There is no doubt that the Hekate Triformis Symposium which is taking place in Glastonbury at the Full Moon of May 2012 is going to contribute towards building community, breaking down barriers and help participants explore new depths and levels of understanding in their work with the Goddess of the Crossroads. The event is being organised by Theurgia and hosted by Torchbearers of the Covenant of Hekate. The CoH was formed following the Rite of Her Sacred Fires in 2010 when thousands joined together to celebrate the Goddess Hekate in a wonderful international ritual to celebrate the completion of the book Hekate Her Sacred Fires (published by Avalonia). The Hekate Triformis Symposium will coincide with the third year of the Rite of Her Sacred Fires, and will celebrate the Goddess Hekate as Triformis.
Triformis means “three-formed” and is a reference to the way in which this Goddess became depicted from around the fourth century BCE, as having three bodies and three faces, facing three ways. It is believed that these depictions of Hekate (who is also depicted as being singular) was inspired by the idea that she rules over a part of the Heavens, Earth and Oceans (three-domains) and that she is linked with crossroads – specifically crossroads where three roads meet. The Hekate Triformis Symposium will celebrate Hekate with the Rite of Her Sacred Fires, but also throughout the two day event with readings, chanting and ritual work. There will be lectures on the Saturday from authors, artists and priestesses who have been exploring the mysteries of the Goddess Hekate for many years, they will share not only their research and knowledge, but also their personal insights and experiences. Most of all though participants will be encouraged to explore and experience the Goddess for themselves through ritual, meditation and trance workings.
You can find more information about this event, for which only limited tickets are available, at http://theurgia.co.uk/hekate-triformis-symposium
From the Introduction by Sorita d’Este to Hekate Keys to the Crossroads (Second Edition, forthcoming):
“It is more likely that the artist who designed the image was drawing inspiration from Hekate as Goddess of the three-ways, which was a popular attribution given to her during the Hellenistic period. It was also documented in earlier writings by Sophokles and Charikleides, who both refer to her as being three-ways. The number three also has other associations for Hekate: in Hesiod’s Theogony, Zeus gives her a share of three realms, the Earth, the Sea and the Starry Sky, thus another explanation could be that the three-forms represent Hekate watching over her three domains. She is also frequently invoked with the title of Trimorphis which means ‘three-formed’.
It is also a possibility, that as is the case with many horned deities, the crescent is the evolution of a depiction of Hekate with horns, such as that described in the PGM “… let the middle face be that of a maiden wearing horns…”[1] But that is purely speculation on my part.
[1] PGM 2880-2882″
