Adamantine Muse
Although the goddess Hekate is most frequently described as a Maiden Goddess, unattached to a male ‘husband’ she is frequently linked to male divinities, including Hermes, Apollo and Zeus. It is impossible to read the Chaldean Oracles and not be struck by the close relationship given to Hekate and the thunder wielding “Father”, which some interpret as being Zeus, the ruler of the Gods of Olympus (although there are other candidates too).
Lesser known is her connection to the Roman god of beginnings and endings, Janus. The survival of Proclus’ hymn to Hekate and Janus provides a little insight into what their relationship may have been like. Zeus is also frequently mentioned in the hymn, a likely continuation of the mysterious, but indisputably unique, relationship between Hekate and Zeus which was first recorded in Hesiod’s Theogony and continued as a constant theme for more than a thousand years of known worship.
10 Interesting facts about Janus:
- The month of January is thought to be named after him.
- He rules over beginnings and endings, of all things – including war and peace.
- He is a god of thresholds, where he was worshipped.
- He was associated with birth and death.
- He was linked to all forms of travel – by land and sea.
- He had no priesthood, but was invoked at the start of most ceremonies.
- One of his titles are “Father of the Gods”, he is most frequently referred to simply as “Father” (Pater).
- Mornings were thought to belong to him, associating him with the dawn.
- He made a volcanic hot spring erupt, according to myth, to protect the Sabine Women when they were being kidnapped by Rome’s founder Romulus.
- He has two heads, facing in opposite directions.
You can listen to this recording of me reading Proclus’s Hymn to Hekate and Janus.
Proclus’ work also preserved fragments of the Chaldean Oracles (Examples), which is perhaps one of the most important – and most curious texts – for devotees of the Goddess of the Crossroads trying to understand her on a deeper level. In the Chaldean Oracles, Hekate not only shares in the Empyrean Realm, where she rules with the Father, she also rules the Three Aetherial Worlds, the realms of the Soul.
- The First is that of the Life-generating Rulers. Here she is the Royal Soul, the Royal Virtue.
- The Second Aetherial World, the Realm of the Archangels
- The Third Aetherial World, the realm of Azonaic Hekatae. The realm beyond the material.
Further reading:
Covenant of Hekate website: www.hekatecovenant.com
The Goddess Hekate, by Stephen Ronan
Hekate Soteira, by Sarah Illes Johnston
Circle for Hekate, Vol. I: History & Mythology, by Sorita d’Este.
This blog is for Hekate as the Cosmic World Soul, February 2018 – a CoH devotional project- www.hekatecovenant.com. #hekateworldsoul
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