About Me:
Sylvan River
| I'm nonbinary and neurodivergent. I inhabit the Appalachian region alongside many generations of my kin. I've felt a lifelong pull to witchcraft- creating altars and using plant medicine intuitively since I was very young, before officially starting my path with witchcraft in 2013. A Devotee of Hekate and Torchbearer of the Covenant of Hekate, and founder of the Sanctuary of Hekate Physis. I also volunteer with the Covenant of Hekate's social media team, and participate in other devotional projects and circles of study. |
Contact:
| Contact me using the button below, please note this form will require an email address. |
Sanctuary of Hekate Physis
Sanctuary now welcoming members!
A Covenant of Hekate Sanctuary
About the Sanctuary:
The aims of this Sanctuary is to honor Hekate, a Goddess of the physical world, embracing nature and the physical plane.This Sanctuary was established in October of 2024. This is a public, virtual space, dediacted to honoring the natural world and all within it. Though the goddess takes many forms this space is taken to honor nature, the tangible, physical world around us.With this interpertation in mind, the Sanctuary of Hekate Physis seeks to reach out to the surrounding community, not only to members of the CoH but all in need to bring the comfort, warmth, and guidance of the goddess to all who find themselves in need.
Torchbearer Commitment:
Through the transformative experience of becoming a Torchbearer for the Covenant of Hekate, though I was changed in many ways, there were a few things that remained steadfast. The presesence of the goddess and the call to help others, to do whatever small thing I could do to improve the lives of others, to alleviate discomfort.My Torchbearer commitment is to do just that, I am commited to using the light of her torches to do my part in making the world a better place for others. Taking the warmth that Hekate has brought me when I needed it most and extending it so that others may know, in some small part, what can be done by her hands.I hereby pledge to take up her torch, embracing the call to be a guiding force, shining her light where its needed most. Sharing her wisdom and warmth with all who find themselves in need of it.Hekate, in this commitment I honor you. I dedicate myself to carrying your guiding light. I am wholly dedicated to serving you to the absolute best of my abilities. To embody the steadfast and true nature in which you have manifested in my life.
Experiences
This page is to highlight my experiences, work and devotion to the goddess Hekate and at times may stray in to some of my eclectic experiences. Please note the ideas I share here are mine and mine alone and may not necessarily express the views of my affiliates.
Rite of Her Sacred Fires 2024:
The Rite of Her Sacred Fires is an international celebration devoted to the goddess Hekate and her mysteries and magic. It is performed annually on the Full Moon of May and is open to all who are interested.
I had the great honor and privilege to coordinate this ritual for my household.The energy as the full moon rose and the recitation began had me physically shaking, a deep sense of gratitude and elation flowing through me. I feel this is a result of the manner of the ritual, being on its 15th year and being observed collectively on all seven continents. All of us lighting a sacred flame in the name of the great goddess Hekate had stirred up beautiful, powerful, energy.This video put together and posted by the Covenant of Hekate to the Covenant of Hekate YouTube channel features many of the altars where this rite was preformed from around the world.
Crossroads Collective:
The Crossroads Collective is a devotional project put together by members of the Covenant of Hekate with the goal of making historical information about the goddess Hekate more accessible while dispelling misinformation. The project is still ongoing (as of September 1st, 2024) but this project is expected to be translated in to Portuguese, German, Italian, and Spanish while also offering English voiceovers to aid in accessibility.To reach this goal, we are making 99 short videos with information about Hekate, providing references and resources. The videos will be available on YouTube (below), Instagram (covenantofhekate) and Facebook (Covenant of Hekate Network).
"Our team is diverse, coming from different countries and backgrounds, diverse in age and abilities. We are not professional film makers and we do this in our free time, but we are doing this with all our heart, love and devotion for the Goddess."
Social Media Team:
Since August of 2023 I have been contributing to the Covenant of Hekate's Social Media Team. This volunteer work serves as a devotional act both to the goddess and to the community that forms the Covenant of Hekate. The goal I have with these posts is to share factual information, as well highlight works of devotion (like poems, art, prayers, hymns) I feel honor the goddess. The slideshow below shares a few of these contributions, and as this is an ongoing aspect of my devotion I will add more to this slideshow as this work continues.
These posts are made for, and posted to, Facebook (Covenant of Hekate Network, 15k followers) and Instagram (covenantofhekate, 14K followers). I contribute weekly with captions that provide resources, further details, and at times an opportunity to engage in discussion.
Exploring Environmental Action with the Goddess Hekate:
The following text is the essay I submitted as part of the Torchbearer process for the Covenant of Hekate.
Hekate is a goddess that has had ties to the natural world since antiquity, in this essay I intend to explore these connections, review the relevance they have to the modern devotee and how they can in turn be honored throughout our daily lives.The Chaldean Oracles recognizes Hekate as Cosmic World Soul, by recognizing Hekate in this role, one is called to make the connection between this function and life. This concept shouldn't only be limited to human life but all life, including the lives of the flora and fauna in which we exist parallel to. In a fragment of the Chaldean Oracles, it is stated that Hekate is "...the mistress of life and holds the plentitude of the full womb of the cosmos" which supports this idea. There is also a more direct link to Hekate and the natural world found in the Argonautica, by Apollonius, in which a whole garden is attributed to Hekate. This garden is centered by an oak tree and includes other familiar plants such as garlic, chamomile, and saffron, thus solidifying this connection.This connection is valuable to us as devotees, especially those of us seeking a connection with the natural world, particularly aspects associated with healing and magic. Seeking this connection is likely to add a sympathetic relationship to the world around you thus deepening the...
connection of a devotee not only to the natural world in which we rely for life itself, but to Hekate herself. This connection brings about a recognition of life and deepens the connection to Hekate as World Soul as well as the teacher of herbalism, as it was Hekate that taught Medea the magical use of herbs. This is a valuable connection to any devotee, but especially those who use plants as a means of healing or in our magical practices.Taking the initiative to protect the environment is a modern and simple approach to honoring the goddess. These initiatives can make for an excellent devotional act. Taking the initiative to protect the natural world in which we've connected to the goddess Hekate, honors the goddess, and helps to strengthen the aforementioned connection which is vital for those of us who rely on the natural world for healing and magic. Taking actions, such as those mentioned in the next section can easily be made a regular devotional activity, or one we invest in when we look to honor this aspect of Hekate.There are many ways in which action can be taken, this can be recycling, fixing broken items as opposed to creating waste by throwing them away.
Substituting single use items like paper towels and plastic bags with reusable items. Donating and mending textiles as opposed to creating waste by throwing them away. Composting food scraps and other organic materials. Volunteer initiatives and raising awareness about the environment and climate change. Even monetary donations to organizations working towards protecting the environment can be ways to get involved and honor this aspect of the goddess.To highlight how taking the aforementioned initiatives serves the goddess Hekate, I will share some statistics and ideas connected to those options and express how they seek to honor and serve the goddess. Composting creates nutrient rich soil, this can help both the home gardener and at the industrial level, farmers. Composting serves to not only safe guard the environment but also directly loops back to the very plants in which we use in our healing and magical journeys. To recycle an aluminum can takes 95% less energy and water than it does to make a new can. This reduction of energy usage and the preservation of a vital resources like water is easily connected to minimizing our negative impact to the environment. With Americans throwing out 2.5 million plastic bottles every hour, and recycling one ton of those plastic bottles saving the equivalent of the energy usage of a household of two for a year, recycling plastics alone could be an impactful act of devotion.
With the ten warmest years in historical record occuring in the past decade (years 2014 to 2023) it's time to take action, as much as we're able, and I encourage us all to take action to honor the goddess Hekate and embrace these aspects of her associated with the environment. May we serve her valuable gift of life well and take up a torch of guardianship for the natural world that offers us healing and magic.Sources:
(1) Circle for Hekate- Volume I: History & Mythology, Sorita D'Este
(2) www.recycleacrossamerica.org
(3) www.climate.gov
Contact
Feel free to contact me with any questions, please note that contacting me requires an email address, this will only be used for our correspondence. Spam, hate speech, and other unproductive contact will result in sender being blocked.
Covenant of Hekate
What is the Covenant of Hekate?
As the COH website quotes: "The Covenant of Hekate (CoH) is a diverse community of devotees who share a passion for the Goddess Hekate. In our work, we share a vision of the Goddess Hekate as 'Soteira' that is Saviour or Cosmic World Soul. At the same time we maintain our unique diversity of visions and experiences of this multi-faceted Goddess. We acknowledge Hekate’s long and varied history, her many attributions and the many cultures she touched both ancient and modern. Our study and practice is rooted in history."The Covenant of Hekate observes 5 virtues, the 5 Virtues of Hekate, they are:
-Compassion (towards all beings)
-Courage (in one's choices)
-Temperance (in one's soul)
-Justice (in one's actions)
-Wisdom (in one's words)These virtues are similar to the Platonic Virtues of antiquity, and form a base of ethics within the Covenant, encouraging members to embody these virtues in our lives. Some may find some virtues more difficult and some quite simple. In observing these virtues we feel we align our thoughts and actions with the goddess.The Covenant of Hekate has presented me with an inclusive community that expands my devotion, education, and growth. From my attendance of Hekate Symposium, involvement in rites and rituals like the Rite of Her Sacred Fires, many study circles, and volunteer work (like my efforts on the Social Media Team and a collaborative project called Crossroads Collective) I gain not only a better connection with my vision of the Goddess, but with a community of like minded and supportive people, and skills that will benefit me for a lifetime. You can learn more on the CoH website, linked below, or use the "contact" tab and I will interact with any inquiries personally.
Gallery
I enjoy amateur photography as a hobby. I like photographing the natural world, and as a devotional act. The slideshows below contain a selection of both.
Devotional Photography
All images are my own, taken and edited by myself for use by myself and, with permission, others for service to Hekate.
Wildlife and Lifestyle Photography
All images are my own, taken and edited by myself.
Ways of the Witch
References for my teaching of the craft.
The very basics:
The witch is a figure many know from literature, film, and folklore. But what is a witch and moreover, witchcraft, really?