Khaire Hekate Thirobromos!

This is an interesting epithet. They all are. They describe parts of You, yet can never really be put together in a way that could even begin to describe all of You. I've come across several ways of spelling more than a few of Your names, but this one gets my attention. I'm not sure why. Thirobromos. Therobromus. Thirovromos. ΘΗΡΟΒΡΟΜΟΣ.

Heralded by roaring beasts! Oh, that conjures images in my mind! You are seen as having associations with so many animals. There are many stories of many gods, across many cultures, where there are one or two answers to the question of which animals are sacred to or associated with them. But You, Glorious Hekate? That answer is an entire list!

I sometimes wonder why that is. I do research on these things, and You have guided me several times when I have prayed about my amateur research needing direction and clarity. Some things, though, I haven't found the right information yet, if it can be found. Or I'm just not ready to know. Maybe the answers wouldn't mean as much to me now as they will if I learn them later. I don't know. I have my ideas about why it is that You are seen as having whole herds, flocks, and packs of sacred animals. I don't think there is just one answer to it, but that different associations come from different circumstances. Relationships.

To picture all of those animals announcing Your arrival! It is an awesome, terrible, fabulous image! I say that with old meanings of those words, as I'm just not sure I can get the same feeling from other words. Even just a few animals announcing Your arrival can give a chilling feeling. You know I have sat outside at night sometimes and heard something different in the frequent barking of neighborhood dogs and yipping of coyotes outside the boundaries of the town. Such frequent nocturnal sounds, yet something in them sometimes tells me, "Sit still and quiet, be reverent, and do not look in that direction for a few minutes."

Maybe part of what grabs my attention about this epithet is knowing that I have had this experience with You.

Khaire Hekate Thirobromos!