A walk with Hekate Take a deep breath in and let it out.
Take another deep breath in and as you let it out,
Release all the events of the past day,
Week,
Month.
Take a few moments to focus on your breath.
As you inhale,
Gather in all the positive energy,
The happiness you have spread throughout the day.
As you exhale,
Let go of any unnecessary energy you might have picked up today.
Send it back to the universe to be recycled.
Go to your safe place,
A meadow,
A wood,
A house,
Wherever it may be.
Nothing can harm you here or on any journey you take that begins here.
Feel the comfort of this familiar,
Protected place.
Relax,
And feel all of your muscles release a little more deeply.
Continue breathing slowly and deeply.
Visualize yourself walking on a road through a forest.
The sun is setting and the light is fading,
Though it is not yet twilight.
The trees are almost bare,
And the leaves are thick on the ground.
The air smells of leaf mold and decay.
A flock of geese flies honking overhead in their migratory V headed south.
A chill that speaks of the coming winter blows on the breeze,
And you pull your cloak tighter around you as you walk.
It is autumn,
And winter will soon be here.
As the sun sets,
You come to a fork in the road.
The path goes off in two directions ahead of you,
And extends behind you.
A yew tree stands at the junction,
And someone has placed a statue in the middle of the crossroads.
It has three faces on it,
One for each direction the road takes.
There are plates at the feet of the statue in each direction,
And you know you have come to the place that you were seeking.
You add your offering to the others,
And sit down by the yew tree to wait.
It is growing darker,
And you feel a small tremor of anxiety.
You have been told that it is customary for you to leave your offering and go without looking back.
Horrible things happen to those who dare to look upon the goddess's face.
The haunting sounds of hounds barking and howling silences the other night noises.
You know the goddess Hakate approaches.
What thoughts and feelings come up for you as you prepare to face her?
The hounds reach you before the goddess does,
And they stand on guard before you barking until she arrives.
Your eyes take a few moments to adjust to the sudden light of her torches.
With a small gesture of her hand,
She calls the dogs to her side,
And the noise stops immediately.
You are very brave to come here on this night.
Very brave,
Or very foolish?
Why did you come here?
I heard you could help me connect with my loved ones who have moved on from this life.
You're in luck.
I am guiding some lost souls to the other side now.
You may join me,
But stay close.
We'll talk about the other request later.
How did she know about your other request?
You didn't say anything about it.
You look past Hakate and see a long line of spirits waiting silently and restlessly for Hakate to continue the journey.
Hakate turns and begins walking down a path that was not there just a moment ago,
And you hurry to catch up with her.
As you walk,
The forest fades away,
And the darkness beyond the path gets darker and thicker somehow.
The souls behind you make no noise,
And the hounds resume their barking,
Running up and down the line,
Making sure none stray from the path.
The night seems to close in around you,
And even Hakate's torches illuminate only the smallest area around her.
After walking for a long time,
The darkness begins to lighten.
Now you seem to be walking through a heavy fog.
Suddenly,
Between one step and the next,
The fog lifts.
It is no longer night.
A warm glow lights everything around you,
Dusting everything you see with gold.
Looking around,
You see a lush valley.
Trees and blooms stand next to those heavy with fruit.
As the souls that were traveling behind you emerge from the fog,
They become more real,
More solid.
You have entered the other world,
The underworld.
Now there are people everywhere.
Some are greeting the souls that are just arriving.
Groups of people gather together and move away,
Seeming almost to vanish.
You realize they are moving at the speed of thought.
And now,
Your loved ones are all around you,
Greeting you with warm hugs and smiling faces.
Take some time to speak with them,
And ask any questions you may have.
Hekate appears next to you,
And your loved ones say their goodbyes.
It is time for you to return to the land of the living.
Hekate turns you away from your loved ones,
Who have started to drift away.
You start to walk with the goddess,
And a fog descends around you,
Dampening all sound and darkening the sky to a twilight glow.
You walk in silence,
Aware only of the goddess,
Her hounds,
And the growing darkness around you.
Soon it is so dark,
You can barely see Hekate walking next to you,
In spite of the torch she holds to light the way.
The darkness recedes a little,
And soon you find yourself back in the forest,
At the crossroads where you first encountered the goddess.
She stops and looks at you.
And now,
For the other thing you came here for.
You want my advice,
My blessing.
I'm not going to tell you what to do,
And I'm certainly not going to do it for you.
You have to make a choice.
Choose a path.
Take action.
I will light your way once you choose,
And help you to see what your next step might be.
So what are you going to do now?
Once you have chosen a path,
Hekate smiles and joins you on the path.
She hands you a key.
The universe rewards those who take action towards their goals.
This key will help unlock your intuition,
Your inner knowing,
Whenever you have a difficult choice to make.
And remember,
If you don't like the choice you made,
You are free to make a new choice at any time.
The crossroads are everywhere,
Even when you can't see them.
Hekate disappears into the darkness,
Though the glow of her torches still lights up your chosen path.
You feel confident in your decision as you continue to walk the road before you.
Take a deep breath in,
And let it out.
Take another deep breath in,
And when you are ready,
Open your eyes and return to the room.
