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“Hail mighty Hekate of thresholds, many-named goddess of roads and crossroads, gate-mistress, patroness of travelers and of the lost; Solar and Saturnian, bearer of chains who dissolves that which binds us…”
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Hello my loves. In this first of three short updates about new ongoing projects, I want to share an experience that is fueling my current production. Inspired by a recent commission which had come at an auspicious moment, I find myself still steeped in the background drives and threads of that project even now, weeks after the piece was delivered. Out of this state of mystical frisson has come a new line of materia, born of its own time and volition.
I carved these candles early last month, after a consecration to solar Helios and several evocations of the proto-Grecian (by way of Asia Minor) goddess Hekate over the course of a week. The two pieces above were the first of several I have since completed. I went into the thing intending to carve a key design, but of their own accord my hands started fashioning these chains, link by link down the shaft of the candle. This is the vernacular of schoolchildren cutting into desks, riddling notepads and textbooks with dagger, batwing, rainbow, phallus, crucifix, gemstone and the secret looping sigils of childhood’s imaginal jungles.
But I wasn’t thinking about that as I carved the candles. I was trying my best not to think about anything, and – if I may say so – I was doing a pretty good job of that. Then I heard the voice.
“Devote a year to me.”
Her voice, quiet and clear, at once intimately close and incredibly far away.
What could I say? What would you say?
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This series – complete with snakes, torches, chains, and the lunar symbolism you might already associate with Hekate’s multifarious essence – will be available very soon, both locally to Portland as well as through my online shop. As usual, I am presenting these new tools to you first. Carved with my grandfather’s pocketknife, rubbed with hand-ground incense and ash from prior workings, sung to and blessed with aspergation and fumigation… I have felt the presence of the Goddess in every aspect of their crafting.
(If this resonates with you, reach out and let’s talk about getting you one of these before I list them.)
In addition to the candles, I’m grinding a new incense dedicated to Hekate – a particular blend of resins and herbs that produces a sweet and enchanting smell. I’ll write more on that next time, as well as the extremely limited edition of talismanic necklaces that I am crafting. These too will function as links to the cultus, springing from a song of bone, stained earth, and a generous gift from a friend that will connect those pieces to the original history of the rosary.
Expect my followup on that in a week or two!
In the meantime, and especially if you aren’t familiar with this liminal goddess from the archaic past, then enjoy these quick resources below to get a handle on some of my inspiration and process:
https://www.worldhistory.org/Hecate/
https://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Hecate
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greek_Magical_Papyri
And until next time, may you find your best self in the space between dark and light.
Jason Triefenbach, HFHR
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Jason is an artist, writer, and non-denominational minister with a garden and a lifelong interest in lurking around the Occult/ Paranormal shelves in bookstores worldwide. As Sun Duel they record and sometimes perform music with a variety of friends and loved ones. www.linktr.ee/JWT9000
Ecstatic Agendas 
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