Various depictions of Hecate
Hecate or Hekate is an ancient goddess, sometimes depicted in triple form, variously associated with crossroads, entrance-ways, fire, light, the Moon, magic, witchcraft, knowledge of herbs and poisonous plants, necromancy and sorcery. She has rulership over earth, sea and sky, as well as a more universal role as Saviour (Soteira), Mother of Angels and the Cosmic World Soul.
Hecate may have originated among the Carians of Anatolia, where variants of her name are found as names given to children. William Berg observes, “Since children are not called after spooks, it is safe to assume that Carian theophoric names involving hekat- refer to a major deity free from the dark and unsavoury ties to the underworld and to witchcraft associated with the Hecate of classical Athens.” She also closely parallels the Roman goddess Trivia, with whom she was identified in Rome.
Today Hecate is claimed as a goddess of witches, who sometimes refer to her as a “crone goddess”, although this conflicts with her characterization as a virgin and occasionally as a mother in all classical and historical sources. It has been justified by her role as a triple goddess, which some modern-day Wiccans associate with the concept of ‘the Maiden, the Mother and the Crone’, an interpretation made popular by Robert Graves in The White Goddess, but which has no obvious parallel in the ancient world. This association is rooted in the 20th century with the occult author Aleister Crowley being the first to name her as a crone; historical depictions and descriptions show her facing in three different directions, but (with the exception of the later Greek Magical Papyri which sometimes refer to her having the heads of animals) always with the same maiden face and body.