Crossroads Magick

Crossroads are physically where two roads intersect at a junction – they can be a three-way crossroad or four-way crossroad. In ancient Greece, it was believed that Hermes ruled the four-way crossroad and Hecate ruled the three-way crossroad.

In magickal terms, crossroads are believed to be a point between the worlds of humans and spirits; folktales and folk magick about the crossroads extend from ancient times to witchcraft to Hoodoo.

It’s said that spirit communication can be made at the crossroads. Rituals can be done at the crossroads to learn skills, bring or keep lovers, acquire prosperity or wisdom, or even by leaving, burning or tossing a petition at the crossroads.

Spell work and rituals involving crossroads can be found online, which many are connected with Hoodoo tradition, yet witches who work with Hecate can make us of it as well using their own beliefs and traditions.

Hecate – Goddess of the Crossroads
If you choose to work with Hecate, it can take time to work with her as she isn’t a goddess that is readily open.

However, once you have developed a connection or she has made her presence known to you and you have accepted her calling, her presence can be strong and compelling.

Hecate isn’t one to “coddle” when things go wrong, especially if it’s of your own mess or making. If you ask her for something, you need to be ready or you may just get more than you bargained for.

Some sources say that her name in Greek comes from “hekatos” meaning “worker from afar” and she certainly can keep her distance and work from “afar” – kind of hands off, but gives what’s needed or deserved.

Some practitioners that follow Hecate say that experience in witchcraft is needed before working with her.

If you are more accustomed to goddesses that are gentler and loving such as Venus/Aphrodite, Hathor, Bastet and Brigid, then Hecate can be quite a contrast of energy and feel. She is considered one of the “Dark Mother” goddess archetypes, the Crone aspect, wise in the Craft.

If you want to become acquainted with Hecate, spend time trying to communicate with her. Her energy can be straightforward and she always cuts right to the chase. If you’re serious enough to work with her, she will in turn work with you.

If you’re interested in some information further about Hecate, here are some resources to get started:

HECATE (Hekate) – Greek Goddess of Witchcraft, Magic & Ghosts

Hecate, Goddess of Witches * Wicca-Spirituality.com

Hecate, Greek Goddess of The Crossroads – Goddess Gift

Purposes for Crossroads Magick
Magick involving crossroads can be for different purposes, mostly to bring something towards you or to send something away. Crossroads magick can be done to remove blockages that may be preventing you from manifesting something and to remove any barriers.

Crossroads magick can be worked to bring prosperity and abundance, working with spirits and spirit communication, honouring the dead, banishing, domination, making wishes, finding direction, making decisions or choices, or when faced with a crossroad in your life.

Crossroads magick can either be done at a crossroad or you can bring the crossroad home by collecting some dirt from a crossroad. Crossroads dirt in spells can be used for purposes that relate to crossroads magick.

Crossroads Dirt

It’s ideal to get dirt from a three- or four-way crossroad that is out of your town or city in an area that is not well populated or traveled often.

I located an area to get my crossroads dirt in the south of my city on a country road that I located on Google Maps which my husband has traveled down that road often to visit a friend.

According to some traditions, when acquiring crossroads dirt, it’s customary to leave behind something such as three coins (pennies or higher denomination) at each corner of the crossroads.

This is called “paying for the dirt”.

Collect the dirt from each corner or side of the intersection (three side if a three-way crossroad, four if a four-way crossroad) and place in a jar with a lid.

It’s best to label the jar and date it if you’d like.

Leave the coins on the ground where you collected the dirt at each corner/side of the crossroads.

This tradition of “leaving something behind in return” is customary in many witchcraft traditions such as when collecting natural items in nature to leave something behind for the nature spirits, faeries, trees, etc., and thanking them for the item.

I’ve created a spell to work on with crossroads dirt: Crossroads Spell for Prosperity which includes crossroads dirt in the spell, which is available on the blog.

Tarot & Crossroads

The workings with crossroads magick can open up new possibilities and options that can become available, and can lead to looking into other directions that you may want to take. This could be your spiritual, career, love or life path that you may be working on.

Tarot has always been a divination tool to look at different scenarios and possibilities in a situation, which many spreads have either a card position for “alternative future outcome” and “probably future outcome” in addition to “the outcome”.

If you’re faced at a crossroad in your life, tarot can help look at the different directions to give insight into each direction and option to help you weigh the situation and make the choice yourself on which direction to take.

This spread can be altered anyway you like and with more information and ideas about the crossroads, you can come up with a new tarot spread or add to the one that I created.

The Crossroads are known throughout history as a point in everyone’s life that we must make a choice or a decision, yet if we make the choice, it can alter our lives and our futures dramatically.

We may wonder later if we made the right choice or even if happy with our choice, we may wonder what could have happened.

Sometimes there can be barriers or blockages that prevent us from receiving abundance and prosperity, other times we need to turn in a new direction when faced with an option or choice.

The crossroads is symbolic of what many of us face and sometimes, it leaves us standing in between this world and the next with possibilities ahead us in different directions.