It’s 2026. What the fuck, right? Twenty-six days into this Gregorian calendar year and everything’s already gone to shit. One scroll through the news and you’re left wondering if we’re living in a bad simulation. But you know what? I’ve stopped doom-scrolling and started looking inward instead.

The past eleven months (yes, exactly eleven – I’ll explain why in a future post) have kicked my ass in the best possible way. My devotion to Hekate has deepened so far beyond what I thought was possible when I first lit a candle at a crossroads and called Her name. I’ve learned more about myself and about Her than I did in years of reading every fucking academic text and modern devotional I could get my hands on.

I’m not talking about Her history. I’ve read the books. I know the Chaldean Oracles, the PGM, the hymns, the archaeological evidence. That stuff matters, sure. But what I’m talking about is how She actually is with those She considers Her children. How She moves in your life when you’re truly devoted to Her.

Hekate has been stern with me. But also incredibly, fiercely loving in a way that would break you open if you weren’t ready for it. She’s straight up told me (in that way She communicates that leaves no room for doubt) that She will not protect me from the things necessary for my growth. And She meant it.

True to Her divine word, She has let bad shit happen. She’s let me fall flat on my face. She’s let me make mistakes that taught me lessons the hard way. Because apparently, that’s what I needed.

The biggest lesson She has taught me is that I don’t know shit. About myself, about the magickal world I live in, about how any of this actually works. Just when I think I’ve got something figured out, Hekate guides me toward a completely new way of thinking, a concept that flips my understanding on its head.

She’s also shown me (irrefutable, undeniable proof) that She walks with me. Always. She knows my thoughts before I finish thinking them. She sees what I’m doing. And here’s the part that really fucks with your perception: She’s not bound by linear time in any way. When you not only realize the scope of Her divine power but also get to experience it firsthand, it’s pretty fucking amazing.

I’m not going to detail my personal experiences with Her here. Hekate has made me understand that our relationship is sacred and must be protected. That doesn’t mean I think I’m special or a better devotee than anyone else. But important, deeply personal things like the relationship you have with your deity should remain between you and the divinity you worship.

This is exactly why I’ve stopped posting on Reddit and largely withdrawn from the so-called “community.” I look at these spaces now, filled with altar photos and public broadcasts of private rituals, and it just feels… hollow. It feels like the sacred is being traded for attention. I’m sure some people mean well, but to me, it reeks of performance. It’s witchcraft as an aesthetic, devotion as content. And quite frankly, I want nothing to do with it.

Hekate has explicitly nudged me away from that bullshit. Now, I know what you’re thinking… “Don’t you have rituals posted on this site?” Why, yes. I do. But I share those as resources for you, not receipts for me. There is a massive difference between providing a framework for others to learn from and live-tweeting your intimacy with a God for validation. One is service; the other is exhibitionism.

Beyond that, She knows that for me, silence is the container for power. When you broadcast your private moments just for internet points, you aren’t honoring the deity; you’re feeding the ego. You are poking holes in the vessel to show off the wine, and in the process, you let the power leak out.

I’m done feeding anything that doesn’t feed my growth. My relationship with Her isn’t for consumption. It isn’t for upvotes. It is for Me and Her. What matters is the work. The nightly devotion. The energy work, the mantras, the prayers, the offerings. The meditation you’ve finally incorporated because you realized you can’t just talk at the divine. Turns out, you actually have to shut the fuck up and listen once in a while, too.

What matters is showing up even when you don’t feel like it. When the bad shit is happening and you know She’s not going to shield you from it because you need to learn something. When your practice deepens not because everything’s going great, but because everything’s hard and you’re still there, still devoted, still walking the path. That’s the real work. Not the Instagram-worthy altar photos. Not the performative public declarations. The real, unglamorous, often difficult work of devotion.

So here we are. 2026. The world’s a fucking mess, but my practice has never been stronger. Hekate continues to guide, to teach, to occasionally let me fall on my ass when that’s what I need. And I continue to show up, every night, knowing that I don’t know shit, and that maybe that’s exactly where I need to be.

Because when you think you know everything, you stop learning. And Hekate? Well, She’s got way too much to teach for that kind of bullshit and arrogance.