Wine Betwixt their Horns

When the sibyl Deiphobe invoked Hekate to guide the heroes in Virgil’s Aeneid she (the priestess) makes offerings to the Goddess:

“The Priestess pours the wine betwist their horns,
Then cuts the curling hair, that first oblation burns,
Invoking Hecate hither to repair,
A powerful name in hell and upper air…”
(Dryden Translation)

This is just one example of sacrifice being made to the Goddess Hekate, which we discussed in Hekate Liminal Rites.  Hekate was, amongst other things, a cthonic goddess, and when cthonic deities were invoked a fire was usually made to burn offerings on, whereas a pit would be dug when dealing with daimones and ghosts.  An example of where this is recorded can be found in Seneca’s Medea:

“Now call on Hecate.  Prepare the death-dealing rites; let altars be errected, and let now their fires resound within the palace…”

Medea later hears the sound of barking dogs, which she takes as a sign of success from Hekate that her invocations and offerings had been successful.

Further references to such fire pits in association with the mysteries of Hekate can be found in the writings of Pausanias (2nd century BCE) and also in that of the Roman lyric poet Horace (1st century BCE).   We discuss these and many other examples of offerings in chapter 18 ‘Offerings’ of Hekate Liminal Rites so I will not repeat too much of that here, but instead I wish to dwell today on when and how offerings can be made today, and also on what might constitute suitable offerings.

It is well known that Hekate Suppers were prepared and left at the crossroads in the ancient world on the first of the month.  I have seen this misinterpreted by some modern pagan writers who believe that somehow this ‘first of the month’ would equate to the first day of each of our modern months, this is of course very very far from the truth!  Instead, the first of the month refers to the first day of a lunar calendar, ie. the time of the Dark / New Moon.  This is an auspicious time for magic today, just like it was in ancient times.  The offerings left at the crossroads at the Hekate Suppers often took the form of special cakes which were prepared for the occasions, but these were not the only offerings left at the crossroads for Hekate.

In addition to the cakes of the Hekate Suppers, we know that there were at least three types of offerings – katharmata (offscourings), katharsia (cleansings) and oxuthumia (sharp anger).

• Katharmata = leftovers of the portions of a sacrifice which were not used in a ceremony, ie. such things as blood and water.  These were often burnt.  It is also a term which could be applied to a scapegoat, a human who might have been offered as a sacrifice.
• Katharsia = the actual sacrifices, which for Hekate included such things as eggs, the bodies of dogs.
• Oxuthuma = baked clay censer which was used to fumigate the house for protection, and then taken and left at the crossroads.  It also describes the rubbish which was taken and burnt on the censer.

Where as I would personallly not engage in animal sacrifices, nor that of humans, I think that the third type of offering can still be used very effectively in the modern world.  We can burn sweet smelling and protective herbs and resins in the home, on a home made censer, clean our homes on a monthly basis and ceremonially burn the sweepings asking for Hekate’s protection on the home.  Likewise, there are many reasons why wine offerings make a suitable sacrifice to Hekate still today, and wine can be offered directly into the ground, or onto a fire (if you are able to make a fire directly onto the ground in a hole in the ground, it doesn’t have to be a large fire!).  By offering wine in this manner you are offering it both into the ground, and up to the sky – which is very appropriate for a goddess who holds sway over a portion of the Earth, Sky and Oceans …