The Dark Moon, occurring on the astrological new moon, is a time that many followers of Hekate set aside to honor her. There are many different ways to perform a Deipnon ceremony, but most include preparation, cleansing, creating sacred space, the working and follow-up. In this article, I offer some recommendations including a list of correspondences and offerings appropriate for honoring Hekate at the Dark Moon or anytime.

The altar can consist of an image of Hekate, her symbols and certain correspondences that are added to help attune yourself and space to hers.  New statues or objects should be consecrated prior to including in the altar. A simple technique is to anoint the object with an oil or potion consisting of botanicals from Hekate’s Garden, such as almond oil or a decoction (potion) made from her sacred plants. Concentrate on removing all nonessential energy from the object while preparing the object. The table below lists many of the historical and contemporary correspondences of Hekate. You can select different ones that are aligned with your focus to augment your ritual.

I typically clean my altar and add offerings on the Dark Moon.  The number three, like the colors of black, red and white can be incorporated. For this Deipnon altar, I made a tripod from poplar (associated with the Under World) and then hung charms on it (a coyote jaw bone, keys, etc.) and then placed offerings (garlic, etc.) on a Hekate’s Wheel to make a complete interior crossroads energetic space. You can also use dirt from a three way crossroads as part of your altar.

Offerings

Traditional offerings often included the leftovers from ritual sacrifice, as well as a special supper left at the crossroads. This meal may have included cakes, meat and libations. I’m on the side that offerings should be of great meaning to the person presenting them, reflecting the spirit of the ancients’ practice rather than the content.

Although the ways I honor Hekate are both personal and contemporary, I am a true descendant of the ancient witches who called upon her through out shared focus on botanicals. I’ve included just a few plants from Hekate’s Garden in the above table, along with a few mentions of ways you can incorporate them into your Dark Moon ritual.

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