Part 1 of Hekate Presbeira: Bringing ancient Hekate to modern life, one epithet at a time.
Hekate’s many epithets are a great way to begin to work with Her. While the epithets may be ancient, our understanding of the descriptive words or phrases can take a modern quality.
Astral travel isn’t exactly what comes to mind when you think of Hekate. She is more popularly known for her darker, underworld aspects and shadow work. But I like to tap into Her energy in the Upper Realms and travel the stars with Hekate Astrodia, or star-walker.
This “astral witchcraft,” as I call it, is energy work on the astral level that allows me to move forward and backward through space and time, providing healing and support to many versions of me.
How to Astral Travel
Astral travel requires practice. While some may easily slip into the astral world, others may struggle and need grounding stones as support. The aim is to gain control over when and how you enter the astral planes.
For those who find it challenging, trusted guides can assist in the journey. It is normal to not remember the details of the experience and only experience darkness. This could be because the messages were intended for the subconscious, and not the conscious mind.
To become proficient in astral travel, you must learn how to consciously and deliberately leave your body. This can be achieved through altered states of consciousness such as trance, ecstatic dancing or breathwork. As you become more experienced, you'll begin to notice physical sensations when your soul moves outside your body. Paying attention to these sensations is key for future success.
Preparing to Travel through Hekate’s Upper Realms
1. You need to be safe. Make sure you have strong energetic boundaries in place.
2. You need to be anchored. Any sort of astral travel can be disorienting. Before you begin, you need to ground and center. I also recommend keeping grounding stones nearby. I often lay down on my bed and place my grounding stone over my heart.
3. You need to be clean. It’s only respectful to clean up before hanging out with a deity, right? Perhaps use khernips, a shaker or incense to purify your energy. Even the simple act of washing your hands will suffice.
Journeying with Hekate Astrodia
Using full moon energy can be helpful for a powerful astral journey. However, when working with Hekate, new moon energy is more appropriate. When the moon is dark, it allows Hekate's torches to illuminate the path more brightly.
To begin your journey, find a quiet and private place where you can be alone for at least 30 minutes. Lying down on a bed can be helpful. Make sure to cleanse your energy before you start. Bring in objects that correspond to Hekate Astrodia, such as white objects, feathers and frankincense. I like to place onyx and black tourmaline around my body for protection and keep a large blue apatite stone on my heart for clarity and grounding. You can light an incense if you want to.
Ground and center. I like to use this anchoring technique, adapted for use with Hekate. It provides strong energetic boundaries, as well.
After anchoring, you may begin your journey. While the exercise outlined before is an example of the type of journey you can go on, I’ve found that Hekate often takes us wherever and whenever She believes we need to go. Let Her take the reins!
Turn your attention inward. Notice that you are at the top of stairs. The stairs may be stone, wood, glass, metal, roots — really, anything at all. Head down your stairs. With every inhale, pause on a step. With every exhale, step down. After a number of steps, you'll start to notice a light at the end of the stairs. This is your sacred inner sanctum. It may look like a cave, a temple, a house, a pond — there are as many sanctums as there are people. Take a look around. Are there markings on the walls? Is there a fire in the middle? Is it comfortable?
Notice a door that leads outside. What does the door look like? Open it, and step outside into a broad meadow. It is dark out. Call on Hekate Astrodia and ask Her to guide you on a star-walk with Her to learn what you most need to know right now. (Or to a specific time and place for healing work.)
Learning More
Astral travel takes practice and time. Read books, experiment, and ask Hekate Astrodia for guidance.
Have you ever astral traveled? Have you journeyed with Hekate?
Author: Kee Hawthorne Reiter, a Hekatean witch, tarot reader and psychic medium focused on helping clients live empowered lives.
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And the trans work I've done for the past 20 plus years I'm often traveling the underworld. Because of the technique that we use, there's often a destination so to speak. I tend not to visit the astral match because there doesn't seem to be much of a destination. This blog post however brought up a good point in that the information may be more for the subconscious than the conscious. Definitely inspiring and I'll be taking some astral Journeys on the opposite side of the path that is well worn for me.:-)
Astral travel is a very powerful yet accesible tool, Thank you so much for sharing.