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In 1909 Aleister Crowley performed a series of magickal operations with the aim of entering the 30 Aethyrs that are the Aeons which make up the structure of the (magickal) universe. In the course of the working, Crowley was attempting to learn the mysteries of each Aeons which, when entered in order (from 30 to 1) provide an initiatory experience for the magician. This culminates in the 10th Aethyr, ZAX which is the Great Outer Abyss. He also encountered the Goddess Babalon and Her mysteries which are part of the initiation. Since Babalon is at least related to the Hekate of the Nine Coils, the knowledge Crowley brought back with him provides an additional source by which the Nine Coils may be interpreted. He also encountered Hekate in her lesser guise as the Moon Mother and goddess of witchcraft.

In the 27th Aethyr Hekate told him:
Lonely am I and cold in the wilderness of the stars{SUP:7}. For I am the queen of all them that dwell in Heaven, and the queen of all them that are pure upon earth, and the queen of all the sorcerers of hell{SUP:8}.
I am the daughter of Nuit, the lady of the stars. And I am the Bride of them that are vowed unto loneliness{SUP:9}. And I am the mother of the Dog Cerberus{SUP:10}. One person am I, and three gods{SUP:11}. -The Cry of the 27th Aethyr, Which is Called ZAA
Note the identification of Her formulae that she is queen of all them that dwell in Heaven, and the queen of all them that are pure upon earth, and the queen of all the sorcerers of hell
This is an indication that Hekate retains the functions of Her early form as a young Goddess of the (solar) light, which belies Her apparent marginalization, here demoted virtually the lowest of the Celestial AEONS (27th of 30).
In the 12th Aethyr he is shown the Grail and the mysteries of it and the Goddess to whom it belongs:
Glory unto the Scarlet Woman, Babalon the Mother of Abominations, that rideth upon the Beast, for she hath spilt their blood in every corner of the earth and lo! she hath mingled it in the cup of her whoredom.
With the breath of her kisses hath she fermented it, and it hath become the wine of the Sacrament, the wine of the Sabbath; and in the Holy Assembly hath she poured it out for her worshippers, and they had become drunken thereon, so that face to face they beheld my Father. Thus are they made worthy to become partakers of the Mystery of this holy vessel, for the blood is the life. So sitteth she from age to age, and the righteous are never weary of her kisses, and by her murders and fornications she seduceth the world. Therein is manifested the glory of my Father, who is truth.

Crowley's Star of Babalon

The voice continues: This is the Mystery of Babylon, the Mother of abominations, and this is the mystery of her adulteries, for she hath yielded up herself to everything that liveth, and hath become a partaker in its mystery. And because she hath made herself the servant of each, therefore is she become the mistress of all. Not as yet canst thou comprehend her glory.
Beautiful art thou, O Babylon, and desirable, for thou hast given thyself to everything that liveth, and thy weakness hath subdued their strength. For in that union thou didst understand. Therefore art thou called Understanding, O Babylon, Lady of the Night!
Here we see that Hekate in her relationship (or even outright identification) with Babalon is the instrument by which the universe is redeemed, by Her sacrifice “because she hath made herself the servant of each, therefore is she become the mistress of all” and that of the magician who sacrifices his/her Self in order to transcend the Universe. The full implication of this may be found only in the understanding of the formulae of the Goddess, which are given in the Nine Coils of the Dragon.
Finally, we would mention a few other contemporary sources for information about Hekate.
Kenneth Grant – as mentioned above, the second source that appeared during the “digestion” stage of the Nine Coils work was several volumes of Grant’s “Typhonian Trilogies”. Anyone familiar with these books probably knows that KG titled one of the second trilogy books Hecate’s Fountain after the verse from the Chaldean Oracles:
In the left side of Hecate is a fountain of Virtue, which remaineth entirely within her, not sending forth its virginity. ( v187 )
It was, however, Aleister Crowley and the Hidden God which revealed the full implication of Hekate via the formula of the Gnostics, IAO . Grant himself interprets the formula as:
The three-fold formula of Babalon…is also the magickal significance of the formula of IAO (Isis-Apophis-Osiris).
Having found a connection to Babalon (and thus Hekate), Grant interprets the formula:
I, Yod …is the solitary seed attributed to Virgo, represented by the Virgin. A is Apophis, the ‘evil’ serpent of corruption and dissolution, represented by the Whore. O is the true Eye or Yoni…
Grant references Magick (Book 4) and notes that this formula is a key to Crowley’s system.
Aleister Crowley – In Magick and Theory and Practice (Weiser 1988) Crowley discusses the formula as it pertains to his cult of Thelema:
The Formula of I.A.O. This formula is the principal and most characteristic formula of Osiris, of the Redemption of Mankind. "I" is Isis, Nature, ruined by "A", Apophis the Destroyer, and restored to life by the Redeemer Osiris. There is a quite different formula in which I is the father, O the Mother, A the child --- and yet another, in which I.A.O. are all fathers of different kinds balanced by H.H.H., 3 Mothers, to complete the Universe. In a third, the true formula of the Beast 666, I and O are the opposites which form the field for the operation of A.

This is also identical with the Word Lux, L.V.X., which is formed by the arms of a cross. It is this formula which is implied in those ancient and modern monuments in which the phallus is worshipped as the Savior of the World.

The doctrine of resurrection as vulgarly understood is false and absurd. It is not even "Scriptural". St. Paul does not identify the glorified body which rises with the mortal body which dies. On the contrary, he repeatedly insists on the distinction.

The same is true of a magical ceremony. The magician who is destroyed by absorption in the Godhead is really destroyed. The miserable mortal automaton remains in the Circle. It is of no more consequence to Him that the dust of the floor.

The Alchemists themselves taught this same truth. The first matter of the work was base and primitive, though "natural". After passing through various stages the "black dragon" appeared; but from this arose the pure and perfect gold.

There is an etymological identity between Tetragrammaton and "I A O", but the magical formulae are entirely different, as the descriptions here given have schewn. It will now be understood that this formula of I A O is a formula of Tiphareth. The magician who employs it is conscious of himself as a man liable to suffering, and anxious to transcend that state by becoming one with god

It was this key that thus unlocked the Book. Formulae shall be covered in detail presently, but for now suffice to say that the formula is not only the key to the cosmogony but also a further proof which is contained in Crowley’s rectification of IAO to FIAOF.

We shall complete our brief overview of Hekate, having compiled a considerable amount of data. As we shall see in the next section, the conception of Hekate that we have managed will be more than validated. In creating our understanding of Hekate, we have drawn on fragments and debased images, hints and lucky guesses, trying to see through the smoke of centuries to find the center from which we could begin to measure, trying to draw a map in the dark. We have a rather different problem when approaching the central Arcanum of the Book – namely, where to begin!

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