Hekate Liminal Rites

A Study of the Rituals, Magic and Symbols of the Torch-Bearing Triple Goddess of the Crossroads

By: Sorita d'Este, David Rankine

Narrated by: Leslie Howard

Wherever you look, be it in the texts of Ancient Greece and Rome, Byzantium or the Renaissance, the Greek Magical Papyri or the Chaldean Oracles, you will find Hekate. The magical whir of the strophalos and the barbarous words of the voces magicae carry her message; the defixiones, love spells, and charms all provide us with examples of the magic done in her name. She was also associated with the magic of death, including necromancy and reanimation, as well as prophetic dreams, nightmares, healing herbs, and poisons. The temples dedicated to her and the important role she played in the mysteries of Eleusis, Samothrace, and Aigina all provide us with clues to her majesty. The popular shrines at the doorways of ordinary people, offerings left at the crossroads, and guardian statues of her at the entrance ways to cities and temples all attest to her status in the hearts and minds of those who knew her mysteries.

In this book, the authors draw from a wide range of sources, bringing together historical research which provides insights into the magical and religious practices associated with this remarkable goddess. In doing so they provide an indispensable guide for those wishing to explore the mysteries of Hekate today.

©2009 Sorita d'Este and David Rankine (P)2021 Tantor

Returning to certain chapters over & over / a powerful listen,

For anyone interested in this subject, and also interested in the historical documents that support the information presented… this is excellent. Narrator performs beautifully. I highly recommend.

Easily digestible Brimo

A wonderful contribution to Hekate and her Torchbearers.
A gateway to those who bear her keys.
A great foundation of comprehensive study.
A understanding of how to worship Hekate, where to look and how to start in your own life.

Great historical accounts

Enjoyed learning about the history of Hekate but not much practical application that would be useful today

Fantastic

This was a great overview. I appreciate getting to listen to more about Hecate and her history. We need more books like this.

Enlightening!

The narrator has a lovely voice. it draws you right in. it's a wonderful book, I learned so much about Hekate and her origins. I love to study Classical Mythology and this enriched my understanding of Hekate and of Greek myth and cosmology overall.

Really good information on how to work with Hekate

Loved the history on worship of hekate, her meaning, her aspects, her fellow Gods and Goddesses. The history shows what verses the folks of the past used and you could also adapt them for your own practice. With a lot of references to the PGM, past practices for necromancy, curses, rites, offerings, her different forms, etc.. Definitely a book I would always refer to or listen to on Audible.

Scholarly work

This book is a must for anyone devout to Hekate. It took several listens to only do to my not too fond of the narration (not that is bad by any means) but I felt as though I was back in a college classroom. This is not a book for beginners wanting to learn candle magick, it is a scholarly source that really brings the history and background forth. I recommend reading the book also.

very informative

I learned a lotore about Hekate then I thought I would. there a lot of information placing her throughout history. nicely read, follows well. thank you

Excellent Narration: An Absolute Wealth of Ancient Magical knowledge concerning the Goddess Hekate!

Allow me to first express my sincere appreciation and gratitude to both authors, Sorita d'Estes and David Rankine, for this monumental work of historical significance! As it was doubtless the result of an enormous amount of research and effort! It is so inspiring to see what inspired research can accomplish!

Listening to this title, while going about a what would have been a regular mundane workday, was transformed into an "Inspiring Magickal and Spirutal Time Travelling Adventure!".

I wasnt sure what to expect from this title at first. Was it going to be another of someone's version of how to show devotion to a God or Goddess, hiw to practice Magick, spells, rites and rituals, like many other books (which some have been great and can be inspiring for sure), but alas, no, it is not, it is in fact so much more!

It started out really technical, which I wasn't expecting, then it hit me, this book, is an actual journey through the real historical annals of Hekate related documents from well known Ancient sources and the archeological record!

"Hekate Liminal Rites", takes you back into Ancient Greece, in a very Magickal yet technical way, and touches on a great many literary references of the Goddess Hekate. It brings to our modern ears, the ability to listen to snippets of historical myths concerning Hekate, and a great many actual excerpts from Ancient Greek writers about Hekate's influence on the ancient world. Demostrating what people actually did while worshipping her or crafting spells while invoking her name.

The narrator does a wonderful job of pronouncing words from the Ancient Greek language, like important proper names and ancient root words that will be of interest to those who like the study of linguistics and etymology.

It brings forth historical accounts of actual spells and enchantments written by known and unknown ancient authors and peoples discovered through archeology, or preserved in ancient texts. The book makes comparisons to the writers of different eras from ancient times up to the post Renaissance Magickal texts about the many different aspects and changes that took place over the course of millennia, about the worship of Hekate, and calling upon her for various purposes.

One of the best things about this book, is it servers as a bibliography of Ancient Greek authors and texts, that specifically mention and deal with Hekete in some way.

This title will be further catapulting my already present study of both Modern Greek and the Ancient Greek language, and redoubling my interest and study of Ancient Magickal sources.

This is the kind of book that makes one realize the truth of the old adage "History is stranger than fiction", which I tell people quite often as to why I do not delve too much into the fiction genre. Fiction is entertaining, but ultimately my take is that "History is far more engaging that fiction"! This is a great exam5lf that fact.

Much appreciation to you Sorita and David!
Bravo! Bravo!

Crucial Starting Point For The Hekate Seeker

When people ask me what book they should read to learn more about Hekate, Sorita d’Este and David Rankine’s Hekate Liminal Rites is always my first recommendation. In my opinion it is the best historical crash-course on Hekate that there is. The authors cover Hekate throughout the ages from some of her pre-Greek origins to the Hekate of the Classical Era to Hekate Soteira of the Chaldean Oracles to Hekate of the Greek Magical Papyri. The power of this book is it’s broad scope and the authors’ ability to easily convey areas of research in an extremely understandable manner with a clear writing style.

The book covers some of her main symbols and animals and their significance, historical spells and offerings as well as devotes of hers both historical and mythical. Diving into the Greek Magical Papyri or the Chaldean Oracles can be difficult for someone new to Hekate. Works that focus on Hekate in one era of history like Hekate Soteira: A Study of Hekate’s Roles in the Chaldean Oracles and Related Literature by Sarah Illes Johnston or Hekate in Ancient Greek Religion by Robert Von Rudloff, while fantastic as well, can be a bit inaccessible, complicated and confusing for someone completely new to Hekate. The authors do a great job of providing a quick, accurate and informative platform for the seeker to have enough of a crash-course in these areas to start exploring other texts that dive a bit deeper on Hekate.