Page 11 of Hekate: The Witch

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of the legendary river the dead took

to enter this cave. But before my mother

could take us further inside,

a figure stopped her in the dark.

The Ferryman

He was a child of Nyx and Erebus,

The Night and the Dark, two of the oldest Gods.

It had been rumoured for a long time

that the ferryman, above all things, was kind.

For to lead the mortal dead was no easy task,

and yet the ferryman did it

without calling it a burden,

without demanding more than what was asked.

But while he had patience for mortals,

it was his own kind that made him wary,

and at the mouth of the Underworld,

it was his boat that stopped us from entering.

‘Asteria, you must go no further,’

he warned, but his voice was not unkind.

‘Turn back and be on your way; this is no place

for a Goddess and her child.’

My mother, however, was a determined woman

and spoke carefully.

‘Charon. It is Zeus and Poseidon that chase us,

they wish to enslave us.

And no, they do not care that Hekate is just a child.’

Charon looked at me, his face stormy,

a sea-God long forgotten.

Then something softened in his ancient eyes.

Without another word, he unblocked our path

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