Reviewed by Heather K. Veitch
[Snip] Hekate is the primary focus here, but other Underworld deities are also considered, some in passing (such as the guide Hermes), and others as a secondary focus (e.g. the Kemetic Wepwawet). The pieces featured within Bearing Torches explore Hecate’s myriad roles within Wiccan practice, Hellenic Reconstructionalism, history, and much more besides. Floating between the more in-depth articles are poems and invocations, perfect for rites and meditations, while short stories and personal retellings serve to raise the veil on some of Hekate’s mysteries made real in contemporary society and modern magical practice. Many of the contributing authors are priests and priestesses of Hekate or work closely with Her; some, such as Tim Ward, are well-known for other Pagan texts (such as Ward’s Savage Breast: One Man’s Search for the Goddess), while others are less familiar. Whether you come to Bearing Torches and read through it cover-to-cover or dip in and out of its pages, there is plenty to please the reader — whether just discovering Hekate or having walked Her path for many years.
The contributors to Torches work with, and adore, this Goddess, and the wealth of their dedication hums from every page. Marian Dalton’s “Hekate Devotion” has drawn me in time and again with “I am the sounds of midnight in an empty house / I am the frozen silence of the grave…” as my breath slows and I am connected with something much deeper, more ancient, than myself.
What’s been said…