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Mythology is such a fantastic way to engage with our connection to story and our roots. The Divine Feminine for many centuries was deeply embedded in our religious practice. Many cultures and countries worshipped the Mother Goddess, until we moved into a more patriarchal society, where much of those rituals, teachings and forms of religious worship were buried. Thankfully, not everything was completely lost. Books such as When God Was A Woman by Merlin Stone and The Red Tent by Anita Diamant, acknowledge and discuss the diverse religious practices.
Of all the myths on gods and goddesses I’ve found that Hekate has managed to remain quite mysterious, as is her domain. The details of her becoming and journey had remained somewhat of a mystery to me until I read this book. I know that in many works of art, poems, books, and stories, there are clues of her presence. As we’ve said, mystery and moving through the in-between spaces, is her domain, but very rarely have I encountered a direct telling of her becoming. She’s not only mysterious in her approach but also in the way she presents herself. Which is why we might not sense her directly, but there will always be clues when you know what to look for.
One of the works of art that I’ve picked up on where her presence is a bit more distinguishable is in, “Frozen” by Madonna. The music video, especially, is so clearly dedicated to Hekate. When I did a bit of research on that particular album, “Ray of Light” it was no surprise to me that this album was heavily influenced by Madonna’s own spiritual journey. A catalyst to some of her best music, in my opinion. I’ve loved that album since I was a child, and I still very much love it now. There is something so deeply comforting about having a connection to the Divine - my first experience I can remember was listening to “Ray of Light” as a child. No matter what form of spirituality you decide to connect with, from my personal perspective, it makes such a difference to our connection and participation with the world. I can always feel when something has had Divine influence.
Books such as the one for this week, is what currently interests me very much. I’ve found a number of people turning to spirituality in more recent years. Perhaps initially starting as a trend, but now people are more openly and deeply investigating what forms of spirituality they’re connecting with the most. There is no doubt in my mind that books such as this, although considered a work of fiction, has an impact to those in the spiritual community. “Hekate The Witch” by Nikita Gill gives a much more in depth look at the mythology of Lady Hekate; The Goddess of Thresholds, Crossroads, Witches, and the Keeper of Keys. For such a mysterious, ancient, and powerful goddess, there isn’t always easily accessible information on her history. Nikita Gill’s book changes that.
In this email we’ll cover:
What’s New
Reflections
Insights
Closing Remarks
What’s New?
Book of the Week:
Hekate The Witch by Nikita Gill
Personal Rating:
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Genre:
Fiction/ Myth
Synopsis:
“Hekate” by Nikita Gill takes us on the journey of Hekate’s origin story and becoming. It’s a retelling of Hekate’s Greek mythology; from her very beginning as a godling, to undergoing a journey where she becomes a fierce and powerful goddess. Her fierceness and strength as a goddess becomes all the more understandable when you read what she had been through.
Her earlier life begins in war, the war between the Titans and the new Olympian Gods. The side her parents are on are losing, and she soon becomes orphaned. While the war is still ongoing, her safety means she has to be raised where no one can reach her, and she finds herself being raised in the Underworld.
Growing up is all the while searching for her Divine purpose and domain. She undergoes a tremendous adventure, whereby she not only finds her domains, but becomes the powerful Goddess that she is.
Why We Love It:
Spirituality has always been apart of my life; whether I understood it’s influence or not. Whether I was fully conscious of its integration into my life or not. I just knew that I was always drawn to learning about different religions to try and grasp what I felt in my spirit. There are higher powers that transcend in this world, and I’ve often found them in those who are truly inspired, or those who can pour energy into a project that they then share with the world. As a creative, I can see distinctly when a piece of writing, a film, an artwork, and especially music has been blessed with Divine presence. Consider the 1998 animated film “The Prince of Egypt.” The presence of God is undeniable.
Nikita Gill in her work, “Hekate the Witch” is not just a doorway to understanding our older Greek pagan religious practices, but is also an opportunity to understand the story of one of the most ancient Titans that humanity once worshipped, and some still do. The themes of our mother, maiden and crone, follow us all in some regard. Hekate may be mysterious, but she lives through us all within some capacity. Which is what makes her such a remarkable Goddess.
The story follows a young Godling who experiences so much adversity, from losing her parents, to being raised in the Underworld, to having to discover herself without a sense of direction. Even with everything set against her, she never gives up. She moves through the world gracefully, curiously, and with the strength of her spirit, into becoming a powerful Goddess. Her approach to the world through the lens of truth, regardless of how difficult the ackowledgement may be, is what makes her so powerful in my opinion. To acknowledge who we truly are, how the circumstances affect us, whether our perspective holds accuracy are all powerful places to come from.
Key Message:
You cannot have transformation without truth. Without the honest acknowledgement of our circumstances, without the courage to feel how we truly feel, without the ability to learn from ourselves and our environment, we are ultimately setting ourselves up to remain stagnant. Stagnancy will develop into our standard of normality if we are not careful. Although I’d like to say that there isn’t anything necessarily wrong with that, however, if that standard of normality is out of alignment with who we truly are, then that’s when we start to develop limiting beliefs, start to lose hope, and start to live from a place that ultimately lacks fullfilment.
Living from our truth, however, is so uncommon in many of our cultural environments. So many of us may have seen something from an insightful perspective, or a somewhat different angle than what is accepted, just for it to be suppressed either by our own reinforced thoughts or the words of others. It is not uncommon for people to dismiss new perspectives, especially within stringent cultural practices that expect conformity. However, when something feels unanswered or incomplete, sometimes these questions arise just by being our curious selves.
But, very few of us are able to do so without at least some practice. Unless we expose ourselves to different ways of living, different thought-processes, and sometimes hardships that force us to look at the issue directly, there is little reason to doubt the environment that we’re brought up in. Exploration in that regard can help incite questions or show us directly how different ways of living and thinking affect us as individuals and within groups. Hekate teaches us that moving through truth, despite what emotions it may evoke can ignite the transformation. It is sometimes adversity that sharpens our resolve and our ability to navigate the world - but it requires our cooperation by seeing and feeling truthfully.
Quotes and Questions To Reflect On
Quote of the Week:
“Some people are born with tornadoes in their lives, but constellations in their eyes. Other people are born with stars at their feet, but their souls are lost at sea.”
― Nikita Gill
Reflection Questions:
How does the main character’s journey resonate with your own life experiences?
What decisions did the character make that you found empowering or thought-provoking?
How can you apply the lessons from this story to your own life?
A Look Into Madonna’s Spiritual Practice:
Insights and Inspiration
Author Spotlight:
Nikita Gill
Background:
Nikita Gill is a writer who was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland and brought up in Gurugram, Haryana in India. She migrated to South England in her early adulthood and worked as a carer before becoming a full time author.
Other Works:
Wild Embers: Poems of Rebellion, Fire and Beauty
Fierce Fairytales: Poems and Stories to Stir Your Soul
Beyond the Book:
Related Topics: Hubpages has written more information on Hekate, that may be interesting to learn about.
Read More on The Divine Feminine:
Women of The Red Tent discusses “The Red Tent” by Anita Diamant
Closing Remarks
One thing I love about reading is that there is always a takeaway of some sorts. When discussing elements of truth and exploring ways in which to access different perspectives, reading is such a fundamental way in which to do so. Just learning a bit about Hekate shows us how adversity can be the catalyst to transformation, but it’s not automatic. Our participation is necessary to comprehensively access the lessons that are embedded in the experience.
Although the book touches on far more than just my key takeaway, I find that reconnecting with the ancient ways of storytelling and spiritual practice have a profound impact on us in general. Mythology does something different than perhaps some other religious stories, which is humanise the gods in a way that is understandable and relatable. Mistakes, hardships, and adversity can happen to the best of us, but how we approach and deal with them is where our power lies. What we learn depends on how willing we are to see and what we are ready to do with that ackowledgement.
This book dives into the story of a Goddess who now seems more relatable but still mythical. Her story opens our eyes to how she became so powerful, and in some ways can teach us that we have the power within ourselves to overcome our adversities too. She may be the Goddess of crossroads, but it is up to us to take the steps towards that full transformation and to actively participate in our lives to make it how we want to be. Until then, she holds the keys to the liminal space until we’re ready.
Until Next Time!
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Keep living life on your terms.
June Tara
Creator of Spark Siren