Witchcraft as a religion is centered on a specific God or Goddess. Devotees of Hekate put Hekate in the center of their practice. When someone is a beginner and feels the call of the Goddess asks what he should do to attract the Goddess, to invite Her into his life. In initiatory Wicca, this bond is something that is usually cultivated after the first-degree initiation, and in the solitary practice, it happens after a systematic approach on the practical aspects of Wicca (Circles, Sabbats, Esbats, Devotional work).
Reading
But what are those things that a new Witch has to do to help the communication channel to be built? First of all, he should read the basic mythology of the Goddess from reliable sources. Those should be, in the best case, the ancient texts or a book of mythology to the specific pantheon, in which there will be a chapter for the Goddess. The next step is to read the excerpts of the ancient texts, in which we find the name of the Goddess. To understand them, we need proper historical and philosophical knowledge of the particular timeline. This is not an easy step and definitely not for beginners but if someone walks that route, is closer to getting initiation of the ancient mysteries or to understanding the Goddess and what She represents. If we have here someone who believes that those steps are unnecessary, please find another blog to read. Mythology is not a falsity, nor history. We Witches, have to base our practices on evidence, not on hypothesis. Witches were historically wise persons, advisers of kings, scientists, prophets.
Making A Shrine
The second thing to do is to create a shrine, not an altar. A shrine is a table or a shelf or a special place in which you put the image of the Goddess (statue, plaque, frame), symbols associated with Her (you know from Her mythology), an offering plate, incense burner, a vase with water and flowers and maybe some candles at the appropriate colors. On that shrine, you have to spend some time each day, either you will pray, invoke, meditate, or recite hymns. Maybe you can do all of the above, but spend time every day. Every day. Do not underestimate pathworkings. I worked a lot at my beginnings with the four audio pathworkings for Hekate, of Mima's Cornish, and with the Tetrahedron meditation created by Tara Sanchez. You have to do daily devotional work and never miss a day. Offer to the Goddess incense or drinks or food or service at least once a day. Maybe you prefer to do this at night, after work, or in the morning.
Realization
Notice the moon phases and on a page write the annual phases of the dark moon and the full moon for each month. You need them to celebrate deipna and esbat, if we are talking about Hekate or just the full moons will be suited for most of the Goddesses. If your Goddess is not a lunar one, then you have to find the dates which are aligned with Her properties. Those days you will do a ritual in Her honor. Big or small, dramatic or not, just do it. Remember, we are not worshiping the ancient Gods and Goddesses to makes us favors, or to escape from reality or to get revenge from the main religion, we honor them because we like to do it and we consider it a gentle action, something that is transforming us to their (real) image.
On a daily level, try to have the Goddess on your skin. No tattoos. Print a t-shirt –not an eccentric one, wear jewelry that will remind you of the link, prefer to wear colors associated with Her, incorporate odors that are related to Her, buy a pendant, and wear it all the time. Maybe you can also buy a small statue and put it in your bag, then in your office, in your car, on the front door. Another daily habit you can incorporate is to repeat a chant for Her as you walk, or pray as you walk. It is a good idea to take a red chord and bind some knots to count your repetitions. A Tibetan Buddhist wrist mala can also be used which is very practical or you can buy one wrist bracelet from your local shop. For crafty witches, you can try to buy small wooden spheres and engrave them or buy beads in the colors you want.
If you are too, a fellow devotee of Hekate, create a Hekataion on your front door. Not only you will have the Goddess to protect you and your house, but you are going to pray every time you go out and every time that She brought you in, safely! Express gratitude for the smallest things, like waking up in the morning, of feeling your muscles, or just because you have a voice and all your parts of your body, thank the Goddess for seeing the sun, feeling the air, walking safely among others. Thank Her when you get into your home, when something is going right or when She is teaching you a lesson. Express gratitude.
Statue of female Goddess from 4th century b.C., Athens, Hellas. This statue of the Goddess looks like Hekate.
Invocation
At that point, you will invoke the Goddess in the circle and She probably responds to your actions, especially if She has decided to work with you. Invoke often. On a practical level, replace your previous Goddess statue, with the statue of the Goddess you invoke. Make one change to your magickal robe. Do again your dedication ritual to the Goddess, being more specific. If you practice Wicca, then you will have to find a God as a match to the Goddess. Hekate works well with Pan, Helios, Hermes from the Hellenic pantheon, but She also works with other panthea as well. When you invoke a Goddess, make sure that you won’t mess things up. It is a safe way to work with one pantheon, at least at the beginning of your relationship with the Goddess. Also, you should know from mythology, who Gods didn’t have the best relationships between them, so try not to invoke them at the same time in your place.
Allow the new energy to come to your life. You will lose friends, opportunities, time, but you will make new relationships with others. Accept that, it is a natural procedure. After all, it is expected to happen after the dedication ritual and you know that this will happen.
Try to buy more books about the magick on the civilization you study. Hekate for example is a Hellene Goddess/Titanis, so you will find many studies about ancient Hellenic mysteries, magick, religion. There is a lot of good material, you just have to be ready to open yourself to it and understand it. This is not a race, but if you have a passion (like me), you are going to do it and you will press yourself to do it. And you will find emotional contentment.
Archaeological Sites
Another step in that process is to visit archaeological sites and museums. Hekate can be found in most countries, as in Hellas, too many “people” have taken whatever they wanted, illegally and unethically. So, Hekate’s statues, coins, talismans are all over the world. Many devotees choose to come and visit Hellas, to connect with Her. In any case, do not go to an archaeological site without having done your research. You need the knowledge to understand what you see, else you will pass mislabeled or unlabeled temples and you will miss the whole meaning. And being a devotee, a priest and a Witch of Hekate means that you accept the challenge.
Creativity
Being creative with motivation from the inside. To show your devotion to the Goddess, you may have a feeling, an urge, an impulse to write a hymn, a poem, a song, or to play a musical instrument for Her. Another impulse you may have is to create something with Her or for Her. A knife, a painting, a plaque from clay, a pathworking, etc. Maybe, all of them are great ways and personally, I have done them all. In the phase I am now, I am trying to learn a musical instrument and maybe later, a foreign language so I will gain more access to books and papers written in that language. In the Covenant of Hekate, Torchbearers organize projects using all kinds of material, trying to show creativity and devotion to the Goddess.
When you will have established that connection, you will notice that your life will change and it will be better, with more importance. To mention another example, I met two people who I admired, in the first year of that connection. There were too low possibilities to meet them in my life, and it happened. They both came to Hellas and we spent quality time. One of them inspired me to my journey. Both of them were devotees of Hekate. Nothing is impossible for the Goddess. You may have plans for the future that will make the divine laugh or make them happen. The one thing that I am positive is that when you open yourself to the energy of the Goddess, She is going to make your life better. Expect nothing, be humble, honest, true, look at Her with piety, do your homework and things will happen, changes will happen, for you. Do not mess with the steps. Before going to practice, make sure that you know the theory, as you would do in every occult science or magickal practice.
Helpful Links
It amazes me how so many traditions follow these ancient protocols and roles,