HECATE - QUEEN OF THE NIGHT
(Mythic - Greek)

At the Crossroads: the Dark of the Moon

Known as the Triple Goddess of the Crossroads, the origins of Hecate are varied. The daughter of Hera and Zeus, she is associated with childbirth and journeys, bearing a torch at the dark of the moon lighting the way through the dark periods of a mortal's life.

Often associated with Artemis and Selene as a moon triad, Hecate represents the dark side - - the period before the new moon; hence, childbirth, beginnings and journeys. Darkness is not necessarily evil as it is the ground from which light emerges and in this sense it is unmanifest light and pre-natal darkness.

Later, associated with Persephene, she came to represent the dark of the underworld, the Queen of the Night, a symbol of witches during the middle ages who were mid-wives and healers. Hecate is also represented as Queen of the Night in Mozart's "Magic Flute."

SYMBOLS

1. Torches - To light the journey.

2. Moon - Dark, pre-new moon.

3. Cross - Crossroads; female symbol with circle.

4. Crescent crown with mandragon leaves - Her symbol.

5. Dove - Goddess symbol of freedom.

6. Willow tree and bark - An enchanted tree -- sacred to the Moon Goddess.

7. Black Stone - Baetylic, a meteorite, Hecate's magic stone containing spirits, indwelling divinity an prophecy.

8. Winged serpent - Wings are solar and depict divinity; also, the shedding of the serpent represents phases of life -- birth, death and renewal.

9. Three stars - Triad; Artemis, Selene and Hecate -- the union of life, death and rebirth.