moondance.ing

Jan 09, 2025

Happy (late) Yule!

Missed my December update because, well, December, and with all the holiday stuff over and now having some breathing room, I've decided to come back to this project and post an update!

Yule was lovely, I spent some time with the coven and with my family over the past few weeks, and had a (mostly) good time. While I was driving the back roads I hit a slick patch and slid off the road on my way to my coven's land. Luckily I wasn't going very fast and I didn't stop, so I didn't get stuck. My car is a little worse for wear, but still driving and it was a good thing it was making a noise, because we found out that Jiffy Lube didn't tighten my drain bolt when they changed my oil. Major crisis averted via a minor issue, thanks Hekate! I lost about a half quart of oil over the weekend after I changed my oil, much longer and I would be looking at a car loan! Thank goodness! My cousin patched me up right as rain, and now I'm back to being on the roadways.

As far as my practice goes, I'm working through Cindi Brannen's Keeping Her Keys, and I've gotten to the part where I'm practicing an evocation of Hekate. An evocation and an invocation are often used interchangably by baby witches such as myself (in fact, I have used them interchangably), however they are not the same thing! An evocation is the welcoming of a presence or energy into your space, and an invocation is welcoming a presence or energy into your body. The first invocation I stumbled across while I was reading about witchcract is the Charge of the Goddess from Wicca, where the invoker welcomes the Goddess into their body and addresses the people present. This is notably different (though similar) than an evocation, where you are simply sharing a space, rather than a body. Invoking a deity is rather intense I'm told, and best left til later in one's development, when one is ready for that experience.

I personally was even kind of intimidated by performing an evocation of Lady Hekate, and decided to put it off for a month or two. I am happy to say that I am, now, practicing the evocation one part at a time, and it's been managable to a tune that I am getting more comfortable with the concept of welcoming Lady Hekate into my space. As to why I was intimidated, I would say that, while there were a lot of signs pointing to yes, I felt as though a evocation for its own sake was somewhat inappropriate and a flippant use of Her power. After doing some self reflection and rest, I determined that I will be choosing a cause to champion with the power I'm lent that will be good, so that I can say confidently that my "intention is pure and my will is strong." I have a couple ideas of causes floating around in my head, and I'll decide on one based on what I think is the best use of the energy come the New Moon when I will be performing the full evocation. I have time to work out my full intention and make sure all the parties involved are consenting in my spellwork.

I also spilled my incense over the period I was away, and found a source of European Vervain, which was nice, that I will be able to use in my future blends. I like to make my own resin incense, and the experience of learning new recipes and experimenting with them has been very rewarding. I'm running low on my blends, so it will be time to try out some new recipes and make some blends that hopefully my spirit team likes! Persephone has already said that she likes one of my simpler blends, just frankincense, myrrh, and cinnamon, so maybe I'll make some more of that as well as some new blends to try out. I also promised my sister and a friend that I would make them some incense, so I will be doubling at least one of the batches to share.

Anyway, I hope you all had a happy Yuletide and are off to new adventures in the new year!

Bright Blessings,

Rowen

posted at 14:15  ·   ·  witchcraft  dear_reader  hekate  hecate

Nov 12, 2024

The Path Forward

So, I know that it's been a while since I updated last. Long story short, I moved, and it's been a whirlwind since then. There are a few things that I want to say though. No, this blog isn't dead. I intend to keep updating it on a semi-regular basis, hopefully at least once a month, for the forseeable future. Second, you might notice that I did not use the Wicca tag on this post. There is a reason for this, one which I hopefully will go into detail once I've done a little more research and feel a bit more firm in my decision, but essentially the reason is that I no longer identify my witchcraft practice in this way. Wicca was useful, but I feel as though my practice has outgrown this particular label. I will describe my feelings and research in a future post, but that is all I will say about this for now.

As to how I define my practice now, I would consider it a mix of Hellenism and eclectic solitary witchcraft. I still meet up with a coven locally, but I'm exploring my practice in a way that I prefer to do alone. Maybe I'll move on from my current coven, maybe I'll stay, but right now, all I can say is that I'm explorihg my practice and that I do not want to put it in a box just yet.

As far as my practice goes, what does it look like today that differs it to my early practice of just a few months ago? Well, first and foremost, I asked my Goddess for Her name. This is where the Hellenism bit comes in. Turns out, I've been working with Hekate for much of this time, and just didn't know it. At first, I was a little startled and fearful, but honestly, putting a name to the energy has been so helpful in my practice that almost all of that fear and apprehension is gone. She has expressed that She has some work to do with me, and I want to honor Her and follow Her light.

I've noticed that a lot of people are apprehensive with working with Hekate, mostly due to all the bad press she gets. After all, many katadesmos invoke her to perform baneful magic. Well, like all the deities in the Hellenistic pantheon, Hekate is a complicated being. She is a Titan, one of the Old Gods, but she is the only one who survived the transition to the Olympic era, by helping the Olympians in their battle against the Titans. She is honored by Zeus above all other gods, as he gives her the domains of the earth, sea, and sky. She is the Goddess of darkness, dogs, crossroads, and witchcraft. She is often depicted as triple-bodied or triple-headed; bearing keys, torches, daggers, chalices, and snakes.

Perhaps one of the best ways to get to know her is to read her epithets. She is known as a guardian of children, a guide in the darkness, and the mother of all. She has been very gentle with me, and I feel safe with Her. I feel very honored that She is the one who answered my call for a guide, and I don't know that I could have chosen a better fit. She helps me with my divination and shadow work, and those are the two things I need help with most right now.

If Hekate is calling to you, there's something She wants to help you with. Let go of your fear of the stories you've been told, and listen to Her tell you Her own story. But always, do not be afraid to do a verification. Your deities want you to be safe, they should never get annoyed with you for verifying their identities. If they do, they are likely not who they say they are.

Stay safe, bright blessings!

Rowen

posted at 18:30  ·   ·  witchcraft  dear_reader  hekate  hecate