Free Online Talk · Hekate & the Evolution of the Witch, with Melissa Jayne Madara
Monday, October 13, 2025
7pm ET (NYC time)
Free! RSVP with email at checkout
PLEASE NOTE: Video playback of free events is only available to Patreon members. Become a Member HERE.
Ticketholders: A Zoom invite is sent out two hours before the event to the email used at checkout. Please check your spam folder and if not received, email hello@morbidanatomy.org.
This class is an introduction to the speaker’s upcoming class Maleficium: The Foundations of Witchcraft, on which more here.
This lecture will explore the legacy and mythos of Hekate, the enigmatic goddess of witchcraft, crossroads, and the underworld, whose ancient cults have left lasting impressions upon the history of European magic. Drawing from classical sources, ancient grimoires, and medieval folklore, our class will trace the shifting roles of Hekate as both liminal guide and queen of ghosts. Special attention will be given to her associations with death and the chthonic underworld, exploring how these attributes came to shape the language of fear and fascination which accompany Hekate and the witches in her company.
From these ancient roots, we will consider how the chthonic current in Hekate’s mythology transformed under the pressures of medieval Christianity into something darker, even threatening; reborn in the mythos of the witch. By examining this lineage, we uncover how the imprint of this ancient goddess still lurks in hidden places of culture and belief, linking antiquity’s mistress of magic and the dead with the feared and revered archetype of the medieval witch.
Melissa Madara is an occultist, author, and educator, teaching magic and witchcraft from a historical perspective. Their work explores history, animism, plant folklore, and traditional crafts through the lens of witchcraft and esoterica. Melissa is the curator of Moon Cult, an online community of curious witches who learn and practice together. Find Melissa’s interviews in the New York Times, Vice, Broadly, Teen Vogue, and Refinery 29, or see their published works in Fiddler's Green, Venefica Magazine, or their two books, The Witch’s Feast & The Witch’s Workshop. Follow Melissa at mooncvlt.com or on IG @moon.cultus
Monday, October 13, 2025
7pm ET (NYC time)
Free! RSVP with email at checkout
PLEASE NOTE: Video playback of free events is only available to Patreon members. Become a Member HERE.
Ticketholders: A Zoom invite is sent out two hours before the event to the email used at checkout. Please check your spam folder and if not received, email hello@morbidanatomy.org.
This class is an introduction to the speaker’s upcoming class Maleficium: The Foundations of Witchcraft, on which more here.
This lecture will explore the legacy and mythos of Hekate, the enigmatic goddess of witchcraft, crossroads, and the underworld, whose ancient cults have left lasting impressions upon the history of European magic. Drawing from classical sources, ancient grimoires, and medieval folklore, our class will trace the shifting roles of Hekate as both liminal guide and queen of ghosts. Special attention will be given to her associations with death and the chthonic underworld, exploring how these attributes came to shape the language of fear and fascination which accompany Hekate and the witches in her company.
From these ancient roots, we will consider how the chthonic current in Hekate’s mythology transformed under the pressures of medieval Christianity into something darker, even threatening; reborn in the mythos of the witch. By examining this lineage, we uncover how the imprint of this ancient goddess still lurks in hidden places of culture and belief, linking antiquity’s mistress of magic and the dead with the feared and revered archetype of the medieval witch.
Melissa Madara is an occultist, author, and educator, teaching magic and witchcraft from a historical perspective. Their work explores history, animism, plant folklore, and traditional crafts through the lens of witchcraft and esoterica. Melissa is the curator of Moon Cult, an online community of curious witches who learn and practice together. Find Melissa’s interviews in the New York Times, Vice, Broadly, Teen Vogue, and Refinery 29, or see their published works in Fiddler's Green, Venefica Magazine, or their two books, The Witch’s Feast & The Witch’s Workshop. Follow Melissa at mooncvlt.com or on IG @moon.cultus
Monday, October 13, 2025
7pm ET (NYC time)
Free! RSVP with email at checkout
PLEASE NOTE: Video playback of free events is only available to Patreon members. Become a Member HERE.
Ticketholders: A Zoom invite is sent out two hours before the event to the email used at checkout. Please check your spam folder and if not received, email hello@morbidanatomy.org.
This class is an introduction to the speaker’s upcoming class Maleficium: The Foundations of Witchcraft, on which more here.
This lecture will explore the legacy and mythos of Hekate, the enigmatic goddess of witchcraft, crossroads, and the underworld, whose ancient cults have left lasting impressions upon the history of European magic. Drawing from classical sources, ancient grimoires, and medieval folklore, our class will trace the shifting roles of Hekate as both liminal guide and queen of ghosts. Special attention will be given to her associations with death and the chthonic underworld, exploring how these attributes came to shape the language of fear and fascination which accompany Hekate and the witches in her company.
From these ancient roots, we will consider how the chthonic current in Hekate’s mythology transformed under the pressures of medieval Christianity into something darker, even threatening; reborn in the mythos of the witch. By examining this lineage, we uncover how the imprint of this ancient goddess still lurks in hidden places of culture and belief, linking antiquity’s mistress of magic and the dead with the feared and revered archetype of the medieval witch.
Melissa Madara is an occultist, author, and educator, teaching magic and witchcraft from a historical perspective. Their work explores history, animism, plant folklore, and traditional crafts through the lens of witchcraft and esoterica. Melissa is the curator of Moon Cult, an online community of curious witches who learn and practice together. Find Melissa’s interviews in the New York Times, Vice, Broadly, Teen Vogue, and Refinery 29, or see their published works in Fiddler's Green, Venefica Magazine, or their two books, The Witch’s Feast & The Witch’s Workshop. Follow Melissa at mooncvlt.com or on IG @moon.cultus