Ancient followers of the Greek goddess Hekate celebrated with elaborate feasts and festivals. If you’re a follower today, consider hosting...
Ancient followers of the Greek goddess Hekate celebrated with elaborate feasts and festivals. If you’re a follower today, consider hosting a special supper on Hekate Night. This is an elegant, sacred meal dedicated to the Greek Goddess of the Crossroads. With traditional foods and good witchy friends, who wouldn’t want to join this dinner party?
Ancient Hekate Feasts
The ancient Greeks loved to party. And what better reason to party than to celebrate and honor a beloved deity? Hekate was once a widely-worshiped goddess (more on Hekate here), with her main cults located on Eleusis and Samothrake Island. Elaborate feasts and festivals were thrown every year in her name. But when her followers weren’t in a temple, they were meeting her at the crossroads with a Special Hekate Supper.
Supper at the Crossroads
Picture this. It’s the Dark Moon. The night is quiet, dark and warm. You’re carrying a lantern, a basket of offerings, a bottle of wine and a steaming hot loaf of garlic bread. Your friends, also your coven-mates, are meeting at the crossroads deep in the woods behind the old town cemetery. Tonight is the night to celebrate your matron goddess Hekate. You round the corner and see other bouncing lantern lights glowing in the darkness ahead.
As you walk closer, a long wooden table with benches is illuminated with candlelight. There’s laughter and anticipation in the air. You take a seat beside your best friend and surrounded by your coven. As you raise a toast in Hekate’s name, a dog howls in the distance. This is Hekate affirming her presence. You all feast on Hekate’s supper and enjoy one another’s company in the wild wood. Wine, homemade bread, fish, and fruit is shared among you. After the feast is over, the remnants are given as an offering and left at the crossroads. You don’t look back.
How to Host a Hekate Supper
Hekate Night is traditionally held on November 16th. This is the night she haunts the crossroads with her hounds. November 16th is also a night to initiate oneself or others under Hekate. Samhain and the nights of the Dark Moon are also appropriate. Other days honoring Hekate in Greece include August 13th (a day offerings are left at the crossroads to appease Hekate’s wild stormy side).
The Ambience
Whether you host supper inside or out, the ambience should be dark. Low lighting, candlelight is best. Lanterns, hurricane lamps, and oil lamps set the mood. Plates and napkins should be of dark colors: black, maroon, and/or shades of purple. Hekate particularly loves red and black. Incorporate these colors into the tablecloth, centerpiece, and invitations. Give every guest a skeleton key as a token to remember Hekate Night (keys are one of her symbols).
Flowers like dark red roses or black hollyhocks. A moon and stars motif would be perfect, too! Place a statue or representation of Hekate at the head of the table. If you can host Hekate Night Supper at the crossroads, even better!
The Supper Menu
Traditionally, Hekate loves garlic, fish, honey, eggs, cheese, mushrooms, cake and wine. Consider using our menu or building your own using each of Hekate’s traditional offerings mentioned above. Hekate should be set a place at the table and left offerings after the dinner is done (see below for more info). Alternatively, instead of cooking everything yourself, ask your friends to bring one dish or beverage as part of the offering.
As you’re setting the table OR as your guests arrive, invoke Hekate’s presence by inviting her to join for supper. Let her know she is the reason for the feast.
What to Drink
- Red wine: Cabernet or Merlot (wine was sacred to the ancient Greeks and was no doubt given as an offering to Hekate)
- Mead: honey-wine isn’t traditional to Greece, but Hekate loves honey so this drink is appropriate
- Water
Pour a glass for Hekate first. Then clink glasses together and toast Hekate’s name before partaking in the wine, mead or water! Clinking glasses scares off the “spirits” and toasting Hekate is traditional.
Appetizers
- Dolmas: Stuffed Grape Leaves
- Mydia: red mussels steamed in red wine and herb sauce
- crescent-shaped bread and pastries
- Charcuterie Board: including cheeses, meats, hard-boiled eggs, honey, jams, apricots, olives, garlic, mushrooms, etc.
Remember to serve Hekate first before the rest of your dinner party. Out of the utmost respect for the goddess.
Supper
- Red Mullet in Caper Sauce: red mullet is sacred to Hekate and traditional at Hekate Night Suppers
- Marinated Mushrooms: mushrooms are also traditional to Hekate
- Homemade Rosemary Garlic Bread with
- Mediterranean Herb Butter Spread
Dessert
- Greek Honey Cake
- Fruit: include pomegranates, figs, navel oranges, apples and peaches.
Invocation and Petition
During Hekate Night, ask each individual to share their thoughts and experiences with the Goddess of the Crossroads. Read aloud poems and myths that honor Hekate. Sing songs. You might even consider allowing party guests to bring their canine friends and providing doggie treats. This would please Hekate immensely!
Make your invocation and petition, this is a good time to ask for her assistance to release something from your life, and then walk away without looking back. Encountering or hearing a dog is an indication that your petition has been heard by Hekate and her sacred dogs.
On this night, it is good to acknowledge Hekate’s strength. Recognize her as the ultimate protector of all realms of existence.
Hekate Night Ends with Traditional Offerings
These offerings of food are both consumed by those celebrating and left out by the front door (the “crossroad” between indoors and outdoors, between one’s private space and public spaces) or at a crossroad, on a (perishable) plate or flat stone, as an offering to Hekate as she roamed the Earth by night with her sacred dogs, and to invite her blessings for those who dwell inside.
If you hosted Hekate Night at the crossroads, it’s traditional to leave the remnants for the goddess and her hounds. Two things you MUST remember:
- don’t leave anything at the crossroads that’s not perishable (no plates, cups, cutlery, etc. unless it’s perishable!)
- once you leave the offering at the crossroads, do NOT turn around and look back!
November 30th
This is the night for meeting our Triple Goddess at her eternal crossroads. Our spiritual origin point where the material and mystical interact. The portal to the world of spirits and where we can find comfort when the world makes us weary. This is not an evening for elaborate witchcraft, but for spending time with Hekate, her ancient witches, and her horde of spirits. We meet her at the crossroads to stand in our power, while banishing those would harm us out of fear. The spiritual power of the crossroads is central to Hekate’s Witches.
Set aside time on this night for a quiet ritual of remembrance for all the crossroads you’ve traversed and for listening to her wisdom.
Sources: Otherworldly Oracle, Goddess Elite, Keeping Her Keys
Be magickal, y’all!
