The Tree at the Crossroads, A New Year Rite of Vision and Release with Hekate

Hekate dances before a tree too immense to fully see.

I place three candles on the earth and light them.

I light these flames at the roots of the world tree.
Flame of the crossroads. Flame of the soul. Flame of the future.
Hekate Enodia, Hekate Phosphoros, Hekate Trimorphis.
Help me understand these messages.

I place The Hermit card (reversed) before the white candle and invoke Hekate:

Enodia, show me where I resist stillness.
Help me hear the wisdom that lives beneath the silence.

I place the Two of Cups (reversed) before the red candle and invoke Hekate:

Aglaos and Vrimo, illuminate the wounds I must heal.
Why is love withheld? How may I open to connection again?

I place the Knight of Pentacles before the black candle and invoke Hekate:

Psychi Kosmou and Hthonia, show me the gate that opens.
How shall I plant and nourish the seeds of growth?

I place a pomegranate, a key, and an offering cup near the candles.

I place the Four of Swords before the pomegranate and invoke Hekate:

Fruit of the Underworld, sealed and sweet,
I will not force the path.
Let the hidden potential ripen in silence.
Let me lay down the sword and welcome sacred rest.

I place The Magician card before the key and invoke Hekate:

Hekate Klidouchos, Keeper of Keys,
May I find what I need.
Teach me to use what I already carry.
Let will and wisdom meet.

I place the King of Pentacles before the offering cup and invoke Hekate:

I return the gifts that once helped me.
Help me release control.
Let my spirit grow where fear once ruled.

I inscribe a circle on the ground.

I place the Ten of Pentacles within the circle and invoke Hekate:

Show me what will take root.
What vision is ready to come into form?

I place the Death card within the circle and invoke Hekate:

Hekate of Many Faces,
Show me who I must become.
Guide me through the shedding.
Let the old self die with grace.

I await a vision...

I kindle fire in the cauldron and pour water into the basin.

I pass the Two of Wands (reversed) through the flames of the cauldron and invoke Hekate:

Cauldron of transformation,
Receive what I must release.
Hekate, help me name what is false and what I fear,
and give me strength to cast them into the flame.

I pour water from the basin over the Five of Pentacles (reversed) and invoke Hekate:

Water of life, water of mercy.
Hekate, show me what must be cleansed.
Let this basin carry away sorrow, shame, and isolation.
Let resilience and grace take their place.

I pour water on my hands and splash my face. Then I offer thanks to Hekate:

The flame returns to the root.
The path returns to silence.
The goddess remains.
May what was seen unfold in time.
Hail and farewell, Hekate,
Light-bringer, Key-holder, Guide through shadow.

Postscript

When I performed this rite, the visualization came quickly and vividly. I saw Hekate dancing before the World Tree which, in the darkness, was vast beyond sight. I recited Hekate's mantra and felt the damp earth and warm air around me. The candles flickered over each card. The pomegranate, key, and cup were real. I inscribed the circle with white chalk and felt Hekate communing with me.

When I laid down the Death card, I asked what part of me must die so I can live more fully. But then I noticed: The Ten of Pentacles had come first. Perhaps transformation isn't a prerequisite for change; perhaps change will begin to take root before I fully understand who I must become.

The Five of Pentacles, washed in water, offered hope. I saw the possibility of returning to a place of light, of finding a new home, within myself or elsewhere.

I gazed at The Two of Cups, its candle still burning brightly even though it had became shorter, and I asked Hekate to help me find love and connection and to heal whatever has kept me distant from others.

Something shifted. I felt a quiet turning and heard the beginning of something. Now I wait in stillness to understand the rest.

New Year's Tarot Spread

This morning, I began the year by performing a tarot reading using Arith Harger’s The Altar of Hekate - Rune Divination Method, a spread that invites reflection, transformation, and the wisdom of the liminal goddess. The cards are read in ten sacred positions, each one symbolically tethered to phases of ritual work at an altar.


Opening the Crossroads

Card 1 - White candle, new moon, our inner temple. Asking Enodia for advice and wisdom regarding the next cycle.

The Hermit reversed suggests that I'm resisting stillness and failing to listen to my inner guidance, that I'm not embracing the isolation and silence I currently need. I'm seeking sensible action and external answers when I should be seeking higher wisdom.

Card 2 - Red candle, red moon, the sacred flames of Aglaos and Vrimo. Illuminating the path to regeneration and helping defend against blocks to your potential.

The Two of Cups reversed suggests that I've never really accepted that no one will ever love me back. I'm not seeking romantic love, but the love with those around me who make up the fabric and melody of a meaningful life. I've never figured out what makes me so vile and unlovable. I've just had to accept that only a few people care and that the love I give is what I should focus on. This absence of connection must be healed in some way.

Card 3 - Black candle, dark moon. Purification of home and self before transition to next cycle; Psychi Kosmou and Hthonia reveal which gate will open for you.

The Knight of Pentacles indicates responsibility and duty, and the satisfaction of being responsible and dutiful. These qualities reflect who I am, but the other cards suggest I may need to redirect my energies. It may indicate continuing with my current situation, but tending it differently so sprouts of new life may begin to cover that ploughed field. I dreamed of a home last night and the night before. It may be time to nest and make a home in which I can grow.

Descent to the Inner Temple

Card 4 - Pomegranate of Hthonia to find yourself. Revealing the hidden fruit of the Underworld, your potential; don’t force yourself onto a path you’re not suited for.

The Four of Swords suggests that my potential can't be found through action now. I must lay down the sword and accept this period of dormancy. The pomegranate, symbol of the underworld, and this card ask me to be still, rest, and let the fruit ripen in silence.

Card 5 - Keys of Kliduchos. Revealing the keys to your soul, your journey, your hidden potential.

The Magician suggests I have access to all the keys and tools I need even if they feel distant now. Perhaps they will become visible to me in this season of stillness.

Card 6 - Offering cup. Releasing gifts that might prevent the unfolding and growth, unveiling the next cycle to gain confidence in it.

The King of Pentacles suggests that my attachment to material control and outward stability is a shield, but that it now cages me. I don’t need to give up security, but I must let go of my fear of losing it. I need to seek spiritual growth.

Vision from the Deep

Card 7 - The magic circle, active part of the altar. Obtaining a concrete image of what to expect in the next cycle.

The Ten of Pentacles suggests I will find a situation in which to become rooted and strong and giving. I will establish a foundation, reconnect with tradition, claim a place within a community, and gain a sense of belonging that will bless both me and others.

Card 8 - Hekate of many epithets. We are too fluid to be the same person throughout our lives; this rune or card shows the identity we must embrace for this cycle.

Death suggests that my old self is dissolving while a new one is rising. Hekate as psychopomp will guide me through this transformation. Like the figures in the card, I should surrender and welcome this transformation. My old identity cannot accommodate the future that is arriving.

Release and Return

Card 9 - Cauldron. Burn everything no longer needed on the altar, refine the vision you've gained, and keep that vision in the fertile silence of the Underworld for future use.

The Two of Wands reversed shows hesitation, fear of taking the wrong action. I should surrender doubt of this vision and wait trustfully in the fertile silence for the vision to come to fruition.

Card 10 - Water. Release the creative energies you invoked for this ritual, cleanse the altar and yourself. Dissolve the ritual circle and return to the flow of life and self.

The Five of Pentacles reversed represents emerging from scarcity, shame, and the ache of being out in the cold. It shows me reclaiming a sense of self worth. Let the water wash away old wounds and patterns of behavior that keep me isolated. Let resilience and self-trust flow into me, carrying me into a new future.

Turning the Reading into a Rite

How do I turn the lessons of this reading into a ritual. What ritual actions will solidify the vision in my mind and in reality?

• The Hermit asks: What kind of meditation will help me cultivate stillness and hear the voice of inner wisdom?
• The Two of Cups reversed raises the question: How do I face this ache in my character, this yearning for connection? Will it dissolve with the transformation that is coming?
• The Knight of Pentacles wonders: Would creating an altar space be sufficient to help me tend my life with more care and intention?
• The Four of Swords whispers: What kind of rest do I truly need, especially when illness has already taken so much time from gainful employment?
• The Magician echoes: What kind of stillness will allow me to recognize the keys I already possess?
• The King of Pentacles challenges: How do I transmute my desire for material control into a deeper search for spiritual growth?
• With the Ten of Pentacles and Death, I wonder: Is this transformation inevitable? Do I trust it to unfold, no matter what I do?
• The Two of Wands reversed urges me to ask: Is it truly possible to release fear? What symbol can I burn?
• And finally, the Five of Pentacles reversed asks: How do I release the old story of exclusion and scarcity that has shaped me since childhood? What symbol can I wash away?

Would candles, breath, and word be enough? Or is this a ritual that can only unfold in the astral temple, with Hekate guiding me and revealing the symbolic objects I must release?