Hecate’s Dragon

“The Icon of Hecate” (1)

I followed the passageway along in the darkness, until the ceiling got lower and lower and I had to dive head first through a narrow opening that was quickly getting smaller, only just squeezing through before it slammed shut behind me. A larger cavern opened up in front of me, lined with dark passageways leading off at irregular intervals. I continued, guided by my totem animal, a German Shepherd dog who was continually transforming from dog to jackal to Anubis then back to jackal, then dog, then jackal, Anubis etc.

Anubis (7)

All the while I knew that somehow I had to find Hecate. As I was led forward by Anubis I could see a faint glow up ahead. The glow became stronger and I could now see it was coming from a large cauldron which was sitting in the middle of where three roads crossed, with Hecate standing behind it. She was covered head to toe with a black robe, so I could not see her face, only a hint of long grey hair showing under the hood and perhaps a deep maroon dress under the robe. As I approached I could see that the cauldron was filled with steaming, bubbling silver liquid. Hecate beckoned me to come forward and gaze deep into the cauldron, to meet with my ancestors on this Samhain night. I cautiously leaned forward and saw my reflection in the liquid mirror. The mirror began to swirl, distorting my image as it did so, then it gradually revealed glimpses of other faces, other lives, possibly my past lives and also my many ancestors, as well as those from my present and my future.

Suddenly a huge black dragon burst out of the cauldron, its jaws open wide revealing rows of jagged teeth!

A Black Dragon, very similar to the one I saw burst out of the cauldron! (6)

I pulled back in shock but not soon enough, as the dragon’s jaws snapped shut around my neck and shoulders with my head inside its mouth and pulled me headfirst down through the swirling liquid and into the pulsing heart of the cauldron!

More scenes of people and daily activities from all ages flew by, unfortunately much too fast for me to focus clearly on any one of them. A bright, fiery orange glow began to overwhelm the flashing scenes until eventually it looked like I was in the centre of a fire. Luckily for me there was no sense of pain or extreme heat from any of these experiences. The fire felt very cleansing, as if in preparation for some sort of imminent rebirth.

Suddenly I was pushed upwards by the dragon, to emerge through the centre of a blazing fire in the middle of the fire pit outside the building where we were meditating. The dragon disappeared and I gently floated to the periphery of the fire circle and then realised I was now somehow in two places at once; sitting on my chair in the room where we were meditating but also outside, sitting on one of the bench seats surrounding the fire pit, as if the two locations were superimposed on each other or simultaneously occupying the same space and time. I saw a figure dressed in maroon and black move around from the left to the right of my field of view. I knew it was Hecate but even though I could now see under her hood she seemed to be faceless.

Next I saw a faint flickering light to my right, in the distance, coming closer but stopping to hover a few metres away from the outer edge of the indoor/outdoor firepit/room. As it flickered in and out of view I received the very strong impression that it wanted to be within our circle to receive strength and nourishment to be able to shine brightly again. I felt I knew who the pale flickering light was but even as I beckoned it to return to the circle it floated away and grew fainter until it finally disappeared. Perhaps this light will be reborn and return to us one day.

“Hecate’s Wheel” talisman I made during our Samhain workshop.

As I sat in my chair the scene of the burning fire, the wooden benches and the surrounding bushland gradually faded and disappeared into the floorboards of the room we were in. We were being called back from the meditation, after which we all shared our experiences. As usual, many people had similar visions and experiences, although I have to admit I was the only one pulled headfirst into the cauldron by a dragon! 😀

It seemed unusual to me that I should make a connection with Hecate, Anubis and a Dragon all together in the one meditation so after I returned home the next afternoon I Googled for some information. I don’t know how reliable the information is that I found, as people tend to copy/paste stuff all over the internet without citing sources, but it all applies to images that were shown to me during my meditation so maybe there is some spiritual connection that I’ve “tapped into” regardless of what else is “known” on an academic level.

Anyway, according to a number of websites Hecate does have a relationship with Dragons…

Information on the Dragons of Hecate is hard to come by. The only things that have been found are related to Hecate’s three-fold nature (the three crossroads represent the gate to the realm of the Dragon) and [one of] Hecate’s old titles – “Propylaia” – “she who stands before the gate”. Hecate’s Hounds, the three-headed dog Cerberus who guards the gate to the Underworld and the Dragon seem related to some remote mythos that may have come out of Egypt or Asia Minor, where the dog replaced the Dragon. As one of the original Titans, Hecate is an ancient who has undergone many transformations over the ages, and her relationship with the Dragon was one of the oldest associations. (2)

In Myth it is known Hekate holds the keys to the Dragon realm and Her chariot itself is pulled by three Dragons. (3)

Hekate The Gateway to Dragon Magick
Hekate keeper of Keys, Keeper of Gates, Keeper of many realms. Dragons are also associated with Hekate, in fact She is noted to have three that pull Her chariot. She is the Guardian of doorways so it no surprise She is the key to enter the Dragon realm. (4)

I’ve also found some information that Hecate/Hekate is associated with Anubis …something I had never heard of or thought about before. Of course the obvious connection is that both Hecate and Anubis are psychopomps but other than that I would not have put the two together, as they’re from two different pantheons.

Ovid writes that Hekate could be conjured up from darkness “with long howls.” There is evidence of an old belief that the souls of the unburied dead could appear as dogs. Hekate is sometimes identified with the three-headed dog Kerebos, who guards the entrance to Hades, and there may be connections with the Egyptian dog-headed god Anubis, who conducted souls to the Underworld. (5)

…interesting what pops up in my mind during a meditation, which seemingly comes from “outside” …or the Twilight Zone! 😉 I suppose, in the end, all things are connected…

“All is one:
Nothing ever stays the same.”

Hekate (1973) by Johfra Bosschart (8)

References:
(1) The Icon of Hecate, by Silverb from https://silverb.deviantart.com/#/d10m3en 
(2) http://hecate.awebspider.com/symbols.htm
(3) https://hekatescircle.blogspot.com.au/p/dragons.html
(4) https://myonlinehekateshrine.blogspot.com.au/p/hekate-gateway-to-dragon-magick.html
(5) Hecate/Hekate and  https://www.angelfire.com/magic/moonrae/hecate.htm
(6) Dragon image from http://heycoolbackgrounds.yolasite.com/boys-backgrounds.php ~ Modified from the original illustration by Ciruelo at https://dac-editions.com/dragonb.htm
(7) Anubis illustration from https://www.interdenominationaldivineorder.com/story/anubis.htm
(8) https://www.vopus.org/en/image-gallery/image-gallery-johfra-bosschart/image-gallery-astrology-and-zodiac-johfra-bosschart.html