Sanctuary Rite: devotianal month for purification

Sanctuary of Hekate Pasikrateia

Devotional month of purification

 

In many modern magical traditions February is a time for purification. I have designed this rite as devotional ritual that can be performed on a regular basis during February. For example on a daily basis, several times a week or once a week.

In Antiquity Hekate was strongly connected with purification of persons or the household- and in this ritual we will address Hekate in her roles as a Goddess of purification- but also in her aspects as the Goddess who has powers over the spheres of earth, sea and sky and who is the ensouler of the cosmos and the shining great saviour.

You will need:

A devotional shrine to Hekate with a picture, image or statue of the Goddess.

Two candles to illuminate the shrine

One white, red or yellow pillar candle

An apple or pomegranate (as offering)

Three bowls

Garlic, Onion or an egg

Water (if possible source water)

Lavender, basil, rosemary or hyssop

Incense (for this rite with cleansing properties, for example pine resin, sage, lavender, olibanum,sandalwood- you can use smudge sticks for example).

 

Preparation:

Prepare the devotional shrine for Hekate; the statue/image/picture of the Goddess should be in the background centre of the shrine. Put a candle to the left and right side of the statue/image of the Goddess; put the apple/pomegranate in front of the image of Hekate. Put the white/yellow/ red candle in front of the apple/pomegranate.  And arrange the three bowls in a triangle around the candle. Fill one bowl with the spring water and put a little bit of the herb (lavender/hyssop/rosemary/basil) into the water, fill the other bowl with the garlic (or onion/egg) and use the third bowl for the incense (fill it with sand if you use charcoal incense or put the smudge stick into the bowl)

 

The Rite:

Part 1: Lighting the flames.

Light the two candles that are on the left and right side of the statue/image of Hekate on your shrine. Speak:

“I light these divine flames in the name of the great Goddess Hekate, may her divine fire be present on this shrine, and may her light bring protection and blessings.”

 

Focus for a moment on the flames  see and feel the light that the flames create. Watch the fire. See and feel the atmosphere that the fire creates on your shrine.

Close your eyes take three deep breaths and relax.

Calm down Imagine the stars burning bright above you in the sky (even if it is day- the stars are there).Imagine that their silver light flows down into your body and fills you out. You begin to shine in silver light. Imagine the depths of the earth below you. Imagine a golden shining serpent that crawls up to you. This serpent is pure life source- the serpent is climbing in coils around your body and the life force of the earth fills you out. You begin to glow in a golden light.

Imagine and feel the ouranic fire of the stars and the chthonic serpent power filling you out. Imagine that in your breast a spark begins to shine, the light of this spark gets brighter and brighter until a radiant sun burns within your breast.

Open your eyes and see the shrine before you.

Hold your hands over the shrine and imagine that the ouranic and chthonic powers flow through your hands into the shrine. Imagine that they begin to shine. Speak again and again the Ephesian letters: Askion, Kataskion, Lix, Tetrax, Damnameneus, Aisia.And imagine that a sphere of light surrounds you and your shrine. The shrine is the centre of this sacred sphere. The divine fire of your shrine flames is filling this sphere around you.

If you feel it is enough bring your hand back to your breast. And stop to speak the Ephesian letters.

 

 

Part 2: Inviting the Goddess:

Burn some incense and say: “I burn this incense for the great Hekate, may this smell welcome her on this shrine”.

Close your eyes… Relax and imagine a beautiful young maiden. She wears a pure white dress with golden ornaments; on her feet she has golden sandals. Her hair is brown but shines with a light of gold and an aura of light is around the Goddess.  On her head she has a shining golden diadem. And a saffron coloured veil is around her shoulders.  In her hands she holds long burning torches. Around her neck is a necklace with a gold key.

Imagine that she stands behind your shrine. So that the candles on the shrine burn in front of her.

Raise your hands up to the sky. Begin to whisper again and again- Io Hekate, Io Pasikrateia… whisper this again and again with closed eyes. Imagine the Goddess standing on your shrine while you whisper this again and again. Let your words get louder and louder (or as loud as you are able to speak them in your home) and when you feel it is enough, open your eyes and speak:

 

“Hekate Pasikrateia- great and powerful Goddess,

heavenly, earthly, underworldly,

Key holding queen of the cosmos,

ensouler of life,

bearer of divine fire,

you who have power over earth, seas and sky,

almighty queen

Be here on this shrine,

and bring your protection, blessings and love!”

 

Let your hands sink down pointing towards your shrine; touch your shrine with your hands.Open yourself to her presence. Focus on your inner view of Hekate and watch the shrine with your physical eyes (you can speak again and again Io Hekate, Io Pasikrateia- until you feel her presence on her shrine- but that is optional)

 

Part 3: Offering to the Goddess.

 

Burn again some incense and take the incense into your hands and let it circle three times over the shrine and let the smoke touch the image of the Goddess. Speak: “I offer you this incense Io Hekate, Io Pasikrateia.”

Put the incense back to the shrine.

 

Take the apple/pomegranate into your hands, imagine that the apple begin to glow in your hands, shining like gold. And speak:

 

„ Hekate shining maiden, bringer of light, torch bearing queen

accept these offerings. Be gracious to my rite. “

 

Put the apple/pomegranate back to the shrine.

 

Part 4 purification spell:

Pray to Hekate and ask her to help you to clean yourself from all negativity and harmfull influences.

Take the garlic/onion/egg out of the first bowl and hold it in your hands. Imagine that all negative energies flow like a dark energy out of your body, aura and soul into the garlic/onion/egg and that it draws all negative influences out of you. You can focus on specific topics that you want to banish- for example fear, sadness, illness or you can just focus on everything that is negative no matter if you brought it over you yourself- or others (no matter if with intention or not). Let all negativity flow into the garlic/onion/egg and speak again and again: “IO Hekate Io Chtonia”. When you feel it is enough say in your own words that you free yourself from all negative influences in the name of Hekate Chtonia.

Take the water into your hands. Ask Hekate Einalia in your own words to bless the water. To fill it with her love and light. Imagine that Hekate holds her burning torches into the water and the water begins to glow into a wine-red light. Sprinkle the water again and again over yourself and speak again and again: Io Hekate Io Einalia. While you do this imagine that the water cleanses you and the love of the Goddess fills you. When you feel it is enough ask Hekate Einalia to clean you and to bless you and put some water unto your brow and bless yourself in the name of Hekate Einalia.

Now take the incense out of the third bowl and pray to Hekate Ourania to bless and clean you. Smudge yourself with the incense; imagine that you begin to glow and to shine and that all remaining negativity leaves you. Speak again and again:” Io Hekate Io Ourania”. When you feel it is enough smudge yourself a last time with the incense and bless yourself in the name of Hekate Ourania.

Now take the red/yellow/white candle and light it on the flames of the other candles. Hold it in front of you- so that the reflection of it light can reach you. Now ask Hekate Soteira to clean you with her light. Imagine that the Goddess stands with her torches in front of you and she puts her burning torches into your direction, the fire of her torches begin to clean you, to bless you, to heal you and transform you. Imagine that her fires are burning within you and you are shining like a bright star in the darkness- blessed by her burning torches. While you imagine that speak again and again: “IO Hekate, Io Megiste, Epiphanestate, Soteira. Let her divine fire transform you. When you feel it is enough open your eyes and look into the fire. Pray to Hekate Soteira and ask her to bless her with her divine fire of love, truth and belief. Imagine again that her fire burns bright within you. Then put the burning candle back to its place. The divine fire of Hekate burns now surrounded by the symbols of earth, sea and sky on your shrine.

 

 

Part 6: Thanking and ending the rite.

 

Now you can meditate, enjoy the presence of Hekate, do divination, play instruments, dance or do other devotional acts to Hekate. Or thank her and close the rite.

 

Thank her with your own words. Ask her to guide you with her light. To protect you and your home and to bring her blessings into your life.

 

Imagine that she disappears from the shrine- but a spark of her presence, power and energy stays connected to the statue/image and in the flames on your shrine.

 

Imagine that the sacred sphere around you begins to fade away; it flows into the flames on your shrine and into your heart.

 

Touch the ground with your hands and imagine that all energy that is too much flows down into the earth

 

Notes:

The Epithets that I use in this rite:

The Epithet Pasikrateia means the all-powerful one or the almighty one. The epithet comes from the Greek Magical Papyri. Chtonia, Einalia and Ourania are connected to Hekate´s power over the earth, sea and sky. The Epithets are used in the Theogony of Hesiod and in the Orphic Hymn to Hekate. Megiste means the greatest. Epiphanestate means the most manifest one or the most shining/bright one. Soteira means saviour. These were the main Epithets that were used in the temple of Lagina for Hekate. In this temple Hekate was worshiped as a local form of the Anatolian Great Mother- similar like Kybele or Atremis of Ephesos. Together these Epithets mean the greatest most shining saviour.

 

Repeating:

You can do this ritual on a daily basis during February or as often as it is possible for you. But the ritual is designed for a regular basis and will build up power and energy with each repeating of the rite.

You have to give Hekate the apple/pomegranate just when you do the rite the first time and can let it stay on the shrine. When it begins to get bad you have to bring it to a crossroad and use a new apple/pomegranate that you have to offer her now again. So you just have to do the offering the first time when you do the ritual or if you have to exchange the offering after some time. Several Hekateia (statues of the three-formed Hekate) had apples or pomegranate in her hands.

The herbs:

Rosemary, lavender, hyssop and basil have a long history as healing herbs. And are still used in folk magic a lot as cleansing herbs.

Garlic, onions and eggs:

These have a long history in purification rites and healing folk magic. You can use for each rite one bulb of garlic or one egg or one onion. Or you can use the same onion/garlic/egg several times until you feel that it is full. Bring the egg/garlic/onion to a crossroad and leave it there. When you leave the crossroad don´t turn back. You can also leave the remainings of the incense on the crossroad. And the water that was used during the rites.

Love, truth and belief:

These were the three virtues of Hekate in the Chaldean Oracles.

 

Other inspirations:

It would be wise to clean your home during this month of purification- you can use the incense that you have used during the rite. And you can sprinkle the blessed water in all rooms of your home. You can also use eggs/garlic/onions as magnets for negative energies in your home.

Do devotional walks and feel the elements and get in touch with them. For example when you bring the remainings of the ritual to the crossroad. Pray on the crossroad to Hekate Chtonia- geht in touch with the earth and give all negativity to the earth in her name.

Do nightly walks and watch the stars. Imagine that the purificating fire of the stars flows into you and cleans you from all negativity. Pray to Hekate Ourania to clean you with her star-fire.

Visit the sea and clean yourself with the sea water or visit sources and clean yourself with the fresh water that flows from the womb of the underworld. Pray to Hekate Einalia.

 

 

 

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Deipnon,ceremonial tools and incense

 

In the nights of the dark moon I focus on Hekate aspects as chthonic Goddess. The queen of the night, who walks with the shades of the dead through the crossroads, the mistress of graveyards, queen of witches, protectress against evil and Goddess of crossroads.

 

She is dark but protecting, in her protecting aspects she can be fearsome- like a guardian dog, friendly towards the households but aggressive against enemies. In the nights of the dark moon the spirits wander, the veils between the worlds are thinner. Hekate is protecting the homes of her followers against negative spirits and harmful influences. But at the same time she is the mistress of spirits. She is queen of the witches and the protectress against malefic witchcraft as well.

 

The nights of the dark moon are usually busy times for me, in my devotion to Hekate and for my witchcraft and magical practices as well. Yesterday I have consecrated my ritual tools again. They were already consecrated years and months ago- each tool when I got it and brought it to my collection. My ritual tools for the ceremonial magic are quite different than most of the ritual tools of witches that I know. I use a sharp kitchen knife to cut herbs, to ward off negative spirits, to work for protection, I use a whip for apotropaic practices and if it is needed for banishing, I use a wand made from yew wood- to call the Goddess or other Gods/Goddesses, to create circles, to bless for invocations and evocations (I think that’s the tool that I have in common with most witches). I use a cord for trance work. And bowls and the oinochoe for sacred water and offerings. These are my basic ritual tools in my ceremonial worship of Hekate- as well as the bowls for incense (sky), blossoms (earth) and water (sea). As well as my drum and the divination tools.

 

And today I gave Hekate her Deipnon offerings, in antiquity this meal was used to calm the restless dead. In my personal practice I give this meal to Hekate and all the spirits that are benign- in my home and around me. And afterwards I bring it to a crossroad that also the restless dead have their share of it.

And I created incense for the cleansing of the home during the dark moon. I used cypress needles, cumin, poplar buds, bay leaves, pine resin, rosemary, juniper berries and essential oils of bergamot, cedar and Indian lemon balm. I charged the mixture after my Deipnon rite and will use it in my household cleansing practices that I do on the dark moon each month.

Creating a Hekateion 2

I have blessed and cleansed the first statue with the power of the three realms, incense (sky), sacred water (sea) and a mixture of herbs (earth). And asked Hekate to bless the statue with her divine fire.

I started to colour the statue and already got the central pillar. First I had in mind to buy a Greek column, but these are quite expensive in the size that I need for the statues. So I decided to use a wood pole and my husband connected it with the table that will be used as the altar, on which the Hekateion will stand soon.

I have created herbal bags that are filled with herbs that are connected to Hekate and with other symbolic objects. I will put these bags into the statues as heart. The statues will be filled with this bag and other items to strengthen the connection to Hekate and they will help to ensoul the statues, or to animate it- how it was called in ancient Theurgy.

I blessed and empowered the bags on my sanctuary shrine and petitioned Hekate to fill these bags with her love, protection and power, that they will strengthen the connection to her, that she sends daimons and spirits to fill these bags as mediators and to animate the bags (and than the statues soon). I have used a recipe from late antiquity as basis. Rue, bay leaves, gum (which was gum arabicum I think, but I used the good smelling ambra gum instead), myrrh, olibanum and in the original recipe the crushed tails of lizards that live near houses. I used snake skin instead. And I added other herbs that are connected to Hekate too and hair of a bag dog, beeswax (because of her connection to honey) and amethysts (I personal connect these with Hekate, I don’t know ancient references for this). The bags will be put into the statues when they are finished.

I cleansed and blessed the altar table and the pole with incense, sacred water and herbs, I gave an offering of honey to the nymph of the tree that was used to create the pole and asked her to be welcome, to get a share in the offerings that will be given in future to Hekate and to aid me and other devotees in our worship of Hekate. After I have done this I noticed that I never did the same for the nymphs of other wood materials that I used so far as shrines or altars- so I invited the nymph(s) of the trees who were used to build the tables that I use as altar. And did the same for her (or them). And played the drum for the nymphs and the other spirits who surrounded me in my rite.

Now I wait until the other statues arrive, tomorrow I will speak with the artist who will help me in my project and I look forward to carry on my work.

Dark Moon- time to create Witches Salt

Before I celebrated the Deipnon on the last dark moon. I created Witches Salt. It is inspired by the Hoodoo formula Black Salt. I used wormwood black pepper garlic and salt to create the formula. I use it for protection, banishing and curses. I called on Hekate in her darker emanations. As queen of witchcraft, mistress of spirits, Goddess of nightly crossroads and graveyards. I called the spirits of the herbs to aid me and called the restless spirits to aid me too. I petitioned Hekate Chtonia to strengthen the spell while I burned the herbs to ashes and mixed this with the salt. And charged the Witches Salt formulated it’s purpose and breathed life into the formula.

Herbs and experiments with Godforms…

On the weekend I was busy to fill some of my dried herbs into big jars. I harvested a lot of herbs in my witch-garden and dried them in the temple room. I separated the leaves from the stems and filled the the leaves of green mints, spearmint, lemon balm and lemon verbena into the jars. I created a powder from the stems of the mints- that I will use as incense and for herbal powders. From some stems of the lemon verbena and the mints I created smudge sticks. Usual I create these from fresh herbs and let them than dry as bundle- it is an experiment if it will work to burn the stems of the herbs as smudge sticks, too.

I blessed the powder and the smudge sticks on my Hekate-Shrine in the temple room.

 

During the weekend I was quite busy in the temple room. I worked every day on the goal to recharge the temple room again with energy and to ground Hekates power in the room. I have used techniques from ceremonial magick (some of these had their roots in the greco-roman magic of late antiquity). In the last years I used more techniques and symbolism from the Traditional Witchcraft background in my personal practice (and will keep using them when it is about witchcraft). So it was an alternation to switch back to this stuff for me. For me the techniques from the ceremonial magick work better for me personal to create a permanent sacred space. The techniques from the Traditional Witchcraft background work for me more to open a door into the underworld and to bring the witch nearer to this realm. I was surprised that the ceremonial stuff worked still so well after so many years where I rarely used them and drew my personal practice from quite different practices and symbolism. But it felt not really like I broke with this stuff, when I used it now again. But I have to say that I don’t use the Christian-jewisch elements of ceremonial magick (like calling on angels or using names of Yahweh). Instead I change those stuff and use symbolism that is drawn from Hekate (and I did this in the past, too). But today it was much easier, because I know more of the Theurgy and magic of late antiquity (where she was quite important).

 

On this blog I read a very interesting article about the creating of Godforms. This practice was not new to me and I used mental pictures of Gods in my work with Gods and spirits. But I never tried to nourish these mental pictures with energy to make them more physical when it is about my working with Gods (when it is about spirit work, this came into being natural). In my personal practice I invoked the presence of Hekate into her statue(s) or into the room (or circle) in general. The article of the author spoke to me and I tried out her method to create Godforms.

Instead of using the Greek vocals I chanted the Ephesian Letters (Askei Kataskei Lix Tetrax, Damnameneus Aisia) again and again and nourished the mental picture of Hekate with the energy I raised through that. With the goal in mind to bring the mental image of Hekate into the etheric/astral realm and make it more physical. I didn’t had high expectations, but in the smoke of the incense I was able to see the shape of the Goddess- like a mirage in the room and I was able to feel her presence strong in the room.

I will continue to work with this method and will see how it will evolve in future.

 

 

Magic, Prayers and Religion…

On monday morning I have anointed a red candle with rose-geranium oil (I have created this myself some time ago from rose-geraniums in my garden). I have harvested fresh patchouli leaves, jasmin leaves and leaves of rose-reraniums (all these plants and some more are at the moment inside of my house through the winter months). I have put these leaves around the candle into a candle glass.

Then I lighted this candle in my hearth-shrine and invoced the presence of Hekate into her statue- I invoced her as Kourotrophos (nourisher of life), Phosphoros (lightbringer) and Soteira (savior). I prayed to her to fill me, my home and life with harmony, strength and balance. I connected myself to the spirits of the herbs and asked them to aid me and bless me (and home and life).Than I let my emotions, will and etheric energy flow through my hands into the candle flame and weaved the etheric energy of the herbs into the spell, too.

I have burned herbal honey as incense and the smoke filled the shrine as offering to the Goddess. And it filled my home, I blessed myself with the raising smoke. The flame of the candle burned bright in the hearth-shrine, filling the shrine and my home with blessings.

Often magic and religious acts are going hand in hand, often they are connected with each other and are melted together.

The word religion has in its original meaning something very mystical and magical- it comes from the latin word religio- and means to re-connect with something. To re-connect with the divine, to experience the divine through this connection.The religions of antiquity were not religions of pure believe (like the monotheistic religions today) but were quite mystic in its practices. They were not centered around the beliefe in the Gods and Goddesses, but they were focused to the connection to the Goddesses and Gods, to get in touch with them through prayers, rites, offerings and sacrifices, to experience the Gods/Goddesses. The Gods/Goddesses were reachable and their power could be felt. Symbolic acts (like the offerings and sacrifices) were important in the religions of the ancient world, they connected the worlds with each other, connected the humans with the Gods/Goddesses.

The offerings, sacrifices, prayers and symbolic acts created a bridge between the worlds. Prayers were not just a repeating of psalms and words- but a speaking with the Gods, a connection with them. And the gods answered the prayers (and do this today, too) through signs and omens, through dreams and inspirations and divination was an importand part of ancient religion, too. It was used to get signs and messages from the Gods.

It was not about to believe in the Gods but to get in touch with them, to experience them and to connect with them. Many people today feel a desire for mystical practices, for magic and for the direct connection with the divine.

The Goddesses and Gods of the ancient world are alive, they can be reached through offerings (like candles, food, flowers, incense, blessed water etc…), through their statues and idols, through prayers and invocations (or evocations), symolic acts, trance and rites. All these acts build a bridge to the old Gods, connects us with them, the Goddesses and Gods can be experienced today, they still answer the prayers like they did in the old times. Religion is something that is alive, that is living and breathing if we focus again to the old meaning of the word. Religion is connecting- if religion is practiced, if religion is lived: Than religion truly connects the humans with the divine- in the old days as today.

In this sense religion is something magical. Because the direct contact to the divine transforms us and changes us, it creates change- and that is magic.

Waxing Moon, Spell and Signs of the Goddess

On the Nomenia i had empowered a rose quarz with the power of the first crescent moon and with the might of Hekate-Phosphors. On Saturday I filled a bag of white cloth with seven herbs, the rose quarz and blessed salt (so 9 ingredients) and sealed this herbal bag with red cord. I asked the spirits of the herbs to help me with my goal (which i will not name her in detail). Then i charged the bag with my emotions, will, intent and my etheric energy.

On Sunday I took the bag with me to a walk through the night. The night was clear, the waxing moon was shining bright, the stars were glowing, i looked up into the living veil of darkness, starlight and moonshine- the living veil of the nightly Goddess. I held the bag in my hands, so that it was filled with the light of the moon, I drew down the energy of the waxing moon and filled the bag with it. I prayed to Hekate-Phosphoros to bless the spell and to be gracious towards my goal. I drew down the power of the stars and filled the bag with it, too.

I walked to Hekates crossroad shrine (a shrine on a hill outside of my village, on a threefold crossroad in a small wood). Again I prayed to Hekate, asked her to bless the spell. I put the bag down to the chtonic shrine, asked her to empower it, to strenghten the spell. I prayed to her as Chtonia, Kourotrophos and Phosphoros. I felt the power of the Goddess, filling the spell. Thanked her. Then I left the crossroad, with the bag near my heart. And in the distance some dogs began to bark in the night. A good sign that the Goddess will help me with my goal.

Back home i put the bag to the feet of the Goddess into my hearth shrine, lighted candles and offered herbal honey on a incense burner. Prayed again for my goal.

This spell brought together elements of all three worlds (of the magic of late antiquity). Elements of the material world (the quarz, herbs, salt, bag etc, and act as sympathetic magic). Elements of the etheric world (the using of my etheric energy, the power of the moon). And elements of the empyrean world (the praying to Hekate).