Statuette of juniper wood from Ptolemaic Egypt, representing the triplicate goddess Hecate. Now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
13.08 - Night of Hekate of Storms Hekate is the oldest Greek form of the triune Goddess who ruled over the heavens, the Underworld and the Earth. She was known to the Amazons as the goddess of the Black Moon and the ruler of the Underworld. After the fall of the matriarchy, the Greeks worshiped her as one of the queens of the Underworld and the mistress of the crossroads at which three roads converge. She was called Hecate Trevia, Hecate Triple, her three-headed statues stood at the crossroads, where her worshipers asked her for white magic during the full moon, and black magic during the Black Moon. There are different legends about the origin of Hekate. Some say that she was the daughter of the titans Tartarus and Night; in others, Perseus and Asteria; in the third, Zeus and Hera. Myths about Hekate spread throughout the Mediterranean. Her symbols were a cauldron, dogs and keys. Festivities in her honor took place at night by torchlight. Every year on the island of Aegina, in the Saronic Gulf, a mystical ritual was performed in her honor. As the Lady of the Wild Hunt and sorcery, Hekate was primarily a female deity who could be called upon for help, but who was to be feared by those who violated his spiritual commandments. At the dawn of Greek civilization, August 13th was the sacred day of Hecate the Black Mother. Ten days later, the Greeks paid homage to Nimesis, the goddess standing at the scales of just vengeance and punishment. In ancient Rome, women whose prayers were answered by Diana and Hekate walked by the light of torches to the temples of these goddesses, where thanksgiving ceremonies took place, to which only women were allowed. J. Conway. Mystery and magic of the moon
