Tonight is the night of the new moon, time of Hekate’s deipnon.
Deipnon means supper, and in ancient Greece Hekate suppers were set out to propitiate restless ghosts. Ancient Athenians believed that once a month Hekate led such ghosts to Hades—spirits of the wrongfully dead and unavenged. The meal also purified the household and atoned for bad deeds.
Traditional foods were offerings for the dead: raw eggs, a type of small cake, fish, and garlic, leeks, or onions. Modern worshippers add apples and nuts and offer incense.
The meal is set at a three-way crossroads or a Hekate shrine. Ancient Athenians had such a shrine by their front door, where the door met the street. Tonight I’ll place my deipnon at the end of the driveway, where it meets the access road. I trust the neighbors will be safely ensconced and won’t take the food as the poor of Athens did.
Athenians left the meal and didn’t look back, and traditionally stayed indoors new-moon nights, avoiding ghosts. For me, the deipnon is a devotional act, a sign of my return to active worship.
Potato is investigating the offering because she is curious. She prefers offerings of fish.