Offerings to Hekate

By Ellen Lorenzi-Prince

Guardian of the Gate

There is a guardian at the gate to the underworld. A fierce and implacable one. Though in the underworld there is nothing to steal, and no one to protect.

But the passage is guarded. The living must live their lives, the dead their deaths. The passage is not built for commerce but for the single trip.

To pass by the guardian’s teeth. Only the fearless or the dead, for it’s a rare living being that holds no horror of ripping flesh. The dead? They have their own reasons for not braving the passage more than once.

There are times, though, when the guardian may be absent or appear to dream. These are the nights of wandering souls. May be lost souls. Dangerous times, indeed.

The guardian exists for all of our protection.