Calendar of the Moon for October 14th

Calendar of the Moon

14 Muin/Boedromion

Day of Hades

Color: Black
Element: Earth
Altar: Upon a black cloth set several black candles; incense of vervain, agrimony, and rue; a chalice of red wine, a jewel, and a life-size skull.
Offerings: Drops of blood. Tend to the dead in some way.
Daily Meal: Red meat.

Invocation to Hades

Dark Lord of the Underworld,
We stand trembling at your approach.
King of the uncounted legions of the dead,
Ruler of the hidden wealth
That bejewels the caverns beneath
The Earth our Mother’s skin,
Darkened by the ashes
Of a thousand cremations,
Invisible One, passing through
The chaos of humanity unseen
In your helm of obscurity,
You see us from a more distant place,
A world of ephemeral life.
We come and go, but you, Lord,
Are eternal in your watching.
Help us to see the darkness
Of endings as part of the cycle,
And to mourn our losses
In a way that does them honor.
And should we journey to your dark realm,
In life or after it,
Do not keep us past our endurance
But give us gracious passage
Out into our new lives.

Chant: Pluto Dominum Pluto Dominum

(Pour out the wine as a libation. Let all come forth and sit around the altar and meditate on Death, and let the candles be put out one by one until the room is in darkness, and one candle only be carried to light the way to the door.)

[Pagan Book of Hours]

Calendar of the Sun for October 14th

Calendar of the Sun

14 Winterfyllith

Mordgud’s Blot

Color: Black
Element: Earth
Altar: Upon cloth of black set many knives laid end to end in a pathway, crossed with a single spear. Set also a chalice of mead and seven black candles.)
Offerings: Blood.
Daily Meal: Meat.

Invocation to Mordgud

Hail, Mordgud, Gatekeeper of the Dark Road,
Helvegr’s watchwoman, never sleeping,
Your dark eyes watch always the oncoming road
For the lost soul who must be rescued,
Wandering in the dark with no hope
Of being gathered to Hela’s peaceful breast.
Hail, Right Hand of Hel, Warrior who protects the Way
From those who would plunder the wisdom
Of the slumbering Dead, who would raid
The secrets of the Underworld,
From those who would wreak their doom
In foolishness before their time,
All these you turn away with upraised hand,
Though fools may not understand
The kindness that you do them.
Hail, Guardian of Hel’s Gate,
Whose eyes see the Dead, in all their forms,
Weeping, sleeping, bewildered and fearful,
Laughing with open arms,
All are ushered through your Gate
With your exquisite compassion and comfort
For you leave none behind.
By the Dark Road of Stars, we hail you, Lady of the Last Gate!
By the roaring river Gjoll, we hail you, Mistress of the Last Spear!
By the gold-roofed bridge, we hail you, Mistress of the Black Tower!
By the passage of knives, we hail you, Mistress of the Knife’s Way!
May you welcome us in our hour of need.

(All come forth and prick their fingers, and wipe the blood on the tip of Mordgud’s spear, saying, “Welcome me in my time through the last gate.” The mead is poured out as libation.)

[Pagan Book of Hours]

Calendar of the Moon for October 12

Calendar of the Moon

Grapevine Month

Colors: Blue and Purple
Element: Water
Altar: Upon cloth of blue and purple set a great pitcher of wine with many cups, four purple candles, and many wreaths of grapevine and baskets of grapes.
Offerings:
Daily Meal: Vegetarian, with wine or grape juice to drink, and of course grapes.

Muin Invocation

Call: Hail the Month of the Grapevine!
Response: Hail the Month of the Vine-Gods!
Call: Hail the month when sour turns to sweet!
Response: Hail the month when labor comes ripe!
Call: Hail the month when our hands come together,
Response: Hail the month when the cup is passed!
Call: This is the time of bonding,
Response: When the fruits of the harvest lay within our grasp.
Call: This is the call of Joy and Merriment,
Response: This is the time of coming together.
Call: For though we may have forgotten laughter beneath our burdens,
Response: Laughter comes for us at last.
Call: And yet we begin to see the year passing to its end,
Response: And our laughter is the light passing into the dark.
Call: May we go to into the dark like the Children of Dionysos,
Response: Embracing the cycle with open arms!
Call: Like the grapevine, we are givers of ecstasy.
Response: Like the grapevine, we are givers of dream.
Call: Like vines, we yield up our fruit.
Response: Like vines, we yield up for the good of all.
Call: Like vines, we twine towards the Light.
Response: Like vines, we twine towards the Spirit.
Call: We hold the line, we keep the Mysteries true,
Response: We hold the line, we keep the Mysteries true,
Call: I am the vine; the branches, you and you.
Response: I am the vine; the branches, you and you.

Chant:
Taste Joy in the Day
Take Joy in the Night
Touch Joy in your face turned
To the fading light
Ay ay ay ay-yi-hey.

[Pagan Book of Hours]

Calendar of the Sun for October 12

Calendar of the Sun

12 Winterfyllith

Feast of the Spirits of the Fire

Color: Red
Element: Fire
Altar: This ritual shall be held outside, and a great fire built open to the sky.
Offerings: Food to be thrown into the fire.
Daily Meal: Any food cooked outdoors over the flame.

Invocation to the Spirits of the Fire

Hail to the Spirits of the Flame!
Hail to the Powers of the South,
The Daystar and the Summer Solstice,
The burning heat of the desert!
Hail lioness that walks the golden sands,
Hail tiger that prowls the stifling jungles,
Hail horses stampeding on the sun-drenched plains,
Striking sparks from their hooves!
Hail to the Power of Rage that rises in us,
Hail to the Power of Passion that rises in us,
Hail to the Powers of Will that channels that fire.
Hail to the campfire around which we gather
Ensuring our survival in the cold world.
Hail to the Hearthfire around which we gather
Creating family with our warmth.
Hail to the Bonfire around which we gather
Creating community with our warmth.
Hail to the Flame of Inspiration around which we gather
Linking all the world in our warmth.
Hail to the Spirits of the Flame,
And may they ever bless us with their brief, beautiful lives.

(All take food that they have made with their hands and throw it into the fire, speaking out their thanks to the gifts of the Spirits of the Fire.)

Song: All That Burns

Chant:
Fire flow, fire flow through me,
Bonfire, brush fire, lightning strike,
Fire flow, fire flow through me,
Fire burn, give me light.

[Pagan Book of Hours]

Calendar of the Moon for October 11

Calendar of the Moon

Grapevine Month

Colors: Blue and Purple
Element: Water
Altar: Upon cloth of blue and purple set a great pitcher of wine with many cups, four purple candles, and many wreaths of grapevine and baskets of grapes.
Offerings:
Daily Meal: Vegetarian, with wine or grape juice to drink, and of course grapes.

Muin Invocation

Call: Hail the Month of the Grapevine!
Response: Hail the Month of the Vine-Gods!
Call: Hail the month when sour turns to sweet!
Response: Hail the month when labor comes ripe!
Call: Hail the month when our hands come together,
Response: Hail the month when the cup is passed!
Call: This is the time of bonding,
Response: When the fruits of the harvest lay within our grasp.
Call: This is the call of Joy and Merriment,
Response: This is the time of coming together.
Call: For though we may have forgotten laughter beneath our burdens,
Response: Laughter comes for us at last.
Call: And yet we begin to see the year passing to its end,
Response: And our laughter is the light passing into the dark.
Call: May we go to into the dark like the Children of Dionysos,
Response: Embracing the cycle with open arms!
Call: Like the grapevine, we are givers of ecstasy.
Response: Like the grapevine, we are givers of dream.
Call: Like vines, we yield up our fruit.
Response: Like vines, we yield up for the good of all.
Call: Like vines, we twine towards the Light.
Response: Like vines, we twine towards the Spirit.
Call: We hold the line, we keep the Mysteries true,
Response: We hold the line, we keep the Mysteries true,
Call: I am the vine; the branches, you and you.
Response: I am the vine; the branches, you and you.

Chant:
Taste Joy in the Day
Take Joy in the Night
Touch Joy in your face turned
To the fading light
Ay ay ay ay-yi-hey.

[Pagan Book of Hours]

Calendar of the Moon for October 10

Calendar of the Moon

10 Muin/Boedromion

Day of the Three Brothers of the Forge

Colors: Black, Bronze, Brown
Elements: Earth and Fire
Altar: Upon cloth of brown set three cups of ale, an anvil, a hammer, and other tools of metalworking, three red candles, woodworking tools, and things of wood and wrought metal.
Offerings: Repair things around the House.
Daily Meal: Sandwiches

Invocation to the Three Brothers

(One stands forth with the first cup of ale and says:)

Hail to the Tre Dee’ Dana!
Hail to Goibniu, Smith of the Tuatha!
The stars are the sparks from your anvil,
The weapons you forge are always deadly,
Your brew intoxicates the warrior
And makes him afraid of nothing!

(They pour out the ale as a libation. Another stands forth with the second cup and says:)

Hail to the Tre Dee’ Dana!
Hail to Creidhne, goldsmith of the Tuatha!
Worker in bronze, worker in brass,
Worker in silver and gold,
Your skilled hands fill the hall with beauty
And create wonder in our eyes.

(They pour out the ale as a libation. Another stands forth with the third cup and says:)

Hail to the Tre Dee’ Dana!
Hail to Luchtaine, carpenter of the Tuatha!
You who build the hall, the chair, the fine things
We live on, who sees the magic in the grain of wood,
Maker of wheels and wagons, carver of temple pillars,
Our hands cannot help but reach for your work.

(They pour out the ale as a libation. All go forth and strike one blow with the hammer on the anvil, asking for the blessing of the Brothers.)

[Pagan Book of Hours]

Calendar of the Sun for October 10

Calendar of the Sun

Aequinoctium Autumnale

Colors: Brown and Orange
Element: Earth
Altar: Upon cloth of brown and orange, patterned with autumn leaves, place a basket of fallen leaves, barrels of straw, shovels, spades, a bowl of rainwater, and seeds for cover crops.
Offerings: Turn under and mulch the used land.
Daily Meal: Vegetarian.

Aequinoctium Autumnale Invocation

Earth, we have eaten of your bounty!
You have fed us, and we are content.
We have worked you hard, and you have responded
With generosity and fruitfulness.
Now, as the year draws on, and the Sun
Shortens its days and counts the moons
Until its chilly death and incandescent rebirth,
We gift you as you have gifted us,
We care for you as you have cared for us,
We give back that we may continue to take,
Year after year, cycle after cycle.
Do not think, O Mother, that we are merely selfish,
And would only rape you of your bounty.
Our hands shall toil that you may have,
If only in this one small place,
Richness to take back for yourself.
For we know the hard secrets of the cycle,
And we will someday give ourselves
Back to your quiet embrace.

Chant:
Leaves falling
To our hands
Autumn calling
Cover all the land

(All take up the buckets of leaves and straw, and the spades, and go out to the garden. Some will turn over the soil, and others shall follow with cover crop seeds and rainwater, or with mulch to cover the ground. This shall be done throughout the Aequinoctium Autumnale days until all the ground from this year’s crops are covered.)

[Pagan Book of Hours]

Calendar of the Moon for October 9

Calendar of the Moon

Grapevine Month

Colors: Blue and Purple
Element: Water
Altar: Upon cloth of blue and purple set a great pitcher of wine with many cups, four purple candles, and many wreaths of grapevine and baskets of grapes.
Offerings:
Daily Meal: Vegetarian, with wine or grape juice to drink, and of course grapes.

Muin Invocation

Call: Hail the Month of the Grapevine!
Response: Hail the Month of the Vine-Gods!
Call: Hail the month when sour turns to sweet!
Response: Hail the month when labor comes ripe!
Call: Hail the month when our hands come together,
Response: Hail the month when the cup is passed!
Call: This is the time of bonding,
Response: When the fruits of the harvest lay within our grasp.
Call: This is the call of Joy and Merriment,
Response: This is the time of coming together.
Call: For though we may have forgotten laughter beneath our burdens,
Response: Laughter comes for us at last.
Call: And yet we begin to see the year passing to its end,
Response: And our laughter is the light passing into the dark.
Call: May we go to into the dark like the Children of Dionysos,
Response: Embracing the cycle with open arms!
Call: Like the grapevine, we are givers of ecstasy.
Response: Like the grapevine, we are givers of dream.
Call: Like vines, we yield up our fruit.
Response: Like vines, we yield up for the good of all.
Call: Like vines, we twine towards the Light.
Response: Like vines, we twine towards the Spirit.
Call: We hold the line, we keep the Mysteries true,
Response: We hold the line, we keep the Mysteries true,
Call: I am the vine; the branches, you and you.
Response: I am the vine; the branches, you and you.

Chant:
Taste Joy in the Day
Take Joy in the Night
Touch Joy in your face turned
To the fading light
Ay ay ay ay-yi-hey.

[Pagan Book of Hours]

Calendar of the Sun for October 9

Calendar of the Sun

9 Winterfyllith

Day of Tuonela

Color: Black
Element: Earth
Altar: Upon cloth of black lay five black candles, a tankard of beer and a tankard of river-water, and many figures of toads, frogs, and serpents.
Offerings: Fears
Daily Meal: Poultry.

Tuonela Invocation

(One who has been chosen to do the work of the ritual steps forward with the tankard of beer, raises it, and says:)
Hail to the Island of the Dead!
Hail to the Land of Tuonela!
Hail to Lord Tuoni, who waits at the center!
Hail to Lady Tuonetar, who waits at the hearth!
Hail to Surma who guards the borders,
Along the river with its rushing waters
And its black swans, the harbingers of Death!
Hail to Kalma who brings plague,
May she forever pass us by!
Vanamoinen came to your shores
Searching for words of power,
But found all words silent in the Land of Death.
He was served beer laden with frogs and serpents,
Which were only the fears that he brought
Unbidden to the hearth of Tuonela!
Will you drink now of your fears,
And leave them in the Deathlands?

(They carry the tankard about, and folk may drink of their fears, if they feel that now is a good time to face them, or they may refuse. Then another steps forward with the tankard of river-water, lifts it high, and says:)
Will you drink, then, of the River of Death?
If it is not time for fears, will you face loss?
Or, if you are brave, will you take both
And so honor the Gods with your courage?

(They carry the tankard about, and those who have not drunk of the beer must drink of the water, although some may choose to have both. The remaining beer and water are poured out as a libation to Tuonela.)

[Pagan Book of Hours]

Calendar of the Sun for Monday, Oct. 8

Calendar of the Sun

Aequinoctium Autumnale

Colors:

Brown and Orange
Element: Earth
Altar: Upon cloth of brown and orange, patterned with autumn leaves, place a basket of fallen leaves, barrels of straw, shovels, spades, a bowl of rainwater, and seeds for cover crops.
Offerings: Turn under and mulch the used land.
Daily Meal: Vegetarian.

Aequinoctium Autumnale Invocation

Earth, we have eaten of your bounty!
You have fed us, and we are content.
We have worked you hard, and you have responded
With generosity and fruitfulness.
Now, as the year draws on, and the Sun
Shortens its days and counts the moons
Until its chilly death and incandescent rebirth,
We gift you as you have gifted us,
We care for you as you have cared for us,
We give back that we may continue to take,
Year after year, cycle after cycle.
Do not think, O Mother, that we are merely selfish,
And would only rape you of your bounty.
Our hands shall toil that you may have,
If only in this one small place,
Richness to take back for yourself.
For we know the hard secrets of the cycle,
And we will someday give ourselves
Back to your quiet embrace.

Chant:

Leaves falling
To our hands
Autumn calling
Cover all the land

(All take up the buckets of leaves and straw, and the spades, and go out to the garden. Some will turn over the soil, and others shall follow with cover crop seeds and rainwater, or with mulch to cover the ground. This shall be done throughout the Aequinoctium Autumnale days until all the ground from this year’s crops are covered.)

[Pagan Book of Hours]

Calendar of the Moon for October 7

Calendar of the Moon

7 Muin/ Boedromion

Boedromia Colors: Red and Gold
Element: Fire
Altar: Upon cloth of red and gold place a fiery sun, two crossed spears, and three torches.
Offerings: Song and music.
Daily Meal: Food of yellow and red.

Boedromia Invocation

Hail Apollo, Lord of the Sun!
We must remember and be mindful of
Great Apollo who shoots from afar.
As he goes through the house of Zeus,
All spring up as he bends his bow.
All high headlands of lofty hills
Are your delight, great Phoebus,
And the whole range of song is fallen to you.
O God of the golden bow,
Who walketh on craggy Cynthus,
Be favorable to us below.
Leto’s all-glorious son from wave-swept Delos,
Wooer in the fields of love,
Chariot-driver of the sky
With your fiery horses,
God of the oracle that speaks
The twisting tongue of truth,
Star of noonday, flashing fire,
Lord of the Nine Muses,
Brighten our lives with your inspiration
And clear our clouded minds
Like the dawning light of the Sun.

(All shall then sing forth whatever song or chant is preferred, for Apollo takes joy in many songs.)

[Pagan Book of Hours]

Calendar of the Moon for October 4

Calendar of the Moon

Grapevine Month

Colors: Blue and Purple
Element: Water
Altar: Upon cloth of blue and purple set a great pitcher of wine with many cups, four purple candles, and many wreaths of grapevine and baskets of grapes.
Offerings:
Daily Meal: Vegetarian, with wine or grape juice to drink, and of course grapes.

Muin Invocation

Call: Hail the Month of the Grapevine!
Response: Hail the Month of the Vine-Gods!
Call: Hail the month when sour turns to sweet!
Response: Hail the month when labor comes ripe!
Call: Hail the month when our hands come together,
Response: Hail the month when the cup is passed!
Call: This is the time of bonding,
Response: When the fruits of the harvest lay within our grasp.
Call: This is the call of Joy and Merriment,
Response: This is the time of coming together.
Call: For though we may have forgotten laughter beneath our burdens,
Response: Laughter comes for us at last.
Call: And yet we begin to see the year passing to its end,
Response: And our laughter is the light passing into the dark.
Call: May we go to into the dark like the Children of Dionysos,
Response: Embracing the cycle with open arms!
Call: Like the grapevine, we are givers of ecstasy.
Response: Like the grapevine, we are givers of dream.
Call: Like vines, we yield up our fruit.
Response: Like vines, we yield up for the good of all.
Call: Like vines, we twine towards the Light.
Response: Like vines, we twine towards the Spirit.
Call: We hold the line, we keep the Mysteries true,
Response: We hold the line, we keep the Mysteries true,
Call: I am the vine; the branches, you and you.
Response: I am the vine; the branches, you and you.

Chant:
Taste Joy in the Day
Take Joy in the Night
Touch Joy in your face turned
To the fading light
Ay ay ay ay-yi-hey.

[Pagan Book of Hours]

Calendar of the Sun for October 4

Calendar of the Sun

4 Winterfyllith

Jejunium Cereris: Fast for Demeter

Color: Brown
Element: Earth
Altar: Upon cloth of brown place a clay cup of water, empty bowls, plates, and an empty cornucopia.
Offerings: Give food to the hungry.
Daily Meal: Fasting today, from the night before until Hesperis.

Jejunium Cereris Invocation

Demeter weeps.
She mourns all losses,
All that passes from our hands
Into the gaping earth of the Mother’s womb.
Across the land, there are places
Where the Earth is barren, and no mouths
Shall be fed from Her soil.
The people starve, they cry out, they fall,
But there is no mercy for them
Until the Wheel turns yet again.
So if we cannot feed them all,
If we cannot be Demeter Herself,
For our hands are too few,
Our work is too little,
Our efforts fall like a drop into a wasteland,
Let us still be that drop of hope
And let us, for one day, mourn with them.
For all that we have not, there are others
Who have less, and on this day
We give out some of what we have,
For true wealth is counted only
By how much you can give away.
For today, we shall fast with them
And we shall remember.
Blessed be Demeter in Her weeping,
Blessed be Demeter in Her mourning,
May we be blessed with Her tears.

Chant: By the dust of the Earth we live
By the work of our hands we give
By the work of our hearts we open the world.

[Pagan Book of Hours]

Calendar of the Moon for October 3

Calendar of the Moon

Grapevine Month

Colors: Blue and Purple
Element: Water
Altar: Upon cloth of blue and purple set a great pitcher of wine with many cups, four purple candles, and many wreaths of grapevine and baskets of grapes.
Offerings:
Daily Meal: Vegetarian, with wine or grape juice to drink, and of course grapes.

Muin Invocation

Call: Hail the Month of the Grapevine!
Response: Hail the Month of the Vine-Gods!
Call: Hail the month when sour turns to sweet!
Response: Hail the month when labor comes ripe!
Call: Hail the month when our hands come together,
Response: Hail the month when the cup is passed!
Call: This is the time of bonding,
Response: When the fruits of the harvest lay within our grasp.
Call: This is the call of Joy and Merriment,
Response: This is the time of coming together.
Call: For though we may have forgotten laughter beneath our burdens,
Response: Laughter comes for us at last.
Call: And yet we begin to see the year passing to its end,
Response: And our laughter is the light passing into the dark.
Call: May we go to into the dark like the Children of Dionysos,
Response: Embracing the cycle with open arms!
Call: Like the grapevine, we are givers of ecstasy.
Response: Like the grapevine, we are givers of dream.
Call: Like vines, we yield up our fruit.
Response: Like vines, we yield up for the good of all.
Call: Like vines, we twine towards the Light.
Response: Like vines, we twine towards the Spirit.
Call: We hold the line, we keep the Mysteries true,
Response: We hold the line, we keep the Mysteries true,
Call: I am the vine; the branches, you and you.
Response: I am the vine; the branches, you and you.

Chant:
Taste Joy in the Day
Take Joy in the Night
Touch Joy in your face turned
To the fading light
Ay ay ay ay-yi-hey.

[Pagan Book of Hours]

Calendar of the Sun for October 3

Calendar of the Sun

3 Winterfyllith

Njord’s Blot

Color: Sea-blue
Element: Water
Altar: Upon cloth of sea-blue set a Scandinavian ship, a net, a basket of fish-shaped cakes, and a metal tankard of mead.
Offerings: Give aid to a sailor. The House should, together, send a package to one who sails the seas and has need of succor.
Daily Meal: Fish.

Invocation to Njord

Hail, Njord, Lord of the Surface of the Sea!
Hail, Sailor’s Watcher,
Lord of Ships upon the waters.
Blessed you are in the prow,
Where you lead us forward to our goals.
Blessed you are in the stern,
Where you guard our wake
From the monsters of the Deep.
Blessed you are on the port,
Where your keen eyes search the horizon.
Blessed you are on the starboard,
Where you guide us by the stars.
Blessed you are on the high mast,
Where you stand tall with far vision.
Blessed you are in the sails,
Which you fill with billowing winds.
Blessed you are at the rudder,
Where you skillfully outrun all storms.
Blessed you are at the nets,
Where the fish come by the thousands into our hands.
Blessed you are belowdecks,
Where you rock us gently to sleep
On the waves of certainty,
Knowing that the farthest shore
Will soon be under our feet.
Hail Njord, Lord of Ships,
Guide our souls safely across the waters.

(All pass and bless the package, and see it safely gone. The mead is poured out as libation.)

[Pagan Book of Hours]

Calendar of the Moon for October 2

Calendar of the Moon

Ivy Month

Colors: Light blue and dark green
Element: Air
Altar: Upon cloth of dark green lay pots of ivy twined up around posts of gold with suns, three blue candles, a vine-painted chalice of water, and a feather fan.
Offerings: Pray for enlightenment, and to be lifted up.
Daily Meal: Sheep, goat, or vegetarian using the fruits of the local harvests.

Gort Invocation

Call: Hail the month of the Ivy!
Response: Hail the month of twining for the sky!
Call: Where the vine yielded forth the blood of the earth…
Response: The ivy yields up the winds of the sky!
Call: Where the vine dulls the mind with happiness…
Response: The ivy opens the mind with terror and light!
Call: Hail to the chains of the Maenads!
Response: Hail to Dionysos and his torrent of madness!
Call: Hail to the Lady that mates with the Oak!
Response: She has entwined him, she has wrapped her limbs about him!
Call: Even his great strength is not enough to stay her!
Response: She shows that not all strength is standing tall!
Call: Hail to she who is supported by others….
Response: Yet reaches as high as they themselves!
Call: Show us, sacred Ivy, what it is to rise with the aid of the strong.
Response: Show us what it is to be borne up by branches.
Call: Show us what it is to be borne up by hopes.
Response: Show us what it is to be borne up by the Gods.
Call: We cannot reach the sky without aid…
Response: So we entreat you, Ivy, beg for aid for our earthbound hands.
Call: Teach us that the sky can be gained not only by the straight path…
Response: But also by the path of the spiral!
Call: Dance that spiral for us, Ivy, and we shall follow you!
Response: We shall follow you toward the blessed realms of the Gods.

Chant:
Turn turn turn again
Turn wind turn leaf
Twine o’er the last sheaf
Turn turn turn again

[Pagan Book of Hours]

Calendar of the Sun for October 2

Calendar of the Sun

2 Winterfyllith

Gerda’s Blot

Colors: Brown and green
Element: Earth
Altar: Upon cloth of brown, bury a sword in bunches of herbs from the garden, and a cup of ale.
Offerings: Give aid to those who have lost children, through choice or no.
Daily Meal: Root vegetables and herbs.

Invocation to Gerda

Hail, Lady of the Walled Garden,
Hallowed in hedgerive and hammerwort,
Sacred in stonecrop and sowthistle,
Gifted and gifting in gladden and dragonwort,
You help us build the still, safe place
In which we can grow tender hopes to blossoming.
Hail, Lady of the forest paths,
Hallowed in hillwort and hindberry,
Sacred in cock’s spur grass and sicklewort,
Gifted and gifting in gale and libcorn,
You help us bring those hopes into the world
To test and turn them into manifestation.
Hail, Lady of the quiet endings,
Hallowed in hulwort and whortleberry,
Sacred in ramsons and raven’s leek,
Gifted and giving in viper’s bugloss and boarfern,
You teach us to cull out what cannot be
While still keeping hope alive in the dark.
Hail, Lady of the hidden treasures,
Hallowed in mallow and meadowwort,
Sacred in sundcorn and stitchwort,
Gifted and giving in groundsel and sedge,
Cleansed in river-mint and lamb’s cress,
You bring us deeper than we thought possible
Into the earth on which we depend.
Hail, Gerda, etin-bride of Frey,
Shadow to light, night to day,
All things balanced in your keen dark glance.

(All shall come forward and silently take a bit of herb, and taste it, and ask Gerda for her wisdom in what to keep and what to give up. The ale is poured silently as a libation.)

[Pagan Book of Hours]

Calendar of the Moon for October 2

Calendar of the Moon

Ivy Month

Colors: Light blue and dark green
Element: Air
Altar: Upon cloth of dark green lay pots of ivy twined up around posts of gold with suns, three blue candles, a vine-painted chalice of water, and a feather fan.
Offerings: Pray for enlightenment, and to be lifted up.
Daily Meal: Sheep, goat, or vegetarian using the fruits of the local harvests.

Gort Invocation

Call: Hail the month of the Ivy!
Response: Hail the month of twining for the sky!
Call: Where the vine yielded forth the blood of the earth…
Response: The ivy yields up the winds of the sky!
Call: Where the vine dulls the mind with happiness…
Response: The ivy opens the mind with terror and light!
Call: Hail to the chains of the Maenads!
Response: Hail to Dionysos and his torrent of madness!
Call: Hail to the Lady that mates with the Oak!
Response: She has entwined him, she has wrapped her limbs about him!
Call: Even his great strength is not enough to stay her!
Response: She shows that not all strength is standing tall!
Call: Hail to she who is supported by others….
Response: Yet reaches as high as they themselves!
Call: Show us, sacred Ivy, what it is to rise with the aid of the strong.
Response: Show us what it is to be borne up by branches.
Call: Show us what it is to be borne up by hopes.
Response: Show us what it is to be borne up by the Gods.
Call: We cannot reach the sky without aid…
Response: So we entreat you, Ivy, beg for aid for our earthbound hands.
Call: Teach us that the sky can be gained not only by the straight path…
Response: But also by the path of the spiral!
Call: Dance that spiral for us, Ivy, and we shall follow you!
Response: We shall follow you toward the blessed realms of the Gods.

Chant:
Turn turn turn again
Turn wind turn leaf
Twine o’er the last sheaf
Turn turn turn again

[Pagan Book of Hours]

Calendar of the Sun for October 2

Calendar of the Sun

2 Winterfyllith

Gerda’s Blot

Colors: Brown and green
Element: Earth
Altar: Upon cloth of brown, bury a sword in bunches of herbs from the garden, and a cup of ale.
Offerings: Give aid to those who have lost children, through choice or no.
Daily Meal: Root vegetables and herbs.

Invocation to Gerda

Hail, Lady of the Walled Garden,
Hallowed in hedgerive and hammerwort,
Sacred in stonecrop and sowthistle,
Gifted and gifting in gladden and dragonwort,
You help us build the still, safe place
In which we can grow tender hopes to blossoming.
Hail, Lady of the forest paths,
Hallowed in hillwort and hindberry,
Sacred in cock’s spur grass and sicklewort,
Gifted and gifting in gale and libcorn,
You help us bring those hopes into the world
To test and turn them into manifestation.
Hail, Lady of the quiet endings,
Hallowed in hulwort and whortleberry,
Sacred in ramsons and raven’s leek,
Gifted and giving in viper’s bugloss and boarfern,
You teach us to cull out what cannot be
While still keeping hope alive in the dark.
Hail, Lady of the hidden treasures,
Hallowed in mallow and meadowwort,
Sacred in sundcorn and stitchwort,
Gifted and giving in groundsel and sedge,
Cleansed in river-mint and lamb’s cress,
You bring us deeper than we thought possible
Into the earth on which we depend.
Hail, Gerda, etin-bride of Frey,
Shadow to light, night to day,
All things balanced in your keen dark glance.

(All shall come forward and silently take a bit of herb, and taste it, and ask Gerda for her wisdom in what to keep and what to give up. The ale is poured silently as a libation.)

[Pagan Book of Hours]

Calendar of the Moon for October 1

Calendar of the Moon

1 Gort/Puanepsion

Day of the Ivy

Color: Sky blue
Element: Earth
Altar: Upon a sky-blue cloth set a pot of ivy, a single sky-blue candle, a pot of soil, seeds of some rare medicinal herb, a bowl of water, and a bell.
Offerings: Plant seeds. Do a spiral walking meditation.
Daily Meal: Vegan

Invocation to the Green Man of the Ivy

Hail, Green Man of the Autumn!
Ivy that twines up stone walls,
Who can hold up a house or tear it down,
Spiral dancer whose twisting
Echoes the material we are made of,
Wreath of the Maenads,
Kin to the red-caps in the faery rings,
You remind us that there is a price
For your twining sister’s intoxication.
Mute swan who outstretched wings
Are your elegant speech to the sky,
Ivy-girl of the final harvest,
You bind the last sheaf of wheat,
As mute testament to the failure
Of those whose work has not
Matched the speed of the turning year.
We bow our heads in supplication
Before you, ivy that winds us
And our dead in their sleeping places.
We hail you, sacred ivy,
Green Man of the Autumn,
On this the day of your binding.

(Each comes forward and plants a seed in the pot of soil, saying, “Hail Green Man of the Earth!” Water is poured onto the pot, and then the rest is poured out as a libation. Then all join hands and move in a silent spiral dance to the sound of slow drumming. Ring bell and dismiss.)

[Pagan Book of Hours]