Perimenopause and the Dark Goddess: Embracing Hekate’s Ancient Energy in Modern Times

As I navigate the rough waters of perimenopause, I find myself drawn to the magnetic energy of the Dark Mother in Her many forms. I often feel the need to call upon Her. And so, through my personal exploration and research, I’ve unearthed fascinating insights about Goddess Hekate.

There is an Italian festivity called “Ferragosto.” It is celebrated on August 15th, marking the passage from the end of summer to autumn. It is the Feast of the Assumption, commemorating Mother Mary’s assumption and passage into heaven. If you have visited Italy around this date, you may have witnessed a Catholic ritual called “processione,” where the statue of the Virgin Mary is carried around a city or a village and adorned with flowers while people chant and pray Her name.

Before ‘Ferragosto’ became a Catholic tradition, it was a significant celebration during the Roman Empire. This festivity marked the end of the harvest and Emperor Augustus’ victory in the war games of the time. August 15th was also the feast day of the Goddess Diana, with 13 days of celebrations dedicated to Her. This transition from a Roman celebration to a Catholic one underlines the festival’s rich historical evolution and its ties to both Roman and Christian traditions.

My recent delve into the healing power of the Dark Goddesses led me to a profound realization. In the time we now mark as mid-August (in the Gregorian calendar), we once celebrated the revered Goddess Hekate.

While reading about the myths and legends surrounding the Dark Goddess, I found an interesting piece of information that made many pieces of my puzzle fall into place. Italy has a sacred lake called “Lago di Nemi” (also known as Goddess Diana’s Mirror in ancient Rome). It is a small circular volcanic lake in the Alban Hills about 30 km south of Rome. Around the shores of the lake, the Romans built temples in honour of Goddess Diana. They celebrated Her in August around the time of what we now call “Ferragosto”, during the “Nemoralia”, a three-day festival.

Before Mary was Diana, and before Diana was Hekate.

The cult of Hekate in Italy remains shrouded in mystery. Ancient sources tell us that the festival known as the ‘Nemoralia’ was also referred to as the ‘Hecatean Ides.’ While our knowledge about this festival is limited, there are indications of a celebration in honour of Goddess Hekate, which took place during mid-August. This is supported by the poet Ausonius, who noted in his Idyll that the Ides of August was dedicated to Hekate and celebrated in Her temples in Leto (modern-day Turkey).

Without going into many details about geography and history, I can share what came through for me while working with the Dark Goddess.

Before Diana, and alongside Diana, was Hekate. The Dark Mother, a potent guardian of women, healers, oracles, and midwives, was once worshipped in temples across the Italian peninsula. Despite the rise of Christianity, her influence never waned. She persisted in our collective unconscious, in the tales of our forebears, and in the guise of various names and traditions.

Lake Nemi, a sacred site of worship, initiation, and healing, played a crucial role in the cult of Hekate. It was a mirror of the Goddess, the Moon, the Dark Mother, and the powerful forces of regeneration and transformation held by the darkness of the Womb, the Earth, and the Night. Sacred Rituals, Rite of Passage ceremonies, Initiations, Healing, Sexuality, and Transformation were all part of the cult of this powerful Goddess. She was also the triple Goddess of Life, Death and Rebirth.

I was born and raised in a small town less than two hours north of Rome. My town sits on the shore of an ancient volcanic lake, where the worship of the Goddess flourished before Christianity and even before the Roman Empire. The land is filled with the energy of Her worship, the mysteries and legends, the prayers and rituals dedicated to Her. Sadly, the energy is still shrouded by a veil of fear and amnesia, but it takes time for humanity to find its way back to Her. I don’t know if Hecate was ever worshipped on my land, but I feel She was, even if it was under a different name. Every time I journey back home, I feel this energy pulling me towards an invisible force hidden under the churches, in the forests and hills surrounding the town, in the darkness of the lake’s depths, and hidden behind the stories of women from the Christian tradition: Mother Mary, Magdalene, Christina, Margherita…..

So, while sitting with Her through pain and discomfort, I couldn’t stop thinking about how much of Her power we have hidden away deep inside our being, in a place where we seldom look, and when we do look, it is with fear. With the Blessings of Perimenopause, the Dark Goddess, in Her many forms, called me to journey to those places where there is darkness, mystery, and a lot of pain and discomfort. Her stories and names are many, and Her power is almost unbearable, like the Grace of the Divine Mother.

But in my experiences with the Dark Mother, I can assure you that there is profound Bliss when you surrender to that energy. There is nothing to fear because holding the darkness in balance with our light allows us to move beyond duality with Bliss and find Oneness within.

Love

Michela

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