Hekate Devotion: Winter Solstice/Yule

Winter Solstice also known as Yule is the day with the shortest amount of daylight and the longest amount of night. Symbolically it marks the death and rebirth of the sun and it falls between Samhain and the Spring Equinox and due to this manifests as the darkest period of the year yet is also a turning point where the days become longer.  It symbolises the darkest time of year and marks the returning of the light due to its time of seasonal transition.  The winter solstice marks the sun as its lowest elevation in the sky and the reason it contains the longest night of the year.  This year in the Southern Hemisphere calendar it falls on the 21st of June at 6.51am (which coi-incudes with the traditional date). Gods such as Hekate, Persephone, Demeter, Dionysus, Helios, Poseidon, Zeus, Hera, Hathor, Sekhmet, Osiris, Horus, Neith, Nephthys, Spider Woman, Ameratasu, Saturn, Odin, Bona Dea, Mithras, Holy King, Hod, Frigga, Frau Holle, Cailleach and Baldur can all be honoured during this time of year.

I have celebrated Yule with groups of people in a magickal setting such as a working lodge, coven and magickal order.  The one thing which I found which linked them all together was the coming together to celebrate the light and the darkness whilst sharing food and gifts.

One of the fondest memories I have during this time of year is celebrating the winter solstice through creating handmade gifts.  I spend considerable time planning on what to make and then following through by crafting gifts which are unique and special.  The first thing I ever recall making was for my first coven where I sculpted and fired a set of runes and hand sewed an accompanying bag to contain them in.  This took a significant amount of energy and effort and was placed in a sack of gifts to be randomly selected by one coven member in the middle of our coven’s winter solstice ritual.  Imagine my surprise when one of my coven members whom I was closest to (and who has become a lifelong friend) chose it at random and had been wanting a set of runes which turned out to feature her favourite colour (they were coloured green and purple).

I personally like to hand make gifts during this time of year usually involving items which feature divination, light, purification, seeds, woods and herbs harvested and collected.  I also love to cook, bake and prepare food which is consumed, shared or given to loved ones including the following: citrus preserves such as salt preserved lemons and Cointreau marmalade,  soup (lentil/beans/barley and root vegetable, Greek chicken soup), stew (barley, beans, lentil, cholent and coq au vin), bread (Greek sweetbread, olive loaf and garlic & feta loaf), gingerbread (especially witches houses/cottages), shortbread (various Greek ones), lamb or beef roast, dumplings and baked spiced rice stuffed into vegetables.

Since this time tends to fall on my personal anniversary (we got together on the winter solstice) for me it also involves going out for an intimate meal with my partner and exchanging thoughtful gifts.  

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I feel that Hekate resonates with this time of the year for various reasons. One being that this is a liminal time where she has dominion between the darkness and the light.  In this time  she encourages and enables us to turn our attention to the presence of the promise of new things to come.  As the time of growth and movement is before us Hekate beckons us to straddle the in-between time and to use this time for the power it contains.

I personally like to honour Hekate during this time and make offerings of apples, pomegranates, garlic, onions, mead, beer, wine, bread, barley, nuts, lilies, pine, mistletoe, juniper, holly, frankincense, myrrh, cedar, bay, chamomile and roots from dandelions.

I also like to make items for Hekate which resonate with the season mostly wands collected from wood during the summer, candle anointing oil blends, herb pouches for dreaming, health and wealth, candles which illuminate, soap which cleanses, incense using dried herbs from the summer, book and journal covers with locally sourced materials or upcycled materials, various art pieces with paints, ink, photography and/or several thread types (in recent years its been all about the land, sea and sky) and beaded jewellery such as ethically sourced crystal necklaces which can also be used as meditation or manifestation beads.

In the garden now is the time to plant:

Vegetables such as artichoke, asparagus, beans, beetroot, broad beans, broccoli, brussels sprouts, cabbage, capsicum, carrot, cauliflower, celery, chillies, corn, cucumber, endive, kale, leek, lettuce, melons, okra, onion, parsnip, peas, pumpkins, radish, rhubarb, shallots, silver beet, snow peas, spinach, tomatoes, turnip and zucchinis

Herbs such as garlic, basil, chives, cress, curry, dill, mint, parsley, sage and thyme.

Flowers such as aquilegia, calendula, cineraria, cyclamen, delphinium, foxglove, nemesia, pansy, primula, polyanthus poppy and viola. 

Some things you can do to honour and mark the winter solstice in your personal practice (or with a group of likeminded individuals) can be:

1. Hold a ritual signifying the balance of darkness and light and/or liminality.
2. Work spells and magick which involve igniting a flame, balance or brining the light into a situation, .
3. Create and light a bonfire or light a special candle carved with symbols which signify the time of year.
4. Inscribe and light a Yule log in a firepit or fireplace.
5. Take a walk at dusk holding a lantern.
6. Bake a seasonal pie, cook a roast and make mulled wine or any other food or drink which to you symbolises the winter solstice .
7. In the evening go out star gazing and seek out your local constellations.
8. Honour the Gods which signify this time of year by creating a shrine or altar in their name or tending to an existing one and make offerings to them.
9. Create an ice wreath in the freezer filled with flowers and herbs of the season (use a bunt cake tin) and once set place a candle in the middle of the wreath and light it to signify the winter moving out and the spring coming in.
10. Use this time to cleanse your magickal tools and spaces such as shrines and altars.
11. Rituals and spells involving transitions and movement.
12. Reflect on your inner world and take some time to just be with yourself and listen to your inner self such as meditation, yoga, going for a walk in nature or just sitting in a space which is sacred to you and just being present.
13. Use this time to recharge yourself through honouring yourself and do what you need to, to enable that reset.
14. Host a feast with family or friends which can include music and dancing.
15. Light black and white candles to signify the diminishing darkness and the increasing light.
16. Decorate a tree (such as a xmas tree) with decorations which signify the winter solstice.
17. Exchange gifts with loved ones.
18. Donate to charities involving the displaced such as the homeless and refugees.
19. Do something kind for someone who is alone, in pain or suffering.
20. Volunteer for a charity which assists the natural world or the less fortunate.
21. Divination such as rune, tarot, dice, candle wax, crystal, magick mirror or ink scrying.  

So work your magick this midwinter, honour the light and the darkness within you and all around you and contemplate and manifest balance in your life.

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(c) T. Georgitsis 2021 – Updated 2023

Hekate Her Sacred Fires: My Hellenic Version

The Hekate Her Sacred Fires Ritual takes place on the Full Moon in May and has been occurring yearly since its inception in 2010 – which coincided with the release of the book with the same name Hekate Her Sacred Fires: Exploring the Mysteries of the Torchbearing Goddess of the Crossroads. I contributed to this anthology with the piece “Illuminating the Path”.  Now 15 years later this ritual dedicated to Hekate continues to take place by various Hekate devotees all over the world.

In the past I have celebrated this rite either solitary or in groups with the ritual exactly as written, in ceremonial, Wiccan, eclectic, pagan or Hellenic styles and I would like to share with you the later below, which is the one I resonate with the most:

Hekate Her Sacred Fires: Hellenic Version by Setjataset 2012

Set up altar: image of Hekate, khernips, khernips bowl, khernips towel, Offerings including: flowers, grape juice, blessing cups, libation vessel, olive oil, candle to Hekate, candles for attendees, incense, charcoal, incense burner, amphiphon, bay leaves, matches, barley and gifts to attendees.

Purification

Each participant should wash their hands in the khernips which is placed in a bowl outside the sacred space.

At this point all attendees’ state, “Let all that is profane be gone!“

Priest/ess to take barley and throw the offering of cleansing upon the shrine and upon the sacred space and say “Hekas hekas este o-bebeloi” (Afar, Afar, O The/Ye Profane).

Procession

 

All gathered are to form a formal procession and walk towards the sacred space carrying offerings with them.

All are to present the offerings to the Goddesses Hekate by holding them up in a gesture of offering and then placing them on the altar before forming a semi-circle around the altar.

Note: You do not need to speak to do this but may say a few words as a statement of purpose if you are inspired.

Priest/ess to sprinkle khernips over offerings to purify them with the words “Xerniptosai” (be purified).

Honoring Hekate

All to face the altar and can either – observe or take part in the following:

Place both your hands on your heart (three heartbeats), your forefinger and middle finger of your dominant hand to your lips (three heartbeats), and then to your brow (three heartbeats).  Now enclose your thumbs within both your hands (in fists) and raise both your arms to the heavens.

Open your hands and with palm upwards in your left hand, bring your right arm to your side palm facing downwards and invoke the Goddess Hekate.

I invoke thee, Great Mistress of the Heaven, Earth and Sea,

By your mysteries of Night and Day,

By the Light of the Moon and the Shadow of the Sun

I invoke thee, Mistress of life, death and rebirth

Emerge now from the shadow realm to feed my soul and enlighten my mind,

Triple-formed Mistress of the three ways

I entreat thee, Key-bearing Mistress of the Nightwandering Souls

To bring forth your wisdom from amongst the stars

To bring down your starfire from the darkness between,

Creatrix of Light!

Goddess of the Shadow Realms! Light-bearing queen!

Whisper now your secrets!

Fire-bringer! Earthly-one! Queen of Heaven!

Raise both hands with palms facing upwards to the heavens (three heartbeats) and then touch the ground palms downwards.

Priest/esstakes hold of the shrine candle and prepares to light it after repeating the following (which all may repeat at the same time):

Hekate, companion and guide to the mysteries

I light this sacred fire in your honour, 

Priest/ess lights the shrine candle and all in turn light their own candle from the shrine candle then when everyone is settled with their burning flame, they repeat the following:

Its light uniting the stars and stones, the heavens and the earth,

With this fire I express my desire for a greater understanding of your mysteries

Askei Kataskei Erōn Oreōn Iōr Mega Samnyēr Baui (3 times) Phobantia Semnē,

Great Hekate, who spins the web of the stars and governs the spiral of life

Guide me through towards pathways of understanding,

From Crossroad to Crossroad,

The Torchbearers and the Keybearers of your mysteries,

will always find one another,

Now all to sit and watch their flame flicker and dance, allow yourself to focus on the different colours in the flame, the yellows and reds, the blues and whites, and the black.  If you wish you may decide to spend some time meditating on the flame, skrying for visions or omens.   After everyone is done – all may say the following together:

I banish now the shadows of doubt from my mind,

Infused by the silence and warmth of our union

I feel your golden radiance within my heart

And the glory of knowledge on my brow,

I am a student of your mysteries.

Extinguish the flame, then place both your hands on your heart (three heartbeats), your forefinger and middle finger of your dominant hand to your lips (three heartbeats), and then to your brow (three heartbeats).

Open your palms reaching towards the heaven, then reach down and touch the Earth.

Offerings and Blessing Request

 

Attendees may now proceed before the altar in turn and present any offerings they have. These can be in the form of items lifted up to the heavens, in the form of hymns or prayers they would like to read out to Hekate, any petitions of askance, blessings or the like and lastly any jewellery or ritual tools may be consecrated using the khernips.

Priest/ess to pour a libation for Hekate.

Priest/ess to pour the rest of the grape juice into the cups provided and pass the cups to all attendees who may partake of it.

Priest/ess to light the candles of the amphiphon (if the weather permits) and offer a slice to Hekate.

Priest/ess to share the rest of the amphiphon with the attendees who wish to partake of it.

Closing

 

Priest/ess thanks Hekate by saying:

“Hekate, in your name we gathered, thank you for your eternal illumination and blessings.”

Ritual is complete.

 

A “feasting” part of the ritual can now take place after the altar is disassembled and cleaned up.

 

Please note: Offerings can be used in Hekate’s name or disposed of in an environmentally safe way such as within compost.

 

My HHSF Shrine 2012

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Adapted from the HHSF Ritual by Sorita d’Este:

http://hekatecovenant.com/rite-of-her-sacred-fires/rite-in-translation/english-the-rite-of-her-sacred-fires-original/

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(C) T. Georgitsis 2012 (Updated 2024)

Aurora – Goddess of Dawn

“Dawn with a Torch Scattering Flowers” by Annibale Carracci

At the moment Auroras are illuminating the night sky in both hemispheres. This is due to a severe solar storm which has supercharged this stunning phenomenon with the incredibly inspiring ability to view it.

I have spoken to and seen friends post on social media, who have been in awe whilst viewing this magnificent occurrence all over the world, since Friday (10^th of May 2024).

A comment a friend made to me on the phone said she felt like ancient man whilst looking up to marvel at the lights. This made me think about how ancients would of perceived this occurance and the connection they would have had magically and spiritually.  

In my research I read up on the Indigenous view of the Aurora Australis and the various mythologies connected to the Aurora Borealis.  This lead me to the Goddess Aurora whom I felt drawn to and whom I am going to honour with a rite in her name.

For my working I noted down some information on the Goddess Aurora I would like to share:

Who is Aurora?

Aurora is the Roman Goddess of Dawn whom within her multi coloured chariot traverses across the sky in the hours of the early morning to signal to her siblings that a new day is dawning.  

Her siblings are Sol the Sun (Helios the Sun God) and Luna the Moon (Selene the Moon Goddess).  

Aurora is also known as Eos in Greek mythology.

Her father is Pallas or Hyperion and her mother is Theia, therefore she is the daughter of Titans.

Aurora is the mother of the Anemoi – the four winds whose father is Astraeus, the father of the stars.

Aurora is connected to the Northern Lights which are also named Aurora Borealis (Northerly Light of Dawn) after her.

“The Gates of Dawn” by Herbert James Draper

What does Aurora do?

Aurora is the embodiment of the dawn and each morning she wakes from her home on the banks of the river Oceanus to disperse the darkness of night and deliver light to the land.

Image of Aurora Lights (Northern) by Pexels from Pixabay

Aurora’s Symbols

Chariots

Saffron

Cicada

Aurora’s Sacred Time

Dawn

Offerings to Aurora

Saffron and saffron coloured items such as linen

Ocean Water or Salt Water

Flames in forms of candle, fire pit or lamp.

Crystals such as fluoride.

Hymns to Aurora

Orphic Hymn LXXVII. To Aurora (Eos)
Hear me, O Goddess!
whose emerging ray leads on the broad refulgence of the day;
Blushing Aurora [Eos],
whose celestial light beams on the world with red’ning splendours bright:
Angel of Titan,
whom with constant round, thy orient beams recall from night profound:
Labour of ev’ry kind to lead is thine, of mortal life the minister divine.
Mankind in thee eternally delight,
and none presumes to shun thy beauteous sight.
Soon as thy splendours break the bands of rest,
and eyes unclose with pleasing sleep oppress’d;
Men, reptiles, birds, and beasts, with gen’ral voice,
and all the nations of the deep, rejoice;
For all the culture of our life is thine.
Come, blessed pow’r! and to these rites incline:
Thy holy light increase,
and unconfin’d diffuse its radiance on thy mystic’s mind.

Here is a version in Ancient Greek sung by Melissa of the Bees:

Image of Aurora Australis Lights over my home,
towards the end of the storm’s peak (11th May around 9.30pm)

If you can, I encourage you all to go outside into the night sky and see if you can glimpse the Aurora lights, as right now both hemispheres can see the Aurora Borealis (in the Northern Hemisphere) and Aurora Australis (in the Southern Hemisphere) for the next few days after sunset for a few hours (till Monday 13^th May 2024).  I would suggest to go somewhere where there is less artificial light and where you can take in the horizon without obstruction.  Happy viewing!

Senebty

Setjataset

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(C) T. Georgitsis 2024

Hekate Devotion: Samhain

Samhain also known as All Hallows Eve, Feast of the Dead and Halloween is the historically Gaelic festival and in a literal sense means summer’s end, marking just that – as it signifies the start of winter and the end of the harvest season.  It falls between the Autumn Equinox and the Winter Solstice and is a time when the veil between the worlds is at its thinnest due to it being a liminal/threshold festival. In the 19th century it was suggested to be the “Celtic New Year” and in modern time this became the “Witches New Year”.  This year in the Southern Hemisphere calendar it falls on the 5th of May at 9.00am. Gods such as Hekate, Hades, Persephone, Osiris, Crom Cruach, Cerridwen, Lilith, Kali, Ishtar, Persephone, Oya, Innana, Pamona, Cailleach, The Morrigan, Nephtys, Rhiannon, Herne, Anubis, Odin, Bran and Cernunnos can all be honoured during this time.

I have celebrated Samhain with groups of people in a religious, spiritual and mundane way both here in Australia and overseas.  The one thing which I found resonated with them all was the celebration of what has passed and honouring that which came before us.

One of the first memories I have during this time of year was when we were visiting my mother’s village on a small Aegean island of Greece, Lemnos (where its origins can be traced back to the (Epipaleolithic Period) but its more commonly known for its (Mycenean Period) whose matriarchal line had lived on for centuries.  She took me to her family’s mausoleum which from the outside looked like a mini Parthenon with walls.  Once inside, the marble covered walls were lined and stacked from ceiling to floor with ledges crammed with skulls and bones.  My mother with arms outstretched swept over what I was taking in said in an echoing voice that these were my ancestors and I needed to honour them and that one day she would be amongst them and I needed to remember to pay my respects. 

I personally like to honour my ancestors during this time by leaving offerings for them on their ancestor shrine I have been keeping and tending to for more years than I can count.  My mother was a very spiritual person and taught me to always tend to the ancestor shrine and light incense and leave offerings for them frequently.  During this time since its so close to Greek Easter I make and leave coloured eggs (usually red with patterns of leaves or flowers on them like I was taught using old panty hose and dried leaves/flowers) along with other items my blessed dead liked in life.

I feel that Hekate resonates with this time of the year for various reasons.  This is a liminal time and this is Hekate’s domain as she can traverse the various realms (sky, earth, sea and underworld) as she easily navigates through the thresholds as well as being Goddess of the Underworld, Crossroads and Queen of the Dead and Lost Souls she can help guide.

I personally like to honour Hekate during this time and make offerings of apples, pomegranates, garlic, onions, bay leaves, mead, beer, wine, red meat such as lamb roast, wine, bread, barley, nuts, acorns, pumpkins, gourds, mushrooms, sage, nutmeg, mint, oregano, thyme, marigolds, lilies, chrysanthemums, mugwort, wormwood, dittany of crete, oak leaves, rosemary, corn, gingerbread, chestnuts and apple cider.

Since this tends to be near or after Greek easter I tend to make an apple tea cake and leave a token inside (usually a wrapped up gold coin) which I divide and serve and whomever gets the coin has the token of luck.  I also like to cook items for Hekate which resonate with familial recipes so I like to bake and offer Anastasia’s Spiral Pita and Greek Kourabiethes.

Some things you can do to honour and mark Samhain in your personal practice (or with a group of likeminded individuals) can be:

1. Dumb suppers such as a place for them at your table or food left for them on a ancestor shrine/altar, doorstep, property boundary, gravestone or crossroads to your blessed dead such as ancestors or other loved ones who have passed over.
   
2. Making offerings of appeasement to lost souls.
   
3. Connect and communicate with the spirit world.
   
4. Divination using various methods such as scrying (crystal, fire, mirror, black ink and water), reading such as tarot, runes, dice, I Ching and pendulum.
   
5. Rituals and spells involving protective and cleansing properties for oneself or one’s property.
   
6. Light a hearth fire either in a fire place, outside bonfire style or a simple small fire inside using a proof vessel on a shrine such as a cauldron, lamp or even a candle.
   
7. Collect the last harvest from your garden – be it fruit, vegetables or herbs and flowers.
   
8. Honouring the dual nature of life and death and accepting its beauty.  This includes honouring the darkness and the light as both are equally as important.
   
9. Prepare food for the God/s you honour during this time and thank them for their gifts.
   
10. Personally reflect on the last 12 months and take note of your accomplishments and failures and create a plan to continue with said accomplishments and rectify failures.
    
11. Make a jack-o-lantern from a pumpkin or gourd and place a candle inside it and when lit leave i (in safe) view of a windowsill or outside near your front door.
    
12. Host a feast with family or friends which can include music and dancing.
    
13. Create a shrine with images or items from your blessed dead and recite prayers and leave offerings in their name.
    

As is my style, I like to craft during this time of year making Hekate and ancestor beaded necklaces, anointing oils, and seasonal incense and candles.  With the necklaces, I make them using my mother’s agillete (knot magic or witches ladder) and then I bless and consecrate them in my yearly Samhain ritual which you can find here:

Hekate Magick: Samhain for her Witches

So work your magick this Samhain, honour those who came before you and reflect and contemplate on your journey thus far taking in and celebrating the ebb and flow of the seasons and of life itself.

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© T. Georgitsis 2021, Updated 2023

Magick of the Solar Eclipse: 8th April 2024

What, When and Why

We are having a solar eclipse on the which falls on the 8th of April 2024.

The solar eclipse occurs when the moon falls between the earth and the sun which casts a shadow over the earth.

This will be a total solar eclipse and occurs when the moon and the sun is exactly aligned with the earth but the moon being smaller than the sun enables the sun to surround the moon as a bright ring.

Please Note: A solar eclipse should ONLY be viewed through solar filters like a pair of solar eclipse glasses for safety reasons, as you don’t want to damage your eyes. PLEASE NEVER look at the sun without adequate protection. For more information on what you need to see the eclipse safely which includes what equipment you need please go here for more information:

https://www.space.com/sun-observing-safety-guide

This solar eclipse where the Sun forms a ‘ring of fire’ around the Moon will be visible along a path that crosses the USA.

To see if you can view the eclipse from your area, go here for more information:

https://science.nasa.gov/eclipses/future-eclipses/eclipse-2024/where-when

Magick of the Solar Eclipse

Solar eclipse magick is when the energy is amplified due to the moon energies intermingling with the sun energies.  The sun and the moon are in the same star sign and the energies co-mingling this way, emphasis is the energies of that particular sign.  This solar eclipse is in Aries* therefore the energies heightened during this time is the Libra star sign.

The kind of magick you can perform during the solar eclipse:

• Liminal – magick worked between the darkness and the light.
• Transition – use the sun and moon moving through this time to highlight or work with important transitions in your life.
• Transformation – deep within and also that which surrounds us.
• Change – harness this quick moving energy to bring about purposeful change in your life.
• Rebirth – moving from one cycle to the other in the form of a death of the old and and bringing in and welcoming of the new.
• Breaking – down barriers before you which have caused blockages in your life can now be removed.
• Movement – cleanse the stagnant decayed and no longer necessary and embrace the fresh new and potential within problem areas of your life.
• Rituals/Spells – in dedication to Gods who embrace this time and can assist you in manifesting the energies of the liminal, transitional, rebirth, movement, breaking away and change such as Hekate.

Sorcery of the Solar Eclipse

*Aries moon is a good time for renewal of energies, transformation and new beginnings.

Since Aries is a fire sign it’s a great time to work with this element.

This is a good time to rebalance with Hekate’s fire and bring in manifestation of courageous endeavours with the confidence she illuminates.

The element of fire resonates with passion and purpose through drive and determination. I feel that fanning the flames of your personal hearth can be used to manifest the magick of this moon in the form of renewed progression or the sparked beginning of a specific task or goal your want to achieve along with career, travel or health objectives you want to materialise.

Fire magic using incense or flame such as candle, lamp or even torch and fire place/pit is ideal for this moon.

Setjataset’s Bay Leaf Spell

Take a bay leaf (dried) and write your name on one side and then your desire on the other and then burn it after reciting these words:

“Great Hekate bring your illumination

As I come to you in veneration

I request my desires to be fulfilled

Bless my magick to grow and build

Great Hekate bring me my desire

Manifest my wishes with your fire.”

*Aries is an fire sign which is ruled by Mars. It is a sign which can appear confident, fiery, direct and motivated. It is also quite an outgoing energy and builds community with leadership and passion.

In her name

Setjataset

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(C) T. Georgitsis 2024

Hekate Devotion: Mabon/Autumn Equinox

Mabon or the Autumnal Equinox is the second harvest festival in the Southern Hemisphere calendar which is a vernal equinox meaning the hours of the day and night are approximately the same length. This year it falls on the 20th of March at 1.06pm. Mabon is named after the god of the same name in Welsh mythology but its a modern adaptation from the 1970’s.  Other gods such as Pamona, the Green Man, Bachus, Dionysus, Artemis, Carpo, Hestia, Persephone, Demeter and Hekate can all be honoured during this time of year.

My mother was a wildcrafter and I have very distinct memories of her taking me foraging during this time of year. We would forage for various herbs, plants, nuts and flowers.  The area I grew up in was surrounded by farmland and so there was a plethora of nature’s gifts to be found and used.  On occasion we would also take day trips to forage seasonally. 

I like to take long walks and see the changing of the leaves (yes I am one of those people) and I do this locally as well as around my beautiful state. I also go out foraging during this time of year and I have engaged in various foraging expeditions and would recommend the following books for those living in Melbourne (Victoria, Australia) to assist you as you need to be VERY careful with what you collect and use (and if in doubt leave it be and don’t risk poisoning yourself):

• The Weed Forager’s Handbook: A Guide to Edible and Medicinal Weeds in Australia by Adam Grubb and Annie Raser Rowland.
  
• Wild Food Plants of Australia Paperback by Tim Low.
  

I feel that Demeter resonates with this time of the year.  This is the time when Demeter withdraws her creative powers from the earth as Persephone descends into the underworld. I also feel that Hekate also resonates with this time of year especially since its a liminal time – a day of equal day and night and Hekate’s ability to dwell within those times.

I personally like to honour Demeter as well as Hekate during this time and make offerings of wine, grapes, bread, grains: corn, oats and barley, nuts, acorns, apples, pomegranates, onions, poppies, mushrooms, dandelions, nettles, marrow, chickweed, black berries, oak leaves, vine leaves and herbal teas.

I also like to cook with seasonal foods and for Hekate and Demeter I like to bake and offer Cheese Garlic and Thyme Bread , Garlic and Saffron Risotto  (I substitute the rice for barley and the butter for Nuttlex) and Apple Tea Cake (I substitute milk with soy/almond/oat milk and butter with Nuttlex).

Some things you can do yourself to honour and mark the Mabon/Autumn Equinox can be:

1. Rituals and spells involving balance within or outside of yourself such as removing an addiction and replacing it with a healthy lifestyle change.
   
   
2. Rituals and spells involving mourning something lost – to be able to better accept this loss.
   
   
3. Honouring the dual nature of life and accepting its beauty.  This includes honouring the darkness and the light as both are equally as important.
   
   
4. Prepare food for the God/s you honour during this time and thank them for their gifts.
   
   
5. Cleanse and purify your home and garden.
   
   
6. Gardening such as blessing and sowing autumnal seeds specific to your region and/or fertilising and turning the earth.
   
   
7. Go foraging with friends (ensuring you are very careful and don’t collect anything poisonous or which has been sprayed with chemicals) or alternatively book a local guided wild forager tour (such as mushroom or herbs/plants) or go apple picking at a local orchard.
   
   
8. Like Demeter go for a wander – take a long walk in the woods or somewhere where you feel close to the gods and spirits of your local land.
   
   

As is my style, I like to craft during this time of year making abundance pouches which I fill with various items which symbolises abundance to me, along with cleansing washes, blessing oils, and seasonal God/dess incense.

I would like to share with you a Hekate Incense I came up with which I love and resonates with this time of year and which I urge you to try your hand at making:

Hekate’s Autumnal Incense by Setjtaset

1 Part Dehydrated (or oven dried) Apple Peel

1 Part Dehydrated (or oven dried) Pomegranate Peel

1 Part Pine Resin

1-3 Sprinkle of Cinnamon (or crushed cinnamon stick).

Since I love to perform rituals to honour Hekate, I like to mark the date with a ritual in her name.  Here is a hymn I wrote to Demeter and Hekate for my devotional rites which I would also like to share with you:

Autumnal Hymn to Demeter and Hekate by Setjataset

“Great Goddess Demeter

I thank you for your bounty

You who separates the chaff from the grain

I pray to you so that my life be full of boons

Madam of the Sacred Law

Encourage and protect me as I work its mysteries“

“Great Goddess Hekate

I thank you for your guidance

You who perceives the cycles of life and death

I pray to you so that my life be full of blessings

Madam of Magick

Encourage and protect me as I walk its path” 

So work your magick this equinox and engage in some activities which can bring you in closer connection to your Gods and the cycle of the earth.

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(c) T. Georgitsis 2021

Isian News: Issue #191, Brigantia 2024

In the latest issue of Isian News by the Fellowship of Isis, features a few pieces by me:

For your FREE copy follow this link:

isis-news-brigantia-2024Download

Hekate Devotion: Lammas/Lughnasadh

Lammas or Lughnasadh is the first autumn festival in the Southern Hemisphere calendar. This year Lammas falls on the 4th of February at 6.07pm. Gods such as Lugh, Mercury, Dagon, Demeter, Ceridwen, Ceres, Brigid and Dionysus can be honoured during this time of year. Historically it’s a Celtic festival which celebrates the First Harvest of the Fruits such as apples, grapes, tomatoes, peaches, plums but also celebrates the harvest of the first grain, wheat, oats and corn. Therefore traditionally the fruit gathered is made into preserves and the grains and corn made into bread or cakes.

I was introduced to this festival when I studied Wicca back in my teens and then was exposed to a celebration of it when I was in my first Wiccan coven in my early 20’s.  We would make corn dollies, bread and cakes and share it with one another.

I grew up with an immigrant Greek family and during this time of year they would make large stores of Passata due to it being used so often in their cooking. My father also made home-made moonshine using whatever was abundant and in season as well as his own wine and beer. My mother made Pita from home grown spinach and/or horta (wild grass) and fennel, stuffed vine leaves and also various Greek shortbreads and cakes.  They would both share what they made with family and friends as it was common practice where they grew up and brought that tradition here to Australia when they immigrated.

These days I continue a version of their traditions as I infuse store bought wine with homegrown Greek herbs, make passata from the tomatoes out of my garden, as well as bake traditional Greek village bread and Greek biscuits using organic ingredients. I have also used this time for years to make plum jam from my garden’s Victorian heirloom organic plums (due to the trees originally being part of a farm in the area before it was sub-divided into housing).  These items created from the seasonal harvest are offered to my Gods, Ancestors and loved ones where appropriate.

Due to been heavily influenced by the way I was raised, my rituals are a mix of honouring my personal Gods, ancestors and also honouring the land I live on.  I see this as a perfect blend of personal devotion as someone who works with the Gods, local spirits and venerates her ancestors in a modern way.  I don’t have any strong connection to the God Lugh, typically honoured during this time of year, so I personally use it as a harvest festival and honour my household Gods: Hekate with a libation set aside to Hestia. Other Gods which I have honoured during his time include Persephone, Demeter, Mercury and Apollo.

If like me if you honour any of the above Gods, you can make Greek shortbread or cheesecake for Hekate, pomegranate infused cakes or salads for Persephone, honey or sesame biscuits for Demeter, home-made wine for Mercury and home-made beer for Apollo.

It’s also a good time to make and dedicate devotional items you have crafted yourself over the summer. I tend to make and dedicate items to specific Gods utilising items from my garden due to it resonating with the vibe of the season and festival. Growing a lot of herbs, the ones which are in season, I collect preserve and store them for future use in Hekate’s name for various magical purposes.  I also collect resin, bark, leaves and branches from some of my trees to be used in items such as incense, waters, oils and magical tools.

I feel magically used crafts such as candles and incense are perfect to infuse with the energies of the season especially if we are able to harness these energies and channel them into the items.  I also tend to make preserves which I use in offerings thorough the remainder of the year

Also I personally feel that it is a good time to acknowledge the ancestors and leave them some food offerings as a form of ancestor veneration. I usually leave some food they liked in life such as kalamata olives, feta, stuffed vine leaves my mother taught me to make along with some Greek coffee which I can scry and divine with.

So even though the Hekate and Ancestral traditions of spirituality and magick I work, doesn’t sound like it fits exactly within the Lammas/Lughnasadh festival – I make it work for me and you can too as the most important thing I feel is devotion and dedication to your path whatever form that takes.

Seasonal Planting Guide:

Vegetables such as beans, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, fennel, kale, leek, lettuce, potato, silverbeet, spring onion, sweet corn, brussel sprouts, beetroot, carrot, parsnip, radish, rocket and mustard greens.

Herbs such as basil, sage, oregano, chives, parsley and thyme.

Flowers such as ageratum, alyssum, cleome, cyclamen, French marigold, gypsophila, Iceland poppy, lobelia, lupin, nigella, pansy, polyanthus, primula and verbena.

Some things you can do to honour and mark this time of year in your personal practice (or with a group of likeminded individuals) can be:

1. Feast with loved ones.  Make food usually consumed during this time and partake or share with loved ones, as well as leave as offerings to your gods or gods of the season, land spirits and ancestors. It’s the perfect time for baking and anything which can be shared and is seasonal.
   
2. Bake bread and offer the first loaf to the Gods of the season.  You can also take a loaf and cut it into quarters and place those quarters in each corner of your residence to bring good luck and prosperity.
   
3. Harvest herbs, flowers, plants, fruits and vegetables and create a shrine or altar in celebration of the season.
   
4. Rituals or spells involving gratitude, abundance, prosperity, luck and work.
   
5. Trade or swap handmade items with loved ones.
   
6. Make corn dollies or garlands of flowers or herbs.
   
7. Dance or drum to raise energy and direct it into the earth.
   
8. Write poetry or creative writing which could contain themes of the time of year.
   
9. Visit a holy well and make offerings of flowers, cloth or coins and then circle the well clockwise for health and wealth blessings from the Gods.
   
10. Leave grain and seeds which are safe for local birds and wildlife as offerings.
    
11. Spend some time tending to your garden or indoor pots.
    
12. Light a sacred fire in your fireplace or a bonfire in your backyard.
    
13. Revamp your shrine or altar with the colours of the festival (Orange, Red, Yellow, Gold, Brown and Bronze) and adorn it with wheat, corn, applies and produce of the season (herbs, fruits, flowers and vegetables).

So work your magick this festive season, honour and celebrate the harvest and ask for what you want to be prosperous, abundant and full of good fortune in your life.

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(C) T. Georgitsis 2024

 

 

 

 

2024 Sabbat Dates: Southern Hemisphere

Part of my practice is to honour my Gods and Ancestors during the astrological sabbat dates with seasonal devotionals, rituals and magick.

Below I have detailed the astrological sabbat dates for the Southern Hemisphere for 2024 with a brief description of what the day symbolises as well as their traditional dates:

Lughnasadh/ Lammas	February 4 2024 6.07pm	First autumn harvest festival. Traditional Date: February 1
Mabon/ Autumnal Equinox	March 20 2024 1.06pm	Day and night have same length. Days get shorter. Traditional Date: March 20
Samhain	May 5 2024 9.00am	Veil between worlds thinnest. Traditional Date: April 30 – May 1
Yule/ Winter Solstice	June 21 2024  6.51am	Day has the longest night.  Sun is at its lowest elevation in the sky. Traditional Date: June 21
Imbolc	August 7 2024 10.14am	Marks the beginning of spring. Traditional Date: August 1
Ostara/ Spring Equinox	September 22 2024 10.44pm	Day and night have same length. Days get longer. Traditional Date: September 21
Beltane	November 8 2024 8.12am	Halfway point between spring and summer. Fertility festival. Traditional Date: October 31
Litha/ Summer Solstice	December 21 2024 7.20pm	Day has the longest daylight. Sun travels the longest path through the sky. Traditional Date: December 21

All times are Australian Eastern Standard Time (AEST) – add 1 hour for Daylight Savings Time when applicable.

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(C) T. Georgitsis 2024

Special Moons of 2024

Moon magick is a practice I strongly resonate with. I love to create and venerate with the various phases of moon.  I love to engage in the moon’s ebbs and flows where I can move with the energies and enact rites with and for my Gods and Ancestors.  Regardless of what path I practice, regardless of what sorcery I perform, the moon is my guide through it all – a guiding presence for my workings.

This year we have various unique moons coming up where you can practice your full and new moon rituals and spell-work with added punch due to the added significance of these moons.  There are different types of magick you can create during these various significant moon phases which can assist you with your practice.

Listed below I have created various pages explaining the different moons and what magick you can practice in the associated links:

Super New Moon: 10th February 2024 – Super Moon Magick

Micro Full Moon: 24th February 2024 – Micro Moon Magick

Super New Moon: 10th March 2024 – Super Moon Magick

Micro Full Moon: 25th March 2024 – Micro Moon Magick

Super New Moon: 9th April 2024 – Super Moon Magick

Blue Moon: 20th August 2024 – Blue Moon Magick

Super Full Moon: 18th September 2024 – Super Moon Magick

Micro New Moon: 3rd October 2024 – Micro Moon Magick

Super Full Moon: 17th October 2024 – Super Moon Magick

Black Moon: 31st December 2024 – Black Moon Magick

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(C) T. Georgitsis 2024