Hecate is the goddess that represents darkness, the moon, magic and choices or crossroads. She is often seen holding a torch, a sword and/or a key. When you see statues or artwork representing Hecate, there are often three goddesses. She is the triple goddess, a pre-abrahamic version of trinity.
Her voice might say something like...
I sit in the blackness of the dark moon night
with my hounds
at the crossroads
where three roads converge
at the crossroads
the place of choice
All paths lead to the crossroads
and all are desireable
but only one can you travel
only one can you choose
choice creates endings
and all beginnings come from endings
at the crossroads
Which one will you choose?
which way will you go?
which?
Though the choice is yours
here’s a secret I’ll share
The way to choose is to enter the void
the way to choose is to let die
the way to choose is to fly free
Excerpt from The Goddess Oracle by Amy Sophia Marashinsky
Hecate represents liberation for women. Historically, in medieval times, those who venerated the goddess were tortured as witches; even burned at the stake. Female independence was feared as women who did not submit to the church and male authority were not easily controlled. The idea of witches being evil is a product of a patriarchal superstition. Hecate was disparaged and became a shriveled old woman with a propensity for destruction as an attempt to oppress indigenous pre-Christian religions.
Carl Jung talks about archetypes as patterns that repeat. A friend on Facebook poses this question this week:
"Have you ever noticed, most futuristic movies have a woman leader? In which most of these movies portray a dystopian future for us all!"
It has caused me to think about archetypes. And a book I read a few years ago called, "When God Was a Woman" by Merlin Stone. (I highly recommend it.)
Before Christ, before history, the belief is that the goddess ruled. She didn't rule in a dualistic or opposing way to god. She ruled as a mother. As a nurturer. As a creator. (I always questioned how god was the creator when women were created to have babies.) In the matriarchal society, the children belonged to the mother. Inheritances passed through the female. That makes so much more sense... because the female keeps the children, the property, the control of the family unit. And the society supports one another.
When a tribal band of desert dwellers came into their land, they took control by force. They split families up, sending them into other parts of the countryside and the men of these invading nations dominated the women, raped them, impregnated them and forced the goddess underground. They tore down the places of worship and called them an abomination. They twisted the feminine into something evil. Patriarchy took over.
All of this has me thinking... If life is about patterns, archetypes, characters that we see replayed over and again throughout history, maybe these movies are a foretelling of a time to come when the goddess re-emerges and life comes under the rule of matriarchy once again.
I believe in the rise of the goddess culture. Again, I don't believe the intent is to oppose men, but it is not compatible with patriarchy. Goddess culture, to me, is the encouragement to use your voice and tell your story, to write your own rules and to live by them, to live and dwell in peace and to allow others to do the same.
Once upon a time, when I was a "good woman", when I conformed
to my community’s standards, before I painted my door purple and cut my hair
and threw away all my skirts… I was fearful. The thing that kept me so
controlled and anxious was my faith. My beliefs were very patriarchal and male
driven. As a woman, I was to be silent, subservient and submissive. Being a
strong and “bossy” female, I was accused of being controlling. I was only trying to help everyone to
conform as well I did. However, all I was really doing was keeping up appearances.
When my faith began to crumble due to failing to stand up to
scrutiny, I began to feel a freedom, as I never had. When the threat of hell
and the fear of “God’s” disapproval began to diminish, I realized I was a good
person without that threat. I was a moral and kind and generous person. Nothing
about me had changed. But the weight of the fear and shame began to lift.
Faith, for me, is about creating a lifestyle of peace,
meditation and ritual. I have touchstones in my life that help me to travel
through the year. I take time, when I am able, to recognize and slow down for times, like the new and full moon.I like to
light a fire, play music, maybe dance, set intentions and reflect on what
just passed or what is to come.
I could give you the textbook definition of empath. But I
would rather tell you how it feels to me.
Being an empath means feeling everything. It's like being an
emotional sponge. I absorb energy and sometimes I don't even know where it's
from. Some people talk about having a thick skin. But being in empath is like
having translucent and porous skin. All of my feelings are right on the surface
and very sensitive.
Sometimes, when friends confide or talk to me, I will carry
those emotions with me for days. Sometimes, when people with strong
personalities are part of my life, I feel muted. It's not necessarily that the
other personality is "too much", it's more that my personality feels
blanketed. I don't think people with strong personalities should feel like they
have to cloak their personalities.But I
know that for me, I have not learned to put my shields up when I'm interacting
with these kinds of personalities.
When I feel overwhelmed by another personality, it feels a
bit like drowning in someone else's energy and I am guilty of pulling away. A
lot of times that is misunderstood. Something I'm learning to do is to not get
drawn in to others sensitivities at the risk of my own peace.
As an empathic person, I can be a wonderful listener, but I
feel like a terrible friend. As an empathic person, I am sensitive and
nurturing but I can be cold and distant. As an empathic person, I can become completely
consumed by someone one minute and repulsed the next. It's not usually anything
yet a person is done. Like a sponge, I reach a saturation point. And when I
don't squeeze out the excess energy, I just drown.
Being empathic means feeling like you are never reacting to
your own emotions. Empaths have to learn to put their shields up. They have to
learn to squeeze out other people’s excess. They have to learn when to close
out the world. I'm not very good at communicating when I begin shutting down.
And it has happened to everyone who loves me. Everyone. I'm only just now
beginning to recognize the patterns in my life and how they are directly
related to my empathic sensitivities.
As an empathic person, I can be the best and the worst. It
is such a paradox. It is very difficult to understand. Sometimes it's very
difficult to love. I'm beginning to understand that, too. But I also know that
if I'm not cautious and careful for myself, no one else is going to be. Nobody
knows how it feels. No one experiences the searing pain when I want to crawl
out of my skin. No one knows the wrench in my gut because the grief is so
gripping. No one understands the buzz of voices that run in my brain so loudly
that I can't even hear myself think. No one gets it. Or least very few people
do.
If you find yourself recognizing any of this in your own
self, start looking into empaths; because maybe you are one. And if you're
recognizing these patterns in someone you love, maybe they are one. It can be
very difficult to stay steady.If you're
an empath, you may find you have many friends, many people who care and love
and even adore you. And you probably don't even understand why. Learn to
communicate when things hurt too much. Learn to explain why you feel the need
to check out. People take that stuff personally. I get it. I'm just not very
good at explaining it to those in my life.
D is for Dream. This is the 4th of 26 posts for the A to Z blog challenge.
I have a dream. My dream is not the American dream. I believe the American dream is in illusion created by Madison Avenue. My dream is to find peace. And freedom. And love.
Currently, my life seems to be chaotic. And I work too many hours to find a way to balance all I need to do with all I want to do.
Even if I had the time, financially, I'm not able to finance much beyond a bottle of wine occasionally. I want to find the financial freedom to enjoy more of life. And to share those enjoyable moments with others.
Love is another dream that seems to elude me. Maybe I have bought into the fairy tales and love stories and maybe love is as big an illusion as the American Dream.
Tonight, I took a step in the direction of creating my dream. I was asked to smudge someone's home before she moved in. I was so honored and excited to participate in blessing her new space. This felt like a nudge from the universe. For a couple of years now, I've been thinking about a business I'd like to open. Something eclectic and spiritual and mystical.
I think the universe heard me discussing my dream and decided to drop me a breadcrumb.
I love the moon and all her phases. But my favorite phase is when she is in her crescent phase. Waning or waxing... although you get a better chance of seeing the waxing moon as it will set after the sun in the evening. The waning crescent, which you may get one last glimpse of in the morning, rises before the sun.
The waning moon is sometimes referred to as the old moon. The next phase is the new moon which is when the moon age starts. The waxing crescent is referred to as a young moon.
If you follow the moon cycles, the days of the waning moon are good for contemplating things that are no longer serving you well, releasing and surrendering, preparing for the darkness. The waxing moon is for new beginnings and ideas. But every night is a marvelous night to love and play under the moon and her many phases.
My favorite place in the world is the beach. Everything is low stress and time slows down. I live on the east coast, so I get so see the sunrise. Someday, I'd love to see it set from the west coast.
I recently went to the beach with my kids... all 9 of them! Well, they aren't all mine, but I am claiming them. There were 10 of us in a moderate sized condo for 3 nights and 4 days!! I was in heaven!
While I am at the beach, one of the best activities is just sitting on the shore, watching the ocean. I find it all to be a paradox. Old and new. There is an ancientness about the sea. As I watch the waves break on the shore, I wonder how long they have been doing this. I wonder how many people have sat where I am, looking out, wondering the same things. There is a constant renewal. No matter how many sandcastles we built, every evening they would be washed away, along with all the footprints from the day before.
I love the beach. It reminds me of happy childhood days. And my mother. I love the sand and the salt air, the sun and the wind. It is an amazing place to get refreshed and reenergized. I keep saying, "I want to move to the beach!" I think I need to create a lifestyle that will accommodate more beach trips or a move!!
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