Sit a Spell

Thank you for your assistance, traveler! The key is buried deep enough for now, I would say. It will be obvious if we did an insufficient job anyway. The connection between the buried key and the one I wear will be lost if that one is ever unearthed. Thanks to your help, though, I don’t foresee that being an issue.
 
Before we continue our journey, let us sit a spell and take in the crossroads and the dark of the moon. We will eventually need to determine which way to proceed, but first we must simply be still and…just be. Let’s listen and absorb the energies that are present.
 
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Liminal spaces have been an object of both fascination and unease for humans ever since we developed the desire to categorize and compartmentalize our world. Crossroads are an excellent example of this, as they are the intersection of separate and distinct paths. A decision must be made before leaving the crossroads; however, while in the center of it…prior to any decision being made…you are in an unidentifiable space. For example, you are neither inside nor outside when standing in the front doorway to your home. While contemplating a major life transition, you are neither in your old life nor have you yet embarked on your new journey. You are in the in-between.
 
Since ancient times, one of the deities ascribed to the crossroads is Hekate. This is fitting, really, because, as demonstrated last week when we dove into her connection with Kore, she has the ability to move freely between the realms. She facilitates transitions and therefore can linger at the crossroads without concern. She is certainly not the only deity associated with the crossroads. In fact, even within the Greek pantheon, liminal spaces are shared with the god Hermes. Other cultures and pantheons have their own deities guarding the crossroads as well, of course, and we have combined elements from our ancestors into the magic that is practiced today.
 
It is important to note that these guiding deities are not the only entities present at the threshold. Restless spirits congregate at the crossroads as well. Perhaps it is the combined power of the crossroads deities and the restless spirits that made this location a place of intense emotion. Certain crossroads that were known for increased activity were to be feared and/or avoided but also were sought out under particular circumstances. Such circumstances, at least according to the historical record, came about when people were pushed to their limits.
 
The crossroads have yielded evidence of our ancestors’ beliefs and allowed us to connect with them in ways that would otherwise be lost in time. We have found trinkets, bones, and wax dolls buried in these liminal spaces. We have discovered tablets that call upon Hekate and other deities, their names scratched into sheets of lead that were rolled, bound, and buried into the ground. These have become known as curse tablets and could be found in all manner of transitional spaces, from graves to doorsills.
 
In some cases, we have records as to how the rituals were carried out. In one instance in particular, after completing the ritual at the crossroads, one must turn around and flee before Hekate makes her appearance. She cannot be seen. Of course, there are ways to know when she is close even if you cannot see her: hearing her hounds, for example, just as we did earlier.
 
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But, as I said, there are other beings that inhabit the crossroads. It is as much a shared space as it is a transitional one, and it is best to remember that.
 
How are you feeling? What are your senses perceiving?
 
Do you feel that chill in your bones?
 
Tell me, traveler, that you felt the winds rush in from all directions to engulf us here as we sit at the center.
 
Do you hear that??
 
Someone...
 
something…is coming.
 
 
 
Until next time,
Heather
 
 
Further reading:
 
Betz, Hans Dieter. The Greek Magical Papyri in Translation. The University of Chicago Press, 1996.
 
Foxwood, Orion. The Candle and the Crossroads: A Book of Appalachian Conjure and Southern Root-Work.   Weiser Books, 2012.
 
Gager, John G. Curse Tablets and Binding Spells from the Ancient World. Oxford University Press, 1992.
 
Johnston, S. I. “Crossroads.” Zeitschrift für Papyrologie Und Epigraphik, vol. 88, 1991, pp. 217–224.
 
Ogden, Daniel. Magic, Witchcraft, and Ghosts in the Greek and Roman Worlds: A Sourcebook. Oxford          University Press, 2009.