Hecate ( Hekate) ?

hi!
So I have ended up in an argument between to friends, well... They are arguing. About Hecate. One says she's very well is a goddess and it's okay to worship her and celebrate her etc, whilst the other one claims she is not a wiccan goddess and that if you worship her you can't really call yourself a wiccan.

I, myself, feel a real strong connection with Hecate and I've read all about her and I'm kind of agreeing with the first friend that you can worship her.

What are your inputs on that?

Login or Signup to reply to this post.

Well, that depends on a lot of thing.

1) Do you consider yourself Wiccan, or do you consider yourself a witch? Are you more pagan?

2) Do you feel it is okay to incorperate many different beliefs into your belief system?

You see, everyone has their own path. If you feel a strong connection with Hecate, then that is meant for you. If your other friend doesn't, then that is just part of their path. There really isn't a right or wrong here. Some Wiccans and witches will argue the point both ways, but it really just has to do with what your energy connects with most and what you honestly think you should do.

Maybe try telling your friend that it is an individual path and that your friend is allowed to feel that way.

Hecate is and isn't a Wiccan goddess. She's really a Titan from greek mythology with debate in origin of having been adopted into the greek pantheon. She was adopted into Wicca as the crone aspect of the triple goddess. Though she is a triple faced deity on her own.
One person can say it's ok to worship her in wicca and another can say you can't call your self wiccan and worship her. It's not their decision on what you believe and practice and who you worship. That's your own choice; and between you and the deities in question on worship.

VanitysFire. At last, somebody writing with sense! So many on this site mistake witchcraft for a belief in Gods and/Goddesses.
I am a witch. I practise witchcraft. And I do not worship any God or Goddess. Any belief, or worship, is the choice of the individual. Wicca is a belief, a religion, witchcraft is not!

People always have different opinions.Is impossible to be perfect for the world,so do what you want.

But if you really want our opinions, I think you can call yourself a wiccan even if you worship a greek goddess.I worked with greek deities which aren't adopted by Wicca and I am still a Wiccan.
You can worship Her without a prolem.But if you really don't want to worship deities outside your path you can see her as the crone aspect of Mother Goddess.

It's your choice on what you, believe. In one way or another, someone will always point fingers and argue.

Not everyone who follows Wicca, or is a witch will agree. Be rational here, did you think everyone would agree? I hope not.

In the greek religion, Hecate or hekate is a titan. Later she was adopted as a god, and gained powers or phases like, witchcraft or the moon.

In wicca some connect with her, but not everyone. It's a truly personal preferance. Some witches work with her, others don't. You see what i mean here?

I also agree fully on Vanity's post. Someone finally pointed out good facts.

that is excactly what my cousin said about Hekate. :)

Hecate is one of the Goddesses many seem to call on [Isis being another] it's fine to call on her if you feel a strong connection, just remember Hecate and The Triple Goddess are two different beings. But it doesn't make you any more or less Wiccan if you connect with a certain Goddess. If you follow the teachings and feel you're Wiccan, than call yourself Wiccan.

Hecate is not simply a "Wiccan Goddess". She is also honored by those who follow a Hellenic (Greek Reconstruction) path and by others who simply identify as Witch or Pagan.

In British Traditional Wicca Hecate would not be considered a "Wiccan Goddess". In British Traditional Wicca we work with a Moon Goddess and a Horned God whose names are oath-bound and never revealed to anyone not properly initiated into one of those Traditions descended from the New Forest Coven.

However, if you are not part of those Traditions there is no barrier to working with Hecate if she calls strongly to you. In fact many eclectic Wiccans do find themselves attracted to her.

As an example, I am part of a British Traditional Wiccan coven, and when I stand in circle with my coven I work with the Lord and Lady of the Wica.

In my personal practice I honor Sekhmet, Thoth, Anubis, and Menthu; all of whom are Egyptian deities and not associated specifically with Wicca by any means. Yet they spoke to me and told me that they wished a relationship between us. Many would consider Sekhmet as unsuitable as Hecate for a Wiccan to worship. But the Gods call us as they will; and we ignore their call at our loss.

Don't listen to what your friends say. Hecate/Hekate is perfectly appropriate for an eclectic Wiccan to honor. You can certainly do so and still consider yourself Wiccan. If you haven't see it there is a wonderful source of information about her at http://www.theoi.com/Khthonios/Hekate.html

To add to and perhaps complicate the wonderful posts of both Lark and Vanity Fire, Hekate is actually a title not a name. If you look into the history of Hekate, you would realize that it is quite possible for 5 people to work with Hekate and unknowingly be connecting with 5 different deities.


"Archaeological evidence of Hekate's worship is not nearly so fixated upon Medeia. Unfortunately most of it is quite limited, with nearly all early material being in the form of short inscriptions such as altar dedications. It does, however, come from regions as widespread as Sicily and Asia Minor, as well as mainland Greece itself. Very few temples to Hekate are known to have existed and all are poorly or not at all documented in early times. Most sanctuaries to Her were small and have yielded very little meaningful material. Statuary exists, but many pieces are Roman copies of earlier, unidentifiable Greek works; it is very hard to determine how accurate these reproductions are.

In brief, I have found that the limited record indicates that in early times Hekate was a secondary figure who could serve one or more of several specific functions, none of which were unique to Her. These can be categorised under the ancient titles Propylaia, Propolos, Phosphoros, Kourotrophos, and Chthonia. The first three of these are Her most distinctive functions, and generally involve attending upon more prominent deities such as Demeter, Persephone, Artemis, and Kybele. Individually they are not unique to Her, but no other deity can claim all of them. The last two titles, on the other hand, are shared with numerous other deities. It does not seem possible to rank these functions as to their importance; different ones were emphasised at different times and locations. However, it is likely that She continued to serve all of them throughout antiquity, simultaneous with the negative (and perhaps quite fictitious) literary portrayals of Her followers."

~ Robert Von Rudloff, M.Sc., M.A.