My Circle

The women in my life
sing my song
on days when I
have forgotten
who I am
they remind me
of the love and glory
that flows steadfast
through my veins

I neglect
to reach out to them
at times
when anxiety
overwhelms and I’m not
sure who I truly am

They hear me
even when I am not
calling out to them
somehow
they know
get out the rose quartz
hold it at your side
bathe yourself in the
river’s energy
go and lean on the
old gnarled tree

And just like that
I am back
fully present to my self
Where would I be?
Who would I be
if not for the glory
of belonging
to the circle of women?

Beautiful
Glorious
Powerful
Awake
Vulnerable
beyond measure
They are who I am.

 

~ Joss Burnel ~
From the Book, Wild Woman: Poetry Inspired By Three Wise Women
Joss Burnel, Priestess Mystic

By the Earth that is Her Body

 

Earth holds and supports us like the arms of the great Goddess. It’s the
ground we stand on. Trees take root in it. Meadows rise from it. Crystals
grow within it. It grows our grain and gives us our green herbs. No other
element captures the Mystery of the Mother as well as the element that composes
Her body.

 

All the elements, earth, air, fire and water, have correspondences: magickal
tools and qualities that are associated with them, which can vary from
tradition to tradition. (Women’s traditions tend to be pretty flexible, so
don’t think of these as graven in stone.) The correspondences are part of the
symbolic richness of women’s rituals. What we know about Goddess can’t be
expressed in words, and rituals rife with symbolism lead us to that
inexpressible knowledge better than any speech could ever do. When we invoke
the qualities of the elements, we surround ourselves with the images of
Mystery.

 

The element of Earth corresponds to the direction North. Its season is winter,
and with winter comes quiet, thoughtfulness, and awareness without distraction.
Moving waters freeze. The riot of summer growth is dormant. With quiet comes
the ability to keep silent, to hold secrets, to listen, and to speak mindfully
and purposefully. Its magickal tool is the pentacle, the five-pointed star
inscribed in the circle, an ancient symbol of magick. Earth corresponds to
midnight, the witching hour, a time when truth is laid bare. Earth’s
corresponding colors are black, like night, and the colors of what it supports,
green and brown. It is also the element of metals, ores, crystals and
minerals. For this reason, the element of Earth corresponds to wealth and
material comfort, from gold and jewels to career and home. Earth and its
correspondences are heavily used in spellwork because material lack is a
problem for many women, maybe most of us. And, Earth is the final return of
energy when we ground. Earth is something we can readily touch and feel and
smell. It’s so prevalent that it only takes a little opening up to become
aware of the Mystery that continually surrounds us.

 

Earth is both a comfort and a source of disquiet, even fear. You can break
open a newly baked loaf and smell the Earth in its intoxicating scent. You can
also seek the unseen and find yourself in the dark. The Dark Goddess is
symbolized by Earth. The Old One knows and loves the Light. She has been a
Maiden and a Mother, and She knows what passion is. But She is also the
Destroyer, not just cleaning up after the party’s over, but a necessary part of
the Wheel of Life. In the end, the Dark Goddess will cradle us when the Crone
beckons us from across the Veil, kind and loving, but also inexorable.

 

Dark and Light are parts of the same weave. The element of Earth can teach us
to embrace them both.

– Silverskye

SONG OF THE GODDESS

 

I am the Great Mother, worshipped by all creation and existent prior to their
conscious-ness. I am the primal female force, boundless and eternal.

I am the chaste Goddess of the Moon, the Lady of all magick. The winds and
moving leaves sing my name. I wear the crescent Moon upon my brow and my feet
rest among the starry heavens. I am mysteries yet unsolved, a path newly set
upon. I am a field untouched by the plow. Rejoice in me and know the fullness of
youth.

I am the blessed Mother, the gracious Lady of the harvest. I am clothed with the
deep, cool wonder of the Earth and the gold of the fields heavy with grain. By
me the tides of the Earth are ruled; all things come to fruition according to my
reason. I am refuge and healing. I am the life-giving Mother, wondrously
fertile.

Worship me as the Crone, tender of the unbroken cycle of death and rebirth. I am
the wheel, the shadow of the Moon. I rule the tides of women and men and give
release and renewal to weary souls. Though the darkness of death is my domain,
the joy of birth is my gift.

I am the Goddess of the Moon, the Earth, the Seas. My names and strengths are
manifold. I pour forth magick and power, peace and wisdom. I am the eternal
Maiden, Mother of all, and Crone of darkness, and I send you blessings of
limitless love.

Charge of the God

 

Listen the the words of the Great Father, who of old was called Osiris, Adonis, Zeus, Thor, Pan, Cernunnos, Herne, Lugh and by may other names:

 

“My Law is Harmony with all things. Mine is the secret that opens the gates of life and mine is the dish of salt of the earth that is the body of Cernunnos that is the eternal circle of rebirth. I give the knowledge of life everlasting, and beyond death I give the promise of regeneration and renewal. I am the sacrifice, the father of all things, and my protection blankets the earth.”

 

Hear the words of the dancing God, the music of whose laughter stirs the winds, whose voice calls the seasons:

 

“I who am the Lord of the Hunt and the Power of the Light, sun among the clouds and the secret of the flame, I call upon your bodies to arise and come unto me. For I am the flesh of the earth and all it’s beings. Thru me all things must die and with me are reborn. Let my worship be in the body that sings, for behold all acts of willing sacrifice are my rituals. Let there be desire and fear, anger and weakness, joy and peace, awe and longing within you. For these too are part of the mysteries found within yourself, within me, all beginnings have endings, and all endings have beginnings.”

 

So Mote It BE!

 

Credit: Siobhan

The Charge of the Goddess

 

I am the quickening of the seed in Springtime, the glory of ripe fields in Summer, and the peace of the quiet woods as the snow calms the Earth in Winter. I am the lilt of the maidens’ melody in the morning, the patient hand of the Mother and the deep river of the mysteries taught by moonlight.

 

I give the creatures of the earth the gifts of song rising from the heart, the joy of autumn sunset, the cool touch of the renewing waters, and the compelling call of the drum in the dance. To you I give the joy of creation and the companion of beauty to light your days.

 

By the powers of the steadfast Earth and the wheeling stars I charge thee; by the darkness of death and the white light of birth I charge thee; and by the terrible strength of your human spirits, I charge thee:

 

Strive always for the growth of your eternal soul, never intentionally diminish your strength, your compassion, your ties to the earth or your knowledge.

 

Challenge your mind, never accept complacently that which has been the standard merely for the reason that it is the standard by which the majority judges itself.

 

Thirdly, I charge thee, act always for the betterment of your brothers and sisters. To strengthen them is to forge the true chain of humanity, and a chain is only as strong as its weakest link.

 

You are my children, my brothers and sisters and my companions. You are known in great part by the company you keep, and you are strong and wise and full of the powers of life. It is yours to use them in my service, and I also, am known by the company I keep.

 

Go forth in joy and the light of my love, turning to me without fear when the darkness threatens to overcome you, and turning also to me to share your triumphs and your achievements, and know in your heart of hearts that we are together in blood and spirit ’til the last star darkens in the sky and winter comes to the universe.

—Kyri Comyn, Author

Spirituality

“What is `spirituality’? Does it matter much today?
And what is something `sacred’? Is it black and white…or grey?”
These were the queries of a youngster, and gave me pause for thought;
And as I rummaged through my mind, I found the words I sought.
“Spirituality is a relationship ‘twixt the Universe and you,
And how you behave will manifest, no matter what you do!

It’s a friendship with creation – with stones and plants and trees,
With birds and deer and butterflies…and even bumblebees;
It’s knowing that the life you have, is found in them, as well;
It’s awareness that creation is found in every realm,
And that all of it is sacred and all of it’s divine!
That means it’s very special – and will be for all time!

The answers to your questions are both black and white, and gray,
As spirituality and sacredness depends on you…each day!”
I pondered well his queries as he slipped out the door,
And wondered if I’d answered well – or if I should say more…
But looking out the window, I saw him smile at me,
And knew that I’d said plenty, as he reached out and hugged a tree!

 

—Kalioppe

Pagan’s Way

Not for my feet, the Mage’s High Golden Road.
My heart is set in silver,
Wind in the trees,
Green grass beneath my feet,
And the Moonlit grove.

Content with the power in the deep bones of the Earth Mother,
I would not command the heavens.
I have trod the Solitary Path, and shall again.
I have heard the Lady’s laughter at Moonrise,
And suffered Her tender scourge in my heart.

I have eaten with the Lord of Shadows
And been re-born
I have spied shy, horned faces
Peering golden-eyed from the rocks at the circle’s edge.

And I have called to the Watchers at the World’s four quarters.
And from their gates, They answered.
I have watched the Salamanders dance in the fire’s embers,
And the Undines in the chortling streams.

All this I know, and more
I have no need of the passionate cold of the Celestial vault.
Or the comet’s fire.
I will walk my quiet road in peace,
And conjure spiral wonders
For the morning’s Sun is gold enough for me.

—Gale Perrigo, Author

Green Leaves

The stars are shining, the Moon is clear
In the rustling leaves Nature’s voice is clear
The river murmur through Spring and Summer
The song of The Lord and The Lady

Green leaves in the evening breeze
Where the people gather beneath the trees
Priest and Priestess and people joining
To honour The Lord and The Lady

The Earth is singing down here below
While we join in the firelight glow
The chanting rise to the stormy skies
In the praise of The Lord and The Lady

Green leaves in the evening breeze
Where the people gather beneath the trees
Priest and Priestess and people joining
To honour The Lord and The Lady

All powers below and all powers above
Have joined together to bless and love
All Nature blending Their people sending
Their love to the Lord and The Lady

Green leaves in the evening breeze
Where the people gather beneath the trees
Priest and Priestess and people joining
To honour The Lord and The Lady

—-Author Unknown
Originally Published on Pagan Library

 

New Words & Old

 

In the autumn of the lightnings, in the mighty-voic’ed throng
In the twilight were the offerings, with both chants and full-throat song:
These the People, born to silence
These the Seekers, born to sight
These the Wanderers, born to roaming
These frail Humans, born to night…
In the winter’s swirling blizzard, in the quaking of great trees In the night-black child of charring, in the wavering, fitful breeze:
These the Wicca, seeking knowledge
These the Shamen, knowing care
These the Students, always reading
These the Hopeful, who despair…
In the spring-tide’s joyous growing, in the flower and the leaf In the summer’s dearth and plenty, saving up to stoke Belief:
Hear the Mother, gentle-voicings
Hear the Father, rumbled whisper
Hear the Children, gay and laughing
Hear the Many – sing your vesper…
Now the Bard and Druid gather
Now the Priestess calls afar
Now the Time to Watch and Listen
Now the Time to practice more!

 

–Kihe Blackeagle, Author
Originally published on Pagan Library

Song of the Seasons

 

Come and wake the sleepers
Rouse them with a song
Tell them winter’s over
Though it has been long

 

Sing awake the flowers
Bushes, grass, and trees
Tell them spring is here now
Sun and birds and breeze

 

Set the world to dancing
Soon will summer come
Pan is playing pipes and
Gaia beats her drum

 

Now the seeds of autumn
Set so long ago
Must awake and ready
For it’s time to grow

 

by Elizabeth Barrette
Published on Greenhaven: A Pagan Tradition

Full Moon

The Moon has risen and the glow comes into our circle.
My Sisters join hands and bow their heads
As the Goddess is called to us.

I call on the Wind to present her self
I call on the Fire to rise high from our caldrons.
I call on the Rain to fall gently upon us.
I call on the Earth, who is mother to us all.

I turn to the East and summon the Witches
I turn to the South and summon my Words
I turn to the West and summon the Energy
I turn to the North and summon the Light

I make my circle of protection and bow as
I request the love and light of the Goddess.
I make my circle of protection and invite
my Sisters to join the light.
I make my circle of protection and place
my family there with me.
I make my circle of protection and
place my animals with us.

I raise my arms to the Moon
and draw down her energy.
I raise my arms to the Moon
and drawn down her light.
I raise my arms to the Moon
and drawn down her love
I raise my arms to the Moon
and drawn down her protection .

She is our Mother and I ask for her prayers

I pray for the families of my Sisters
I pray for the fulfillment of my destiny
I pray for the joy of life to fill my life
I pray for the protection of my Sisters and myself

Blessings to the birds in our skies
Blessings to animals that roam our lands
Blessings to creatures of the seas
Blessings to our pets, which love is constant

Joy to us and all of ours
Laughter that fills our lives
May we see the beauty around us
Find a passion that will live forever

I give my love and energy to my Sisters
I open my circle and release the joy
And peace from this gathering
I open my circle and release the Love
And Energy from this gathering
I open my circle and release
Our devotion to the Goddess

I thank the Goddess for her presence
I thank the Witches for their presence
I thank the Elements for their presence
I thank my Sisters for their presence

To All with my Love and Blessings

All is done…

 

—A Witch’s Prayerbook
JoAnne Spiese

Nature’s 4 Elements of Love

 

Love is and is made from nature’s 4 elements of love
that make up all the essentials in life

 

The 4 elements of love that intertwine
our beings divine within the beating
heart of the universal infinite

 

The 4 elements of love that make us…
from the tops of our heads
to the tips of our toes
to the beating of our hearts
to our hands that give love

 

So I call from Gaia the 4 elements of love into me…

 

Earth – the element coming from the North
Earth as my Body – become me

 

Earth is our universal home
For She sustains, supports, and provides nourishment
for us all

 

Earth is where we were born
Earth is where we will live
Earth is where we will die

 

Earth is the source that all life comes from and
that all life will return to – ashes to ashes and
dust to dust

 

When you stand upon Mother Earth, let
your soul move through the center of
your feet to entangle once again with
the roots of all earth’s life

 

My Body as Earth – Let Me become You…

 

Air – the element coming from the East
Air as my Breath – breathe me in

 

Air is the movement, space and the medium of
communication between all life

 

Air is under and around our starry skies, and
inbetween the essential ethers that we breathe

 

Air tells us the secrets of the earth…
if we silence our minds enough we can hear them

 

Air is what we should all be like to each other –
that giving and that essential

 

When you let air blow through your
heart freely you feel true love
for all

 

My Breath as Air – Let me breathe you in…

 

Fire – the element coming from the South
Fire as my Spirit – consume me

 

Fire as Sun heats the Earth,
warms our hearts and homes

 

Fire as energy, is the light, the heat and that
which creates our vital inner force that we all
need for soul survival

 

Fire is the energy that enables our spiritual growth

 

Fire is the inner passion that moves us all to seek
and find love in all

 

When you let fire consume your being,
your soul becomes one with all

 

My Spirit as Fire – Let Me consume You…

 

Water – the element coming from the West
Water as my Blood – flow thru me

 

Water is the ebb and flow within us in accordance to
the lunar cycles

 

Water is the liquid of love that flows from Her veins
of life into our veins of life

 

Water is life’s blood that connects all life
and flows thru all life

 

Water is the universal solvent that…
connects us all
flows thru us all
and…
dissolves us all
all into one

 

When you lay over water and water lays
over you, you once again become whole –
mind, body and soul…

 

My Blood as Water – Let Me flow thru You…

 

For these 4 elements of love come from the
primal source above and connect us all as
one universal being of love within this
infinite universe of love

 

For these 4 elements of love take us all
Take us all thru Mother Gaia’s 4 seasonal calls
– Winter, Spring, Summer and Fall

 

—Savannah Skye, Author
Originally published on Pagan Library

Mother, Maiden, Crone

 

Mother Maiden, Crone
I am just a Witch alone,
honoring your many phases
as my own….
Changes come and go,
tides rise and flow
as your light continues to grow,
peeking through the window as I sleep,
my dreams you safely keep,
Goddess of the Moon,
your magick fills my room,
with blessings of the womb,
moonbeams dance upon these walls,
like golden threads, spun on a loom,
Stars circle round,
like a silvery crown,
as I draw your energy down..
Many Blessings you continuously bestow
with your magickal glow,
as above… so below….
Mother, Maiden, Crone
I am just a Witch Alone….

– by Mor`inanna~EagleSon

 

13 Faces of the Moon

 

13 Goddesses of the moon
Is to whom I dedicate this poem to
Astarte, Bast, Cybele, Diana, Eris, Freya, Gaia,
Hathor, Isis, Juno, Kali, Lakshmi and Maat
13 faces of the moon

Is to whom I dedicate this poem to
One of them whom is
She who wears the crescent horns
Astarte, who is our protectress for 29 nites

One of them whom is
The Lady we hold great celebrations for
Bast, who looks over the black cat of the dark nites
Bast, who watches over us for a steadfast 30

The Lady we hold great celebrations for
As we dance and drum for Her
Ecstatically for 29 nites
Is Cybele, our great Mountain Mother

As we dance and drum for Her
We are loving devotional Priestesses
Of Our Mother of all Creatures
Diana, who shines down on us for 30 nites

We are loving devotional Priestesses
Who sees Her lovely face in the moon
For 29 continuous nites of chaos
As Eris, the Goddess who discords us into perfect
rhythm

Who sees Her lovely face in the moon
For she is our large wombed-earth mother
And for 30 nites She keeps by our side
As we fly with Freya on a magical ride

For She is our large wombed-earth
For She is our mother and daughter
For She is the earth herself born from chaos
For She is Gaia who for 29 nites, lites the sky

For She is our mother and daughter
Who wears a sun disk glowing between horns
As the moon shines from Her for 30 nites
Shines from Hathor, our Great Goddess

Who wears a sun disk glowing between horns
For She is our Goddess of the moon
Who shines for 29 nites on the Nile’s moonlit waters
Where Osiris’ love reflects for her, our Queen Mother,
Isis

For She is our Goddess of the moon
Our Mother of the dark
Who shines down on us for 30 nites
For she is Juno, our lady of the sky

Our Mother of the dark
Who is one face of our Great Devi
She is Kali Ma
Our Goddess who dances the dance of death for 29 nites

Who is one face of our Great Devi
Who has many names
And for 30 days
She looks down upon us with the lovely face of Lakshmi

Who has many names
Whom we all love and cherish
For all these Goddesses that starts with Astarte whom
Stays around for 29 days and ends when we see
the luminous face of Maat

Whom we all love and cherish
For they are the 13 Goddesses of the moon
Astarte, Bast, Cybele, Diana, Eris, Freya, Gaia,
Hathor, Isis, Juno, Kali, Lakshmi and Maat
For they are the 13 faces of the moon

—Savannah Skye, Author
Originally Published On PaganLibrary

Amazing Grace

Amazing grace, how sweet the Earth
that bore a witch like me!
I once was burned, now I survive,
was hung and now I sing.

T’was grace that drew down the moon
and grace that raised the seas.
The magic in the people’s will
will set our Mother free.

We face the East and breathe the winds
that move across this earth.
From gentle breeze to hurricane
our breath will bring forth the change.

Turn towards the South and feel the fire
that burns in you and me.
The spirit’s flame will rise again
and burn eternally.

We greet the West, our souls awash
in tides of primal birth.
Our tears and blood, our pain and love
will cleanse and heal the earth.

Reach into the North and know your roots
down deep ancestral caves.
We find the wisdom of the Crone,
Of circles we are made.

Amazing earth, enduring life,
from death into rebirth.
T’is earth I am and earth I love
and earth I’ll always be.

Amazing grace, how sweet the Earth
that bore witches like we.
We once were burned, now we survive,
were hung and now we sing.

Goddess bless, so mote it be,
Our magic spirals on.
Merry meet and merry part
and merry meet again.

—Verna Knapp, Author
Originally published on Pagan Library

 

I Saw Something Beautiful

I saw something beautiful today.
I was sitting by a tree
along a wooded path,
when I heard two lovers talk
as they came near me
along the wooded path.
She said she hoped he’d never go
until she’d passed away
for she was to weak to go alone
and he said that he’d not go
until her life was gone
because she was his morning
and she was his sun.
That she’d never face a day alone.
What love this couple has I thought
As these endearing words I caught.
I envisioned them as lovers in a fairy tale,
Him tall and dark, her small and pale.
So when they chanced to pass my way
I looked to see such young lovers.
But this is what I saw,
an elderly man with eyes now dim
an elderly lady accompanying him.
This is what I saw,
The beauty of an ageless love
Blessed by Goddess above
Endless even in old age.
And somehow I knew there was no gage
By which to measure this
My wish for them is one of eternal bliss.
Yes, I saw something beautiful today
And I’m better for it crossing my way.

—Author Unknown
Originally published on Pagan Library