Hecate in Folklore | The Faeries and Folklore Podcast

Episode 168: Irascible Immortals: Hecate

The folklore of Hecate in a nutshell and how I reimagined it for my writing.

Transcript

You’re listening to the Faeries and Folklore podcast by Ronel.

I’m dark fantasy author Ronel Janse van Vuuren. With nearly a decade of digging around in dusty folklore books, researching creatures of imagination that ignited my curiosity, I’m here to share the folklore in a nutshell and how I reimagined it for my writing in an origin of the fae.

This is the Faeries and Folklore podcast.

Hi, I’m your host Ronel Janse van Vuuren. You can just call me Ronel. In today’s episode, we’re continuing our exploration of the fae realm.

This episode is brought to you by my Irascible Immortals series, available in ebook, paperback, hardback and audiobook. They’ve been alive forever. They’ve been bored for some time. And now they’re showing it. Go to ronelthemythmaker.com/my-books/the-irascible-immortals-series for more.

We’re continuing our exploration of the Immortals.

Today’s immortal: Hecate

Folklore in a Nutshell by Ronel

Hecate is the goddess of magic and crossroads. She has knowledge of all things pertaining to magic, such as herbs, necromancy and spells. She’s the daughter of the Titans Perses and Asteria – and thus a Titan herself, though she is counted as a goddess under Zeus’ rule. She has power over the heavens, earth, the seas and the underworld. When Persephone was kidnapped by Hades, she not only heard it happen but also helped Demeter – torch in hand – look for her. Each time Persephone returns to the Underworld to be with Hades, Hecate accompanies her. 

She is a triple goddess, being seen throughout antiquity with three separate bodies – the maiden, the mother and the crone. Some tales have Hecate with three bodies in one, looking in different directions at once as she guards the crossroads, but these tales are newer in origin. She is usually seen with a single body, holding a key and a torch, accompanied by dogs and snakes. At one point, she had a big following of witches in Thessaly; these days, she’s revered among those practicing witchcraft and in Neopaganism – such as Wicca – alike.

Her sacred tree is the yew, but she is known to enjoy garlic. Several plants are associated with her, such as belladonna, dittany, mandrake and aconite – these are all either poisonous or medicinal.

During Roman times, she was delegated to the Underworld and most of her powers were assumed by other gods and goddesses. But Hecate remained a liminal goddess: from her birth to being a goddess, transcending the Titan/Olympian barrier, to being able to travel with ease from the physical world to the Underworld, this goddess also regulates light and night.

The nymphs of the underworld, the Lampades, were a gift from Zeus for her loyalty, and they carry torches as they accompany Hecate on her nocturnal travels.

This goddess is sometimes portrayed as sinister, but she can be kind and helpful. She’s an Underworld goddess, a but also a leader of dogs. And she has always been the patron goddess of witches – even those with shady legacies like Medea.

Origin of the Fae: Hecate

Hecate is the goddess of magic, witchcraft, spells and magical plants. She has nymphs who follow her around, as well as black dogs. She keeps to herself as other gods and goddesses tend to take everything she says literally: not all crossroads as actual roads, but choices. She’s fond of Artemis and Persephone as they treasure nature as much as she does.

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