Aphrodite, Hail to Thee!

Shimmering-throned immortal Aphrodite,
Daughter of Zeus, Enchantress, I implore thee,
Spare me, O queen, this agony and anguish,
Crush not my spirit

II

Whenever before thou has hearkened to me–
To my voice calling to thee in the distance,
And heeding, thou hast come, leaving thy father’s
Golden dominions,

III

With chariot yoked to thy fleet-winged coursers,
Fluttering swift pinions over earth’s darkness,
And bringing thee through the infinite, gliding
Downwards from heaven,

IV

Then, soon they arrived and thou, blessed goddess,
With divine contenance smiling, didst ask me
What new woe had befallen me now and why,
Thus I had called thee.

V

What in my mad heart was my greatest desire,
Who was it now that must feel my allurements,
Who was the fair one that must be persuaded,
Who wronged thee Sappho?

VI

For if now she flees, quickly she shall follow
And if she spurns gifts, soon shall she offer them
Yea, if she knows not love, soon shall she feel it
Even reluctant.

VII

Come then, I pray, grant me surcease from sorrow,
Drive away care, I beseech thee, O goddess
Fulfil for me what I yearn to accomplish,
Be thou my ally.

[The Poems of Sappho, see http://www.sacred-texts.com/cla/usappho/index.htm ]

Hekate & Shooting Stars!

Each year around the middle of August here in the UK we experience the beautiful stellar experience that is the Perseids.  This amazing phenomena is named after the constellation Perseus, from where the shooting stars seem to originate.  At its height, which this year – in the UK – is around the 12th or 13th of August, it might be possible to see up to 60 shooting stars with the naked eye per hour – subject of course to clear skies, and being away from light polution will of course also help.

Those who are interested can read more about the Perseids at http://meteorwatch.org/2010/08/09/fun-facts-about-the-perseids/

So why do I link the Goddess Hekate to this meteor shower?  Well, firstly there is a modern festival which seems to have taken root in the last few years (based on an interpretation of when a modern festival with some tentative links to Hekate, may have taken place) on the 13th of August each year.  This falls in the middle of the Perseids each year, often around the time that it peaks in this part of the world. So that may, or may not be a coincidence.

Whilst Hekate is not specifically referred to as a “Stellar” goddess in the ancient world, she is described as having dominion over the “Earth, Sea and Sky” in the oldest known text which mentions her.  Whilst the “sky” may be interpreted as many things, the most likely is that it is a reference to the stars.  In this same text, that is the Theogony of Hesiod (circa 8th century CE, though some claim it is a bit later) we also find that Hekate is the daughter of the Goddess Asteria.

“Again, Phoibe came to the desired embrace of Koios. Then the goddess through the love of the god conceived and brought forth dark-gowned Leto.   Also she bare Asteria of happy name, whom Perses once led to his great house to be called his dear wife.  And she conceived and bare Hekate.”  (theoi.com)

Interestingly, the name Asteria can be translated as both stellar or as a falling-star!  Asteria was specifically linked to divination by stars (Astrology) and there are clear links between some of the associations given to Hekate in regards to divination in later times, and the attributes ascribed to her mother, Asteria.

John Canard in his essay “From Heaven to Earth” in Hekate Her Sacred Fires gives numerous further reasons for the connection, which he links to the cycles of life, death and rebirth – a thought I share with him, just as much as we share our love for meteorites – stones which have fallen to earth from the stars.

I wonder how many of you who celebrate the mysteries of the Goddess Hekate around this time of the year, for whichever reason, also link it to nature’s own fireworks display?

May you all dance in Her Sacred Fires, if that is your path,

Sorita d’Este

“Keep Pure your highest ideal…”

The next instalment in the series of blogs on CHARGE OF THE GODDESS.    What follows is an extract from Chapter 11 “Adore the Spirit of Me” in the book “Wicca Magickal Beginnings” which I co-authored with David Rankine and which includes a full analysis of the entire text, together with research on the origins of all the various component parts found in Wicca. (For your convenience – all posts drawing from the analysis of the Charge of the Goddess in Wicca Magickal Beginnings will be tagged as “Charge Analysis” which should make it easier for you to find using the search facility on this site)

The following two lines are both drawn from the work of Aleister Crowley, in particular from his work the Law of Liberty and the Book of the Law.  If you would like to add your comments to this material, please do so on the original blog which can be found at http://www.sorita.co.uk/?p=952

Keep pure your highest ideal. Strive ever towards it. Let naught stop you or turn you aside. “

Again this line draws straight from the Law of Liberty, where Crowley wrote: “Keep pure your highest ideal; strive ever toward it, without allowing aught to stop you or turn you aside.” This key line refers to the concept of the true will, and doing only what is right to achieve your full potential.

“For mine is the secret door which opens upon the land of youth;”

This is somewhat rewritten from the earlier version of the Charge (Lift Up the Veil), which draws more directly from Liber Al, “There is a secret door that I shall make to establish thy way in all the quarters” (AL III.38).  The reference to the quarters is one which is not used in the Charge, but interesting from the point of view of Wiccan terminology, where the four directions are sometimes referred to as quarters.  It also hints at the grimoires where the magick circle was often divided into quarters, as seen in the Heptameron and subsequent grimoires.  The ‘land of youth’ is a translation of the name of the Irish otherworldly realm of Tir-na-Nog, home of the Irish pantheon of the Tuatha de Danaan.  As the nineteenth century author Thomas Croker observed in Fairy Legends and Traditions of the South of Ireland (1828), “It is called the Land of Youth, because time has no power there, no one becomes old.” The presence in the Charge of this Celtic otherworld clearly indicates the relevance of the Celtic goddesses in the initial list of names.

————————-

If you want to read more, see the book Wicca Magickal Beginnings (ISBN  978-1-905297-15-3)  by Sorita d’Este and David Rankine.  See   http://avaloniabooks.co.uk/catalogue/titles/wicca_mb.htm for more information.

If you would like to add your comments, opinions or additional ideas to this article please do so on my website, where it will be available for others to read in future:  http://www.sorita.co.uk/?p=895

(c) 2010 Sorita d’Este.  This blog was written by Sorita d’Este for www.sorita.co.uk, allrights reserved.

Order a signed copy of Wicca Magickal Beginnings for £14.99 (with free P&P worldwide)

Hekate & Me on AEON BYTE

This weekend’s AEON BYTE features an interview with me about the Goddess Hekate and the HEKATE Her Sacred Fires project.  Details can be found at:

http://aeonbyte.blogspot.com/2010/06/goddess-hekate-06262010.html

Thank You : Rite of Her Sacred Fires

You can find out more at the project’s website www.sacredfires.co.uk

The Fires are Burning!

Gathering together, but to a different drumbeat than before, the rhythm of our own heartbeats, the song of our own voices and by the light of our own fires the Torchbearers and Keybearers of the Goddess Hekate will be marking not only the release of HEKATE HER SACRED FIRES all over the world on the 27th of May 2010, but also a new kinship between us.

In November 2009 I invoked Dionysus in my temple sanctuary, worked myself into a frenzied dance around a central fire and entered into an ecstatic trance. Skrying into the flames I had a vision not of Dionysus, but of a map of the world with numerous markers in the shape of small flaming torches. Each of those torches represented the Torchbearers of Hekate, that is the extraordinary Women and Men who invoke and hear the call of one of the most ancient Goddesses known to us today.

This collection of essays, prose and artwork is representative of the views, visions and experiences of her modern followers, amongst them people from a wide range of spiritual and magical traditions, writing from each of the six inhabited continents. Their understanding of Hekate coloured by their own personal experiences, their own cultures and their own research – each one unique and different, yet bound together by a mutual passion and love for Hekate.

They are (alphabetical by first name): Aedos Alala, Amber Rose, Andrea Salgado Reyes, Anon, Brian Andrews, Catamara Rosarium, Connia Silver, Diane M. Champigny, Dorn Simon-Sinnott, Ekaterina Ilieva, Emily Carding, Amelia Ounsted, Georgi Mishev, Hansa, Harry Barron, Henrik Holmdahl, Jade Sol Luna, Jean Marie Feddercke, Jen Ricci,  Katherine Sutherland, Kay Gillard, Lezley Forster, Madre van der Merwe, Magin Rose, Mark Alan Smith, Michael Ellis, Morgana, Naza Cogo, Nikki Cullen, Orryelle Defenestrate-Bascule, Petra Schollem, Raven Digitalis, Richard A. Derks, Sara Croft, Shani Oates, Shay Shepevski, Soror Basilisk, Tara Sanchez, Thomas Starr, Tim Furlow, Tina Georgitsis, Tinnekka Bebout, Trystn M. Branwynn, Vikki Bramshaw and Yuri Robbers.

Hekate is a Goddess whose history, roles and attributes are so vast that they encompass the entire spectrum of Nature, the Stars and Humanity. The Goddess of Crossroads, Life, Death and Rebirth, a Guide, Companion and Initiatrix, a Mistress of Magic and Sorcery who has been invoked by philosophers, Priests, Priestesses, Witches, Mystics and Magicians through the ages, who also governs legions of other spiritual beings, who has found different ways of manifesting to successive generations throughout the ages.

I would like to thank all the contributors who have collaborated with me on this project, for their help, support and encouragement.

HEKATE HER SACRED FIRES will be released on Thursday, 27th May 2010, with a very unique ceremony. More information, including a dedicated website will be announced next week, when we will also be opening for pre-orders of this unique book project.   If Hekate calls to your heart and your soul, I hope that you will be able to join us in this unique event!