The Goddess Hekate - Crone Goddess?

In May this year people all over the world will once again join in the Rite of Her Sacred Fires, hosted this year by the Covenant of Hekate this ritual was first celebrated in 2010 to mark the completion of the book HEKATE HER SACRED FIRES edited by Sorita d'Este with dozens of contributors from around the world.  This will be the first of numerous short articles here on the Avalonia blog over the coming months related to the Goddess Hekate, both introducing different aspects of her, extracts from the Her Sacred Fires project and tackling some of the misinformation which exists about her today.

Probably the most frequently repeated misunderstandings about the Goddess Hekate is that she is is the "Crone" when viewed in the context of the modern “Maiden Mother Crone” construct.  This is still relatively common based on the writings of modern Pagan authors of the last few decades, we have decided to publish the following short extract from The Hekate Chronicles, by Sorita d’Este which was published as a historical introduction to the book Hekate Her Sacred Fires (2010).

The modern ‘triple goddess’ construct of ‘Maiden Mother Crone’ is a product of the neo-Pagan revival taking its influence from such writers as Aleister Crowley, Dion Fortune, Robert Graves and C.G. Jung, and mixing it with that of classical paganism. Crowley referred to Hekate as a ‘Crone’ and the idea spread from there. Considering depictions of her throughout her long history, we find that she is always described and depicted as a woman of indeterminate age, or specifically as a ‘maiden’. For our ancestors the gods were immortal, and as such perfect, immune to ageing and the physical issues it brought. Of course it is true that even in ancient Greece, Hekate was considered to be a very ancient goddess and as such is very very old indeed. However, as you will discover on your journey through Her Sacred Fires, Hekate has had many forms over the millennia, and as a deity who has not been forgotten it is clear that she can and has adopted additional symbolism and forms over the centuries.
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This is the quote from Aleister Crowley which seems to the source of the Crone attribution:
“and thirdly, she is Hekate, a thing altogether of Hell, barren, hideous and malicious, the queen of death and evil witchcraft … Hekate is the crone, the woman past all hope of motherhood, her soul black with envy and hatred of happier mortals;”
[Moonchild, Aleister Crowley - 1929]

You can find out more about Hekate Her Sacred Fires on the project website www.sacredfires.co.uk.  The book is available from Amazon, B&N, Waterstones and many other online and physical bookshops around the world.  You can also order it directly from the project website, or from the publishers at http://avaloniabooks.co.uk/221/?page_id=238