Hekate

Hekate, de Maria Strutz, agenda lunar 2004

A friend of mine asked me to do a statue of Hekate and despite extensive research it took me a long time to get 'into' her. But finally I did and I found her chilling, awesome, powerful and inspiring. Here are some background notes on her:

Goddess of the Underworld, guardian of the crossroads, nightly Hekate appears in sacred places where three roads meet. She rules over the souls of the dead and instructs mortals in the art of magic, sorcery and witchcraft. Statuettes of her were placed outside houses or at the crossroads and were consulted as oracles. Once a month, during the new moon, offerings were made to her to placate the goddess of the underworld but also the ghosts of the restless. These offerings were called 'Hekate's banquets' or 'Hekate's suppers'.
Her triple shape often is associated with the phases of the moon. The triple shape also is associated with Selene, Persephone and Artemis, i.e. moon, lower world and earth.