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.
Where 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 stir water in the basin. I pass one card through the fire and pour water over the other.

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 wash 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, vast beyond sight in the darkness. I recited her 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 as became shorter, and asked Hekate to help me find love and connection and to heal whatever has kept me distant from others.

Something shifted. Not a resolution, but a quiet turning. I heard the beginning of something, and now I wait in stillness to understand the rest.