The Sign Shall Be My Ecstasy

'Neath the opalescent Moon, basking in the silvery brilliance of that omnipotent radiance. The Priestess, the beloved, the dedicated servant and daughter of the beauteous one, the Great Mother of the Primal: "Who am I to be seen in your eyes? Who am I to be seen in my eyes? What shall be the symbol of such fondness, this adoration I express for you?" So she, The Creatrix of Life, Mistress of Death... answered her daughter, her most sacred of children. Bending down, her cold lips gently pressed to the ear. A radiant opalescent flame of rhombus-diamond tendrils- like vines of everlasting affection for all of Nature embraced within those earthy hands upon the ground shrouded by the essence of night.

  

Her bountiful physique in convex to accept respect and veneration, for the love of lovers & the soft tender velveteen white roses whose thorns never perforated the flesh, nor caused sanguine drops through flesh like the fountain of life that could spring from her veins, rubies of rain. Her mellifluous step not hurting the delicate vegetation beneath her soft step: "You know who you are within my eyes for the image is the same as you see within yours! We are one and one the same, one heart, one soul and one mind. The sign shall be my dark ecstasy, my blazing torches shall adorn your way- the awareness of the permanence of continuation, the omnipotence and embodiment of my body, my blessed Universal womb which houses all life and cradles all of darknesses in order for it to be born into the light".

Hekate Apothecary: The Scent of Reverence

You will require:  ¼ cup of each of the following ingredients and approximately half a cup of the wood (should there be any mentioned) We must remember that wood is actually sacred to Hekate and that during certain festivals held in her honour it is actually regarded as disrespectful to Hekate. The following is based from an old recipe passed down through my family and I share it with you only to enhance and bless your own rites as they have served in the past, in honour of Hekate. Please use them with revere and only in veneration only to our Dark Mother, Hekate- Queen of the 'Y' Crossroads.

Made: On the night of the Dark Moon.

To make the paste for these incenses: Gum mastic is used because it is sacred to Hekate, which stems back to Ancient Greece, Hekate’s though place of origin. Worship, thanks and blessings.

You will need a tablespoon or two of the powdered gum. Use a sterilized clean glass or crystal bowl (never metal) with 1 cup of warm water (not hot). Sprinkle the powder over the top of the water and whisk until the gum is totally dissolved, skimming off any foam that develops. It should only take a few minutes. Leave, and allow the gum to absorb the water until it forms into a gelatinous paste. Cover the bowl with a damp cheesecloth covering and allow the thickening process to complete, a couple of hours. You may mix in more gum or water to adjust the consistency to your preference.

Poppy Seeds

Cardamon Pods

Lavender Flowers

Whole Almonds
1 dried Fig

3 tablespoons of Honey

1 tablespoon of Pomegranate Juice

4 drops of Black Musk/Dark Musk

6 drops of Poppy

Mastic Gum

2 tablespoons of Red Wine

Pinch of Dirt from the Crossroads

The Shadow Self is something often discussed in ‘Contemporary Witchcraft’, and regarded as a taboo. It can be depicted as a 'prison' formed within our unconscious mind where we exile parts of ourselves that we subdue, deny, or neglect to develop.  These are frequently feelings of anxiety, fear, lust, insecurity, hate, envy, jealousy, desire, and greed... anything that we pretend not to possess; relegated to this deep pit (abyss) inside our minds. While these are usually determined as... negative attributes we feel should not have, they can also be positive things as well. Such as our power to be strong, sexual, sensual, independent, and assertive, qualities society teaches are sinful or immortal to possess. Everyone has a Shadow, and since we are all individuals each is uniquely our own. It is a part of ourselves we should not neglect or ignore: one cannot know themself truthfully if they do not accept all sides to their innate natures, and one cannot state they know themself if a part of themself is feared, neglected or imprisoned. Know thyself, doesnt mean acknowledge only half of ourself and shun the rest- to know thyself, is to know thyself as complete, light, shadow & darkness within.

A Prayer To Hekate

Silver-footed Queen of the midnight crossroads,
three-faced Goddess of the torches,

Listen to my summoning from across the veils,
 through time itself and beyond the gates of Death.

Guardian of the Great Deep, Ancient Mother of Earth and Sea
 attend now to this sacred rite.

By veneration of your mighty and dreaded names-
Nocticula, Trinsofia, Klêidouchos, Trikephalus.

I burn for you these arcane spices,
cinnamon, saffron and myrrh with revered dedication.

O Mistress of the starry heavens, Titan-born,
Ophidian Lady of the Hounds, Spectral and Nocturnal One-

Who sings to the plethoric darkness ,
weaving the tenebrous Shadows;
Universal Creatrix, Bearer of Light.

You whose primordial beauty illuminates the dark pit
of the soul and brings forth death and rebirth;

Whose power of will can extinguish the stars of Heaven
or illumine the subterranean nadirs of Hell.

Honouring the Goddess Hekate

A personal reflection of ritual experience & contribution: Hekate- Her Sacred Fires

“... And in her breath the echoes of Chthonia plume

Like icy dragons to wreath thy brow in gilded crown.

Doth the tempest-kissed night shroud thy mysteries?

Do the four winds howl in cacophony to the resonance of your name?

Lanterns beguiled by moon-dancing in the stygian cauldron of your eyes;

...Snake-entwined O’Lady of midnight, darkness and light.”

-Amber~Rose

A Brief Introduction to Hekate: Connected to all three stages of life- fertilization/birth, opening the womb for all living creatures; mistress of all gates, doors and the abyss, symbol of the feminine womb. The Great Midwife- Guardian of women in childbirth who can also cut the cord to welcome life and also that of death, the Guardian of the Waters which separate worlds, Opener of the Way, Goddess of Rebirth, the Crossroads and of Healing, Hekate, ‘The Mighty Mother’ is a Goddess of tremendous antiquity and integrity; litigious, archaic, sometimes animalistic yet in addition to this possesses a superlative ‘natural’ elegance. Adored and feared, she makes us question the motives of our own inner light and darkness- she awakens us to the concept of accepting both of these forces and elements, bringing them together in dual balance and to walk in the liminal (the threshold of what is between). Hekate Trivia, ‘the Three Ways’, her triformic form with the three heads all looking three ways, sometimes depicted as beautiful women, beasts (dog, snake and frog) or the age process from Maiden to Crone.

“I dance on the moon with the stars in my hair; the night encompasses me like a shroud of raven's plumes.

The wind is my voice, the sea my tears and the sun is my ever illuminating crown of glory.

The earth is my womb and from it springs all life...from darkness to light, death to creation”

- Amber~Rose