Temple of the Bones: Rituals to the Goddess (Pagan Portals)

This is an unusual book in that it comes from a collection of witches, priest/ess/xes, pagans, and devotees of Hekate who have been offering rituals and devotions to Her for several years. Temple of the Bones documents a ritual circle dedicated to Hekate within a community in California. While Teixeira is the nominal author, many people contributed, either through their own writing or their presence in the various rituals and events.

There are ritual outlines and some backstory about the Temple and how it was formed and the rituals may just be the best part about this book. Teixeira doesn’t provide a ritual format, but also gives readers the structure and details. She explains the Epithets and gives specific herbal information and recipes. Almost as strong was the clear information about how to recognize Hekate making Herself known to you as a potential devotee and worshiper.

The author does not profess that this is the way to honor Hekate, but the information is laid out in a way that it can be used by a beginner who isn’t sure how to go about it. She also encourages the reader to make any adjustments needed to make the calls/spells/recipes/rituals/etc. uniquely their own.

In fairness, I think Temple is weakest in that it tries to speak to beginning witches (a chapter on Casting Circle) as well as those of us who are looking for a way to move deeper into our practice (working with the dead, creating a set of bones to use for divination).

Temple of the Bones is a good resource if you have some level of magical experience and wish to start your own Temple dedicated to Hekate, but is better at being a solid introduction to that Goddess. I don't think there is anything quite like it available.

~review by Lisa Mc Sherry

Author: Jennifer Teixeira
Moon Books, 2021
pp. 111, $10.95