Hello! I'm curious to know, where do you draw the line between traditional Hekate worship and modern? After reading up on the history of Hekate, it seems like She has a lot less original associations than I thought. Like, Her traditional associated colors are red, black, and white, but what if I associate a deep berry purple with Her as well? Not specifically that, and I hope I didn't make this question too convoluted, but I guess what I'm trying to say is that I'm now starting to feel serious about working with and worshipping Hekate, but I fear there's a lot of rules and associations to stick to.
If one isn't completely disregarding Her traditional existence, how strict should the practice be?
This is a complicated question and I may not be the best person to ask depending on what you’re looking for. As a reconstructionist, my worship of Hekate is mainly informed by tradition and the structure of Ancient Greek religion. So for me, there’s not much I do without some precedent in Her historical cult.
However, I’m also not a religious authority. While I am a historian and I’ve devoted 15 years to studying Hekate, I can’t tell you what is and isn’t correct in an abstract spiritual sense, only what history informs us of in terms of practices related to Her ancient worship.
Personally I find rules very helpful. The structure of traditions and the orthopraxy of Ancient Greek religion provides an important framework for my spiritual practice. But I understand that not everyone feels that way.
If you are getting serious about worshipping Hekate, I encourage you to continue learning about the traditional viewpoint of this goddess. I understand that it can seem like a lot of things to learn, and things that are very different from pop culture and neopagan ideas about Hekate, but that doesn’t necessarily mean you are being restricted. It’s just getting to know a deeper side of Her, and providing a firm foundation to your understanding.
I’m not going to tell you that you have to approach your practice through Ancient Greek traditions, but I will pose a question to answer your question. If you feel drawn to worship Hekate based on non-traditional associations and understandings, ask yourself why. Why do you associate these other things with Her? Is it because they hold significance to you, because it matches modern popular ideas of what Her domains relate to, or because you feel spiritual connection to them? And if you find difficulty in connecting with a traditional view of Hekate, it can also be fair to ask yourself why you feel drawn to this goddess and why you wish to connect with Her.
This is not to say that if your answers to these questions complicate your approach that you shouldn’t worship Hekate. Rather I think it’s useful to have a basic understanding of all of the parts at play in order to build a strong foundation to your practice, relationship, and gnosis.
