Connection between Hekate & Virgin Mary

[Cinnamon1991]

Hi everyone,
I had a very strange dream last night, full of symbolism, and I just had to ask: Are there any connections or similarities between the Virgin Mary and Hekate? In functions, titles, iconography, anything?

I know this seems a very weird question but I just had to ask.

Thanks,

Cinnamon :)

[NefertSatSekhmet]

A tenous connection as both being creators of material manifestation perhaps?

[Theres]

both are virgins anyway. beyond that, i can't think of any connection.

was Mary ever considered the "cosmic soul"?

[Cinnamon1991]

Oh I hoped you´d reply on this thread, Theres, as you´re the Hekate-expert here on MW :hahugh:
I don´t know if Mary ever was considered as the cosmic soul, but I´ve been thinking, and in their iconography there are some similarities.
I´m sure there has been a time Hekate was depicted with a crescent moon, and I´ve got a plaque from sacredsource.com, showing the triple Hekate where one of them on the left has a snake in Her hand.
The virgin Mary often stands on a crescent moon, with a snake at her feet.. That´s all I can think of so far.
Oh and ofcourse because Mary had to nurse Jesus, she´s some sort of childnurse, and Hekate was called Kourotrophos, as many goddesses.

Does anyone know anything else? I´m quite curious :).

[Twinkle]

In my research (and I readily admit I am no expert), there is actually more of a connection between Hera and Mary.

[Theres]

In my research (and I readily admit I am no expert), there is actually more of a connection between Hera and Mary.
yeah, that connection makes more sense to me too.

[Theres]

I´m sure there has been a time Hekate was depicted with a crescent moon, and I´ve got a plaque from sacredsource.com, showing the triple Hekate where one of them on the left has a snake in Her hand.
The virgin Mary often stands on a crescent moon, with a snake at her feet.. That´s all I can think of so far.
mostly post-Hellenistic, but yes, She was depicted with a cresent moon headdress at Stratonikeia (near Lagina) in Asia Minor. here's a coin from there, circa 88 BC...

http://www.wildwinds.com/coins/greece/caria/stratonikeia/SNGAberdeen_296.jpg

and here's one from my own collection from Thyatira in Asia Minor, circa 225 AD, which purports to be Hekate with a full moon over Her shoulders (although i tend to think it is actually a billowing veil)...

[HetHert]

What about the Black Madonnas? They seem to be enigmatic of the darker aspect of the Virgin Mary.

[MonSno_LeeDra]

I wonder if some of the Artemis / Hekate cross over is not being seen here?

Artemis is associated with new born children and family life in her early models before she became strongly linked to Diana. She is also a Virgini goddess and a deliver of woman from pain and childbirth.

In some ways the many breasted Artemis figure strikes me a a mother hood figure similar to what I see the Virgin Mary being atributed to.

May be out in left field here but that's the way Hekate / Artemis and Virgin Mary seem to meet to me.

[Theres]

What about the Black Madonnas? They seem to be enigmatic of the darker aspect of the Virgin Mary.
that's an avenue of research that might yeild some results.

i've always associated the Black Madonna with Isis though, and there is a definite connection between Isis and Mary (at least iconographically). the geographic range of Their influence is similar too, with both having significant cults in Rome and the Holy Lands.

[Twinkle]

The Black Madonna is associated with Isis...but a quick Google search revealed that many have had personal gnosis of the "Black Virgin" with both Mary and Hekate.

Interesting.

[Band Zombie]

I'v heard that Mary was givin divinity to please the romans and greeks who beleived in a female diety, such as Hera, Artemis, etc., but personally i don't really know.

[Cinnamon1991]

Thanks you all :) I think I already know whatthe dream meant and it actually didn´t really had to do with a connection between Mary and Hekate but something else, but anyway:

A long time ago I read something about Artemis and Mary, and they compared these two images because of the hand gestures:

http://www.theoi.com/image/S6.11Artemis.jpg
Ephesian Artemis

http://www.catholicsupply.com/CHRISTMAS/26452.jpg
Our Lady of Grace


Oh and I saw some one in this thread noticed the Black Madonna, and the Ephesian Artemis also has a black face and hands, could be a coincidence though, but there could also be a connection, or it could be my mind trying to connect everything.:smileroll

[Brynhild Tudor]

I don't see any connections between the Virgin Mary and dark goddesses. Mother goddesses, maybe, for obvious reasons. Could somebody please enlighten me?

When you say virgin, do you mean "never had sex" virgin or "can sleep with whoever she wants because no man owns her" virgin? Because virginity didn't always mean chastity. There's virgin in the historical sense and virgin in the modern sense.

Um, I don't know if the virgin goddesses any of you guys have are really, uh, virgins. Somebody here with Brigid as a patron was telling a friend about the fact that her patron was a virgin. Didn't Brigid have a kid? Well then...

The only depictions of the virgin Mary I've ever seen are her with the veil, holding her hands palms outward, kneeling. Are there other depictions I don't know about? Maybe it's just the church's strong influence that they only have that one image of her.

How is Mary connected to Hera? I thought Hera was the jealous type. Mary was meek and mild and supplicant and did whatever the angel wanted her to. He kinda said, "Mary, you're pregnant. It's a done deal." That's mean.

The church has her image of her as beautiful and pure and, well, a virgin. In their sense anyway. Maybe there's connections to Hera or dark goddesses, or other imagery I don't know about? If so, please fill me in. Inquiring minds want to know!

Brynhild

[Eyeris]

Hekate pre-dates Mary (?), so connections would be conceptual, cultural, or personal... or something metaphysical rather than logical that I do not yet understand :P always possible.

I am curious as to how your dream connected the two, and how you interpreted it.



When you say virgin, do you mean "never had sex" virgin or "can sleep with whoever she wants because no man owns her" virgin? Because virginity didn't always mean chastity. There's virgin in the historical sense and virgin in the modern sense.

Also curious; what did it use to mean?

[Brynhild Tudor]

The term "virgin" originally meant a woman who was owned by no man, so she could have sex with whomever she wanted and still be independent. In the old Pagan sense, it just meant a woman who belongs to herself. It was only when the Church came along and made virginity akin to chastity that "virgin" took on the more modern meaning. I'm sure you know that virgin births are not a Christian concept, but a Pagan one. Dionysus and Jesus and Mythras all had pretty much the same mythology.

Here's a book I think you might like.
Mary: a flesh-and-blood biography of the virgin mother.
By Lesley Hazleton

If you look on Wikkapedia they'll tell you that "virgin" is someone who's never had sex, but that's technically not the original meaning. It's difficult to find historical facts because the Church holds monopoly on everything for so long, but I'm sure other Pagans here will be better able to help than I. There are plenty of Pagans who worship the Virgin Mary. I believe they are called Christian Wiccans. Yes, Christian Wicca is a religion.

The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown is a good read, too. It's fiction with tons of historical fact thrown in, as well as the author's hypothesis.

I believe the goddess Brigid was married to Bres. When she was Christianized, the church didn't like powerful women very much, so they made her a saint, and a nun who tried to convert people, as the story goes, when she visited the dying Pagan chieftain and supposedly comforted him by telling him Jesus died for him. Do you think the Catholic church wanted people to be Christian? Hint, hint.

Brynhild