Goddess of the Week: Hecate

Hecate Sculpture (Photo credit: Shain Erin)

Lorena needs a goddess of decision making.  I'm giving her the Greek goddess Hecate, goddess of the crossroads.

Hecate was pretty much your first GPS.  Whenever people in ancient Athens came to a crossroads, they made a sacrifice to Hecate so that she would help them choose the right direction.

The crosswords were--and are--a visible symbol of what all of us know: making choices can be hard.  I find this to be especially true when you are responsible for someone else.  When my sweet (to me, at least) dog Ivy was dying of cancer, everyday I would feel wracked with indecision: is today the day I take her in to end her suffering?  No?  How about today?  And tomorrow's today?  It was awful.  And don't even get me started on parenting decisions.  Oh my God!  Shoot me already!  Would that I had stuck to house plants (although, let's face it, I haven't done so great with them either.)

Hecate reminds us that decisions have costs.  I won't tell you what people would commonly sacrifice to Hecate (OK, I will tell you, but it's disturbing.  Dogs!  There.  I've said it, but I'm forgetting it as soon as I'm done).  Nothing is free in this world, even the choices you make.  If you bring your kids their forgotten homework, they may get a better grade, but they will not learn as much about personal responsibility.  If you don't bring them their homework, they'll learn about personal responsibility, but they'll get lower grades and who knows what horrible future that will resign them too.  No matter what, you're pretty much fucked.  So just make your choice and remember that you're going to have to pay for it one or another.  When in doubt, one simple rule: choose kindness and compassion, even toward yourself.

Channel this goddess: when making decisions, when faced with a crossroads, when driving without a map.


Need a goddess?  I got goddesses!  Post a comment saying what you'd like a goddess for.  Then check back in a week or two and see what you got.  It's fun!  It's free!  It's easier than deciding which of your identical pair of black leggings to wear, which will make sense if you have a 14 year old.