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<\/p>\nThis post is part of a blog challenge series, 30 Days of Devotion to Hekate. Day 14 and we\u2019re looking at if and how worship of Hekate has changed over time and into modern times.<\/p>\n
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Yes, obviously it has.\u00a0 Not only has worship of Hekate been interrupted by centuries of Christianity but everything changes at least a little bit over centuries and millennia.\u00a0 We can look at ancient Hellenism to see how things changed in regards to the religion, belief and worship of the Gods over just a couple centuries.\u00a0 The changes from 500BC up to the Anno Domini and then beyond into Byzantium are\u00a0noticeable.\u00a0 If it changed quite a bit in those times, when worship of the Theoi was at its height, then no doubt it has changed in the 2000 years since then!<\/p>\n
And that\u2019s just about general Hellenism, not Hekate specifically.\u00a0 Certainly worship of Her has changed since ancient Hellenic times.\u00a0 So, let\u2019s explore some of the ways it has changed.\u00a0 Excuse me if some of it can be applied to all the Theoi and even other pantheons.\u00a0 It\u2019s the nature of Recon and Revival.<\/p>\n
The most obvious and telling of the changes is animal sacrifice<\/a>, or the lack thereof in modern times.\u00a0 Some polytheists and Pagans of course do practice animal sacrifice, but the large majority probably don\u2019t \u2013 at least not in the traditional sense. \u00a0And of those who do practice sacrifice of animals, I think we can safely assume the large majority do not sacrifice dogs or puppies to Hekate \u2013 mostly from emotional attachment and morals, but also because it\u2019s illegal in many places.<\/p>\n Processions were a big part of Hellenic public festivals in general, and Hekate was no exception with Her torchbearing processions.\u00a0 But how much of those happen now? Very little I would assume.\u00a0 For most of us who worship Hekate, we work alone for the most part and so such processions are unlikely \u2013 though adapted solitary processions are possible.\u00a0 And in group situations that do exist in polytheism and Paganism, processions may happen, even torch ones, but they can\u2019t be on the same level where one might proceed boldly through public streets with hundreds of other worshippers.\u00a0 Or even from one town to another!<\/p>\n While animal sacrifice is the most obvious, this is the biggest difference in truth.\u00a0 In ancient times worship of the deities was a natural thing, you grew up doing it, living it, being part of the living religion.\u00a0 You didn\u2019t have to search for the right books, hoping they had the right information, reading them and learning about the Gods and how to honour Them.\u00a0 You grew up learning as you practiced.\u00a0 How to worship, how to offer, how to do everything was just natural.<\/p>\n But it isn\u2019t so today.\u00a0 Today we do have to search for books, and find the wheat among the chaff.\u00a0 We have to read the books and learn and try to remember.\u00a0 We have to learn not only about our Gods, and Their history, but how to honour and worship Them.\u00a0 The act of worship is something that we have to mark in the calendar and remind ourselves to do.\u00a0 We have to write out our rituals and hymns and study them before we can do them.\u00a0 Maybe in time we remember all of these things and can do them naturally, but it is much harder and takes longer.<\/p>\n Touched on above with processions, but obviously there is little to nothing in the way of public worship of Hekate.\u00a0 She has become exceedingly popular among Pagans and Polytheists but there are still too many places in this world where, if you are shown to be not of a particular religion (this doesn\u2019t always mean Christianity or Islam) you might actually be in some danger \u2013 of harassment, loss of job, even physical danger.<\/p>\n So though some places have the numbers for public worship of Hekate, or the other Gods, this doesn\u2019t mean these groups can safely practice publicly.\u00a0 Though there are ways to be public, without being public.\u00a0 Dver, in her book Komos<\/a>, speaks of doing processions with her friends in a way that would probably seem, to onlookers, as nothing more than a group of friends out drinking and partying.\u00a0 You may not be able to carry a big statue of Hekate while doing so, but you can adapt.<\/p>\n Still, we are living in a world where many Pagans and Polytheists have to be secretive about their religion.\u00a0 This can\u2019t help but change the way we go about worship.<\/p>\n Again it\u2019s pretty obvious, but we have little to no temples.\u00a0 There are some of course, and sanctuaries and groves and other wonderful places.\u00a0 But you\u2019re unlikely to find anything matching what existed BCE, which is sad indeed.\u00a0 And just as sad, those that do exist today, small as they may be, are small in number as well \u2013 which means, good luck accessing them without some travel.<\/p>\n The ancient Hellenes certainly had their home shrines though, and we do too, so this is something that thankfully isn\u2019t so different \u2013 though I think our shrines are different because we have different things.\u00a0 But I wonder if that is so different even, I would suspect home shrines would be different from one polis to another \u2013 even one home to another, considering class differences \u2013 so I think this difference isn\u2019t really that much of a difference at all.<\/p>\n If only we had more temples and sanctuaries though.<\/p>\n As I mentioned immediately above, our home shrines must be different to how the ancients had them, we have different things, different materials to make our things, access to more things. \u00a0So certainly this is one difference, but I think it\u2019s a small one that doesn\u2019t matter very much.<\/p>\n Veiling, or covering the head in worship of Ouranic deities was the norm for women, and sometimes men, in ancient Hellas and Rome. \u00a0Binding of the hair was also common. \u00a0At least, we think these things were common from certain pieces of text. \u00a0Hekate is most often worshipped as a Chthonic deity, so I guess it doesn\u2019t matter much since hair binding and covering is not a requirement of Chthonic worship. \u00a0But sometimes She is worshipped in Her Ouranic aspects, so if we aren\u2019t binding or covering, then this too may<\/em> be a difference.<\/p>\n Some people eat the offerings they give to the Gods, including Hekate. \u00a0This was a no-no, so that\u2019s another difference. \u00a0Some people make no offerings at all, beyond incense and hymns, because food offerings are a waste of money\/food (or some people simply can\u2019t afford it which is understandable) \u2013 another difference.<\/p>\n The language is certainly different \u2013 some of us try to insert a bit of ancient Greek, but honestly how often do those of us who can\u2019t actually speak the language do that? Not often I will bet. \u00a0Besides, I am sure I pronounce every word wrong, and the ancients wouldn\u2019t have!<\/p>\n Despite the fact that many of us are unable to join into groups of other worshippers, we do have one advantage the ancients never had \u2013 connection and sharing of information. \u00a0They certainly would have shared information between regions, differences, SPGs and UPGs back then. \u00a0But we have the internet, which means we most definitely know more about what our contemporary Pagans, Polytheists and Hekateans do and believe than any ancient knew about their contemporaries.<\/p>\n We are missing a lot of information from history about Hekate and the other Gods and pantheons \u2013 but we most definitely have a lot of information and inspiration at our fingertips that the ancients never had. This changes how we worship and what we believe in both small and big ways. \u00a0And I think that is worth noting.<\/p>\n 30 Days of Deity\u00a0Devotion<\/span><\/p>\n 1\u00a0<\/span>\u2013 A basic introduction of the deity<\/a><\/p>\n 2<\/span>\u00a0\u2013 How did you become first aware of this deity?<\/a><\/p>\n 3\u00a0<\/span>\u2013 Symbols and icons of this deity<\/a><\/p>\n 4<\/span>\u00a0\u2013 A favourite myth or myths of this deity<\/a><\/p>\n 5<\/span>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Members of the family \u2013 genealogical connections<\/a><\/p>\n 6<\/span>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Other related deities\u00a0and entities associated with this deity<\/a><\/p>\n 7<\/span>\u00a0\u2013 Names and epithets<\/a><\/p>\n 8<\/span>\u00a0\u2013 Variations on this deity (aspects, regional forms, etc.)<\/a><\/p>\n 9<\/span>\u00a0\u2013 Common mistakes and worst misconceptions about this deity<\/a><\/p>\n 10<\/span>\u00a0\u2013 Offerings \u2013 historical and UPG<\/a><\/p>\n 11<\/span>\u00a0\u2013 Festivals, days, and times sacred to this deity<\/a><\/p>\n 12<\/span>\u00a0\u2013 Places associated with this deity and their worship<\/a><\/p>\nProcessions<\/h2>\n
Au Naturel<\/h2>\n
Public Worship<\/h2>\n
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Temples<\/h2>\n
The Little Things<\/h2>\n
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