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The Torch of Hekate The goddess of the crossroads, taught from the ancient sources.
Hekate is the most popular goddess in modern witchcraft, and most of what is said about her has no source behind it at all. The same handful of claims get copied from book to book and video to video, and somewhere along the way the actual goddess of the ancient world got lost.
This course goes back to find her. It starts with her contested roots in Anatolia, reads Hesiod's hymn to her line by line, works through the Greek Magical Papyri and the Chaldean Oracles, and follows her all the way to the Neoplatonists, who made her the World Soul. Then it gives you twenty rituals to work with her, built on what those sources actually say.
$197, or four payments of $49.25. 90 day money-back guarantee.
Why this course exists
Go beyond the recycled myths
Pick up almost any modern book on Hekate and you will be told she is the Crone, the third face of a Maiden, Mother, and Crone triad that the ancient Greeks supposedly worshipped. They did not. That triad was put together in the twentieth century, and it was attached to Hekate long after anyone in Greece had stopped making offerings to her.
The real picture is stranger and far more interesting. In Hesiod's Theogony, one of the oldest Greek texts we have, Hekate is honored above almost every other goddess, given a share of the earth, the sea, and the starry sky, and Zeus himself respects her. Her triple form comes from a statue by the sculptor Alcamenes in fifth-century Athens, and it meant something quite different from what you have been told. By late antiquity the Chaldean Oracles had made her a cosmic power standing between the gods and the world.
I built this course because I was tired of reading the same unsourced claims, and I suspect you are too.
Every module goes back to the evidence. Where a claim comes from a primary text, you see the text. Where it comes from the archaeological record, you see that. And where something is a modern invention, I tell you so plainly, because you deserve to know which parts of the tradition are old and which are new before you build a practice on them.
The sources this course is built on
- Hesiod's Theogony, read line by line through the Hymn to Hekate
- The Homeric Hymn to Demeter, where she hears Persephone's cry and carries the torch
- The Greek Magical Papyri, with their spells and invocations to her
- The Chaldean Oracles and the Neoplatonists who made her the World Soul
- The archaeological record, from her sanctuary at Lagina in Anatolia to the household shrines of Athens
What you are getting
The course, module by module
Twelve modules, more than 100 videos. Eight modules follow Hekate through history, from her first temples to her modern revival. The last four are the practice: twenty rituals, fifteen meditations, and the extended material.
Part one: the history
Origins: the contested roots in Anatolia
Where Hekate first appears, the evidence for her beginnings in Caria and Anatolia, and the functions she held before she ever reached Greece.
Hesiod's Theogony
A line by line reading of the Hymn to Hekate, the passage that gives her honors in earth, sea, and sky and makes her one of the most powerful goddesses in the Greek world.
A second portrait of Hekate
Who she becomes in the sources after Hesiod, and the character and roles that grew around her.
The religion of the oikos
Hekate in the household: the shrines at the door, the protection of the home, and the offerings ordinary families made to her.
The triple form: dismantling the myth
How her triple image came out of Alcamenes' statue in Athens, what it meant at the time, and why the modern Maiden, Mother, and Crone triad has nothing to do with her.
Hekate and magick
The spells, invocations, and rituals addressed to her in the Greek Magical Papyri, read from the texts themselves.
The philosophical transformation
How the Chaldean Oracles and the Neoplatonists raised her to a cosmic power, the soul of the world standing between the divine and the material.
Medieval to modern
How she survived the end of the ancient world, and how the modern Pagan revival rediscovered her, including what it got right and what it invented.
Part two: the practice
The twenty sacred rituals
Working rites in four disciplines: foundation and devotion, protection and clearing, transformation and healing, and the advanced mysteries. They are laid out in full in the next section.
The fifteen guided meditations
Meditations to work with her between rituals and to deepen the relationship over time.
Extended video content
Hekate as the World Soul, her epithets one by one, and extended commentary on the material in the main modules.
Conclusion and bibliography
Bringing it together, and a complete bibliography so you can follow every source yourself.
More than 100 videos, each one also available as an MP3, with lifetime access.
Module IX
The twenty sacred rituals
These are working rites to be performed, with every step given. They are grouped into four disciplines, so you can begin with devotion and the household rites and move toward the advanced work as the relationship with her grows.
Foundation and devotion
5 rites- 1The Crossroads Offering
- 5The Deipnon
- 6The Threshold Blessing
- 8The New Moon Initiation
- 19The Ritual of the Sacred Meal
Protection and clearing
4 rites- 4The Protection Rite
- 9The Cord-Cutting Ritual
- 10The Banishing Ritual
- 11The Ritual of the Burning Road
Transformation and healing
4 rites- 12The Ritual of Descent
- 13The Healing Crossroads Ritual
- 14The Ritual of Reclaiming
- 15The Restoration of the Flame
How to use them
- ·Start with the foundation rites to make first contact
- ·The Deipnon is timed to the dark moon each month
- ·Protection rites can be worked whenever they are needed
- ·Keep the advanced mysteries for when the relationship is established
The advanced mysteries
7 rites- 2The Key Ritual
- 3The Torch Ritual for Clarity
- 7The Crossroads Decision Ritual
- 16The Torch of Prosperity Ritual
- 17The Ritual of the Skeleton Key
- 18The Empowerment Ritual
- 20The Invocation of the Triple Form
20 rituals · 4 disciplines · designed for real practice
Who this is for
You will know if this is you
Any one of these is enough. You do not need to be all four.
You are tired of the recycled material
You have read the same claims about Hekate in five different books, none of them with a source, and you have started to wonder how much of it is true. This course shows you exactly where each piece comes from, and which pieces come from nowhere.
You want to meet her in the ancient texts
You would rather read what Hesiod actually wrote about her, what the magical papyri actually asked of her, and what the Chaldean Oracles actually said, than read someone's summary of a summary. Every module goes to the sources.
You want a practice, not only a history
Knowing who she was matters, and so does working with her. You get twenty rituals and fifteen meditations, and you can begin with the first offering at the crossroads the week you join, whether you have worked with her for years or are only now feeling drawn to her.
You want to learn at your own pace
There is no cohort to keep up with, no monthly subscription, and no program that ends and locks you out. You pay once, you keep the course for life, and you move through it at whatever pace suits you and your practice.
Who it is not for
If you want Hekate as the Crone of a triple goddess and would rather not have that picture questioned, this course will frustrate you, and I would rather tell you so now. I am respectful of modern devotion to her, and the course covers the revival fairly, but it puts the evidence first. If that is what you are looking for, you are in the right place.
Enrollment
Step up to the crossroads
The Torch of Hekate
$197
or four payments of $49.25
- More than 100 video lessons
- Every lesson as a downloadable MP3
- Twenty sacred rituals
- Fifteen guided meditations
- A complete bibliography
- Lifetime access, no subscription
90 day money-back guarantee
Explore the entire course for three full months. If the research and the rituals are not what you hoped, email me within ninety days and I will refund you in full. I have a very low refund rate, and I would rather you join with no pressure than wonder whether it is worth it.
Lifetime access90 day guaranteeNearly 9,000 students
From students
What students say about my programs
“It's obvious how well researched each subject is.”
“I have all of Baal's courses, and I look forward to more. Baal is very knowledgeable, and informed on the subjects he teaches. It's obvious how well researched each subject is. Baal presents the information in clear and easy to understand terms. He also keeps my attention unlike some other people I have listened to. As a single parent who works full-time, and attends school, sometimes its hard to find extra time for myself. I really appreciate how these courses are laid out so you can take your time, and use them when you are able to instead of giving you a time limit. I also appreciate that I can download my purchases. The latest course I am using is the Ancient Egypt course, and I love it!”
DJ
Student of every course
“I have learned so much and it is changing my life.”
“I have been reading your books and I have been practice your spells for a few years now. I have found that listening to you voice has made me a stronger witch. I actually have bought more books then courses I'm afraid but there's one course that I would love to have and that is the Book of Enoch. Afterall, if it wasn't for these Fallen Angels we wouldn't be the people we are today. We wouldn't have the knowledge the Great King Salmon nor the Kabala. We should acknowledge Enoch and maybe you can make a course for us???? P.S. I'm self employed so I might have gone a bit far with my sales skills All jokes aside, I have learned so much and it is changing my life.”
Rosa Haffar Almawardi
Reader and student
(These are the testimonials as the students left them, in their own words. They are about my programs in general, not this course in particular.)