My Mother Hekate Geneteira
“Mother, make me, make me a song so sweet. Heaven trembles, falling at your feet.”
Florence + The Machine – Mother
The Mother in religion, spirituality, and witchcraft is an ancient concept. From Mother Earth to Mother Mary, cultures around the world have always exalted the idea of the giver of life. It was no surprise to me when I learned that there was an Epithet for Hekate that meant Mother.
Geneteira: An Epithet of Hekate
The translation of Geneteira is literally Mother. According to this comprehensive list with references the epithet is used in the Greek Magical Papyri IV 2785 – 2890.
It is clear from the excerpt above that using this Epithet in regard to Hekate is both all encompassing and powerful. We’ll get to why in a minute.
A Reason to Love
I became homeless at 15. I lived this way for a decade, basically doing whatever it took to survive. I have a mother, who is very much alive, but she has always refused to lift a finger to help me. Mostly because I was “just too much for her to handle”.
Abandoned and without guidance, I was released into the world far too early to really hope for a fighting chance. But I had one anyway. Mother figures came and went from my life. Often, these women were exactly the mother I needed at that moment. Not one of them bore similarity to the others. Right now, in hindsight, for me this experience was kinda like Hekate Geneteira, physically manifesting as I journeyed closer and closer to her.
While my own mother failed to raise me, other women have stepped up to teach me exactly what I needed to learn at pivotal moments in my life. I don’t speak to most of these women anymore; mostly because they drifted out of my life as fast as they drifted in. This is how Hekate looked after me before I even met her. This is how she mothered me from a distance.
A Thankful Son
As I have grown in my devotion to Our Mother, I found that the best part of my day is when I give her thanks. Picture me driving through darkness at 4 am, a liminal time between night and morning. In the country where I live, we don’t have street lights, even on vast stretches of highway. Instead, we have trees. Massive trees that make a tunnel as I speed under their canopy. Sometimes the moon peeks in on me when the trees clear for a farm.
This is the space that I give thanks in. When I am thanking Geneteira I am grateful for these trees and that moon. But, more than anything I give my gratitude for her help in raising me.
I love to express to Hekate that I know she was there, that she was watching. I say thank you to Geneteira for loving me unconditionally, for guiding me from afar, for shaping me into the man I have become. I let her know that I am aware that she nurtured me long before I knew her name. I confirm that we are family.
The Mother of All Things
Maybe you had a nearly perfect mother. Maybe you’ve always felt the nurturing that we all need when we are growing up. For you I am genuinely happy. I lucked out too though. I have been able to find that thing I lost, and I found it in my magick.
The power of a mother stands alone in its strength. A mother is a creator. She holds within her the power of life. Imagine what that looks like on a cosmic scale. With Hekate as the mother of all, one could easily harness a wellspring of manifesting energy.
Even if Hekate Geneteira didn’t help raise you, there are plenty of reasons to incorporate her into your magick. Regardless of whether you are manifesting big goals or just happy to have experienced the mother energy, this epithet is well worth getting to know.
Until next time.
Peace Witches.
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I’m at a loss for words but had to reach out regardless. I had a mother experience like yours – I could have written what you did; it’s so relatable. I knew I was protected but didn’t make the connection that it was Geneteira until reading your words. I’m overwhelmed with love, gratitude, and a deep sense of connection to you, Her, and all those she’s mothered.