Hecate: Goddess of the Crossroads, Queen of Witches, and the Light That Illuminates the Dark
Hecate the Moon — Francesco de' Rossi (Salviati), fresco, c. 1543–1545. The Renaissance vision of Hecate as lunar goddess: the torch-bearer who illuminates the darkness that she also embodies, the keeper of the night sky's light and of the deeper darkness that no light can fully reach. At the place where three roads meet — in Greek triodós , "crossroads" — there was, in ancient practice, a shrine. Not a temple with columns and a cult statue; something smaller, more intimate, more urgent: a hekataion , a three-faced or three-bodied image of the goddess placed at the intersection where the choice must be made. Travelers would leave offerings there — garlic, eggs, small cakes, the remains of a meal — when they passed, and the offerings were meant for the dogs and the spirits of the dead who gathered at the crossroads after midnight, in the company of their queen. The queen's name was Hecate (Greek Hekate , etymology debated — possibly related to hekatos , ...