Thresholds: Walking with Hecate

This season is always one of transition, but sometimes, periods of transition give way to standing around in liminal space.  The image of the threshold is very powerful: you cross one every time you leave your bedroom, your house, every time you pass from one place to another.  We wander over infinite thresholds in our lives, most of the time without even noticing that a change has taken place.

But sometimes, we slow down, whether by choice or by circumstance, and instead of striding confidently across the threshold, we find ourselves hovering.  One foot in the past, one foot in the future, or, more commonly, each foot in a distinctly different place.  Straddling a threshold can be scary, not just for the lack of movement, but also for the feeling of division.

Hecate knows all about this conflict.  She can bridge the lands of the living and the dead, the mortals and the immortals, but she doesn't really seem to fit in anywhere she goes.  She's powerful, make no mistake about that, but this dark triple goddess doesn't have a place to call her own.

Except thresholds.

Hecate claims liminal space with pride, lingering between worlds with ease.  When your life feels divided or you feel like you've stopped moving forward, consider talking to Hecate.  As a goddess without ties or boundaries, Hecate is arguably one of the more powerful mythic figures that we know.  She moves effortlessly between eras and cultures, shifting from Ancient Greece to medieval Europe with ease.  She's even making her way into modern pop culture and literature: this is one goddess who doesn't know her place, and that's a beautiful part of her strength: she refuses to be limited.

What can we learn from Hecate?

There's power in lingering on the threshold.  Hecate demonstrates this.  But sometimes, it's hard to linger.  Consider your time in transition as a time to learn, to absorb, to observe.  Hecate's power stems not only from her fluidity, but from the fact that she sees everything: when Demeter lost her daughter, Hecate was the one who pieced the clues together.  If you find yourself hovering over a threshold, savor that time.  You have entered Hecate's realm, and there is much to learn from her.

Do you ever feel trapped between worlds or choices?  How have you dealt with feelings of liminal and limitless space?

Blessed be!