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In the Chaldean system, Hekate controlled demons that were mediators between the worlds of gods and men, delivering information and guidance to theurgists. She was the mistress of the iynges (sg. iynx), noetic entities (demons) conceived by the Father and sent down to transmit information or creative power to the material world, and who were also able to transmit information back from the material world to the noetic realm. In other words, since it was the goal of a Chaldean theurgist to have his soul released from this world and be unified (anagōgē) with the divine while the body was still alive, Hekate was able to help men take their first steps towards the theurgical ascension of the soul by sending down the secret knowledge stored in her (as the Soul) in the form of iynges. Thus she was a savior figure, comparable to the Gnostic redeemer. Repeated theurgical practice purified the soul for its eventual release from fate when the theurgist’s body died. Other theurgical operations such as initiations, invocations of gods and animation of their statues (telestika), as well as an ascetic lifestyle and contemplation, helped to prepare the theurgist for the union by purifying or unifying his soul. The primary purpose of all these acts was to obtain more information from a god, such as how to perform further theurgical acts leading to the unification or purification of the soul, or to understand more about the cosmos, which in turn facilitated psychic ascension.
Even though Hekate usually sent iynges or other entities to reveal secret knowledge to the theurgist, occasionally she could also manifest herself to disclose information. The Chaldean Oracles portray Hekate as appearing in the dark sky - after all, she is a celestial goddess identified with the moon. Hekate appears as the “Formless Fire” from which her voice emerges as she speaks to the theurgist, while her accompanying cohort of iynges, angels, and other demons appear as “lightning” in the dark sky. The Oracles describe the goddess descending dressed in full armor and bearing weapons - the weaponry being a metaphor for the theurgical knowledge. This knowledge was aimed at the theurgist who needed it for the ascension of his soul.
Bibliography
| Lapinkivi 2004, 178-180 | Lapinkivi, Pirjo. The Sumerian Sacred Marriage in the Light of Comparative Evidence. State Archives of Assyria Studies 15. Helsinki: The Neo-Assyrian Text Coprus Project 2004. |
Pirjo Lapinkivi
URL for this entry: http://www.aakkl.helsinki.fi/melammu/database/gen_html/a0001387.php
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