Sorita d'Este

Who Holds the Key - A Rant about Gatekeeping

Sorita d'Este — Tue, 06 Oct 2026 22:04:21 GMT

Apparently, sharing information freely is now “gatekeeping”- if someone dislikes what you are sharing, that is. At the Autumn Equinox, my annual attempt to explain the misuse of “Mabon” as a name for a festival on the Wheel of the Year prompted a few people to fling the accusation of “gatekeeping” at me in several places where my post was shared (esp. o…

New Heads, Old Goddess

Sorita d'Este — Wed, 09 Sep 2026 13:38:26 GMT

Sometimes a historical argument is disrupted by something as small as a pair of slippers. While discussing the finishing touches on one of his magnificent Hekate sculptures, Brazilian artist Rafael Spadini casually mentioned a triple-bodied statue of the goddess in the Galleria Borghese^[i] in Rome. I somehow missed it in my own research on Hekate and he…

At the Crossroads of Two Cosmologies

Sorita d'Este — Thu, 06 Aug 2026 17:40:15 GMT

Over the years, I have seen many scholars and practitioners repeat the claim that the Hekate of the Theogony (circa 750BCE) is somehow significantly different from the Hekate presented in the Chaldean Oracles (200 CE).

In this article, I challenge the persistent claim that the Hekate of the Chaldean Oracles is fundamentally different from the goddess wit…

Goddess of the Dog Star Sirius: Isis, Sothis & Hekate

Sorita d'Este — Thu, 16 Jul 2026 11:56:30 GMT

Revised and updated, July 2026 – based on an article originally written for my Patheos Adamantine Muse Blog in 2019, titled “Hekate, Isis And The Dog Star Sirius: Welcome To The Dog Days!”

“Such a guardian, too, beneath his towering back is seen to stand on his hind legs, the Dog^[i] starenwrought, yet not clearly marked in all his form, but right by his …

Why You’re Hearing From Me Here

Sorita d'Este — Tue, 07 Jul 2026 15:11:24 GMT

Greetings all!

A quick note for those newly joining me here and thinking, “I see Sorita has discovered email. And Substack. What could possibly go wrong?” Or, possibly, “Who in Hades is Sorita, and why is she here?”

After a rather long and inconsistent silence on the newsletter front, I am back. Social media fatigue is real, and I imagine some of you have…

Welcome to a Crossroads

Sorita d'Este — Mon, 06 Jul 2026 22:10:25 GMT

In most online spaces, you are expected to pick a side. On one side, scholarship: footnoted, cautious and occasionally so anaemic it could use an iron supplement or two. On the other hand, devotional and lifestyle content: warm, photogenic, and often rather vague about where any of it came from. Some of it seems to have been invented last Tuesday becaus…

The Male Gods & Hekate

Sorita d'Este — Sat, 04 Jul 2026 15:52:44 GMT

Hekate & the Masculine Gods

The Goddess Hekate is often described as a Virgin Goddess. She is not alone in this within the Hellenic pantheon of Gods, nor in the pantheons of nearby regions and cultures from which She may have originated, or which influenced Her worship. Virginity within this context does not simply refer to sexual inexperience – It repre…