A reliquary made in ritual and in honor of the crossroads goddess who, it is said, guides Persephone out of Hades each Spring. The materials contained in these jars were curated with utmost care and research:
- SkullCaps: included because of the seed pod’s resemblance to a skull, a symbol often associated with Hekate and evocative of her chthonic nature.
- Key — often seen in Hekate's hands in works of art across the centuries, the key can take on a variety of meanings (the unlocking of mysteries, her ability to cross into and out of the underworld. . . )
- Garlic skin — a plant frequently associated with the goddess in antiquity. Several Ancient Greek texts mention garlic as a common offering given by her devotees.
- Dittany of Crete— chosen because the Argonoautica and other ancient tales list it as a powerful plant grown in Medea’s garden for Hekate
- Cypress — a tree associated with the dead and with chthonic deities (including Hekate), across the Mediterranean.
- Mandrake root — one of many herbs associated with the goddess, and one that Medea uses to make the magical ointment for Jason’s armor in certain versions of their story.
- Yew shavings— a tree considered sacred to Hekate. Yew boughs made in her honor and draped around bull sacrifices, and were also made to honor the dead during funeral rites.
- Seneca Medea: during an incantation says “to thee is brandished the gloomy branch [the yew] from the Stygian stream”
- Ethically sourced rattlesnake vertebra and/or serpentine : Hekate is often depicted with snakes and serpents (oftentimes in her hands). Please let me know if you prefer a reliquary without a rattlesnake bone, as I have a few made with just the serpentine in honor of my vegan customers.
- Also of note: the wax was anointed with Erebus Soteria’s Hekate ritual oil as it was prepared for seal-making, and the colors of the wax (red, white, and black) are the three colors associated with Hekate.