Caveat Lector
“Behold! You hold within you hand a shrine To that black shining She, Who loves the gloom and empty places; The Faceless One who paces with the fallen As they walk the path of night. Look, look: It is no book But is itself a crossroad At which you , Reader, must make a choice: To set it aside and live a safe, And stable life: or read it and do nothing, Til, like Actaeon ( who watched the Huntress bathe but could not declare desire), you flee the hounds Of your own hunger ’til you can run no longer; Or Read on, Reflect and then Enact her hallowed rites, And braved the Black Moon’s blank, unblinking gaze, Until the darkness you stare into Stares back and She claims you as her own, Beware The choice. Choose well. And choose You must: for in your hands you hold The crossroads’ very crux This book That is No Book
SIC
The Choice Is Made” Pg14-15
Over the past two years my personal practice and study have exploded with all new experiences and prospects and all because of a Four Hundred and Fourteen page book that has opened up many a road for me leading me to friends, community and so much control over my own life. Jack Grayle’s Hekataeon is a marvelous work that brings Hekate’s syncretic and ancient nature to the forefront, a path way to a system of witchcraft guided solely by the spirits met while wandering the pages of the book. My first copy of the book was the Medea trade addition that released in 2024 and that was the copy I worked from, completing the entire book (Save the Hekanubis ritual, I just haven’t made the time) In the course of one year, a massive undertaking to say the least, working this book as I have is almost certainly not what the Author had in mind when he wrote it in all honesty, but some times you have to throw yourself to the task to see how it turns out.
Book One: The Call
The most interesting thing about the book is that it is a closed system with only one gate keeper, the goddess herself stands at the gates of the system and her word decides whether or not you are allowed to continue with the book. The witch slowly gains knowledge of Hekate as they work through the call, meeting her in vision at the crossroads.
While your spirit meets the Queen of Masks the witch’s hands are working the crossroads sigil given in the first ritual, each night builds on the last. Gaining more and more force behind the work, the visions get deeper and the working of the sigil more complex. As the witch moves through the 9 days leading up to the new moon, they will open up their sense to the unseen. Create an oracle stone to receive knowledge of her answer on the ninth night when her judgement is past and you learn if you can proceed. The first denial is not a permanent shut gate to the work within, you can try again two more times but not a fourth.
My experience with the nine day rite was simple and straight forward, nothing big or dramatic happened, the rites worked and the sigil of Hekate settled into my spirit and so much more started to grow. The seed was planted and an oak erupted over the next year.
The first spirit ally of the book is the Iynx spirit, born in a bottle filled with material to help it grow, it will eventually become the one that goes forth and beckons the goddess when you require her presence. It is then bound to its tool of calling, the strophalos. It is similar to the buzzsaw whirl-gig but marked with the crossroads sigil and blessed by its connection to this intermediary spirit.
“Hear the whirl of this Strophalos, Iynx. Hear it whip and hum. Hear the whirl of this Strophalos, Iynx And Come, Come, Come,And Come, Come, Come, And Come, Come, Come.”
In practice the Iynx is a highly versatile spirit, wise, loyal and extremely specific to the practitioner. In my practice my Iynx is more suited to do magic than to guide my practice. That responsibility falls to my daemon ( PGM VII. 505-28 Post Coming soon-ish).
Book Two: White Flame
Sais Eponymias Epakouson!, Attend your Epithets!
The Book of the White is meant to be read slowly over the course of a month, 28 days each with an Epithet of Hekate to be studied over the course of a day. Each epithet has an assoicated sigil and a suggested working that can be used to inspire the practitioner to work with these faces of the Goddess. In writing this section of this post, I have been revisiting each epithet to find anything I may have overlooked in my work with this book.
I will not go into full depth into each epithet, as I do not want to completely copy the book into this post word for word, though I will cover some of my favorite aspects and potential workings that are extremely useful and can be fairly easy to adapt.
Hekate- Brimo
Hekate-Brimo, meaning the Furious one, is the first of the epithet that is listed in the book. This aspect of the Queen of 1,000 faces is particularly useful for protections, adding force to spell work. Hers is the clear crackling fire that burns in the heart of the world and at the heart of all witches and magicians. In the book, Grayle recommends using the epithet in rites of banishment and personal protections.
Hekate- Boukolos
Hekate-Boukolos, meaning Ox herder, is one of my all time favorite of the Epithet, not only for its use in magic, but for what it represents. Grayle connects this face of the Goddess with the Big Dipper, as it is sometimes called the Plough. The celestial plough is pulled by the Ox that the Great Hekate guides. This aspect of her is the mover of the unmovable and as such has an unique role to play in stuck spells and blocked off situations. This is the road mover when the road opener is sludgey. It is one of my favorite of the sigils simply because of its pushing force, constantly pushing at the guide of its herder.
Hekate-Azostos
Azostos is the Ungirt, Unbound, and Unconstrained one. She has undisputed sovereignty over the Heavens, Sea and Earth. She is unbound by Age, being one of the few Titans that retained their power after the Titanomachy. She acts as the very agent of change, being syncretized with Ananke as the very embodiment of necessity and fate herself. She is unconstrained and wants you to be as well. She carries the chains of the Tartarian pit and guards its gates as Tartarokous, meaning she is boundless, because she is the boundary that separates all. I’ve used this sigil in combination with the solar pentacles to undo binds, to remove mental restraints, and to slip my spirit from the bounds of my body.
Hekate- Atalos
Atalos is the Compassionate one. She is the Hekate that comforts Lady Demeter after Persephone is abducted by Lord Hades. So deep is her compassion to the Lady of Grains, that Hekate guided the heart weary mother to the Heavens, to meet Lord Helios in council. After hearing what the All Seeing one saw, they send for Lord Hermes to speak to the Lord of the Dead, who negotiates the arrangement that this story is known for. As part of this agreement Hekate guides the Lady of the Underworld into Hade’s Kingdom every six month and follows her to the surface to comfort and give the Lady of Spring company in the dark and damp land of the dead. Hekate’s compassion is deeply underrated in the modern practice. I’ve encountered more compassion form her on some days than I have the some of the Saints. Her compassion is so great that she walks the earth on the moonless nights to gather the restless dead to her side to bring them peace and comfort. Though they are wrathful, though they are unrestful, though they wish living harm, she is the barrier that that keeps the harmful dead from the living. Hekate is so compassionate and understanding she is even called Pandoteira, The All Giver. I call on her when I need compassion in any matter, especially when it’s time to help the dead. I have a small candle on my ancestor altar that I light when I need to pray for healing those unrested spirits.
Hekate- Apotropia
Apotropia, The Averter of Harm, is a particular face of the Goddess, that is the protective fore in the book. The sigil can be used to protect a house, home or person. Like all the sigils of the Hekataeon, it has several uses and I highly recommend playing around with them.
Hekate- Kelidophorous
Hekate Kelidophorous is the key-bearing aspect of the Goddess. It is on of her most well known capacities in the occult world, her capacity to open all doors and roads, and close those very same gates. The Book gives a master key talisman, which I have found to be very helpful in the act of opening opportunities and has excellent uses in locking and sealing off paths that are not desired. The key sigil acts as a key to all things, especially when you know how best to apply it.
Hekate- Philermos
Hekate- Philermos the Lover of The Abyss. This face of Hekate expresses her love of her imprisoned kin, even though she warred against them on the side of the Olympians. In the book, Grayle mentions using this face of the Goddess to provide seamless blending into grimoric systems of magic. Although I do very little magic form the grimoire traditions, I have found success with combing Hekatean magic with some of my ancestral christian magic. Grayle makes reference to the specific aspect of Hekate, Enepsigos, which is mentioned in the grimoire “The Testament of Solomon”; in the context of the Hekataeon the magician is told to call on Hekate as Hekate-Selene-Enepsigos to help blend these traditions into harmony.
Hekate- Noctiluna
Meaning Nightlight, this face of Hekate is the most connected to the stars and the constellations. With this epithet, Grayle discusses the Story of Jason and Medea as a metaphor for the initiatic process of coming into contact with the grand all consuming nature of the divine, using the constellations to detail the flow of the story. While this is interesting, the use of this sigil in magical practice goes far beyond what is discussed in the small section that is given to it in the book. Grayle recommends employing this aspect of Hekate to empower rites and spells that work under the purview of Queen Medea, drawing the sigil on the left wrist to bring the strength of the Dragon Riding Queen to baneful work. In my personal experience, this sigil and aspect of the goddess is best used in stellar magic, calling down the spirits of the distant stars to better know them, empower talismans, and know better the power of the lesser stars.
Hekate- Soteria
The Savoir Hekate-Soteria is the Goddess of Deliverance from Impossible Situations. In the book, Grayle goes over several stories of Hekate’s intercession for Gods, Titans, and Mortals alike. She is the vital intermediary of all, she is that force of comfort and peace that is called to save those in need. She is the Goddess of lost causes and miracles. This aspect of her is best approached in fervent prayer and spell work attributed to her is best done with the Ladder, that is created at the end of the book of the white flame.
Hekate’s Ladder
The Ladder is a set of beads that represents each of her 27 epithets. The devotee is to build the Ladder before the next new moon, spending the twenty-seven days since the call, to learn her names that will be prayed along the Ladder. The Ladder’s construction is traditionally made with thirty beads, six snake vertebrae, a key, a metal blossom and a coin or symbol that represents her. My personal Ladder is very different from the one listed in the book. My design was cleared through divination before I made mine. The Ladder is a wonderful tool, that is ensouled, and acts as a messenger for the prayers to be carried to Her ears.
The Book of the Red Blade
Here we get to the heart of the work. The Book of the Red Flame covers everything from the animal incarnations of the Goddess, to the Lunar Goddess, to the Solar Gods, finishing with the mighty Sorceresses of the ancient world. First we walk the Earth with her Sacred Animal forms; The Hound of the Earth, Horse of the Air and Serpent of the water.
The Incarnations Of The Earth
The Horse of the Air is the first incarnation of Hekate as an animal, building out the various animals that she can manifest through. Over the course of the next few rituals the ritualist will come into contact with each of her animal forms.
The text of the book asks the practitioner to gather the skulls of each animal or the image of them. Not having the money for it at the time, I opted to print the skulls with a 3d printer that I had access to at the time.
This aspect of Hekate came as the sound of thudding horse feet, as I went to sleep after performing the first rite. The introduction to this aspect of the goddess is vital to see which of the 3 queens the reader should explore more later into their time with the book. Each of these 3 forms has a connection to the realms that Hekate rules over. The Horse of the Air has obvious connections to the celestial realms above, and its strong appearance indicates a focus on the works and rites of Lady Kirke.
The incarnations of the Earth have a second and more vital purpose, to bless the beginning of the lunar girdle, a ritual tool that is to be worn for the workings of Her greatest rites.
This section of the book holds a rather enjoyable piece of stellar magic. When it comes to the creation of the lunar cords, we start with the stars connected to each aspect, this work involves burning willow and myrrh as an offering to the Horse skull Icon of Hekate, and once the Horse of the Air is properly conjured the ritualist is then instructed to call on the constellation of Pegasos, fumigating two six foot cords of white leather while calling out :
In the name of Hekate
Let this cord be sacred;
Let it be the sinew
Of Hekate’s right hand.
Let it be a white horse;
The wing of a white horse;
The right wing of Pegasos, of Springer-Forth;
The wing of the white Night Mare
HIPPOCHTHON * HIPPOCHTHON *
HIPPOCHTHON
REXICHTHON * NYCTICHTHON * BRIMO *
HEKATE
This pattern continues with the next two incarnation, calling on Canis, Major for the Dog of The Earth and Draco, for the Serpent of the Water.
The Dog of The Earth came in the strongest for me when I called to her. She appeared suddenly and nearly showing up to the physical eyesight, she took the form of a black great dane that stood in my doorway, she said nothing to me and indicated I should complete the rite.
The Snake of The Water came in the most subtly of the three. I only really took notice of her presence when her snake aspect slithered down my back, bound herself around my midsection and stayed there to empower more of my craft.
As the rest of the book is contained in the Book of The Red Blade I’ll be covering the rest of book in its own post. It is my hope that, in publishing this post, my love for the work and system of magic that it hold is made clear and can encourage more people to seek out this path and join me on this winding path
If you enjoyed this post I encourage you to check out my services a wares, I have more posts in the works, see you on the path.
