Monthly Columns

Focus Pocus

Working With the Gods When You Have ADHD

Hekate

 

Goddess of transitions and thresholds, help me switch my tasks.”

One of the fun symptoms of ADHD that I experience on the regular is difficulty with tasks. It’s not just doing the task that can be difficult but initiating the task and moving on to another one can all be equally difficult. For example, it’s hard for me to get out of bed unless I must, like my cats are absolutely starving or I must start work. Not too long ago I was standing in my kitchen annoyed with myself struggling to get something done that needed to be and I thought to myself, “Who is the god of task initiation? I need their help right now!” Then I felt that poke in my side and heard Hekate’s voice say, “I’m the goddess of the threshold and liminality, do you not consider me?” I stopped dead in my tracks, I hadn’t. My definition of liminality at that time had only been seeing her as an occupier of liminal spaces and thresholds, but for some reason not the energy that also helps move through transition from one place to another in ways that did not relate to death.

Since then, I have started finding ways to lean on Hekate even more to help me get through my day. I know she is always with me as Azonos (Without Borders), Arêgos (Helper), and Episkopos (One who Watches Over). She deals with my forgetfulness as Tlêtê (Patient) and aids my personal transformations as Ameibousa (One That Transforms). And now I work with many more of her epithets to help me with task initiation and completion. Here are some examples of how I do that.

Ergatis (Energizer): This is the spark she lights up in me or the fire under my ass that I need to get moving. It’s not easy for me to throw the covers back and start my day unless there is something urgent looming in the very near future, and I can ask for Hekate Ergatis to be the catalyst that helps me start my day. Sometimes I’ll naturally be excited to get out of bed (or do whatever it is that I need start) and sometimes she’ll give me a little extra oomph with a full bladder or a cat doing something naughty. It’s not always an energy boost, sometimes it’s a gentle shift and stumble into the kitchen to make my morning coffee and sometimes it’s the inspiration to plan my life while I’m still in bed.

Podarkê (Quick-footed or Fleet-footed): This can be paired with Ergatis for when you really need to get something done, like if I forget to do something at work and it needs to be done ASAP. It will probably not be done to perfection, but it will get done!

Rexipyle (She Who Throws Down the Gates): It can be very hard for me to complete a task if I don’t have a clear picture of what it is that needs to be done. My usual method is to make a huge mess and then start putting things back together, and eventually whatever needed to be done will have taken shape. But even sometimes initiating the mess making feels overwhelming. When I call on Rexipyle, I see her smashing up whatever it is that is blocking me and telling me what it is that I should do first.

I then trust her as Daeira (The Knowing One), Propolos (She Who Leads), and Episkopos that she will guide me through what I need to do if I trust that she will help me.

I find Hekate one of the most wonderful goddesses to study and work with for so many reasons. Her realm is everywhere, and I love knowing that she will always be there when I call on her. Her light is always there for me to follow if I choose.

 

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About the Author:

Montine is an astrologer, tarot reader, and occultist living on unceded Duwamish land that some call Seattle. A forever student, journalist, and queer gender-nonconforming femme, she spends her time listening to the stories people tell with the hope of understanding many more perspectives than her own. Recently diagnosed with ADHD and self-diagnosed as autistic, she is rediscovering the world through a neurodivergent lens and transforming her life to work smarter and not harder. She writes an annual called Book of My Shadows which explores different ways to use the energy of New and Full Moons for personal growth and exploration and one of her current hyperfixations is studying the Greek Magical Papyri.