A Pagan Ritual Prayer Book (17 page)

Mercury:

• Clever Mercurius:
  

  God of commerce, god of prosperity,
  

   
  

  God of wisdom, god of travel,
  

   
  

  Guide of souls:
  

   
  

  I offer you my worship.
  

   
  

The Mississippi River:

• This small stream, that river, are your children, Father of the Waters.
  

  But they feed into you,
  

   
  

  so who is father of whom?
  

   
  

  Where do you come from,
  

   
  

  where is your fatherhood,
  

   
  

  if you come from them?
  

   
  

  This is what I think:
  

   
  

  Each of these streams, rivers,
  

   
  

  each rain drop that falls on this land,
  

   
  

  has a spirit,
  

   
  

  and each spirit joins in you,
  

   
  

  so that you, whose source is them,
  

   
  

  all together,
  

   
  

  connect them like a founding ancestor his descendents,
  

   
  

  them your children,
  

   
  

  and you, Mississippi, their father.
  

   
  

Moon:

• It's sweet to rest in the night under the moon,
  

  a queen surrounded by her handmaiden stars,
  

   
  

  who empties her store of love over my head,
  

   
  

  white light, silver light, warm light:
  

   
  

  this is her gift to me and to all who look toward her.
  

   
  

  You are in the sky above me, and you are in my heart.
  

   
  

Night:

• Exactly how many eyes do you have, Night?
  

  I keep counting them,
  

   
  

  and each time I come up with a different number.
  

   
  

  However many there are,
  

   
  

  when they look down may they find me acting virtuously.
  

   
  

  Or if they don't, I hope that, seeing what
  other
  people do,
  

   
  

  you'll understand.
  

   
  

  I lose myself in the wonder of your infinite blackness,
  

   
  

  And pierced by the light of your unnumbered stars,
  

   
  

  rest in the confidence of your mercy.
  

   
  

Ocean Spirits:

• Each drop of wind-blown salt spray is a spirit of the ocean, among whom I pray, and to whom I pray.
  

Oghma:

• If I wanted to do something really stupid,
  

  would you stop me, Oghma? PRAISE 113
  

   
  

  Of course not;
  

   
  

  your job is to advise and inspire, not control.
  

   
  

  Thanks.
  

   
  

Pan:

• Io Pan, the shout in the hills,
  

  Io Pan, the hooves on the rocks,
  

   
  

  Io Pan, the song in the wild:
  

   
  

  Io Pan, Io Pan.
  

   
  

  Io Pan, the scattering of the flocks,
  

   
  

  Io Pan, the singing of the pipes,
  

   
  

  Io Pan, the roaring in the fields:
  

   
  

  Io Pan, Io Pan.
  

   
  

  Io Pan, the goat,
  

   
  

  Io Pan, the man,
  

   
  

  Io Pan, the god:
  

   
  

  Io Pan, Io Pan.
  

   
  

• Great Pan, you have not died,
  

  but live always among those who call you,
  

   
  

  with prayers, with songs,
  

   
  

  with dance and the beaten drum,
  

   
  

  we call you,
  

   
  

  we worship you,
  

   
  

  we celebrate you,
  

   
  

  Great Pan, undying.
  

   
  

Pele:

• An old woman or a young one,
  

  but whenever I see you, you burning as flowing magma.
  

   
  

  Hair's tresses which when cool and hard, still burn inside,
  

   
  

  forming these islands,
  

   
  

  are yours, Pele, clearly so.
  

   
  

  Whether I see you sitting on the edge of the road,
  

   
  

  or in my room,
  

   
  

  or even just in my imagination,
  

   
  

  I will give you leis,
  

   
  

  which aren't as beautiful as you.
  

   
  

Perk
^w
únos:

• My voice might not be as loud as yours,
  

  but it comes from my essential being too.
  

   
  

  May it rise through the crash of clouds and into your ears, Perk
  ^w
  únos,
  

   
  

  you who obliterate all that stands in your way.
  

   
  

  May I be filled with the booming brightness you hurl and not by my fears.
  

   
  

  May my body tremble with the strength of your arms and not my weaknesses.
  

   
  

  May all I do be with your unfailing accuracy and your power which cannot be withstood.
  

   
  

Perun:

• The arrows of Perun drive enemies away,
  

  and enforce justice, and grant fertility.
  

   
  

  God with flaming hair, with burning face,
  

   
  

  I watch you come with the clouds
  

   
  

  to perform your mighty deeds.
  

   
  

Poseidon:

• Blue-maned Earth-shaker,
  

  Lord of Horses, whose realm is the sea:
  

   
  

  I stand on your shore and watch your waves as they roll in and out,
  

   
  

  each one singing a song of praise to you,
  

   
  

  and I join in with my prayer.
  

   
  

River Spirits:

• Crossed by a bridge, your waters are still as sacred as
  

  when our ancestors slogged across them at fords.
  

   
  

  Perhaps
  more
  sacred, since they are undefiled by our muddy stirrings.
  

   
  

  Although held aloft, I am still connected,
  

   
  

  and still honor you, River Spirit.
  

   
  

Rock Spirits:

• Hey, I recognize you, rock.
  

  Do you know
  me
  ?
  

   
  

  I'm the one who says “Hi” to you when I see you.
  

   
  

  We can be good friends, you and me.
  

   
  

  I'll say “Hi” next time I see you.
  

   
  

Silvanus:

• Silvanus of the woods
  

  is Silvanus of the fields,
  

   
  

  protecting each one constantly,
  

   
  

  guarding all our lands faithfully.
  

   
  

Spirits of Places or Things:

• This is small, but it has its spirit, which I honor.
  

Star Goddess:

• I didn't think it was possible to fall up.
  

  But I find myself falling into your body,
  

   
  

  Queen of the Stars.
  

   
  

Storm God:

• After the destruction of your thunderbolt, the rains
  

  come and the fields grow green.
  

   
  

  Too often I pray for your demolition of obstacles,
  

   
  

  and too rarely for a good to replace them.
  

   
  

  Even as I pray to you for your raw power,
  

   
  

  use it to remove as well this weakness of mine which separates:
  

   
  

  the end from the beginning,
  

   
  

  destruction from creation,
  

   
  

  your fire from the life-giving water that cools and feeds the earth as you pass by.
  

   
  

• With a right arm with strength enough to cleave universes,
  

  he slew the serpent who thought he could destroy the cosmos.
  

   
  

  And every day with steadfast dedication to the right cause
  

   
  

  he renews the battle against disorder with his aim never swerving from true.
  

   
  

  Axe-Wielder and Bright-Striker:
  

   
  

  did you hear me telling your story?
  

   
  

• We speak to the Lord of the Lightning,
  

  we seek out the Lord of the Right,
  

   
  

  to Him, the ever-bright Champion,
  

   
  

  a hymn to banish the night.
  

   
  

  For when he comes,
  

   
  

  he comes in the darkness.
  

   
  

  And when he comes,
  

   
  

  he brings in the light.
  

   
  

  A flash that cuts through the grayness,
  

   
  

  a crash that deafens our ears,
  

   
  

  a spike that pins down the Chaos,
  

   
  

  a strike that softens our fears.
  

   
  

  For when he comes,
  

   
  

  he comes in the darkness.
  

   
  

  And when he comes,
  

   
  

  he brings in the light.
  

   
  

  With rain, he brings us the greening,
  

   
  

  with grain, he brightens our days,
  

   
  

  with might, he drives away falseness,
  

   
  

  with right, he opens our ways.
  

   
  

  For when he comes,
  

   
  

  he comes in the darkness.
  

   
  

  And when he comes,
  

   
  

  he brings in the light.
  

   
  

  For truth, he slays all confusion,
  

   
  

  for youth, he stands as a star,
  

   
  

  the day, he shows in the storm cloud,
  

   
  

  the way, he marks from afar.
  

   
  

  And when he comes,
  

   
  

  he comes in the darkness.
  

   
  

  And when he comes,
  

   
  

  he brings in the light.