Sisters of the Burning Branch Goddess Gallery Presents...

by Daeira Silverowl

Final Project Level 2

Goddess Hekate plays a very important role in my personal life, as well as in my spiritual practices and my community endeavors. Goddess Hekate is known to many as the Queen of the Witches, Goddess of Magic, Crone and more, but she is so much more than that to me. She is the cosmic soul, the mother of all, the destroyer of the ego, and one of the most ancient and powerful goddesses.

My workings with her are multifaceted and everchanging, just like the goddess herself. From a personal experience I can say that she is definitely not a goddess for those with a faint heart, and definitely not a goddess to play little games with, but I also know that when she is approached with the outmost respect, and readiness to change old habits and behaviors, she is just so wonderful, magnificent, and loving.

My workings with her are always with the intention to help those in need, my community, and hopefully inspire others to make this world a better place. Goddess Hekate is a fierce protectress of women and children, as well as the marginalized. Those two causes are dear to my heart, and something I am always looking forward to offering support and protection. There is no sacred day for Hekate in March, but there are two special dates for me to remember. These are International Women’s Day and Women’s History Month.

These two events inspired me to perform a ritual to send some love, light, and healing into the world. With the recent killing of innocent women across the globe, and the raising cases of domestic violence, and women fighting for equal rights and treatment, I would love to do my part the best way I know how in the spiritual world, and also in the mundane by offering support, love, kindness, and support to my fellow females, friends, and strangers alike, those who are close, and also the ones who are afar, those whom I have the honor to know, and those who I never met before because we are one!  One with Goddess Hekate’s guidance and in her service.

Together We Stand Women’s Ritual

Ritual Items: Purple tablecloth, Statue of Hekate, flowers, Incense, herbs, personal offerings for the goddess and the spirits of the land, matches, pure water, wine, and the feast foods for the goddess.

Grounding and Centering:  Soft Drumming.

Land Spirit Offering: Holding up tobacco, with an offering hand gesture, and walking to the four corners, and setting it on the ground (by altar) while saying: Female spirits of the land, those women who were here before us, and the women who will be here after us. We are here today to ask for your protection, and support. We ask you to please allow us to do the work for healing, blessing, protecting, and empowering our fellow women. Female spirits of the land, we are not here to harm, but to ask for your support and protection to do this work safely. Please accept this offering! Hail and welcome!  Then a glass of Water and a rose was laid on the ground.

Setting Sacred Space: Daeira chants alone and inviting all the powerful goddesses!! Isis, Astarte, Diana, Hekate, Demeter, Kali, Inana. X 3 times

Casting Circle: Daeira. Facing West, visualizing our protective energy building up from within ourselves and within our spirit. I begin to walk around the area three times in a clockwise direction. Once for grounding, once for energy and once for protection. As the energy builds up, is it directed to my dominant hand in which holds my selenite wand. Sending all the energy collected to the wand, I then procced to visualize a powerful and bright beam of energy coming out of it, and dispersing across the ground. I then proceed to visualize a ten feet radius circle closing around us and burning negative energies.

Calling Quarter: Daeira.

Archangel Haniel, nurturing lady of the east!  Please grace us with your presence, and the powers of cleansing and healing water, flow, intuition, and positive change. Hail and Welcome!

Archangel Faith, powerful lady of the south! Please grace us with your assertive presence, the fire to transform and transmute what no longer serves us. Fire to destroy bad habits, such as, codependency, chasing, toxic relationships, self-hatred, and low self-esteem. May the power of fire ignite withing ourselves, and within our spirit. By the power of fire! Lady Faith! Hail and Welcome!

Archangel Aurora, insightful lady of the west! please grace us with your lovely presence, your healing air, the power of thought, and clear communication, bless us with discernment, to make the right decisions for ourselves and those we love.  Hail and Welcome!

Archangel Ariel of grounding and protective lady of the north! please grace us with your lovely presence, bringing us grounding, nurturing, and confidence to stand in our power, help us acknowledge and embrace the dark as we do the light, help us stop the habit of victimizing ourselves and please help us find our roots and the strength we need to become unstoppable and successful, the strength and power to protect mother earth, and all her creatures! Hail and welcome!

Intro: We are here today to celebrate the special females in our lives; a mother, a sister, a friend, a grandmother, and a daughter. We all have important and beloved female figures in our lives, but there are also those women out there who are suffering in silence, women who live in fear, oppressed, and feeling hopeless under the power and dominion of their abusers. We will ask goddess Hekate to kindly protect all the women from around the world. To shine her torches bright and guide their ways to a better future.

Goddess Hekate is the most powerful, wise, loving and protecting mother to us all, and with her grace and kindness we will send protection, empowerment, strength and so much love to women around the globe. It is very important to address that, while we want to help everybody, we have to respect free will and openness to receive the healing. We will not interfere with anyone’s will, but we hope that those who are ready to receive the healing and protection, will be happy to receive the blessings, and the support they need.

Today we will work with Goddess Hekate, as the mother of all, the protectress of women, children and those who are marginalized, and the destroyer of the ego. These are just a few of her aspects, and those attributes will be evoked today to assist our work. Hekate’s domains are the sky, the earth, and the sea. As a ruler of the sky, a third part of the angelic realm are under her command including some of the most powerful angels and archangels. It is why we called upon these lovely, fierce, and protective female archangels to assist us today.

Chant: Everyone

Hekate, keeper of the crossroads

Hekate, holder of the flame

Hekate, wisdom of the darkness

Guide our way, guide our way, guide our way. X3 times

Evocation of Hekate using the traditional Orphic Hymn to Hekate:

Daeira recites the hymn, while burning incense made by her for this specifically for the occasion.

Hekate of the path, I invoke Thee, lovely lady of the triple crossroads. Celestial, Chthonian, and Marine one, Lady of the Saffron Robe. Sepulchral one, celebrating the Bakchic Mysteries among the souls of the dead. Daughter of Perses, Lover of solitude, rejoicing in deer. Nocturnal one, lady of the dogs, invincible queen. She of the cry of the beast, ungirt one, having an irresistible form. Bullherder, keeper of the keys of all the universe. Mistress, guide, bride, nurturer of youths, mountain wanderer. I pray Thee, Maiden, to be present at our hallowed rites of initiation. Always bestowing Thy graciousness upon Boukulos.

Everyone: Hail and Welcome!

Offerings for Goddess Hekate: Daeira brings a basket with a lovely purple cloth and offerings or roses, red wine, chocolate, eggs, honey, and cheese. After Daeira presented her offerings, the guests proceeded to walk towards the altar to bring their personal offerings to the goddess.

Chant: Everyone

Honored Queen of Wisdom

Hekate, Hekate

New moon come to us, come to us.

Silver shinning wheel of radiance, radiance

Mother come to us.

(Repeat X3)

Divination with angel symbols by Daeira: After each participant finished honoring the goddess with their offerings and communion, everyone will receive an angelic message for personal guidance, as well as the type of support or healing that we can offer to our community and our fellow women. One person takes the lead and walks towards Daeira, and she opens the silver bag that carries the symbols. The rest continue chanting and holding space, while Daeira deciphers the meaning of the symbol to each person. Once everyone has received their message, Daeira leads them back to the circle and she begins to chant the snake woman chant and the group repeats after her.

Chant: Daeira chants first and the group repeats after her

Snake woman shedding her skin (repeat), 

shedding, shedding, shedding her skin (repeat).

(repeat each 2x)

Bird woman taking flight...

Star woman shining bright...

Moon woman riding the night...

Blossom woman opening wide...

Snake woman shedding her skin...

Using spiral dance and energy raising to charge the crystals and flowers, Daeira takes the lead and she picks up a big rose quartz and places it in the center of the circle, while everyone continues to chant snake woman, dancing and chanting slowly. Each participant takes a turn and picks a flower, crystal, or herb, and follows the path to form a healing mandala around the rose quartz crystal. As the mandala begins to take form, everyone chants faster, moves faster and as everyone feels the energy reach its high point, everyone begins to raise their hands as we prepare to send the collected energy into the mandala. Daeira then proceeds to give the signal of redirecting the energy towards the mandala and everyone sends the energy into the beautiful mandala. We spent a few minutes in silence admiring the beauty of our work, and when we were ready, each of us carefully picked up the frame where our mandala was created and presented to the goddess. A soft breeze caressed our hair and faces, as we witnessed a hummingbird flying through the circle three times. We each took a moment to privately talk to the goddess as the rest chanted, holding sacred space for one another. It was truly beautiful!

Thank the Goddess, Archangels and Spirits of the land: Daeira

Ending Ritual: Daeira

Close circle: Daeira

Resources: This ritual was my own inspiration, always guided by Goddess Hekate and in her service.

Chants:

Isis, Astarte, Diana, Hekate, Demeter, Kali- Inana: Inkubus Sukkubus.

Hekate- Sharon Knight and T Thorne Coyle

Honored Maiden Huntress- Moving Breath

Snake Woman- Reclaiming

Original Art by Marcy. She is a beloved and very special friend to me and a talented local artist. The Goddess guided her to make this piece of art for the ritual, because she did not even know what the ritual was about. However, she showed up with a piece of art that suited the theme of the ritual and was her personal offering to the goddess. She has requested me to take it home with me, and I will place it near my personal altar dedicated to Hekate, where the other paintings she made for me are displayed.

Participants: Drums -Ashlee

Special thanks to Ashlee for the lovely drumming and the willingness to help on such short notice. And many thanks to my dear and supportive friends; Gina, Julie, Marcy and Jennifer for their participation, presence, open minds, and loving hearts. While these ladies are not practitioners or even believers, what is meaningful to me is to see that they came to support me as their friend, regardless of what kind of beliefs or practices we chose to follow. Today we were one with the goddess! Hail Hekate!

The roses used for mandala making will be used to make healing beads for bracelets. I will be crafting those myself and gifting them to women in need of healing. I will post pictures once they are finished. In her service.

Daeira Silverowl