…

Deipnon is ritual used by the ancient Greeks to mark the end of the lunar cycle and is closely associated with Hekate. Traditionally performed on the 30th day of the lunar calendar modern practitioners perform the ritual on during the dark phase of the moon.

The ritual, consisting of ritual cleansing of both the self and home, culminating in a meal, the remnants of which would be places at gateways, crossroads and public shrines to Hekate.  

Modern practitioners replicate these ritual practices, either in part or in full, as part of these modern revival of Her Worship.

One particular element that causes many a discussion on these giving of aid and alms to the poor. Many cite this as a traditional element of the Deipnon ritual and refer to the words of the titular character of the play Plutus by Aristophanes where he says:

“Why you may ask this of Hecate, whether to be rich or hungry be better. For she herself says that those who have and to spare, set out for her a supper once a month, while the poor people plunder it before ’tis well set down: but go hang thyself, and mutter not another syllable; for thou shalt not persuade me, even though thou dost persuade me.”

On face value many readers interpret this section to confirm that alms giving was a feature of the Deipnon rite. The implication is that either the poor and destitute were able, allowed or at least willing,  to remove sacred offerings from Hekate’s plate or that they were somehow incorporated into the ritual itself. This is further strengthened by the idea that “whatever is thrown or dropped is lost to this world, whatever is caught is gained” * implying that if the food were snatched up before it touched the ground it had not yet passed into Hekate’s realm, meaning it was permissible to take it.

Some devotees interpret this as being an intentional element to the Deipnon ritual on and that it is Hekate’s intention that the destitute should benefit from the offerings of the ritual. This has lead her to being referred to as a Goddess of the marginalised and helpless.

Then again not everyone agrees.

… Or Perhaps Not

Anyone familiar with Greek mythology and Greek religious practice would be aware that to take food which has been dedicated to the Gods is an act which invites misfortune and miasma. It is one thing to leave an offering to the open air and for animals to consume it, it is another for a human to do. Aristophanes is a know satirist and would often use his plays to make comments about the state of Athenian society. For this reason hose who argue that Deipnon did not feature alms giving suggest that Aristophanes is making some social commentary about the depth of deprivation amongst the Athenian poor, that in their situation they had sunk so low as to steal from the Gods. This is an argument I have made myself to highlight the difficulty of relying on Aristophanes as a source for authenticity however in this case there are other sources which compliment his words.  

Then Again…

The counter to this argument can be found in this passage

“Whatever is thrown or dropped is lost to this world, whatever is caught is gained”*

The implication of food that has fallen to the floor being lost to the world is that it passed into the chthonic realms of Hekate, from where she would distribute it to the restless dead but there was an opportunity for distribution amongst the living before this could occur. Indeed there are a number of examples of here’s gaining in some way by obtaining an item before it touches the ground, and even of items being dropped to the ground being portents of death.

It is a compelling thought that on the dark Moon the poor would gather around the door of particular houses known to practice giving to the poor where they would have the opportunity to catch a portion of the food as it was laid out on the floor for Hekate. It is likely that Aristophanes’ satirical comment was based on this practice and he wished to communicate the idea that so extreme were the conditions at the time that no food was reaching the ground as Hekate’s due.

That being said, alms giving, as we might understand it from medieval Christian practices, was not common amongst the Greeks. Charity often meant an act which benefited wider society such as building public facilities. The poor and destitute were simply a future source of slave labour, and they were of no concern to higher echelons of Greek society beyond being a potential commodity. Of course there are exceptions, and there is evidence in those legal records relating to wills that people would leave money to fund projects for the less fortunate but they were few and far between.

The argument for whether or not Deipnon should include alms or aid giving for the less fortunate therefore must remain open to interpretation by the individual devotee or group of practitioners. Many feel that the restless living are just as relevant to Hekate as the restless dead for their own personal reasons, but I thought I would share at least one of mine here today.

Hekate and the Statue of Liberty

Now as I was writing this blog post I was reminded of how Hekate is often likened to the Statue of Liberty, indeed, it was the inspiration for the title of the post.  These comparisons are often simply based on the fact that they both carry an upraised torch and wear a rayed crown, though the number of rays differ, It is well known that it was the Roman Goddess Libertas, the embodiment of liberty, which inspired the creation of the Statue of Liberty there is little doubt that there are stylistic similarities between it and Roman depictions of Hekate. Whether it is possible to say that the sculpture, Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi, was directly influenced by depictions of Hekate is open to debate. There are a number of arguments made to suggest this, and whilst many are compelling they are circumstantial and cursory, making it difficult to draw too much of a conclusion.

One suggestion I do find interesting, which is pertinent to both the discussion at hand and the political climate today, centres around the last few lines of the poem associated with the megalithic statue.

“Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”

It is a call to the restless, to those who felt without hope and who have experienced “death” (socially, economically, emotionally and perhaps actual) in their own homelands. The Statue of Liberty was the gatekeeper of the American Dream and those who sailed to America searching for hope, wealth and happiness were greeted by this giant, seemingly magical, woman who would have originally shined brightly as the sun struck her bronze body. The words of this poem resonate today as much as they did when they were written in the late 1800’s, in some ways more so, but when I hear these last few lines I hear Hekate speaking.

Whilst Hekate is assuredly the Goddess of Witches, Necromancy and the Dead she is also a Goddess of all things liminal, and what is a more liminal than the moment between one life and the next? Modern devotees often feel that Hekate is a driving force for personal evolution and development and the form that takes can be as extreme as movement between countries. Similarly, which group inhabits the spaces in between more than those who are shut out from society for one reason or another, for who death may only be a cold winters night away? The Homesless and Destitute are all “restless” in some way unique to their own situation, be that they are constantly moving between services and/or locations. I find it very easy to associate this Restless Living with the Restless Dead.

Let us not forget, Hekate does not lead solely in one direction. Just as she leads Persephone into the Underworld she also guides Her back to re-join her mother Demeter in Olympia in due time. Just so, Hekate is not only interested in those mortals who have passed from life into death; She also lends a guiding hand and torch back into the land of the living.

Perhaps Her influence was at work at some level?

Modern Devotion

Lack of historical precedent not withstanding, there is no reason that working with or for the destitute cannot become a devotional act associated with Deipnon. Modern practitioners today often participate in a portion of any sacred meal or offering so and it is not inconceivable that all portion be reserved to one side for the express purpose of giving to the homeless. This would ensure that the intended gift was not associated with the miasma of stealing from the Gods table, but it is perhaps not as practical as it may seem. Unless you know of someone locally it may be difficult to supply the gift before it has an opportunity to spoil, one issue amongst a number I could cite.

This is not a course I would recommend. I would advocate that it would be wiser to pledge to Hekate time which you will devote, in Her Name, to work with a given group of people. If time is not possible then a similar pledge of support in the form of donations (be that money or items) can also be made. It is not a competition, and you should not be making yourself destitute in the process, so given any pledge your make should be honoured be realistic about your own situation as well.

Personally I recommend that any donation of time or money be made via a recognised charity or support service as this is far safer for you as an individual than wandering the streets alone. Ideally it should be a service which does not discriminate based on religion or sexual orientation/gender identity, though this may be somewhat limiting.

 

Notes

* this quote, which appears on the Wikipedia page is poorly attributed and may appear misleading. The quote appears in The Ancient State – The Rulers and the Ruled as part of the footer notes relating to Page 60 and are the authors own words. The ancient sources cited appear as a way of illustrating the authors, apparently valid, concept.

These sources are

• Diogenes Laertius, Lives of Eminent Philosophers VIII, 34
• Aelius Spartianus, Hadrian XXVI, 7
• Pausanias, Description of Greece I, 17, 3
• Diels, Fragmente der Vorsokratiker, 1:463 Greek and German only – if anyone is aware of an English translation I would love to hear from you.

 

 

The Orphic Mysteries

But thou shalt find another, from the Lake of Memory
Cold water flowing forth, and there are guardians before it.
Say, ‘I am a child of Earth and starry Heaven; But my race is of Heaven (alone). This ye know yourselves.
But I am parched with thirst and I perish. Give me quickly
The cold water flowing forth from the Lake of Memory.’
Plate from Petelia, South Italy, fourth-third century B.C.E

Although I do not follow the Orphic Mysteries directly my practices have been heavily influenced by them indirectly one way or another. The Covenant of Hekate’s public rituals make oblique reference to them with some of the ritual movements and the wider Pagan concept of ‘As above, So below’ also finds it’s origin in Orphism.

Just how much Orphism has influenced western religion is actually surprising if you’ve never deeply considered it. I’ve decided that, in addition to how I have incorporated the Orphic Oath as described in the Petelia Plate into my daily practice, I would give an over view of the Mysteries themselves and the impact they have had on Christianity to help explain just how my balancing ritual fits within this.

Who is Orpheus
Orpheus is the legendary musician, poet and prophet of ancient Greece,  famous for his descent into Hades to retrieve his wife Eurydice. Son of the Thracian King Oeagrus and the muse of epic poetry Calliope, at least according to Apollodorus and Pindar, Orpheus was a man of many talents. As well as processing the gifts of music, poetry and prophecy he is credited with bringing medicine, writing and agriculture to mankind,  as well as having in-depth knowledge of astrology.

One of his earliest adventures appears in the Argonautica as he aids Jason in escaping the clutches of the Sirens.  Where as Odysseys has his crew stop up their ears whilst he satisfies his curiosity lashed tight to the mast Jason, on advice from Chiron, has Orpheus drown out the song of the Sirens with his own song and poetry. In his own classical epic Orpheus does what only Herakles (Hercules) has done before him and enters the realms of the Dead to entreat the Gods of Hades to release his wife Eurydice from death. Orpheus was nearly successful, but before they could emerge he did the one thing he had been warned not to.  He looked backwards at Eurydice. For the second and finally time Eurydice was pulled into the underworld, never to return.

In despair Orpheus took to wandering the wilds of Thrace, proclaiming his grief in verse and song, until he was set upon by the maenads who, in their Bacchic frenzy, tear him to pieces and cast his head and lyre into the river from where the muses placed the lyre amongst the stars and head transported to Lesbos where it was placed in a shrine from where it continued to utter prophecy.

The attack of the maenads is commonly given three explanations.  Firstly that in their divinely inspired madness the maenads were unable to hear the sweet tones of Orpheus and therefore were able to carry out the will of Dionysus, whom Orpheus had once held as his patron deity but in later life had rejected along with all the other Gods of heaven. Secondly that the maenads were acting on heir own initiative and punishing him for his rejection of female lovers in favour of men. Finally, as a priest of Dionysus and founder of an essential Dionysian cult, his death at the hands of the gods female worshipers echoes the death of Dionysus-Zagreus at the hands of the Titans.

The Orphic Mysteries
The Orphic Mysteries came to prominence in the 6th BCE and was transported from Orpheus native Thrace by his pupil Musaeus. The Orphic Creation myths stem from the World Egg, from which the God Protogonus (Phanes) was born. Down a succession of deities including the Titans and Olympians we reach Dionysus-Zagreus, son of Zeus and Persephone. Dionysus-Zagreus was proclaimed by Zeus as the future ruler of the universe but through the machinations of Hera the Titans ripped him to pieces and consume him. The reason for her envy was Zeus favouring Dionysus-Zagreus above any other, allowing the child to handle his thunderbolt and sit upon his throne. Neoplatonists believed him to be the reincarnation of Protogonus/Phanes and gave this as the reason Zeus names Dionysus-Zagreus as his successor as ruler of the universe.

In avenging his eaten son Zeus turns this thunderbolt upon those Titans who had consumed Dionysus-Zagreus. Zeus swallowed his sons heart, taken from the ashes, and caused the mortal Semele to fall pregnant with Dionysus-Baccus but Hera, still offended, took action. She persuaded Semele to demand a boon from her immortal love, which lead to her incineration upon viewing his full divine presence. Zeus saved his unborn son and carried him in his thigh until he was full term and was born as Dionysus-Baccus.

At the same moment that the Titans are destroyed mankind emerges from the ashes. It is from this that the Orphic concept of the divinity of man and the need to redeem the soul come from. The Orphics believe that once the Titans had consumed the flesh of Dionysus-Zagreus their own flesh absorbs the divine nature of the consumed god which in turn was passed on to mankind when they emerged from the ashes. This gives man a duality in his nature, containing both the inherent ‘good’ of the Gods and ‘evil’ of the Titans.

This concept is brought more into focus when you consider that Orphism is heavily influenced by eastern concepts such as reincarnation and sin. Without mitigating sin, which the human soul is danger of courting due to his origin with the Titans, the dead are unable to reach Elysium. Elysium is the Greek/Roman version of the Isles of Blessed or Heaven, an eternal paradise which can only be achieved by living a blameless life of austerity and virtue. May Orphics are celibate, teetotal and vegetarian in order to achieve one of the three virtuous lives necessary to achieve release from the endless cycles of rebirth and reach Elysium. This is the complete polar opposite of the rest of the Dionysiac cults. Once the initiate died they would enter the underworld and undergo the same process of spiritual purification that all souls experienced before reincarnation.  However if they were found by all the judges, including the queen of the underworld Persephone, to have escaped their Titanic nature eternal peace was their reward.

It is this concept that takes us forward into the spiritual offspring of Orphism, Gnosticism and Christianity.

Orphism and Christianity
Orphism is one of the longest surviving Ancient Mysteries, surviving as far as 5th century CE along with Mithraic cults whilst other Dionysian cults faded or were driven underground with other less popular cults. The last written reference is found in the writings of Nonnos. One of the reasons for this is because Orphism underwent regular revision by people such as the Neoplatonists and Pythagoras another is because some of the concepts and mythology of Orphism has survived down in Christianity.

Parallels between Jesus and Dionysus can be drawn in some of the parables, notably the turning of water to wine and his crucifixion and resurrection and in motifs such as healing the sick, raising the dead and being associated with fishermen. However it is only the motifs that survive, clad in clothing of peace and pacifism. Gnosticism provided much more fertile ground for the seeds of Orphism, most noticeable the idea that the soul is trapped by the physical body and through austerity and remaining free from sin the soul can achieve release from repeated reincarnation and return them to the divine Zoé, the divine force at the centre of creation. Zoé is also a term used to describe an orphic Dionysus and represents a divine female archetype,  similar to the Jewish Shekinah. Gnostics are notoriously feminist and the gender reassignment may he simply an extension of this, or alternatively it was see as a way to create a distinction between them and Orphics and other devotees of Dionysus, who were being increasingly being considered as corrupt.

Orphism certainly didn’t retreat in to the mists of time without leaving it’s mark on those who came after.  Certainly incorporating Orphic concepts into modern paganism shows that much of its teachings are still relevant today. Whether it is direct and conscious usage through word and deed or unconscious, by following concepts such as “As Above, So Below”, we are touched by Orpheus and his prophetic muse.

Orphism and Eggs and the Hekate Supper
How then does Orphic Mysteries affect the Heketean devotee? The most obvious link lies within the egg of the Hekate Supper at the dark moon.

For a number of years I read that the egg was a common offering to Hekate but the why often escaped me. Beyond responses along the lines of ‘because it is said and so it is’ I struggled to get much further forward, which really frustrated my inner toddler who must know the reason why for things (any parent whose experienced the whole ‘but why?’ conversation will know the conversations I mean).

Through coincidence a friend was pondering this issue as I was researching this post and her musings on Facebook lead to a series of useful connections. Firstly to an article by S I Johnson called Crossroads,  appearing in Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik. It is avalible to read in English at Jstor although you will need an account (which is also free). Secondly it lead to Prolegomena to the Study of Greek Religion by Jane Ellen Harrison, particularly chapter 12 on the Orphic Cosmology.

For the Orphics ‘everything’ begins with the egg
In the beginning of Things, black-winged Night
Into the bosom of Erebos dark and deep
Laid a wind-born egg, and,  as the seasons rolled
Forth sprang Love (Eros) gleaming with wings of gold
The Birds of Aristophanes

This is purely Orphic, where as Homer has no interest in these moments before the existence of man and Hesiod who, whilst clearly influenced by the Orphic mysteries, was more bothered by the appearance of Eros into the cosmos.

The egg is directly attributed to Orpheus, having said “what time great Chronos fashioned in holy aether; a silver – gleaming egg” (Damascius, Inquiery Concerning the First Principles)

The  doctrine of the egg was something taught to all initiates and may have evolved into a taboo object. Plutarch, for example,  abstained from eating eggs with the explanation that he had been ‘ infected by Orphic and Pythagorean notions, and was refusing to eat eggs eggs just as certain people refuse to eat the heart and brains, because he held an egg to be taboo as being the principal of life.’ In other words not only did Plutarch count eating the egg as taboo as eating the flesh of the bird the Orphic, as he goes on to explain, have the answer to the age old riddle of the chicken and the egg, the egg is not only ancient in comparison to the bird but is the carrier of all life in potential and therefore more important. Plutarch causes the commentator to speculate on the importance of the egg in ritual; “And therefore it is not inappropriate that in the orgiastic ceremonies in honour of Dionysus an egg is amongst the sacred offerings, as being the symbol of what gives birth to all things, and in itself contains all things.” Precisely how the egg was used is unclear how it’s function was twofold, being used in the purification of a person or space as well as an offering to the dead.

Here is where Hekate comes in. The Hekate Supper is a collection of refuse and detritus gathered together after the purification of the ritual space. The egg becomes a means of purifying the space although the mechanism is not clearly explained. One could ponder that as an object of pure creative forces the egg attracts and absorbs the negativity that might have gathered around the sacred space. The act of physically cleansing deals with the dust and detritus whilst the egg deals with the build up of spiritual gunk that is drawn to sacred spaces.

The idea that eggs serve this function isn’t exactly new. Eggs are acknowledged as being able to absorb the smells and flavours of food around them. Storing eggs in the fridge, outside of their container, allows the egg to absorb any nasty smells and eggs have historically bern used to cleanse and nourish hair. Magically speaking eggs are often used in Witchbottles and Spirit Traps, with the raw egg trapping the negative spirit.

There are many traditions around the world which make use of eggs to cleanse, protect and heal. From holding the egg in the hand or on/over an infected area and visualising the negative energy being absorbed to washing in the mixed white and/or yolk, there are common themes.  Firstly it is always a raw egg, this goes for making egg chalk powder from the shells too. Once the egg is cooked the life giving potential is destroyed and so the energy lost. Secondly it should ideally be a fertilised egg, again so the potential within is much greater. Some America, North and South,  state that only eggs of a certain breed of chicken, or fertilised by a cock of a certain colour, should be used. Thirdly the egg should be carried far from the home to be destroyed and the contents released. Some traditions would have it that this can take place in any nature setting far from the home of the person or area being cleansed, Mexican traditions say that in healing the egg should be broken into running water that flows away from the home and I found a new age site suggesting cracking it down a flushing toilet (it is running water).

Obviously for the Heketean it is the crossroad that is preeminent. The reason for this is explored by Johnson in Crossroads. It is difficult to know if Hekate became associated with crossroads, an ‘uncanny place’, because she is a goddess of ‘uncanny place’ or if crossroads were considered an ‘uncanny place’ because Hekate dwelt there. Regardless they are a space between places, neither road A, B or C, and this concept ties into less ‘uncanny’ epitaphs such as Propolos; She Who Leads, Guide, Companion, Propylaia; One before the Gate, Prothyraea; Before the Gate and Psychopomp; Soul-Guide.

The egg is take to the liminal crossroad and is encountered by Hekate but why give the goddess a now impure offering considered acceptable? One of her Epitaphs from the PGM IV 1390-1495 is Borborophorba, Eater of Filth. Within this spell, a love spell of attraction performed with the help of heroes or gladiators or those who have died a violent death, Hekate is referred to as the eater of filth a number of times and the caster draws her and the restless dead to eat the food offering in return for their rousing the lust of the target of the spell. In this setting the filth is a welcomed offering both to Hekate and the dead, when accepted results in a transaction between practitioner and force invoked.

Returning to the egg, Hekate consumes the egg as part of the offering, disposing of the captured negative energy on the behalf of Her devotee even as they have disposed of the physical detritus. It is also here that the egg is encountered by the restless dead that follow in Hekate’s wake. The unclean elements trapped within the egg are taken into Hekate and/or her cavalcade and out of the mortal/material world, to be cleansed and put to some future use, remembering that energy can never be destroyed, only changed.

Orpheus and I
Well after all that I felt much clearer as to the why eggs are included in the Hekate Supper, enough at least to fill the gaps with personal gnosis. However the original thrust of my post was to share how incorporate the Orphic concept of the divine origins of man. The opening quote was a section of the Petelia Plate, dated to the fourth-third century B.C.E. Of all the Orphic inspired Plates it best outlines the Orphic Oath and the central concept of my (almost) daily balancing ritual. The phrase ‘I am a child of Earth and starry Heaven; But my race is of Heaven (alone). This ye know yourselves…’ speaks to how man emerged from the ashes of the mingled flesh of the Titans and Dionysus-Zagreus and contains the divine spark of the heavens within their own flesh and I have incorporated the words in an adapted form into my ritual. They provide a moments meditation on  number of subjects, particularly when combined with ritual movement introduced by the Rites of Her Sacred Fires.

I am a child of the heavens above
Born uniting stars and stones
© Victoria Newton

As I stand with my hands raised, palms to the sky in a receiving gesture, not only do I have the opportunity to draw down golden energy from the universe I can ponder upon the divine energy inherent within me as well as my patrons. Once I have acknowledged these divine forces and origins I then balance this by recognising that I am mortal, living upon a mortal planet. By adopting a different pose, submissive hand still raised to the sky and dominant hand now down by my side palm facing the ground, not only do I stand physically uniting the stars and stones (Heaven and Earth) but I am allowing energy to flow from the Earth into my being, as well as mingling it with the heavenly energy also within me. Once balance is achieved I revert to the original stance,  closing down the flow of energy and recognising the balance within me. As a final act I ground myself by placing both hands against the floor.

This is probably more simple than I make it sound. It can be incorporated into a larger ritual or form the basis of its own short one. You can perform it for 5 minuets or 50 (though it would take stronger arms than mine to hold the pose for that length of time), the point is to feel that sense of balance within yourself and give yourself the time needed to achieve it.

I hope this post has achieved my original aim without digressing too far into the origins of the egg in the Hekate Suppers. If I have majorly digressed blame Homer, I’ve been reading his epics and can only assume his style has rubbed off on me a little.

Links and References
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orpheus#Travelling_as_an_Argonaught
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orphism_(religion)
http://www.timelessmyths.com/classical/mysteries.html#Orphic
http://www.timelessmyths.com/classical/creation.html#Orphic
http://hivemind.mxf.yuku.com/topic/4136577/From-Orphism-to-GNosticism#.U8EQmYVwbGV
Pagan Regeneration, by Harold R. Willoughby, [1929] Chapter IV Orphic Reform, at Sacred-texts.com
Orphic Egg by ClarusConstat