In Chaldaean Oracles and Theurgy, Hans Lewy repeatedly identifies Hekate with Plato’s Cosmic Soul (Lewy, 1956, p. 6, 47,83, 95, 121, etc.), while in The Chaldean Oracles, Ruth Majercik points out the conflation of Hecate with the World Soul (Majercik, 1989, p. 4, 7).
However, Luc Brisson objects in the chapter ‘Plato’s Timaeus and the Chaldaean Oracles’ in Plato’s Timaeus as a Cultural Icon:
“We must abandon the universally admitted idea according to which Hecate is identified with the World Soul... Hecate is too high in the hierarchy to be the World Soul; instead, it is the World Soul that emanates from her" (Reydams-Schils, 2003, p. 119). - Plato's X & Hekate's Crossroads - Astronomical Links to the Mysteries of the Eleusis - George Latura
In the text above, the debate is, based on the information in the Chaldean Oracles, whether Hecate is the Cosmic World Soul, or is she the source of the Cosmic World Soul. Several references to Hecate include the Mother, the source of consciousnesses. If that is the case, do we see Hecate as some see the Christian god or as the Madonna? And if she is the Madonna, would that not make us gods?
It is interesting to see how much research has been put into things like the Chaldean Oracles and other ancient texts. I am extremely interested in seeing how far back-references to her go.
Was she always a goddess of the crossroads?
Where else does she appear in antiquity?
Originally published on Blogger - 2/13/15 9:00 AM
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