Message from the Editor
Greetings all!
Big thanks to everyone who contributed to this issue, your hard work is truly appreciated! We are still looking for more regular columnists if that is something you might be interested in. Please email me with your ideas! Look for the advert in this issue for more information.
Our next issue will be out for the Summer Solstice, June 20th. Contributions for that issue will focus on Hekate’s epithets which relate most to summer, as well as how the season may change your practice. Are you harvesting items grown especially for Hekate, or perhaps crafting something special for Her?
I hope you all enjoy this issue! Feel free to email me with your comments, suggestions and submissions. noumenianews@gmail.com
Millions of good wishes from Vancouver Island!
Stay safe.
Lotus x
http://theuppersanctum.com
Editorial Staff:
Hazel, Arthur Freeheart, Andrea Angelos, Catherine Archer, Larry Phillips.
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Bringer of Spring
By Julie Farmer
Phosphoros guide back
The light.
Bring back the sun
The tulips
The irises
And blades of grass
Guide back Persephone.
Bring back the
Green,
Please Lady Phosphoros
Bring back the
Spring!
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Mirror of Darkess, Portal of Light
By Colleen
From the abysmal depths of my own darkness,
to my deadened eyes,
You, Hekate,
silent mirror of my dark inertia,
seemed darker than the darkest night
so distant, intangible.
Hopeless, uncaring, desolate,
I dissolved into those fathomless depths
seeking nothing, only extinction.
And long it was so.
Then, within that darkness,
a shadowy glimpse, faint flicker, is it a spark?
My lethargic heart trembled …
And within that spark,
– wait!
Yes, at the very depths of that spark just barely discernible:
a core pulsing with living Light!
My trembling heart thrilled in reverberance.
Palpable sound-image:
A vortex of Light!
Portal to countless universes of Light.
Realms far greater than humanly imaginable!
Along with that an instantaneous realization:
…
*Note on this poem: The ending was left purposely ambiguous as the author states she feels there are no words adequate for that level of understanding. Many of us have experienced depression, did this poem resonate to you in any way? Feel free to send your thoughts, impressions and personal experiences for the next issue of Noumenia News.
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You're Not There
By Lotus
I remembered the feel of you, how you felt heavy and slightly sweaty.
I remembered how our eyes met, and our spirits seemed connected.
Now I am weightless. Now I am in the dark.
And you’re not there.
It is a funny thing to have once been so connected to the earth, to be rooted there.
The life left my body, that rooted body, so easily, and so gracefully.
I left you and I floated away.
I should feel something I said to myself. ‘I don’t I answered.
As I rose into the air I could see within the depths of a great forest.
Every action in that forest so precise, so vital.
Sex, life, death, rebirth.
I passed over a city.
Every building was as if the roof was removed.
I could see the lives within, patterns repeating.
Sex, life, death, rebirth.
I am pulled upwards suddenly.
Being as, I supposed, the allotted time to look around was over.
Ahead of me is a great cosmic sea.
That’s a tad cliché isn’t it? Yet, there it is.
Expanding in and out, like it breathes. Breathes life and death.
There are naked iridescent beings in the waves, capering about.
Sometimes joining together, then splitting apart again.
Some disappear, and new ones arrive.
But you’re not there.
It’s time to go now, the goddess is here.
My ancestors are here too.
And there are others. Great winged creatures.
They are taking me somewhere, and I am grateful to go.
But I wonder, will you be there?
Image: Hekate Take Me Home
By Lotus
[traditional collage]
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Become a Columnist!
Is there a particular aspect of spiritual, magical or creative work you are passionate and knowledgeable about? Do you want to develop your writing skills, and perhaps your portfolio? Maybe you just sincerely want to see the CoH community grow and develop?
Noumenia News is looking for columnists - individuals who can commit to writing 300-600 words on a Hekate related topic for each edition (4 a year). Here are some suggested topics:
- Astrology, symbols etc.,
- History (Interesting facts, images etc., related to Hekate's history)
- Crafts (Something interesting to make for devotional work)
- Gardens & Plants (Tips, information, folklore, etc).
- Hekate in Popular Culture
- Study of the PGM, Orphic Hymns etc.,
Want to be involved? Email your proposal to noumenianews@gmail.com!
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Images from Le imagini dei degli antichiby Cartari, Vincenzo, b. ca. 1500; Malfatti, Cesare, b. ca. 1550
P. 154
Viewable here: https://archive.org/details/leimaginideidegl01cart/mode/2up
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By Colleen
The painting above was made in 2017 as part of a CoH creative project. The image of the unnamed Goddess of Çatalhöyük [see below], as well as the many representations of the seated, lioness flanked Cybele [also below], have always fascinated me and have obviously influenced this rendering of Hekate. The Sun-Energy (as represented by the lionesses in this otherwise nocturnal scene) is an aspect of fundamental importance to me in my relationship with Hekate. It would be interesting to hear what your own views and/or experiences are on the relationship between Hekate and the pre-Olympic Apollo or even Helios.
Image sources: 1, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Museum_of_Anatolian_Civilizations_1320259_nevit.jpg
2, National Archaeological Museum, Athens (my archive)
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Hekate Liparokredemnos: The Veiled Goddess
By Octavia
A long time ago, women wore a veil covering either their head and hair, or even the face as a status symbol. Sometimes it was even done to keep stranger’s eyes off them. It wasn’t a punishment or a religious forced practice. Even though in some ancient cultures like during the Roman Empire, it was also a way to know if a woman was married or not. It is a very polemic piece of cloth in the present time. But its symbolism is still very powerful and speaks differently to each person.
The veil can help you to remain undisturbed and keep your privacy. But it is also a symbol of devotion, integrity and nobility. Many veiled figures represent the transcendent, the spiritual world and the unknown.
So that’s why I feel called by Hekate Liparokredemnos; by the different meanings of that epithet can have, as well as the symbology that the veil represents.
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Image from the British Museum: Portrait of Emma, Lady Hamilton as Hecate; half length standing in profile to left; veil over head, statue and vase in background to left; after V Denon. 1791 Etching
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Hecate Inspires
By Stacy Mathias
Here we are, it’s March! Here in the Northern Hemisphere we are happy to welcome spring later this month. Last month we celebrated Imbolc; we noticed the days were getting a little longer. The earth was beginning to thaw, and we started to see the first hopeful signs of greenery returning. This month we will celebrate Ostara or the Spring Equinox. Finally, daylight will once again be longer than the darkness and life begins to spring forth.
I thought I would share how I, and my group observe Ostara, in the hopes that you will find some inspiration for your own Rites of Spring. Preparations for our rite includes gathering edible representations of each element. We gather candies for each of the elements: Yellow lemons ones for air; red cinnamons for fire, blue mints for water, and brown chocolate ones for earth. They are not large. They are only about the size of a tic tac, or a Hershey kiss. Next, we create our sacred space, and we call the Quarters/Elements. After the element is called, the corresponding representation is blessed, using this or similar wording: “Elemental powers since ages past, bless these candies we humbly ask. Empower them with your qualities, that they become empower keys.”
After, the candies are blessed and empowered, we evoke the Goddess and God, and then the cakes and ale are blessed. We ask the Goddess to bless it as well using the following or similar words “Divine Lady, I ask that you imbue this drink with your power, that we may in turned, be blessed and empowered.” The same is then done with the cakes. We then take turns going clockwise around the circle, stopping at each quarter, asking it for a particular attribute or that element. For example, we would say “Greetings to the elemental Winds of the East, I, (name), ask you for the blessing of (what you are asking for), so I may be successful in all things.”
I would then take a piece of the lemon candy and eat it, taking that blessing into my very being. This continues until a complete circuit of the elements is done. I would then proceed to the main altar (where the cakes and ale are) and say these or similar words: “Greetings to you, bountiful Lady, source of all that is, and ever will be. I, (name), ask for the blessings of (what you need), so that I may be successful in all things.” We then drink the juice or wine, and say something along the lines of “I thank you for your many blessings, may I never thirst”. We do something similar with the cakes: “Greetings to you, radiant Lord, source of all that is, and ever will be, I (name), ask you for the blessing of (what you need).” We then eat the cake and say “I thank you for your many blessings, may I never hunger”. I then thank the Goddess and God for their presence and blessings. I thank and release the quarters, and finally open the circle.
This is how I celebrate the Spring Equinox. It is my hope that it inspires you to find your own way to celebrate the season, or even adapt mine to work for you. I wish you all a joyous spring, with much growth and beauty.
Image: Stacy's Ostara altar
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Cards of the Season, Spring 2020
By Marcel
Dear friends,
Since spring has started where I live in the Northern Hemisphere, let's have a look on what we have learned. Let’s also look at our foundations, in particular at our opportunities to grow as members of our community. Again, I am using the Transparent Tarot, designed by our CoH Torchbearer and Keybearer Emily Carding.
1 - Foundation
Two of Wands, Two of Cups, Three of Wands
We are a community of like-minded people. Despite our individual differences, we know well how to create an environment that helps us to work together or towards our common goal: lighting Hekate's Sacred Fires. Her torches are present here, and with the cups they form a gate of initiation towards a path of further development.
2 - Lessons learned
Page of Wands, Five of Wands, Seven of Cups
On this path, we have learned to be mindful of our various abilities; be they creative, oracular, practical or administrative matters. Mindfulness means here to be aware of those abilities, to know how to improve them as well as to be able to apply them in sensible ways. We have learned to share our individual work and community chores. We have learned not to try to juggle all the work at once and alone. Also, the Page of Wands reminds us that as we keep on walking courageously on Hekate's paths, we should not rush.
3 - Opportunity for growth
Three of Disks, Six of Pentacles, Three of Cups
We often talk about the work we do: researching the past, teaching others, lighting fires, and serving our Lady. While these are important aspects, the Three of Cups at the centre of this picture reminds us of the celebratory nature of our community. In combination with the Three of Wands we have just seen in the Foundations, this hints to the Rite of Her Sacred Fires we are about to celebrate for the 11th year this May full moon. Let us get together, in person, virtually and/or in spirit, to kindle, enjoy and celebrate Her fires in the dark.
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