Mavra - Voices of the Covenant / German Torchbearer

It is a pleasure to introduce Mavra, a devoted Hekatean whose path has been shaped by nearly a decade of spiritual practice, community involvement and a deep connection with Hekate. She is a Torchbearer within the Covenant of Hekate and is currently building the Sanctuary of Hekate Chthonia in Germany. An animist with a strong love of nature, Mavra also brings ecological awareness, ancestor work and reverence for local spirits into her devotional life. In this interview, she reflects on her relationship with Hekate, the importance of community and the ways historical knowledge and personal experience can enrich a living spiritual practice.Keybearer & Torchbearer Interviews

1. When did you first join the Covenant of Hekate, and what inspired you to become part of it?

In 2017, while listening to my usual playlist, a new song randomly appeared: Hecate by Wendy Rule. The song's energy caught me, and I started researching Hekate. I found a German website about Hekate created by Florian Schlie (https://hekate-tempel.net/), one of the COH Keybearers. The website provides a lot of information about Hekate and made me aware of the Covenant of Hekate. I instantly knew that this was what I wanted to be part of. I was thrilled by the Covenant’s philosophy—the five virtues, the fact that membership is free, and its openness to everyone.

2. What first drew you to Hekate, and how has that initial connection developed over time?

Hekate saved me, and She became my spiritual home. As a goddess, She embodies both darkness and light. This was very important to me. I always carried my own darkness inside of me, often felt alone and not understood by others. There is a song by the German band Wir sind Helden: “Alles”. In the third verse, they sing about rigorous and wicked angels who would help even those who might not deserve it. In a way, Hekate appeared to me as my own angel. She helped me through my darkness and still does.

Since She entered my life, Hekate has been my teacher, my mother, my friend, my love. I still do not understand why I was so lucky to have had Her enter my life. But I know that I will never let Her go.

3. What led you to become a Torchbearer or Keybearer within the Covenant?

Hekate guided me, and looking back, it feels like the entire universe helped me follow through. After taking the Torchlit Path class by Sorita and Emily and becoming part of the Meeting in the Circle community, I was excited to join the COH Torchbearer bootcamp in 2024. It was open to everyone, whether they would choose to become a Torchbearer or not. Everything I learned was so inspiring, and the path felt absolutely right for me!

So, at the end of the bootcamp, after having a vivid dream showing me my way, I asked Renée, who was one of our Keybearers back then, if she might mentor me—and she did! She also offered me a free course on the virtues, helping me explore the importance of those five simple principles which form the basis of our Covenant’s philosophy.

Since then, I have regularly returned to studying their meaning, to understand their impact on our daily lives as well as their importance for society as a whole. I believe in the COH values and our beautiful community. I am right where I belong.

4. How do you understand your role as a Torchbearer or Keybearer today?

Torchbearers hold the torches of Hekate. We carry them with us and let Hekate’s light shine—in the Covenant, in the community, and in our everyday lives. It is an honour to carry Hekate’s torch and a responsibility. As part of the Covenant of Hekate, we represent our community by living the five virtues and supporting each other and all who seek Hekate’s light.

When becoming a Torchbearer, we commit ourselves to opening up a sanctuary for Hekate. This is a big task, and I am still working on this. You might ask why everything is going rather slowly. Simple answer: we all have to go to work, take care of our homes and families, and live our everyday lives. Being a Torchbearer is a labour of passion and a long-term commitment. And although we are no superheroes, we are still here for others and Hekate.

Every little thing, every small gesture and devotional act counts. Hekate loves all of us, and She sees how much we are trying. Our role as Torchbearers is to be there. For Hekate, for ourselves, for each other, and for everyone Hekate sends our way.

5. Has your understanding of Hekate changed since joining the Covenant? If so, what has shifted?

Over time, I learned that Hekate is not only darkness and light. She is so much more. There are many books written about Her, and I am convinced that we still do not see the whole picture; one might wonder whether we are even capable of that! She is the most complex deity I know.

She guides and protects; She pushes you through, and She shows you that She is there. She loves us in an honest, sometimes radical way, but we can be sure that She always has our best interests in mind. Hekate is the goddess of thresholds, a goddess of transitions. How we perceive Her is up to Her, and She shows us what we need to see depending on where we are in our lives.

Over time, we explore more and more aspects of Her. She is like a beautiful, radiant star shining in different wavelengths and directions. And with every step we take on Her path, our perspective changes, opening up new ways to see Her and receive new inspiration. Panta rhei!

6. Which name, title, symbol or image of Hekate is most meaningful to you, and why?

Hekate first came to me as a saviour, Soteira, and this epithet will always be in my heart. When searching for an epithet for my Sanctuary, I had several visions leading me towards Chthonia, which is an ancient title of Hekate linking Her to the earth, nature and the underworld. On my journey with Hekate, I came across many other epithets, each teaching me new perspectives on Her and on myself.

The same is true for Her many symbols. I have always been fascinated by what is known as the wheel of Hekate, which is of unknown and probably more contemporary origin, although a golden disc from ancient Mykene shows an engraving very similar to the modern symbol. Its connection to Hekate is unclear, and the symbol itself allows so many interpretations! That is actually very Hekatean for me!

Regarding the image, I may be misunderstanding the question. But considering portrayals of Hekate, there are so many beautiful and inspiring ones, both ancient and modern! Very recently, the painting “Hekate of the Crossroads” by Thalia Took, which I fell in love with very early during my devotional path, was shared in the COH WhatsApp chat group. I still love it; its unusual green colour very much appeals to me… and I am a big fan of Pharmakeia!

So many magical plants have been associated with Hekate, two of which—mandrake and black henbane, both famous nightshades—are shown at the front of the painting (https://www.artpal.com/thaliatook/?i=298697-98).

7. How does your devotion to Hekate shape your personal work, practice or service?

Hekate ensouls the entire cosmos. She is omnipresent. Whatever we do, She is there with us. I integrate my devotion to Hekate into my everyday life, at home as well as at work. As Her devotees, we have a commitment to live a virtuous life and treat other beings with compassion. Of course, we make mistakes, but we learn and try to improve.

I dedicated my sanctuary to Hekate Chthonia, who rules over the earth and underworld. All life is born from the earth. I honour life and nature and try to keep my ecological footprint to a minimum. In my devotional work, both ancestors and natural (local) spirits have their place. So do all beings that come to me for help. We are all children of the earth, so it is part of our nature to be compassionate towards each other.

8. What role does community play in your Hekatean path?

We all have our unique Hekatean paths. Hekate guides each one of us along that special road we need to follow. In the Orphic Hymn, She is praised as ‘lover of solitude’. I understand this as a very important aspect of our devotional ways.

My personal relationship, my prayers and devotions to Hekate, which I do in solitude, are sacred to me. Those are the moments when I recharge, when I am safe, and when I can reflect on everything that has come my way. It is my starting point for all other activities and where I always come back to afterwards.

Once you have established this safe space, you can and should search for other Hekateans out there, because exchange with others helps us to get inspired, to grow, to reflect on our thoughts, and to help others reflect on their own. Hekate is not only present in solitude; She also holds Her torches high in community.

As the prayer in the Rite of Her Sacred Fires says, “From Crossroad to Crossroad, the Torchbearers and the Keybearers of your mysteries will always find one another.”

There are these coincidences of similar thoughts: when a Hekatean friend posts about that thing you had in mind the whole day, or you dream about them and learn that your dream makes perfect sense when talking to them. But even without these beautiful coincidences, community is essential.

Learning together, inspiring together, being there for each other—our community is the torch of Hekate, the fireside where we are sitting together like a big family. Everyone has to go their own way. At Hekate’s fireside, we meet up and support each other and sometimes challenge each other.

In the Hekatean community, tolerance is highly valued. Hekate, who Herself has so many different aspects, which sometimes even seem controversial, attracts beings from all walks of life, most of us having learned enough lessons in life to know that nobody is better than anyone else and that respect needs to be given to everyone. That is what I love about our community.

9. How do you balance personal experience, devotion and historical sources in your work with Hekate?

Every path with Hekate is unique. However, we are lucky to have historical sources from which to learn how people in ancient times understood and worshipped Her. The balance we need between personal experience, devotion and historical sources is one that lets us thrive and explore Hekate as a goddess of ancient origins but also of great importance for the time we are living in.

Thanks to many dedicated researchers, we have an impression of Hekate’s worship in ancient Anatolia, Greece and other places. This knowledge provides a great basis for beginning our devotion and building a relationship with Hekate. From there, we can start to open up to and better contextualise those messages which Hekate shares with us personally and which will influence how our unique way of devotion develops.

Another important aspect is community and the exchange of what we have learned and experienced, as well as how others have learned and experienced these things.

Overall, I would say: let your roots grow into the earth of ancient knowledge, take up everything you can learn, and then grow towards the light Hekate shines on you in the present. And talk about your way with others, reflect on the new impulses you receive, and develop your own way without ignoring the ways of our ancestors.

10. What do you feel is most often misunderstood about Hekate in modern Pagan or magical communities?

I would not say that this is a common misunderstanding, but I would like to share what I feel is important: always keep an open mind. Hekate is far beyond human understanding, so be open to the ways She guides you; be open to the ways She presents Herself to you.

Don’t pin Her down to what can only be a small proportion of Her beautiful and complex self. Also be open to apparently contradictory ways She might be received. Her truth lies outside of our laws of logic, and remember that She has a plan: if She shows Herself to you in an unexpected way, you need to carefully reflect on this to further your understanding of Her and your own way.

11. Is there a Hekatean practice, prayer, ritual or observance that has become especially important to you?

A practice that I learned about recently is the service for the restless dead. In a COH interview, our Keybearer Diana talked about helping those souls who cannot find their way and are stuck here. After talking to her about her service, which she does on a regular basis, I felt inspired to engage in this work, too.

I also believe that this service is a very Hekatean one and that everyone who feels called to do this should follow this call. There are so many lost souls out there who need us!

When I pray to Hekate, I always include the five virtues prayer as well as the following:

‘Hekate, may your eternal light shine to every being that serves you, that seeks you, that loves you, wherever they are. May your light bless and guide all of us and may we find our ways towards you, guided by your eternal cosmic fire.’

It is important to me that Hekate’s light spreads and guides all of us so that our hearts carry that fire into our daily lives and, in a subtle way, bless those who surround us with Her cosmic love.

12. Is there any Hekate-related work, project, group, writing, art, ritual or service you would like to share with readers?

I would recommend joining the following Patreon groups: ‘The Crossroads’ of the Sanctuary of Hekate Potnia Theron, which offers so much historical information as well as witchcraft based on ancient knowledge; ‘The Sanctuary of Hekate Moirai’, which offers a weekly devotional video to watch (or you could join Cece live on Facebook!); and the ‘Meeting in the Circle with Sorita d’Este’ group, where different speakers are invited to discuss Hekate, witchcraft and more.

Most recently, the leader of the Sanctuary of Hekate Kourotrophos, Sandra Maria, also started a Patreon group (‘UrbaneHexe’). As these groups are part of the COH, they usually offer a lot even without payment. It is a philosophy I strongly support. Many of us do not have a lot of money, and so information should be as free as it can be.

If you are interested, please join our Discord server ‘Hekates heilige Feuer’, created by the three Sanctuaries of Hekate Kourotrophos, Psychopompos and Chthonia (all located in Germany). We are currently building it up and are happy to welcome everyone who wants to be part of it! The server is mainly in German but has English groups as well, so everybody is welcome!

13. What advice would you offer to someone who is just beginning their path with Hekate?

Join the Covenant of Hekate WhatsApp channel, which is open to everyone. Read about Hekate on our website (https://www.hekatecovenant.com/the-goddess-hekate) and read the books recommended there.

I would start with the book that was written when the COH was founded: Hekate: Her Sacred Fires, edited by Sorita d’Este (https://www.avaloniabooks.com/product-page/hekate-her-sacred-fires-by-sorita-d-este). It includes essays by many Hekatean devotees and is an inspiration for our own way towards Hekate.

Also, Circle for Hekate, by Sorita d’Este (https://www.avaloniabooks.com/product-page/circle-for-hekate-volume-i-by-sorita-d-este), is a great complement, as this book includes a broad historical background on Hekate and Her worship.

The COH also has a YouTube channel which includes a lot of information about us and Hekate (https://www.youtube.com/@CovenantofHekate).

When you seek information on social media platforms, you might find that Hekate is sometimes reduced to only a tiny fraction of Her entire complex self. So always carefully reflect on the information you receive.

Don’t forget to check out the groups I recommended above (question 12).

And never hesitate to ask in the COH groups for help and advice. Our community is very friendly and supportive. We love to help where we can!

And last but not least: Congratulations! The path you are starting is awesome, and so is Hekate!

About Mavra

I am Mavra. I am an animist and have been a devotee of Hekate for almost 10 years. Recently, I became a Torchbearer in the Covenant of Hekate, and I am building the Sanctuary of Hekate Chthonia. I love music and artwork, my cats and plants, forests and the sea. I have also joined the OBOD (Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids) to deepen my path of nature-based spirituality.

Mavra lives and works in Germany, and is able to support those readers whose first language is German with their inquiries.