Hekate

'It is not your light that reincarnates, it is your dark.

If you do not become conscious of your shadow, you will reincarnate until you do.  Hekate is the force that makes you conscious of your shadow.'

 ~ Jade Sol Luna

Even though I prefer to refer to the Lord and Lady without proper names, Hekate is, and has been for over three years, a favorite goddess of mine.  Within traditional witchcraft there is no reference to her.  However, I choose to speak with her surrounding particular matters from time to time, and regardless of my tradition, she still listens and whispers back.

She stands off at a distance, as befitting the title of 'distant one' given to her by some.  I have read almost every book I can find about her, yet she remains aloof, mysterious and awe-inspiring. sometimes dangerous.  Of course she does.....

I recently found this poem on the internet.  I have not been able to find the author.  If you know who it is please let me know.

Hear the words of the Grandmother of Time:

She who has been known as

Hecate, Erishkagel, Cerridwen, Kali-Ma,

Anna, Perenna, Spider Woman,

and many other names

- some feared, and some loved,

but none ever ignored.

She it is who brings wisdom and

the awareness of eternity.

She has been the Maiden, and remembers that joy.

She has been the Mother, and recalls that pleasure.

But age has changed her,

and taught her the mysteries of

the Wheel that is ever turning,

the Wheel that is life, death, and rebirth.

She is the whirling tornado, the erupting volcano,

the rising tidal wave, the trembling of the earth's crust.

With age comes an understanding of the past,

and a glimpse of the future.

For, in the turning of the Wheel,

the past is the future,

and the future is the past.

She is the Learned One, the Teacher,

the Bringer of Inevitable Change.

She is the Dark of the Moon, the Hidden One,

the invisible unknown that lies ahead.

But do not fear her for she is not malicious,

and her touch, however harsh, is love.

 Only in ignorance is she scorned and reviled.

Those who do not know her,

parody her as the ugly old woman

whose powers were said to blight crops

and sour the milk in the cow.

It is fear that turns her age into abomination,

her wrinkles into hideous deformity,

and her voice into an evil and manipulative cackle.

For those who sought power over the earth were afraid

to face her wisdom and her unalterable truth.

 But in the old days, we sat at her feet to learn the most ancient lore.

From her came the knowledge of the healing herbs,

and the chants and songs that shaped our lives.

She sat in honour at our councils, our marketplaces, in our homes.

She governed our governing, and interpreted our laws.

She gave focus to our changing seasons.

She was our teacher, our oracle, our promise of rebirth.

Come, honour her as of old,

listen now to the words of Wise One,

the ancient Seer, the Crone!

Author Unknown