{"id":3245,"date":"2018-05-08T22:14:48","date_gmt":"2018-05-09T02:14:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/keepingherkeys\/?p=3245"},"modified":"2020-06-18T19:12:14","modified_gmt":"2020-06-18T23:12:14","slug":"hekate-the-mother-of-all","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/keepingherkeys\/2018\/05\/hekate-the-mother-of-all\/","title":{"rendered":"Hekate as the Mother Goddess"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Hekate is revered as the Witch Mother from which all witches descend. However, there is historical and experiential evidence indicating that she is often perceived as a Mother Goddess beyond her association with witches.<\/em><\/p>\n

Reviewing the existing literature about Hekate reveals that her three-formed nature is reflected in her maternal roles. In addition, many have experiences of her as a maternal figure.\u00a0 She can be considered Mother of the Gods, Mother of All Things and a mother to individuals. In addition, her long history portrays her as the Mother of Witches. Contemporary Hekate is often seen as The Dark Mother and the Mother of Witchcraft. Hekate is a complex goddess that presents herself in different forms throughout the ages and to those seeking her, as reflected in her various maternal roles.<\/em><\/p>\n

This article explores historical sources and experiential reports discussing Hekate as a Mother Goddess beyond her role as Witch Mother.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Hekate\u2019s Maternal Sides<\/h1>\n
Hekate\u2019s maternal sides can be grouped into three distinct, but sometimes overlapping categories. First, she has been interpreted as The Mother of the Gods by various ancient writers. Second, she bears the title \u201cMother of All Things\u201d from various ancient sources referring to her dominion over the material world. Third, Hekate has had various offspring of her own in various ancient stories. All these depictions combine together to reveal a fascinating portrait of Hekate as The Great Mother.<\/p>\n
Hekate as The Mother of the Gods<\/h1>\n
I am going to preface this discussion by saying (once again) that I am neither an academic classicist or a reconstructionist Hellenist<\/a>. Some authors posit that the ancient texts do indeed bestow the title \u201cMother of the Gods\u201d upon her, while others claim the title belongs to Rhea (or even someone else). This dichotomy in opinions arises from the confusing content in some of the ancient texts that discuss Hekate as a Great Mother.<\/p>\n
Continue reading.<\/a><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Reviewing the existing literature about Hekate reveals that her three-formed nature is reflected in her maternal roles. She can be considered Mother of the Gods, Mother of All Things and a mother to individuals. In addition, her long history portrays her as the Mother of Witches. Contemporary Hekate is often seen as The Dark Mother, which reflects my personal understanding of her. Hekate is a complex goddess that presents herself in different forms throughout the ages and to those seeking her as reflected in her various maternal roles.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3059,"featured_media":13697,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[63],"tags":[23,3],"class_list":["post-3245","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-modern-hekatean-witchcraft","tag-hecate","tag-hekate"],"yoast_head":"\nHekate as the Mother Goddess<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Hekate has been described as Mother of the Gods, Mother of All Things and a mother to individuals. In addition, her long history portrays her as the Mother of Witches.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/keepingherkeys\/2018\/05\/hekate-the-mother-of-all\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Hekate as the Mother Goddess\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Hekate has been described as Mother of the Gods, Mother of All Things and a mother to individuals. In addition, her long history portrays her as the Mother of Witches.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/keepingherkeys\/2018\/05\/hekate-the-mother-of-all\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Keeping Her Keys\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/cyndi.brannen\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-05-09T02:14:48+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2020-06-18T23:12:14+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/813\/2018\/05\/SC52503.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"768\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"614\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Cyndi Brannen\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@sweepr05\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Cyndi Brannen\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/keepingherkeys\/2018\/05\/hekate-the-mother-of-all\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/keepingherkeys\/2018\/05\/hekate-the-mother-of-all\/\",\"name\":\"Hekate as the Mother Goddess\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/keepingherkeys\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2018-05-09T02:14:48+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-06-18T23:12:14+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/keepingherkeys\/#\/schema\/person\/6a994b2d0672904f2725ab161b1fc30d\"},\"description\":\"Hekate has been described as Mother of the Gods, Mother of All Things and a mother to individuals. In addition, her long history portrays her as the Mother of Witches.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/keepingherkeys\/2018\/05\/hekate-the-mother-of-all\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/keepingherkeys\/2018\/05\/hekate-the-mother-of-all\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/keepingherkeys\/2018\/05\/hekate-the-mother-of-all\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/keepingherkeys\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Hekate as the Mother Goddess\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/keepingherkeys\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/keepingherkeys\/\",\"name\":\"Keeping Her Keys\",\"description\":\"Hekate, witchcraft and everyday life.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/keepingherkeys\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/keepingherkeys\/#\/schema\/person\/6a994b2d0672904f2725ab161b1fc30d\",\"name\":\"Cyndi Brannen\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/keepingherkeys\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d267bb52146b128bc984d1179c0ae70d?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d267bb52146b128bc984d1179c0ae70d?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Cyndi Brannen\"},\"description\":\"Dr. Cyndi Brannen, PhD is a witch and psychologist dedicated to Hekate, her two sons and living the coastal life in rural Nova Scotia. She is a trained energetic healer, psychic and herbalist who is also an internationally-recognized expert on women's health and the development of self-help programs. In 2005, she founded Open Circle Wellness which offers courses and individual support, including the popular Shadow Taming Workshop and Tarot Readings. She created The Real Work: A Pagan Path for Personal Development and teaches that in-person and online, as well as providing training for those wishing to deliver the course. Dr. Brannen has taught meditation and mindfulness to a variety of groups and organizations. She started Keeping Her Keys to fulfill her mission and dream of writing and teaching about Modern Hekatean Witchcraft. Learn more: Keepingherkeys.com\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/keepingherkeys\/\",\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/cyndi.brannen\",\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/sweepr05\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/keepingherkeys\/author\/cbrannen\/\"}]}<\/script>\n","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Hekate as the Mother Goddess","description":"Hekate has been described as Mother of the Gods, Mother of All Things and a mother to individuals. In addition, her long history portrays her as the Mother of Witches.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/keepingherkeys\/2018\/05\/hekate-the-mother-of-all\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Hekate as the Mother Goddess","og_description":"Hekate has been described as Mother of the Gods, Mother of All Things and a mother to individuals. In addition, her long history portrays her as the Mother of Witches.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/keepingherkeys\/2018\/05\/hekate-the-mother-of-all\/","og_site_name":"Keeping Her Keys","article_author":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/cyndi.brannen","article_published_time":"2018-05-09T02:14:48+00:00","article_modified_time":"2020-06-18T23:12:14+00:00","og_image":[{"width":768,"height":614,"url":"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/813\/2018\/05\/SC52503.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Cyndi Brannen","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@sweepr05","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Cyndi Brannen","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/keepingherkeys\/2018\/05\/hekate-the-mother-of-all\/","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/keepingherkeys\/2018\/05\/hekate-the-mother-of-all\/","name":"Hekate as the Mother Goddess","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/keepingherkeys\/#website"},"datePublished":"2018-05-09T02:14:48+00:00","dateModified":"2020-06-18T23:12:14+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/keepingherkeys\/#\/schema\/person\/6a994b2d0672904f2725ab161b1fc30d"},"description":"Hekate has been described as Mother of the Gods, Mother of All Things and a mother to individuals. In addition, her long history portrays her as the Mother of Witches.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/keepingherkeys\/2018\/05\/hekate-the-mother-of-all\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/keepingherkeys\/2018\/05\/hekate-the-mother-of-all\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/keepingherkeys\/2018\/05\/hekate-the-mother-of-all\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/keepingherkeys\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Hekate as the Mother Goddess"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/keepingherkeys\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/keepingherkeys\/","name":"Keeping Her Keys","description":"Hekate, witchcraft and everyday life.","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/keepingherkeys\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/keepingherkeys\/#\/schema\/person\/6a994b2d0672904f2725ab161b1fc30d","name":"Cyndi Brannen","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/keepingherkeys\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d267bb52146b128bc984d1179c0ae70d?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d267bb52146b128bc984d1179c0ae70d?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","caption":"Cyndi Brannen"},"description":"Dr. Cyndi Brannen, PhD is a witch and psychologist dedicated to Hekate, her two sons and living the coastal life in rural Nova Scotia. She is a trained energetic healer, psychic and herbalist who is also an internationally-recognized expert on women's health and the development of self-help programs. In 2005, she founded Open Circle Wellness which offers courses and individual support, including the popular Shadow Taming Workshop and Tarot Readings. She created The Real Work: A Pagan Path for Personal Development and teaches that in-person and online, as well as providing training for those wishing to deliver the course. Dr. Brannen has taught meditation and mindfulness to a variety of groups and organizations. She started Keeping Her Keys to fulfill her mission and dream of writing and teaching about Modern Hekatean Witchcraft. Learn more: Keepingherkeys.com","sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/keepingherkeys\/","https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/cyndi.brannen","https:\/\/twitter.com\/sweepr05"],"url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/keepingherkeys\/author\/cbrannen\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/keepingherkeys\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3245","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/keepingherkeys\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/keepingherkeys\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/keepingherkeys\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3059"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/keepingherkeys\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3245"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/keepingherkeys\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3245\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/keepingherkeys\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13697"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/keepingherkeys\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3245"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/keepingherkeys\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3245"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/keepingherkeys\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3245"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}