Calendar of the Moon

23 Tinne/Hekatombaion

Day of Llew Llaw Gyffes

Color: Blue
Element: Air
Altar: Upon a sky-blue cloth lay the figure of a hawk, a chalice of milk, and a spear.
Offering: Put your trust in something risky, and accept the failure if it comes.
Daily Meal: Poultry and/or fish.

Invocation to Llew Llaw Gyffes

Llew of the Skillful Hand,
Hawk’s flight, Quick-Eyed One,
Child of Innocence,
You teach of the costs
And blessings of trust.
You turn your eyes, a trusting babe,
Onto Gwydion of the clever tongue
And many small dishonesties,
And he is struck with love and swears
That he will protect you forever,
And in loving you,
He learns to do good in the world.
Yet your trust is betrayed
By Blodeuwedd, flower maiden,
Who is constructed for your use
Without your thought, or hers.
That trust which turns even a tainted heart
To good, fails against the breast
Within which no heart beats,
And this is a hard lesson for you,
And for all of us.
What can we learn from your struggle?
What can we learn about trust,
And where to place it?
Yet better to risk than never to open at all,
And this, too, you teach us.
Help us with this lesson, Skillful Hand,
That we may always know when to open our own,
And when to close them.

(Pass the milk and pour the rest out as libation. Each shall announce what it is that they shall endeavor to trust.)

[Pagan Book of Hours]