#2: More word vomit as I reflect on studying some histories of witchcraft... The Criminalization of Hecate

Yahhh, so I think of women and figures who were/are martyred for embodying a belief system outside of the confines of patriarchy/established order as I read and sift through these texts. It does make you connect with someone like Anne Bodenham, brought to trial in 1653, hundreds of years later. I found the text's description of her striking, considering it highlights how she refused to give any credence to negative stereotypes against witches and instead presented herself, rightfully so, as a learned scholar of the Craft. Regardless of belief or lack thereof, I do find this fear toward semiotic order as reflected in "witch hunts" super fucking interesting. And this fear is so powerful it still kills many people today.

This brings me to reflections on the deity often called Hecate. In many writings describing her, she is always emphasized to be in extreme favor amongst the gods, especially Zeus. She usually comes off as a sort of equal, or more appropriately, an independent power, which I find incredibly compelling. A couple of essays mention how Zeus keeping her close is interesting, considering her power doesn't benefit him directly in the same way other goddesses' powers benefit him directly. One article described her as a "paradigm to Zeus" and an "antithesis to Zeus' active pursuit of power." To me, it seems she prefers freedom over absolute power which is true power, imo. And, in many ways, I think  Zeus' favor toward her is supposed to serve as a balancing energy to the violence, hoarding, and conquering that patriarchy is known for. 

But ya, I say that all to say that I think she seemed to be a divine femininity meant to balance and add emotional + logical depth to patriarchal ideals which is WHY she is highly favored and uniquely retains power over three realms. In a lot of ways it also answers why, I would argue, she later became so profoundly associated with witchcraft. Since, historically speaking in a Western context, public domain/spheres are often related to the domain of men and the home as the domain of women, Zeus and Hecate's symbiotic relationship makes a lot of sense. Especially when thinking about how uniquely powerful Hecate is described:

"Again, Phoebe came to the desired embrace of Coeus. [405] Then the goddess through the love of the god conceived and brought forth dark-gowned Leto, always mild, kind to men and to the deathless gods, mild from the beginning, gentlest in all Olympus. Also she bore Asteria of happy name, whom Perses once [410] led to his great house to be called his dear wife. And she conceived and bore Hecate whom Zeus the son of Cronos honored above all."

In her earlier depictions, like in Hesiod's Theogony, she is described as a single goddess with power over three realms (earth, sky, sea) who is often called upon by male rulers, merchants, and bards for guidance. My first inclination was to reject the translation or myself as perhaps unnecessarily gendering the emphasis on her relationship with men serving her. I wanted to view it more as a genderless "men" like humans rather than literally meaning men... If that makes sense. However, I thought about it more, and the emphasis on men, especially rulers, serving her with such reverence in these early depictions of her likeness is super important especially when you think of her later associations and how her status as a goddess associated w. the moon indicates a sexless figure and more so a spiritual one. Which I think is why some Hecate followers find issues with later depictions of Hecate as a triple goddess, considering its association w/ the mother, maiden, and crone. 

Finally, this all brings me to when later depictions of Hecate begin showcasing her as a triple-faced goddess as she becomes seemingly exclusive to women. She becomes more closely aligned w/ witchcraft, death, the underworld, and darkness as a means to not only criminalize witchcraft but also, and perhaps most importantly to the patriarchal order, criminalize Hecate herself. As Hecate became more aligned w/ witchcraft, a solely feminine and "evil" practice as projected by the state, she falls out of favor with men and that balance is lost. Stripping Hecate's influence over men, considering they relied on her a lot, threw the energies of Earth off balance. 

If we look at Hecate and Zeus' symbiotic relationship and that balance as systemically eradicated by Abrahamic religions then I guess my logic takes me to believing that this rejection of Hecate leaves human psyche off balance. Humans have stopped looking at Earth as our home, a domestic space, and therefore rejected the necessity of a deity like Hecate to support and maintain balance with special regard to systems of power. Oppressive systems benefit from tipped scales and an apathetic attitude that causes people to spend their whole lives looking up to the heavens and forward to death, when we're already in a heaven and it was just made into a hell.

I leave this post by finishing with this thought: In many ways, I read this as to why the Iron Age of Man, which we are in now, according to some texts, is marked as distinctly feeling abandoned by the gods. I think it is because humanity lost this balance and criminalized Hecate into the shadows. In my head canon, I see Hecate's transformation from her depiction as a single goddess to a triple goddess as a transformation rooted in her anger toward patriarchal rulers no longer heeding her advice and moving toward deities that offered them more individual riches rather than knowledge for the collective. This explains why a lot of folks now sensationalize her as having a rather prickly disposition and a problematic deity to work with, but I think this is just because she is tired of the bullshit and will make you work through it before letting you approach.

This was longer than intended. Byeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.