AGATE

The stone you chose is Agate. The name derives from the Greek Achàtes. Based on the word “aghatos” which means good, kind, noble, valiant. Considered a sacred stone since ancient times, it was used as a lucky amulet, especially stones that had parallel color lines inside. Its streaks recall the idea of rectitude, circular thinking and stratification as a passage from one stage of being to another. This stone was associated with the Goddess Hecate, goddess of magic and crossbreeding and was the powerful lady of darkness, she reigned over evil demons, the night, the moon, ghosts, the dead. The most widespread etymology of the name Hecate derives from the female equivalent of Hekatos, an obscure epithet of Apollo (Hecate and Apollo were often combined in oracular places). His name has been translated in many ways, such as “who works from afar and who strikes”. According to others, the name derives from the Greek term for "desire, will" (in dispenser of desires), for others still her name would have the same root as the Greek word "hundred", it alludes to the many forms that she can take: Hecate, descendant of the Titans, the “multiform”. In iconography Hecate is often represented with three bodies or in the shape of a dog or accompanied by howling infernal dogs as she was considered the protector of dogs. Hecate was also associated with lunar cycles as was the case with other female divinities: Perseis represented the new moon, Artemis (Diana in Latin) represented the waxing moon, Selene the full moon and Hecate the waning moon. Hecate the young and the old, Hecate the explorer of the psyche, Hecate midwife and companion of the dead, Hecate Goddess of crossroads, Hecate the powerful  and the wise, Hecate trivia, Hecate the multiform. Hesiod writes:  I celebrate Hecate trivia, lovely protectress of the streets, terrestrial and marine and celestial, with a crocus-colored coat, sepulchral, babbling with the souls of the dead, daughter of Crio, lover of the superb solitude of deer, nocturnal protector of dogs, invincible queen, announced by roar of beasts, unbeatable without a belt, tamer of bulls, lady who guards the keys of the cosmos, frequenter of the mountains, guide, nymph, nurse of the young, of the girl who begs to be present at the sacred rites, benevolent towards her devotees always with good spirit joyful.”  “….But when the shining dawn finally arrived for the tenth time, Hecate came to meet it, holding a torch in her hand; and, eager to inform her, she spoke to her, and said: "Venerable Demeter, bringer of harvests, of magnificent gifts, who among the celestial gods or among mortal men has kidnapped Persephone, and cast anguish in your heart? In fact, I heard the screams but I did not see with my own eyes who the kidnapper was: I told you everything, briefly and sincerely." Thus spoke Hecate; and the daughter of Rhea with the beautiful hair did not answer her; instead, quickly, he moved with her, holding burning torches in his hands.....” It was Hecate  in fact, hearing the desperate cries of Persephone, kidnapped by Hades near Lake Pergusa and taken to the Underworld, and it was always she who warned Demeter of what had happened. Hecate was also believed to accompany Persephone on her periodic journeys between the world of the dead and that of the gods. For this reason, in ancient times agate was thought to have magical powers and was considered a sacred stone. Her names are Chtonia (Of the underworld), Antaia (She who meets), Apotropaia (Protector), Enodia (The goddess who appears on the way), Kourotrophos (Nurse of children), Propulaia/Propylaia (She who stands before the door), Propolos (She who serves), Phosphoros (Bringer of light), Soteira (Knowing), Triodia/Trioditis (Who frequents crossroads), Klêidouchos (Bringer of keys), Trimorphe (Threefold). Instead, Christianity made it a diabolical territory where suicides were buried. The crossroads is, on the contrary, a place of concentration of energy: the roads, the paths, the destinies intersect and lead to a choice.  Hecate is the goddess of choices and freedom of choice. Its symbols are the torch, light that illuminates the darkness, divine wisdom, divine essence of light. It served to illuminate souls in their passage from light to darkness, but also to light the spark of life to bring it out of the darkness. The Apollo - Hecate couple present in many oracular places (e.g. Sibilla Cumana) also speaks to us of two faces of the light of wisdom: the Apollonian one of daylight and the internal one of nocturnal Hecate. The knife associated with her role as midwife (to cut the umbilical cord), where she cuts the ties with the past and between the physical body and the spirit. According to the myth, Hecate is a relative and ancestor of Circe who, in turn, it is of Medea: three generations of sorceresses who represent the ambivalent aspects of the dark feminine, from the knowledge of the mystery of life to the magic that manipulates and forces, animated by the desire for power and revenge. Aware of the laws of the world of shadows, Hecate, Circe and Medea also embody the archetype of the First Woman, of the Great Goddess to whom we turned with trust but, more often, with fear since She could give or take back life. In the Egyptian context, Heka was the term to indicate magic often represented as a combination of many gods, linked to the term ka, vital energy, soul or spirit, so heka was literally the "she who makes the ka active". Heket, goddess  midwife represented as the frog, guardian of the gate between life and death, which also represents our ability to change.   This figure calls us to create a radically new life starting from  body of the previous life. The Egyptian Heket, frog goddess, connects to the primordial elements of  human life: it is amphibious, humid, vulnerable. She is a birth-genetic creator, who supervises the mysteries and rites relating to birth, death and  to rebirth. Pearls of life flow from her open legs.  Protectress of women, and midwife at the birth of  all five great deities of the Osiris pantheon, Heket stands at  threshold of transformation. The cycles of incarnation and liberation, the  procession of births, deaths and rebirths were his responsibility. At numerous archaeological sites in Greece, Rome and Hellenized Egypt, terracotta lamps painted with  seal of the frog, and bearing the inscription 'I am the resurrection'.   Frog-shaped amulets were often placed on corpses to transfer  to them the power of rebirth. Later, the tombs of the Coptic Christians  they bore the engraving of a frog next to that of the cross. Linguistic connections link Heket to the wisdom aspect of god  (Chokmah) in the kabbalistic tree of life. The Gnostics later  they called this aspect 'Sofia' or 'Hagia Sofia' (hagia = holy, sacred). Hecate is the goddess of the black poplar and the willow: in Northern Europe the link between the willow and witches is so close that the word witch derives from the same name that in ancient times designated the willow, from which wicker also derives. wicker”), and in fact traditionally the English witches' broom is still made today with wicker ties in honor of Hecate. Famous writers such as Pliny and Plato claimed that the stone instilled courage and drive for action and was often given to warriors. Another characteristic of agate is that of attracting spiritual entities. This stone is believed to be a protection against envy. It is often used in ornaments hanging on windows to hunt spirits. Agate is used to purify people's aura: it gives mental and physical balance to the person who wears it. The person who carries the agate stone with them feels safe, protected, less tense and ready to act in everyday life. It stimulates and promotes concentration and the ability to communicate with others. In Jewish texts it is called Yemen-Saba (Sheba). Agate increases the sense of security and improves the ability to manage external influences. A stone that instills courage, Agate also helps to rediscover harmony with others and with oneself by removing shyness and fear. Equipped with excellent energetic power, it stimulates passion, sensuality and the instinct of self-preservation. Stone of the double and triple zodiac signs such as Gemini, Capricorn, Sagittarius, Libra, Pisces. Agate is also called the “stone of concreteness”  which has the aspect of "condensing, coagulating" since, by helping to focus on apparently confused situations, it makes logical-rational thinking concrete in the human mind. “Analyze everything that you are, dissolve the inferior things and what limits you (the waste) in you, and then recompose your opposites into a new thing.”

Aware of the laws of the world of shadows, Hecate, Circe and Medea also embody the archetype of the First Woman, of the Great Goddess who was addressed with trust but, more often, with fear since she could give or take back life. In the Egyptian context, Heka was the term to indicate magic often represented as a combination of many gods, linked to the term ka, vital energy, soul or spirit, so heka was literally the "she who makes the ka active". Famous writers such as Pliny and Plato claimed that the stone instilled courage and drive for action and was often given to warriors. Another characteristic of agate is that of attracting spiritual entities. This stone is believed to be a protection against envy. It is often used in ornaments hanging on windows to hunt spirits. Agate is used to purify people's aura: it gives mental and physical balance to the person who wears it. The person who carries the agate stone with them feels safe, protected, less tense and ready to act in everyday life. It stimulates and promotes concentration and the ability to communicate with others. In Jewish texts it is called Yemen-Saba (Sheba). Agate increases the sense of security and improves the ability to manage external influences. A stone that instills courage, Agate also helps to rediscover harmony with others and with oneself by removing shyness and fear. Equipped with excellent energetic power, it stimulates passion, sensuality and the instinct of self-preservation. Stone of the double and triple zodiac signs such as Gemini, Capricorn, Sagittarius, Libra, Pisces. Agate is also called the “stone of concreteness”  which has the aspect of "condensing, coagulating" since, by helping to focus on apparently confused situations, it makes logical-rational thinking concrete in the human mind. “Analyze everything that you are, dissolve the inferior things and what limits you (the waste) in you, and then recompose your opposites into a new thing.”