T is for Torch
When I think of a torch I think of a flicker in the night. A
drop of brilliant light in a wall pitch black.
The light does not shows me new things, rather it just reveals what is
already there. Things that are right in
front of me, but I cannot see.
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| Photo Credit - Renee Olson |
Goddess Hecate has many titles.
Dachouchos means torch-bearer while Phosporus means light-bearer. (From Hekate Liminal Rites pg 20) To me, these are very similar, what does a
torch bearer do but bring light.
Historically Hecate is generally depicted with torches. As early as 5 Century BCE she can be seen
standing next to Kybele
holding a torch in front of her and a vase shows her holding out
two torches.
My hubby recreated this altar tile for me based on an image we found on the internet. You can see it here on my altar. It shows a three headed Hecate with her torches on each side. It sits on my altar next to my bronzed Hecate sculpture.
My hubby recreated this altar tile for me based on an image we found on the internet. You can see it here on my altar. It shows a three headed Hecate with her torches on each side. It sits on my altar next to my bronzed Hecate sculpture.
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| Photo Credit - Hecate Statue - Artist Renee Olson |
Modern artists often show Hecate with her torches high. Either in paints or clay these are very
common images.
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| Photo Credit & Artist - Danielle Suplicki of HeartRoot Studio |
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| Photo Credit & Artist - Renee Olson of Sosanna's Closet |
To me, one of the most specific things that speaks to me
about torches and Hecate is the annual event I participate in called “The Rite of Her
Sacred Fires.” I've always been
drawn to fire and as a child could easily get lost in the dancing flames. I would sit for hours staring at the fire as
it burned and burned. At time it was
almost as though I could see little movies playing in the embers. To me that attraction and seeing those images in the fire
make me believe that even as a small child, seeking out an answer in the
flames, she was there for me.
Each year on the full moon in May devotees and followers of
the Goddess Hecate join together in their own sanctuaries and around their own
altars to complete a single right. Spoken
with one voice the chorus joins together to pay honor to the Hecate Dacouchos, the
torch-bearer, Hecate Phosporus, the light-bearer.
Below is a recording shared on YouTube filmed by TaraSanchez in 2010 showing Sorita d’Este completing the Rite of Her Sacred Fires.
I believe that when you are open to answers they will be
revealed to you. Much like the way a
torch opens up the darkness for you to see what is really already there in
front of you. Over the last few weeks I've
been reaching out, searching for answers related to the paths I want to take
next in my life. I've been presented
with roads that lead into directions that are worrisome and unknown.
When preparing for our last vending event, hubby commented
that I was making too many *Hecate specific* items. Over the weekend I had five or six people
come in and mention her by name. Others
asking for items that could be related to her.
Keys, Owls and graveyard dirt. I
think of each one of these people came into my life in a moment of darkness,
like that torch showing me the answer to my question. I've decided that I put too much emphasis on
some things in my life and not enough on others.
Over the next months, maybe years, I will be focusing on
Hecate. Learning as much as I can. I plan to be more active in the CoH and begin
to study at what I hope will lead to a Torchbearer role
within the covenant.
I am confident that if this is not the right path, the
Mistress of the Crossroads will guide me with her torches to my right
destination.
Namaste
& Blessed Be
Sosanna
)O(
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