Calendar of the Moon for July 9th

Holly Tree Month

Colors: Iron-grey, red, and dark green.
Element: Fire
Altar: Upon cloth of dark grey set many sprigs of holly, real or created, four red candles, a spear and a sword.
Offerings: Honor your inner warrior, including examining the areas where s/he overreacts.
Daily Meal: Red food. Meat of any kind.

Tinne Invocation

Call: Hail the month of the Holly King!
Response: Hail the King of the waning year!
Call: Hail, sharp leaves and sharper eye!
Response: Hail, white flowers that give way to blood-red berries!
Call: Hail the month of the starling’s flock!
Response: For the starlings move together as one!
Call: Like them, we defend what is dear to us!
Response: Like them, we do not let each other stand alone against opposition!
Call: Hail the color of cold iron!
Response: Hail the sword and the spear!
Call: For our sword is Reason….
Response: And our spear is the death of Illusion!
Call: Hail the color of cold iron!
Response: Hail the armor and the shield!
Call: For our armor is Hope….
Response: And our shield is Love.
Call: The Oak King gives way to the Holly King…
Response: For all things have a time of increase, and a time of decrease.
Call: For all things wax and wane.
Response: For all things rise and fall.
Call: This is the moment just beyond the year’s apex!
Response: This is the time of the beginning of the end!
Call: May we take courage with every passing morning!
Response: May courage fill us with every breath!

Chant:
Spear of truth, find me,
I open myself to you.
Chains of honor, bind me,
Bound, I am free to hold true.

[Pagan Book of Hours]

Calendar of the Moon for July 7

Calendar of the Moon

7 Duir/Skirophorion

Day of the Dagda

Color: Brown
Element: Earth
Altar: Upon a brown cloth lay a wand made of an oak branch, a great cup of ale, a bowl of porridge, and four brown candles.
Offerings: Feed the hungry.
Daily Meal: Soup, stew, or porridge, enough to feed more than just the House. Let the rest be given to those who need it.

Invocation to the Dagda

Hail Eochaid Ollathair, Father of All!
Hail Ruad Ro-fhessa, Lord of Perfect Knowledge!
Lord of the Oak Tree,
Phallus of the summer saplings,
Rough as tree bark is your wisdom,
Yet deep as sunken roots.
You who can call the seasons with your harp,
You are called upon by the common people
For your gift of fair weather.
You whose club is so great
That nine men are required to carry it
And even then it plows a great ditch;
Whose terrible end slays hundreds at a blow
And whose other end can restore them to life;
You stake your life on the fertility of the land
That others may survive the cold winters.
You who build great fortresses,
You know what it is to be the sole protection
Of those you love, and to go forth
In battle to save their lives.
You are a king, yet you go among the people
In the rough clothing of a peasant,
Rejecting the trappings of the wealthy.
Your great cauldron is never empty,
Nourisher of your people, and of all people.

(The ale is passed, and then poured out as a libation. The stew is ceremonially carried into the kitchen, and the day’s chant sung over the kitchen table.)

Chant: May you never hunger, may you never thirst.

[Pagan Book of Hours]

Calendar of the Sun for July 7th

Calendar of the Sun

7 Haymonath

Tanabata

Colors: Black and silver
Element: Water
Altar: Upon a cloth of black place two Japanese figures, one man and one woman, separated by a scarf of black studded with silver stars. Have also small strips of paper of many colors, colored string, and pens, nearby. One tree should be selected outside to be the Tanabata tree, and hung with silver stars.
Offerings: Wishes.
Daily Meal: Japanese food.

Tanabata Invocation

Two lovers stand on opposite sides
Of the Milky Way, the River of Heaven,
And wait for one night a year
When they can meet yet again
And part in the morning.
To all the world, this is a sad story.
But I say unto you:
There is no love without parting,
Be it time or death or sorrow
Or the turning of the heart.
And time apart can fix a bond
As strongly as it can tear one apart
If those who love are strong enough of heart.
May we be so strong
And love so fiercely
As to have a love that lasts a thousand years
That have only touched for a thousand days.
Lovers of the Milky Way, grant us our wishes
As we would, if we could,
Grant you yours.

(Each comes forth and writes their wish upon a piece of paper, rolls it up and ties it to the tree, and exits. )

[Pagan Book of Hours]

Calendar of the Moon for Friday, July 6th

Calendar of the Moon

Oak Tree Month

Color: Black
Element: Earth
Altar: Upon a black cloth place the vase of oak branches, a hammer, a metal lightning bolt, a sun symbol with the rune Sigil upon it, and a Green Man with an oak-leaf face.
Offerings: Give thanks for personal victories.
Daily Meal: Serve salad with each meal, arranged in the circular pattern of the Green Man.

Duir Invocation

Call: Now is the time of the Sun’s height.
Response: Now is the time when the leaves reach to the heavens.
Call: Now is the time when the Oak King spread his arms.
Response: Now is the time when we reach with him for the Sun.
Call: Now is the time when we return to the ancient grove of the Druids.
Response: Now is the time when we witness the Sun’s sacrifice.
Call: Now is the time when we go forth in glory.
Response: Now is the time of the turning of the year.
Call: Hail to the wren, soul of the Oak King!
Response: Hail to the sky, crown of the Oak King!
Call: Hail to the Earth, bed of the Oak King!
Response: Hail to the Sun, lover of the Oak King!
Call: Hail to the guardians of the door!
Response: May they guard us well, O oaken beams!
Call: We have no need to guard ourselves….
Response: For the Gods will guard us.
Call: We have no need to hide behind bolted doors….
Response: For now is the time to be open to the Sun!
Call: Like the Green Man, we speak through the oak!
Response: Like the Green Man, our voice is the strength of the earth!
Call: Like the Oak King, we do not fear the lightning!
Response: Like the Oak King, we will accept all repercussions!
Call: We have no shame for our actions….
Response: For all that we do, we do from a place of worthiness.
Call: For all that we do, we do from a place of honor.
Response: For all that we do, we do from a place of love.

Chant:
By my body I be earth
By my spirit I be fire
Call the lightning to my heart
Bring my soul what I desire

[Pagan Book of Hours]

Calendar of the Sun for Monday, July 2

Calendar of the Sun

2 Haymonath

Day of Bes

Color: Brown
Element: Water
Altar: Upon a brown cloth set a pitcher of beer, a bowl of incense, and the small figure of the dwarf god Bes, surrounded by rhythm instruments.
Offerings: Do something for children, or to help someone’s marriage.
Daily Meal: Barley. Beer.

Hymn to Bes

O little dancer from the Land of Punt,
Guardian of sweet dreams,
Giver of beauty both inside and out,
Bless the bed in which we shall sleep,
Bless the mirror into which I will look
Tomorrow morning when I awake.
Bless and protect all children,
For they are the innocent victims of this world.
Bless and protect those who join together
In committed relationship,
Especially when their love is the anchor of a family.
Bring us laughter, dancing Bes,
And protect us from all disasters
For as long as we may live and love.

(All pick up musical instruments and spend time playing in honor of Bes. Singing or chanting of one’s choice may be added, as may dancing.)

[Pagan Book of Hours]

Calendar of the Moon for June 19th

19 Huath/Thargelion

Kallynteria: Spring Cleaning

Color: Grey and white
Element: Air
Altar: Upon cloth of grey and white place many brooms locked together in a geometric star, a clay bowl of water, and strong incense.
Offering: Clean the house.
Daily Meal: Vegan and simple.

Kallynteria Invocation

Call: Hail, Spirits of Cleansing!
Response: Hail, Wind of Change!
Call: We walk through the grime
Of many days and nights,
Grime of body that comes
On the bottom of our soles!
Response: Grime of spirit that comes
From the depths of our souls!
Call: On this day we sweep it all away!
Response: Sweep it all away!
Call: Weariness and drabness!
Response: Sweep it all away!
Call: Despair and sadness!
Response: Sweep it all away!
Call: The ashes of fear!
Response: Sweep it all away!
Call: The coals of resentment!
Response: Sweep it all away!
Call: The cobwebs of boredom!
Response: Sweep it all away!
Call: We will make this place ready for the Gods.
Response: We will make ready!
Call: We will clean and purify!
Response: We will await the Plynteria!
Call: This place will be sacred space!
Response: As is each of our souls!

(Each takes a broom from the altar and goes to sweep one part of the house. As they approach the altar, they are anointed with water from the cup as a purification. Others follow behind with the incense, fumigating every room. Open all windows and let the winds blow in.)

[Pagan Book of Hours]

Calendar of the Sun for June 19th

Feralia: Day of Purification

Color: White
Element: Air
Altar: On a white cloth put a lit candle, incense, a cup of water, and a bowl of salt.
Offering: Although this day is not a day of total silence, it is a solemn day and talking should be done only when necessary and in quiet tones. Bodies should be thoroughly cleaned during the bathing hour, and then the altar area should be cleaned and purified with all four elements. Each person, upon entering the altar space at the beginning of Sponde should remove their clothing and be naked, and each body should be purified with the four elements and marked with water and salt, at which point they may enrobe again. Chores of the day should concentrate on cleaning and repair.
Daily Meal: Vegan and extremely simple and plain.

Feralia Invocation

Breathe the air into your body
And breathe out again,
And as you breathe out,
Let all grime and corruption
Depart on that breath
(All breathe together for twelve breaths.)
Feel the blood coursing through your body
And imagine it clean
Of anything but what should be there.
Feel the energy coursing through your body
And wash it clean
Of anything that does not belong.
Feel the Earth beneath you,
Remember that She can absorb all
Remember that all rot is her provenance
Draw her energy up into you
And give it back again.

(After this grounding, all breathe together again in a yogic breathing pattern for the next half an hour, after which all will go with water and salt and incense and fire to all rooms in the house and cleanse them. Great care should be taken for the rest of the day not to disturb the energy of the freshly cleaned house.)

[Pagan Book of Hours]

Calendar of the Moon for Monday, June 18th

Hawthorn Tree Month

Color: Purple
Element: Air
Altar: Upon a cloth of purple place a vase of the budded hawthorn twigs, a knife, incense of gardenia and marjoram, and a figure of the Goddess.
Offerings: Contemplate something that is both beautiful and painful.
Daily Meal: Serve fruit juice with the food.

Huath Invocation
Call: Now is the time of the flower’s blossoming.
Response: Now is the time when the hand reaches forth to pluck.
Call: Now is the time when we struggle with our instincts…
Response: To take beauty for ourselves, or to leave it in its place.
Call: Now is the time when we must remember that all plants are not ours.
Response: We did not plant the forest, and it does not belong to us.
Call: We were not the first beings on this earth.
Response: We have come young and late, and the trees look down upon us.
Call: They groan from the centuries of our meddling.
Response: They grow thorns to protect themselves.
Call: Now is the time when the hawthorn goddess steps forward.
Response: Now is the time when the heartless lady lifts her hand.
Call: Now is the time of great beauty in the world.
Response: Now is the time when Nature protects her beauty.
Call: The hawthorn goddess stabs us to the heart with beauty.
Response: She reminds us of our place in the world.
Call: She reminds us that we do not own this green planet.
Response: She reminds us that our grasping fingers can still bleed.
Call: She makes the hedges that our animals cannot cross.
Response: She sets the boundaries that no man may cross.
Call: She makes our hearts beat faster or slower.
Response: Her berries are sweet, but she protects them.
Call: We must respect her as we respect the Earth….
Response: The Green Man falls before her, heedless and headless.
Call: She is the blade of all trees, and we shed our blood for her.
Response: She is the teeth of Nature, and we give way before her might.

Chant:
Cauldron of Changes
Blossom of Bone
Arc of Eternity
Hole in the Stone

[Pagan Book of Hours]

Calendar of the Moon for June 15

15 Huath/Thargelion

Hermes’s Day

Color: Light blue
Element: Air
Altar: Upon a light blue cloth place a winged hat, a pair of winged sandals, an image of the caduceus, a cup of sparkling alcohol, and incense of lemongrass and mint.
Offerings: Use your intellect for something. Learn something new.
Daily Meal: Light, cold, raw food.

Invocation to Hermes

Sing, O Muse, of the son of Zeus and Maia,
Lord of Arcadia and Cyllene rich in flocks,
Messenger of gods and bringer of luck,
Borne by Maia of the beautiful hair
Who brought forth to the light a remarkable child,
Devious, winning in his cleverness,
A robber, a driver of cattle,
A guide of dreams, a wind of opportunity,
A spy in the night, a watcher at the door,
Born at dawn, inventing the lyre by midday,
Stealing by evening the flocks of far-shooting Apollo.
Thrice-magical Trismegistus, watcher of magicians
And bearer of the serpents who heal,
Father of Aesclepius the great physician
And Hermaphroditos, both woman and man,
Embracer of both woman and man,
Lover of the Bearded Aphrodite,
Lord of Speed in all its forms,
We feel your passing like a breath of wind!
Bring us skill and luck, O God of the Stone Herm,
And may all our roads be marked first with your winged feet.

Chant:
I am word
I am wind
I am breath
I am spinning
On the edge
Of the blade

(The sparkling alcohol is poured out as a libation for Hermes. All breathe deeply and depart.)

[Pagan Book of Hours]

Calendar of the Moon for June 13th

Hawthorn Tree Month

Color: Purple
Element: Air
Altar: Upon a cloth of purple place a vase of the budded hawthorn twigs, a knife, incense of gardenia and marjoram, and a figure of the Goddess.
Offerings: Contemplate something that is both beautiful and painful.
Daily Meal: Serve fruit juice with the food.

Huath Invocation
Call: Now is the time of the flower’s blossoming.
Response: Now is the time when the hand reaches forth to pluck.
Call: Now is the time when we struggle with our instincts…
Response: To take beauty for ourselves, or to leave it in its place.
Call: Now is the time when we must remember that all plants are not ours.
Response: We did not plant the forest, and it does not belong to us.
Call: We were not the first beings on this earth.
Response: We have come young and late, and the trees look down upon us.
Call: They groan from the centuries of our meddling.
Response: They grow thorns to protect themselves.
Call: Now is the time when the hawthorn goddess steps forward.
Response: Now is the time when the heartless lady lifts her hand.
Call: Now is the time of great beauty in the world.
Response: Now is the time when Nature protects her beauty.
Call: The hawthorn goddess stabs us to the heart with beauty.
Response: She reminds us of our place in the world.
Call: She reminds us that we do not own this green planet.
Response: She reminds us that our grasping fingers can still bleed.
Call: She makes the hedges that our animals cannot cross.
Response: She sets the boundaries that no man may cross.
Call: She makes our hearts beat faster or slower.
Response: Her berries are sweet, but she protects them.
Call: We must respect her as we respect the Earth….
Response: The Green Man falls before her, heedless and headless.
Call: She is the blade of all trees, and we shed our blood for her.
Response: She is the teeth of Nature, and we give way before her might.

Chant:
Cauldron of Changes
Blossom of Bone
Arc of Eternity
Hole in the Stone

[Pagan Book of Hours]

Calendar of the Moon for June 12

Hawthorn Tree Month

Color: Purple
Element: Air
Altar: Upon a cloth of purple place a vase of the budded hawthorn twigs, a knife, incense of gardenia and marjoram, and a figure of the Goddess.
Offerings: Contemplate something that is both beautiful and painful.
Daily Meal: Serve fruit juice with the food.

Huath Invocation
Call: Now is the time of the flower’s blossoming.
Response: Now is the time when the hand reaches forth to pluck.
Call: Now is the time when we struggle with our instincts…
Response: To take beauty for ourselves, or to leave it in its place.
Call: Now is the time when we must remember that all plants are not ours.
Response: We did not plant the forest, and it does not belong to us.
Call: We were not the first beings on this earth.
Response: We have come young and late, and the trees look down upon us.
Call: They groan from the centuries of our meddling.
Response: They grow thorns to protect themselves.
Call: Now is the time when the hawthorn goddess steps forward.
Response: Now is the time when the heartless lady lifts her hand.
Call: Now is the time of great beauty in the world.
Response: Now is the time when Nature protects her beauty.
Call: The hawthorn goddess stabs us to the heart with beauty.
Response: She reminds us of our place in the world.
Call: She reminds us that we do not own this green planet.
Response: She reminds us that our grasping fingers can still bleed.
Call: She makes the hedges that our animals cannot cross.
Response: She sets the boundaries that no man may cross.
Call: She makes our hearts beat faster or slower.
Response: Her berries are sweet, but she protects them.
Call: We must respect her as we respect the Earth….
Response: The Green Man falls before her, heedless and headless.
Call: She is the blade of all trees, and we shed our blood for her.
Response: She is the teeth of Nature, and we give way before her might.

Chant:
Cauldron of Changes
Blossom of Bone
Arc of Eternity
Hole in the Stone

[Pagan Book of Hours]

Calendar of the Moon for June 11th

Hawthorn Tree Month

Color: Purple
Element: Air
Altar: Upon a cloth of purple place a vase of the budded hawthorn twigs, a knife, incense of gardenia and marjoram, and a figure of the Goddess.
Offerings: Contemplate something that is both beautiful and painful.
Daily Meal: Serve fruit juice with the food.

Huath Invocation
Call: Now is the time of the flower’s blossoming.
Response: Now is the time when the hand reaches forth to pluck.
Call: Now is the time when we struggle with our instincts…
Response: To take beauty for ourselves, or to leave it in its place.
Call: Now is the time when we must remember that all plants are not ours.
Response: We did not plant the forest, and it does not belong to us.
Call: We were not the first beings on this earth.
Response: We have come young and late, and the trees look down upon us.
Call: They groan from the centuries of our meddling.
Response: They grow thorns to protect themselves.
Call: Now is the time when the hawthorn goddess steps forward.
Response: Now is the time when the heartless lady lifts her hand.
Call: Now is the time of great beauty in the world.
Response: Now is the time when Nature protects her beauty.
Call: The hawthorn goddess stabs us to the heart with beauty.
Response: She reminds us of our place in the world.
Call: She reminds us that we do not own this green planet.
Response: She reminds us that our grasping fingers can still bleed.
Call: She makes the hedges that our animals cannot cross.
Response: She sets the boundaries that no man may cross.
Call: She makes our hearts beat faster or slower.
Response: Her berries are sweet, but she protects them.
Call: We must respect her as we respect the Earth….
Response: The Green Man falls before her, heedless and headless.
Call: She is the blade of all trees, and we shed our blood for her.
Response: She is the teeth of Nature, and we give way before her might.

Chant:
Cauldron of Changes
Blossom of Bone
Arc of Eternity
Hole in the Stone

[Pagan Book of Hours]

Calendar of the Sun for June 9th

9 Lithemonath

Jotunheim Day

Colors: Brown and dark green
Element: Earth
Altar: Upon a brown and green cloth place many potted plants, as if to form a jungle. In their midst place a shallow bowl full of stones and water, a hammer, a horn of mead, and many knives and swords.
Offerings: Leave offerings outside to the land-vaettir.
Daily Meal: Meat.

Jotunheim Invocation

Hail to the land of the Jotun
And all its indwellers in the outlands!
By the cliff-thurses in their mountain crags,
By the rime-thurses in the lands of frost,
By the fire-thurses, children of Surt and Sinmora,
By the skogsrar, the wood-roes of the forest,
By the nackar, the nixies of the many rivers of Hvergelmir,
By the sjora, the spirits of the sacred lakes,
By the forskarlar, the falls-men of the watery heights,
By the duergar who live under the Earth,
By every powerful etin warrior,
By every lovely and terrible etin-bride,
By the power of the land-wights themselves
Upon which all our footsteps fall,
By Utgard and Thrymheim and Gastropnir,
We honor you in all your elemental glory!
Bless us with your courage
And your unswerving persistence,
And your understanding of the natural world
In all its wonder.
Hail, kingdom of Jotunheim, great in magic!

(The mead is passed around, and any who wish to remember the name of a particular Jotun-spirit may do so. The rest is poured out as a libation. Then all take drums and rattles, and gather around in a circle, and let there be drumming and low, wordless chanting for the rest of the hour.)

[Pagan Book of Hours]

Calendar of the Moon for June 8th

8 Huath/Thargelion

Thargelia Day II: Festival of the First Fruits

Color: Green

Element: Earth

Altar: Upon a green cloth lay five stones of different colors, an urn of white wine, and a basket of the first produce of the year.

Offerings: The first fruits from the garden, some of which should be shared with outsiders.

Daily Meal: Vegan. Barley. Figs. Dates.

Demeter’s Thargelia Invocation

The road to which our feet are set
Is in a harvest way,
For to the fair-robed Demeter
Our comrades bring today
The first fruits of their harvesting
She on the threshing place
Great store of barley grain outpoured
For guardian of Her Grace.
O great earth-bound Demeter
Whose daughter is the spring,
Whose hands bring forth the golden grain,
These gifts to you we bring:
Our hands, our hearts, our bellies
Once empty and now filled,
The greening of the garden,
The flour of the mill,
We thank you for our sustenance
The bounty of field and hill,
Your touch upon the barren land
Will make it more fertile still.

Chant:
Demeter Demeter Mother of the Grain
Fruit of the Harvest come with the rain

(The produce is brought forward to the altar and laid in baskets, one at a time, kneeling. Afterwards it is shared with others brought in from outside, for generosity begets abundance. The wine is poured out as a libation for Demeter.)

[Pagan Book of Hours]

Calendar of the Moon for Thursday, June 7th

7 Huath/Thargelion

Thargelia Day I: Pharmakos

Color: Black
Element: Earth
Altar: Upon a black cloth set incense, a lantern with a flame, and two necklaces of figs strung together, one of dark figs and one of light ones.
Offerings: Purify some evil thing from your life.
Daily Meal: Fasting

Pharmakos Invocation

Long ago on this day
The people chose two from the crowd,
One man and one woman
Who had incurred their wrath,
Or were sinners, or merely ugly,
And they paid them gold in the name of Apollo
Bright God of the Sun
Whose day this is,
Apollo whose other face
Is the ravening wolf Lycaon.
They fed them, marched them around
The boundaries of the city,
And then drove them out
Pelted with figs and squills,
With all the sins of the city on their backs.
Yet sins are not so easily driven out.
To lay them on a human back
Is too easy, and we do not walk the easy path.
So on this day we cast out the sins
Of the house, the family, the community,
Yet we each take responsibility for those sins,
And we admit that we are each the Pharmakoi,
And that none of us can lay that on another.

Chant:
Pharmakoi Pharmakoi
We cast you from our home

(All lay hands upon the fig wreaths and speak what sins they would cast out and be rid of. They are then carried outside to be thrown on a fire and burned, and the ashes turned into the compost heap or scattered about the garden.)

[Pagan Book of Hours]

Calendar of the Sun for Thursday, June 7th

7 Lithemonath

Vestalia: Vesta’s Day

Color: Red
Element: Fire
Altar: Today the altar is set up in the kitchen, in front of the stove or fireplace, at the point which is most “hearth”. Before setting it up, everyone pitches in to clean the kitchen thoroughly, and purify it. All halls leading into the kitchen are swept as well, and everyone enters barefoot with cleanly washed feet. Upon a red cloth set a bowl of water, one large red candle, bread baked the night before, and kitchen implements.
Offerings: Promote domestic harmony.
Daily Meal: Breads and baked goods.

Invocation to Vesta

Hail Vesta, Lady of the Central Fire,
Flame of the Hearth
Keeper of the Inner Circle
Faceless One
Eldest of the Olympians
Lady of the Pantry
Whose open hands dispense hospitality
Chimney and cooking fire
Lady of routine and dailiness
To miss your quiet strength
In the rush of our sudden lives
Would be as great a disservice
As forgetting the air we breathe.
Teach us to take our time, Lady.
Teach us of the holiness of step after step
Chore after chore, moving in small circles
Around the hearth of our own beings.

Chant (spoken, not sung):
I circle my hearth from without
And I focus the work of my hands;
I circle my hearth from within
And I focus the work of my heart;
Every work of my hands
Is a victory won;
Every thing that I do
Is another thing done.

(All share bread, and pitch in together to make more, which can be saved or given away.)

[Pagan Book of Hours]

Calendar of the Moon for June 3rd

Hawthorn Tree Month

Color: Purple
Element: Air
Altar: Upon a cloth of purple place a vase of the budded hawthorn twigs, a knife, incense of gardenia and marjoram, and a figure of the Goddess.
Offerings: Contemplate something that is both beautiful and painful.
Daily Meal: Serve fruit juice with the food.

Huath Invocation
Call: Now is the time of the flower’s blossoming.
Response: Now is the time when the hand reaches forth to pluck.
Call: Now is the time when we struggle with our instincts…
Response: To take beauty for ourselves, or to leave it in its place.
Call: Now is the time when we must remember that all plants are not ours.
Response: We did not plant the forest, and it does not belong to us.
Call: We were not the first beings on this earth.
Response: We have come young and late, and the trees look down upon us.
Call: They groan from the centuries of our meddling.
Response: They grow thorns to protect themselves.
Call: Now is the time when the hawthorn goddess steps forward.
Response: Now is the time when the heartless lady lifts her hand.
Call: Now is the time of great beauty in the world.
Response: Now is the time when Nature protects her beauty.
Call: The hawthorn goddess stabs us to the heart with beauty.
Response: She reminds us of our place in the world.
Call: She reminds us that we do not own this green planet.
Response: She reminds us that our grasping fingers can still bleed.
Call: She makes the hedges that our animals cannot cross.
Response: She sets the boundaries that no man may cross.
Call: She makes our hearts beat faster or slower.
Response: Her berries are sweet, but she protects them.
Call: We must respect her as we respect the Earth….
Response: The Green Man falls before her, heedless and headless.
Call: She is the blade of all trees, and we shed our blood for her.
Response: She is the teeth of Nature, and we give way before her might.

Chant:
Cauldron of Changes
Blossom of Bone
Arc of Eternity
Hole in the Stone

[Pagan Book of Hours]

Calendar of the Sun for June 3rd

3 Lithemonath

Bellona’s Day

Color: Red
Element: Fire
Altar: Upon a red cloth set a single red candle, a sword, a spear, a bottle of Italian wine, and a brass trumpet. At the beginning of the ritual, a blast is blown on the horn.
Offerings: Defend what you value.
Daily Meal: Beef.

Invocation to Bellona

Hail Bellona, Lady of War!
Hail, Virgin of the bright trumpets!
Hail, Virgin of the brass mouth of battle!
Hail, sword-wielder and shield-maiden!
Hail, defender of open gates!
Hail, protector of the weak!
Hail, lady of battle-rage
Whose strength is unbending!
We honor you today, Lady Bellona,
In the hopes that we shall never need your services,
And yet we honor your value
When all hope of peace is lost
And we must fight for what we hold.
We who follow the path of peace
Must honor the honorable warrior,
For there are many kinds of battles,
And many kinds of warriors,
But courage and honor are base truths
Which are never valueless.
And so it is that we hail you, Bellona,
Dame of trumpets and drums,
Whose music is the cries of the fallen
And the shouts of the victorious.
Defend our gates from harm,
Lady in shining armor,
And may we always be worthy of your aid.

(A blast is blown again on the trumpet. Each steps forward and salutes the altar to the beat of a long slow drum.)

[Pagan Book of Hours]

Calendar of the Moon for Saturday, June 2nd

Hawthorn Tree Month

Color: Purple
Element: Air
Altar: Upon a cloth of purple place a vase of the budded hawthorn twigs, a knife, incense of gardenia and marjoram, and a figure of the Goddess.
Offerings: Contemplate something that is both beautiful and painful.
Daily Meal: Serve fruit juice with the food.

Huath Invocation
Call: Now is the time of the flower’s blossoming.
Response: Now is the time when the hand reaches forth to pluck.
Call: Now is the time when we struggle with our instincts…
Response: To take beauty for ourselves, or to leave it in its place.
Call: Now is the time when we must remember that all plants are not ours.
Response: We did not plant the forest, and it does not belong to us.
Call: We were not the first beings on this earth.
Response: We have come young and late, and the trees look down upon us.
Call: They groan from the centuries of our meddling.
Response: They grow thorns to protect themselves.
Call: Now is the time when the hawthorn goddess steps forward.
Response: Now is the time when the heartless lady lifts her hand.
Call: Now is the time of great beauty in the world.
Response: Now is the time when Nature protects her beauty.
Call: The hawthorn goddess stabs us to the heart with beauty.
Response: She reminds us of our place in the world.
Call: She reminds us that we do not own this green planet.
Response: She reminds us that our grasping fingers can still bleed.
Call: She makes the hedges that our animals cannot cross.
Response: She sets the boundaries that no man may cross.
Call: She makes our hearts beat faster or slower.
Response: Her berries are sweet, but she protects them.
Call: We must respect her as we respect the Earth….
Response: The Green Man falls before her, heedless and headless.
Call: She is the blade of all trees, and we shed our blood for her.
Response: She is the teeth of Nature, and we give way before her might.

Chant:
Cauldron of Changes
Blossom of Bone
Arc of Eternity
Hole in the Stone

[Pagan Book of Hours]

Calendar of the Sun for Saturday, June 2

2 Lithemonath

Juno Regina’s Day: Queenship Rite

Colors: Purple and gold
Element: Air
Altar: Upon cloth of purple and gold set two purple candles in gold holders, a woman’s crown, peacock feathers, and eight golden stars.
Offerings: Take on a leadership position, if you are female. Follow a woman’s lead, if male.
Daily Meal: Whatever the women in the House want, if they can agree.

Juno Regina Invocation

Great Queen of Heaven,
Ruler of all the Gods,
Lady clothed in light,
You name, Juno, once meant
The indwelling spirit of inspiration
That lives in every woman.
And in every woman is the inner Queen
That you embody and enspirit,
The feminine hand of authority
That is Mother, and yet not mother,
That is Virgin, and yet not virgin,
That is both power and compassion,
Both beauty and strength.
Queen of heaven, we celebrate your Queenship
As it gives us our inspiration;
Have mercy on us as we go through our days,
And judge us lightly in the end.

Chant:
Juno Regina Domina

(One who has been chosen to do the work of the ritual takes the crown in their hands and walks around the circle. If any woman feels moved to take on a leadership position, she can on this day step forward and kneel. The crown is placed on her head, and this is a symbol that she is asking to take on more responsibility. This offer cannot be refused, although the House Mama or Papa has discretion as to her future duties.)

[Pagan Book of Hours]