Hecate Goddess Symbols, Correspondences, & More

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Comparative mythologist Maria Souza goes over Hecate’s most common symbols & what they represent

Co-authored by Maria Souza and Sophie Burkholder, BA

Last Updated: March 4, 2026 Fact Checked

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Hecate Symbols & Meanings

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Hecate’s Correspondences

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Who is Hecate?

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Further Learning

Hecate is one of the most mysterious yet revered goddesses in Greek mythology, but what symbols represent her—and what do those symbols mean for her powers, stories, and ongoing influence? Join us on this magical journey into the necromantic goddess of witchcraft, as we explore the symbols that represent her, the modern interpretations of her Wiccan correspondences, and her role in ancient mythology, with insights from a mythologist, spiritual advisor, and dream interpreter. Read on!

What are the main symbols of Hecate?

Illustration of symbols associated with Hecate, including torches, dogs, keys, and a Triple Moon.

Comparative mythologist Maria Souza says Hecate’s main symbol is a torch. It represents how she guides souls through darkness and uncertain changes in life. Other symbols include a black dog (her animal companion), a wheel (representing life transitions), and a key (symbolizing Hecate as the goddess of crossroads).

Section 1 of 4:

Hecate’s Symbols & Their Meanings

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Torch In both ancient and modern depictions, Hecate is often portrayed while carrying a lit torch, making this her primary and most recognizable symbol, says Souza. It represents Hecate “lighting the way when you’re standing in the dark or at a threshold.”^{[1]
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Maria Souza
Comparative Mythologist

Expert Interview} Hecate’s torch is also meant to represent the goddess’s role as a guide through Hades’s Underworld. Sometimes referred to as the “Light Bringer,” Hecate was said to illuminate literal paths, as well as figurative paths toward uncovering secrets, knowledge, or upcoming transformations.^{[2]
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- Hecate would often guide lost souls toward their intended path, but she was also said to guide other gods and goddesses and protect all beings from malevolent forces.
Meet the wikiHow Experts

Maria Souza is a comparative mythologist with a postgraduate degree in Comparative Mythology from the Dédalus Institute. She’s also the host of the Women and Mythology Podcast.

Sarah Potter is a professional witch, spiritual advisor, and psychic medium who leads transformative Full Moon ceremonies and is highly sought-after as a private corporate spiritual guide.

Rieka Lambert is a dream interpreter and pagan shamanic witch who has been studying this field for more than eight years.
As goddess of changes and transitions, Hecate is often represented by the symbol of the wheel. Many believe that the modern wheel symbol represents a strophalos or iynx, which was an ancient spinning device used to worship or invoke the goddess and bring her divine powers down to earth. Regardless, the wheel symbol is now used to represent the many different paths that one can take through life, as well as Hecate’s role as a guide along those paths and through the many changes that life may bring.^{[3]
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Triple Moon The Triple Moon symbol is commonly seen “in many different aspects of paganism,” says spiritual advisor Sarah Potter, but it’s often connected to Hecate due to her “association with the moon.”^{[4]
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Sarah Potter
Spiritual Advisor

Expert Interview} The Triple Moon, as dream interpreter Rieka Lambert describes it, has a full moon in the center and “two crescent moons faced out to the side. The Triple Moon [represents] the aspect of the Triple Goddess, which is Maiden, Mother, and Crone. A lot of goddesses have [these] three aspects,” including Hecate.^{[5]
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Rieka Lambert
Dream Interpreter, Witch, and Shaman

Expert Interview} In fact, Hecate was often depicted as having three separate bodies, each facing a different direction or path in a crossroads.
- Souza says Hecate’s triple form represents the past, present, and future. It’s a reminder that she moves between worlds and times.^{[6]
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Crossroads, Doors, & Keys Crossroads, or moments when a choice has to be made, are one of Hecate’s other primary symbols, says Souza.^{[7]
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Maria Souza
Comparative Mythologist

Expert Interview} This is because Hecate is the guardian of crossroads, transitions, and liminal spaces (aka the boundaries between the mortal world and the Underworld). Relatedly, she’s often represented with doors and keys. Doors, in Hecate’s context, symbolize her role as a guardian of thresholds and important decisions. Souza adds that Hecate also carries keys, opening what’s hidden or locked away.^{[8]
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Maria Souza
Comparative Mythologist

Expert Interview}^{[9]
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- The keys Hecate holds represent her ability to open certain doors or keep them closed forever. In this way, she can safeguard pieces of knowledge or influence important transitions, as well as grant access to spiritual and divine realms (i.e., Hades).
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Black Dog The dog (specifically a black she-dog) is Hecate’s closest animal familiar and her main animal symbol. In Greek mythology, the black dog that accompanies Hecate was originally Hecuba, the Queen of Troy. Following the fall of Troy, Hecuba threw herself into the sea but was saved and transformed by the goddess Hecate into a black dog. In art and literature, Hecate is often depicted with this dog by her side, although all black dogs are thought to connect to her energies and powers.^{[10]
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- As Souza explains, dogs commonly follow Hecate because they are guardians of edges and the underworld. She notes that they appear in many myths about Hecate.^{[11]
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Ropes and cords are a lesser-known—but still significant—symbol of Hecate. In Greek myths and ancient depictions, Hecate is often shown wearing or carrying ropes, as they represent how she could bind certain fates and make connections between life, death, and rebirth. The cords may also represent a way of marking her passage between worlds—i.e., as she moved between the mortal realm and Hades’s Underworld.
Daggers represent Hecate’s dominion over death and the afterlife, as well as how she would sometimes oversee vengeful acts and the severing of relational ties. However, the dagger may also represent a symbol of witchcraft, given Hecate’s role as the goddess of witchcraft. For instance, the dagger could be used in rituals, as a tool for cutting herbs, or as a method for controlling ghosts and spirits. Often, when represented as a Triple Goddess with three bodies, one of Hecate’s forms would be holding a knife, while the other two forms would hold a torch and a key, respectively.^{[12]
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Oak trees or branches are sometimes associated with Hecate, largely due to the fact that she’s a deeply ancient and powerful goddess—similar to a mighty and ancient oak. Oak trees are also symbolically tied to wisdom, protection, and spiritualism, all of which fall under Hecate’s domain as a guardian of crossroads, transitions, and magic. While we don’t know too much for sure about Hecate’s connection to the mighty oak, we do know that she’s been depicted twice while wearing oak branches: once in Sophocles’s The Root Diggers, and another time in Apollonius's “Argonautica” poem.^{[13]
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Polecat Hecate has several animal symbols, but the polecat is one of the most prominent and important. Regarded as one of the goddess’s primary familiars, polecats were traditionally pets that were kept by ancient Greeks to hunt household vermin. According to myth, the polecat associated with Hecate was originally a mortal witch named Gale. However, due to Gale’s purported promiscuity, Hecate transformed her into a polecat to serve as one of the goddess’s sacred animal symbols and familiars.^{[14]
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- However, in another version of this story, Galinthias—a midwife of Alcmena who helped deliver Heracles—was the mortal being transformed into a polecat. In this version, Hera orders the goddess of childbirth (Eileithyia) to delay Heracles’ birth by locking her legs.^{[15]
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- Galinthias tricks the goddesses by claiming that the baby had already been born. As punishment, Hera transformed Galinthias into a polecat, but she was then adopted by Hecate.^{[16]
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Another important animal symbol for Hecate is the red mullet, an expensive type of fish that was often presented to Hecate as an offering. There are two main reasons why the red mullet seems to have been associated with Hecate. Firstly, the red mullet were believed to reproduce three times per year. Since Hecate is a Triple Goddess who’s closely associated with the number three, the red mullet is a natural fit. Also, the fish’s red hue was often connected to blood, and ancient Greeks believed that the mullet would feed on the blood of corpses. As Hecate was represented as a death goddess who would sometimes eat the blood of others, the red mullet was instantly associated with her.^{[17]
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Lions are mostly associated with Hecate due to early artwork created in Asia Minor, although these depictions were later reproduced on coins and in literary works (e.g., the Chaldean Oracles). While not so much is known about the connection between lions and the necromantic goddess, many believe that lions were used to represent Hecate’s fierce, wild, untamed, and unapologetic power.^{[18]
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Frog Frogs are another symbol of Hecate, but they were originally associated with Heqet, an Egyptian goddess with a similar name. Heqet (or Heket) was an ancient fertility goddess who took on the form of a frog. Due to the similarities in name, Heqet’s frog persona has been borrowed by modern pagan literature to become an additional symbol of Hecate. It’s believed that this connection and symbolism stem from the frog's ability to jump between two elements (i.e., water and land), just as Hecate can jump between two worlds (i.e., the mortal realm and the Underworld).^{[19]
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- Souza adds that serpents commonly appear with Hecate, too, which hints at her deep, chthonic wisdom. Serpents are also very much related to women's initiations.^{[20]
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Section 2 of 4:

What are the correspondences of Hecate?

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Hecate’s correspondences include the number 3 and the color black. In some practices—like Wicca, witchcraft, and certain forms of paganism—a correspondence is any object or concept that energetically and symbolically links two elements of the universe. For example, rose quartz has a correspondence with love, which is why this crystal is often used for romantic or intimate intentions.^{[21]
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Research source} In Hecate’s case, certain objects are said to possess her energies and better connect you to her powers and strengths. Below, you’ll find the specific numbers, gemstones, colors, and metals that correspond with Hecate:
- Numbers: 3, 7, 13.^{[22]
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- Gems: Sapphire, moonstone, black tourmaline, onyx, hematite, pearl, ruby, obsidian, jasper.
- Colors: Black, orange, red, white, blue, yellow.
- Metals: Silver, gold.

Section 3 of 4:

Who is Hecate?

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Hecate is the ancient Greek goddess of magic, witchcraft, and the night. She’s also known as the “goddess of the crossroads,” says Potter, as well as boundaries, ghosts, necromancy, and transitions through different stages of life.^{[23]
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Sarah Potter
Spiritual Advisor

Expert Interview} Hecate (also written as Hekate) was born to 2 Titans—Perses and Asteria—who gave her her power over the heavens, the Earth, and the sea.^{[24]
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Research source} Significantly, Hecate is also recognized as a Triple Goddess, a recurring figure in ancient mythologies and in modern paganism and Wicca. Triple Goddesses represent women in 3 major life stages: as a Maiden, a Mother, and a Crone.^{[25]
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- While Hecate plays an important role throughout Greek mythology, one of her most significant myths shows her helping Demeter when the agriculture goddess was searching for Persephone, her daughter, who’d been kidnapped by Hades (the God of the Underworld).
- After Demeter and Persephone were reunited, but Persephone was forced to spend half of each year in the Underworld, Hecate became Persephone’s minister and companion in Hades’s realm.