Tag: Seed

Aridu

Aridu

Based On The Hymn To Ishtar From Acadia

Lord of sun and lady moon Bright at night and bright at noon See my offering, hear my call Lord and lady guard us all.

Sky god an, earth goddess ki All do honor unto thee Spread your seed upon the ground Bring forth life fecund and round

Holy queen of living things She whose bloom the summer brings Bless us lady give us cheer As we wander through the year

Royal shepherd, mountain king Lofty bull of whom we sing Fill our bowls with waters sweet Spread the seeds of corn and wheat

Bless our lips and bless our breast Guide us gently to our rest Bless our sheep and bless our corn Ease our grief when we must mourn

Sing the song and join the rite Praise the day and bless the night Thank the gods for what they bear Earth and water, fire and air.

Calendar of the Sun for June 5

Media Ver

Color: Green
Element: Earth
Altar: Upon a green cloth set growing herbs and flowers in pots, a pitcher of rainwater, small dishes of late-sowed seeds such as lettuce (as many as there are people), a flower wreath, and a single green candle.
Offerings: Seeds to be planted in the garden.
Daily Meal: Vegetarian

Media Ver Invocation

Earth, you have awakened to our touch!
The winds have stirred you,
The rain has nourished you,
The sun has opened your eyes.
Your million mouths open
On the unfolded leaves of every tree.
We glory in your abundance,
In the dance of your youth,
And we dance for your brilliant life
And your new season.
Yet now is the time when the real work begins.
If we would keep what we have sown,
We must not stop here,
But we must labor for the sustenance
Of our creation, as it has always been.
For the first growth is a miracle from the Gods,
But the second growth is the miracle unseen,
From the labor of our hands,
Which is also sacred.

Chant:
Green growing
Green Man knowing
Path of striving
Way of opening

(Each takes a pot of seeds and goes to the garden, and hoes or otherwise prepares a space for planting, and then plants their seeds, chanting while doing so. The pitcher of rainwater is carried out and ritually poured onto the seeds. Weeding should also be done at this time, and the care for plants that have already broken the surface.)

[Pagan Book of Hours]

Clear Vision Tonic

This is a valuable tonic for tired eyes and blurry vision.

2   tablespoons fennel seeds
2   tablespoons eyebright
2   tablespoons bilberry powder
2   tablespoons gotu kola leaves, optional

Simmer in 2 cups of water for 15 minutes. Strain and drink half a cup daily. Two tablespoons of gotu kola leaves may be steeped for 10 minutes after the tonic has been simmered to increase circulation from the carotids.

Calendar of the Moon for Friday, June 1

1 Duir/Skirophorion

Day of the Oak Tree

Color: Black
Element: Earth
Altar: Upon a black cloth set a vase of oak branches, a single black candle, a pot of soil, seeds of some tree or strong plant, a bowl of water, and a bell.
Offerings: Plant seeds. Stoke fires.
Daily Meal: Vegan

Invocation to the Green Man of the Oak Tree

Hail, Green Man of the Summer!
Great Oak Tree of grandeur,
Tree of the gods of kings,
Royal emblem of Zeus,
Lightning’s tree, struck from above,
Exploder of wrath, dying in flames,
Green shaft of the colossal Dagda,
Mighty-thewed as jovial Thor,
Fuel of the midsummer fires,
Stout guardian of the door,
Throne of two-faced Janus,
Your roots extend as far beneath
As your branches spread above,
Living avatar of the cosmic reflection.
Oak king, you who give your life
Every year at the midsummer,
Teach us when to stand strong
And when to gracefully yield.
We hail you, sacred Oak King,
Green Man of the Summer,
On this your day of greatest triumph.

Song: Oak and Ash and Thorn

(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. Ring bell and dismiss.)

[Pagan Book of Hours]

Calendar of the Sun for May 27th

Calendar of the Sun

Media Ver

Color: Green
Element: Earth
Altar: Upon a green cloth set growing herbs and flowers in pots, a pitcher of rainwater, small dishes of late-sowed seeds such as lettuce (as many as there are people), a flower wreath, and a single green candle.
Offerings: Seeds to be planted in the garden.
Daily Meal: Vegetarian

Media Ver Invocation

Earth, you have awakened to our touch!
The winds have stirred you,
The rain has nourished you,
The sun has opened your eyes.
Your million mouths open
On the unfolded leaves of every tree.
We glory in your abundance,
In the dance of your youth,
And we dance for your brilliant life
And your new season.
Yet now is the time when the real work begins.
If we would keep what we have sown,
We must not stop here,
But we must labor for the sustenance
Of our creation, as it has always been.
For the first growth is a miracle from the Gods,
But the second growth is the miracle unseen,
From the labor of our hands,
Which is also sacred.

Chant:
Green growing
Green Man knowing
Path of striving
Way of opening

(Each takes a pot of seeds and goes to the garden, and hoes or otherwise prepares a space for planting, and then plants their seeds, chanting while doing so. The pitcher of rainwater is carried out and ritually poured onto the seeds. Weeding should also be done at this time, and the care for plants that have already broken the surface.)

[Pagan Book of Hours]

Calendar of the Moon for May 15th

Calendar of the Moon
15 Saille/Mounukhion

Day of the Honeysuckle

Color: Apricot
Element: Earth
Altar: Upon an apricot cloth set a vase of honeysuckle vines collected earlier and forced to bud, a single apricot candle, a pot of soil, flower seeds, a bowl of water, and a bell.
Offerings: Plant seeds. Be tender toward someone or something.
Daily Meal: Vegan

Invocation to the Green Man of the Honeysuckle Vine

Hail, Green Man of the Spring!
Honeysuckle of the twining limbs
Falling across hedge and fence,
Delight of children and lovers
Whose heady scent intoxicates,
You sacrifice to us your tender flowers
And grow anew each year.
Teach us, honeysuckle, that tenderness
Is never weakness
And that which is easily withered
Can also be that
Which is most easily regenerated,
And that which is softest
Can be strongest.
We hail you, sacred honeysuckle,
Green Man of the Spring,
On this your moment of sweetest nectar.

Chant:
Flower of the dawn
Flower of the morning
Flower of the day
Through the springtime turning

(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. Ring bell and dismiss.)

[Pagan Book of Hours]

Calendar of the Sun for Sunday, May 6th

Calendar of the Sun

Ancestor Day

Color: Black and grey
Element: Earth
Altar: Spread a black cloth, and lay it with photographs, paintings, and other depictions of our ancestors. Add also symbols of their old tools, and statues of ancestral deities, a bowl of seeds for the future garden, pots of soil, a pitcher of water, and many candles of black and white and grey.
Offerings: Things they would have liked to eat, drink, smoke, or smell. Tend a cemetery and clean up the graves.
Daily Meal: Food from an earlier era, using authentic recipes.

Invocation to the Ancestors

Our ancestors got up at dawn,
Slaved in the dirt,
Sweated in the sun,
Chilled in the cold,
Numbed in the snow,
Scattering each seed with a prayer:
Pray that there be enough,
That no one starve this winter.
Pray that no bird nor beast
Steal the food I have struggled for.
And most of all,
Pray that each seed I save
Of this harvest
Shall next year
Bring forth a hundred more.
We live today
Because they worked
Because they sowed
Because they harvested
Because they prayed.

Chant:
Those who came before
We are your children
Those who came before
We honor your names

(Each person takes seeds from the bowl and plants them in the pots of soil, speaking the name of one of their ancestors as they do so, as in: “In honor of _______.” The pots are watered, and the candles put out one by one.)

[Pagan Book of Hours]

Calendar of the Moon for Tuesday, May 1

Calendar of the Moon
1 Saille/Mounukhion

Day of the Willow Tree

Color: Yellow
Element: Earth
Altar: Upon a yellow cloth set a vase of willow branches collected earlier and forced to bud, a single yellow candle, a pot of soil, seeds, a bowl of water, and a bell.
Offerings: Plant seeds. Stoke fires.
Daily Meal: Vegan

Invocation to the Green Man of the Willow Tree

Hail, Green Man of the Spring!
Willow tree of the silver moon,
Bending with the wind,
You teach us that flexibility
Is a great virtue
As we fall before the hurricane
Of our circumstances.
Mountain of the Nine Muses,
Tree of river and dew,
Tree whose gentle roots
Penetrate all things without trouble,
Cage of the sacrificial king
Whose fire burns every year,
Bending, twisting, making charms,
Persistent one, deadly one,
Beautiful one, magical one,
Hawk on the cliff whose cold eyes
See and swoop upon the prey.
We hail you, sacred willow tree,
Green Man of the Spring,
On this the time of your springing forth.

Chant:
We turn and spin
Come out and in
We twist all time
In this green sign

(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. Ring bell and dismiss.)

[Pagan Book of Hours]

Poppy Seed Divination (Seed Moon)

Poppy Seed Divination

(Seed Moon)

Use this divination to answer a pressing question.

You will need a charcoal block, an incense burner, and nine poppy seeds. Because fire played such an intricate part in their daily lives, the people of ancient cultures commonly used smoke as a method of divination. One of the Norns, the Norse Goddess Verdandi, weaves the fabric that becomes each of our lives. This spell asks for the help of the Goddess in divining the smoke that rises up from smoldering poppy seeds.

Use your athame to draw a circle of light. Call in the elements. Carefully light the charcoal block, and invite the Goddess into your circle.

Great Goddess Verdandi

Weaver of all patterns

Help me to see

What is and will be,

So be it! Blessed be!

Ask the question you want answered, then blow on the charcoal. When it burns hot, place the poppy seeds on the lit charcoal and watch the smoke as it rises. Traditionally, if the smoke rose lightly and straight upward, it meant something good was going to happen, and if it hung around it was a portent of something bad. For yourself, try clearing your mind of all images before looking into the smoke. As you look into the smoke, let the image of the Goddess move into your consciousness. The smoke is a reflection of the fabric she is weaving. Look and see the patterns of your own life as it unfolds from the future into the present.

Thank the Goddess and pull up the circle when you are done.

Calendar of the Moon for April 14th

Calendar of the Moon
14 Fearn/Elaphebolion

Day of the Elm Tree

Color: Dull green
Element: Earth
Altar: Upon a dull green cloth set a vase of elm twigs collected earlier and forced to bud, a single dull green candle, a pot of soil, seeds, a bowl of water, and a bell.
Offerings: Plant seeds. Use your physical strength to do a task.
Daily Meal: Vegan

Invocation to the Green Man of the Elm Tree

Hail, Green Man of the Spring!
Elm tree of the spreading limbs,
Great in strength and stature,
Tree planted amid the grapevines
To be a living trellis
To support the uncounted
Legions of the Vine-God.
Backbone of Dionysus,
Patient and enduring,
Tree who takes its burdens quietly,
With trunk so great
The hardly can we reach around it.
Grandmother and protector
Of the new year’s wine,
In whose branches robins call.
We hail you, sacred elm tree,
Green Man of the Spring,
On this the day of your strengthening.

Chant:
In strength I rise
In strength I reach
In strength I touch the sky

(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. Ring bell and dismiss.)

[Pagan Book of Hours]

Calendar of the Sun for April 10th

Calendar of the Sun

Aequinoctium Vernum

Colors: Yellow and light green
Element: Earth
Altar: Upon cloth of yellow and light green set a pitcher of rainwater, small dishes of seeds (as many as there are people), a vase of budding branches, and a single green candle.
Offerings: Seeds to be planted in the garden.
Daily Meal: Vegetarian

Aequinoctium Vernum Invocation

Earth, you begin your awakening
To the touch of the life-giving Sun
Whose rays stroke you like a lover.
Earth, your joy in awakening
Springs forth first golden
And then the green of life.
We awaken to your new life
And your new season,
And you help us to believe
That no matter how long the winter,
Spring will always come again.
We stand in the time of the year’s morning
And, like all living things,
We reach upwards for the sky.

Chant:
We open Earth and
Earth receives you
She gives you life and
We believe in you

(Each takes a pot of seeds and goes to the garden, and hoes or otherwise prepares a space for planting, and then plants their seeds, chanting while doing so. The pitcher of rainwater is carried out and ritually poured onto the seeds.)

[Pagan Book of Hours]

Calendar of the Sun for April 7th

Calendar of the Sun

Aequinoctium Vernum

Colors: Yellow and light green
Element: Earth
Altar: Upon cloth of yellow and light green set a pitcher of rainwater, small dishes of seeds (as many as there are people), a vase of budding branches, and a single green candle.
Offerings: Seeds to be planted in the garden.
Daily Meal: Vegetarian

Aequinoctium Vernum Invocation

Earth, you begin your awakening
To the touch of the life-giving Sun
Whose rays stroke you like a lover.
Earth, your joy in awakening
Springs forth first golden
And then the green of life.
We awaken to your new life
And your new season,
And you help us to believe
That no matter how long the winter,
Spring will always come again.
We stand in the time of the year’s morning
And, like all living things,
We reach upwards for the sky.

Chant:
We open Earth and
Earth receives you
She gives you life and
We believe in you

(Each takes a pot of seeds and goes to the garden, and hoes or otherwise prepares a space for planting, and then plants their seeds, chanting while doing so. The pitcher of rainwater is carried out and ritually poured onto the seeds.)

[Pagan Book of Hours]

Calendar of the Sun for Friday, April 6th

Calendar of the Sun

Aequinoctium Vernum

Colors: Yellow and light green
Element: Earth
Altar: Upon cloth of yellow and light green set a pitcher of rainwater, small dishes of seeds (as many as there are people), a vase of budding branches, and a single green candle.
Offerings: Seeds to be planted in the garden.
Daily Meal: Vegetarian

Aequinoctium Vernum Invocation

Earth, you begin your awakening
To the touch of the life-giving Sun
Whose rays stroke you like a lover.
Earth, your joy in awakening
Springs forth first golden
And then the green of life.
We awaken to your new life
And your new season,
And you help us to believe
That no matter how long the winter,
Spring will always come again.
We stand in the time of the year’s morning
And, like all living things,
We reach upwards for the sky.

Chant:
We open Earth and
Earth receives you
She gives you life and
We believe in you

(Each takes a pot of seeds and goes to the garden, and hoes or otherwise prepares a space for planting, and then plants their seeds, chanting while doing so. The pitcher of rainwater is carried out and ritually poured onto the seeds.)

[Pagan Book of Hours]

Calendar of the Sun for April 5th

Calendar of the Sun

Aequinoctium Vernum

Colors: Yellow and light green
Element: Earth
Altar: Upon cloth of yellow and light green set a pitcher of rainwater, small dishes of seeds (as many as there are people), a vase of budding branches, and a single green candle.
Offerings: Seeds to be planted in the garden.
Daily Meal: Vegetarian

Aequinoctium Vernum Invocation

Earth, you begin your awakening
To the touch of the life-giving Sun
Whose rays stroke you like a lover.
Earth, your joy in awakening
Springs forth first golden
And then the green of life.
We awaken to your new life
And your new season,
And you help us to believe
That no matter how long the winter,
Spring will always come again.
We stand in the time of the year’s morning
And, like all living things,
We reach upwards for the sky.

Chant:
We open Earth and
Earth receives you
She gives you life and
We believe in you

(Each takes a pot of seeds and goes to the garden, and hoes or otherwise prepares a space for planting, and then plants their seeds, chanting while doing so. The pitcher of rainwater is carried out and ritually poured onto the seeds.)

[Pagan Book of Hours]

Calendar of the Sun for April 4th

Calendar of the Sun

Aequinoctium Vernum

Colors: Yellow and light green
Element: Earth
Altar: Upon cloth of yellow and light green set a pitcher of rainwater, small dishes of seeds (as many as there are people), a vase of budding branches, and a single green candle.
Offerings: Seeds to be planted in the garden.
Daily Meal: Vegetarian

Aequinoctium Vernum Invocation

Earth, you begin your awakening
To the touch of the life-giving Sun
Whose rays stroke you like a lover.
Earth, your joy in awakening
Springs forth first golden
And then the green of life.
We awaken to your new life
And your new season,
And you help us to believe
That no matter how long the winter,
Spring will always come again.
We stand in the time of the year’s morning
And, like all living things,
We reach upwards for the sky.

Chant:
We open Earth and
Earth receives you
She gives you life and
We believe in you

(Each takes a pot of seeds and goes to the garden, and hoes or otherwise prepares a space for planting, and then plants their seeds, chanting while doing so. The pitcher of rainwater is carried out and ritually poured onto the seeds.)

[Pagan Book of Hours]

Calendar of the Sun for March 29th

Calendar of the Sun

Aequinoctium Vernum

Colors: Yellow and light green
Element: Earth
Altar: Upon cloth of yellow and light green set a pitcher of rainwater, small dishes of seeds (as many as there are people), a vase of budding branches, and a single green candle.
Offerings: Seeds to be planted in the garden.
Daily Meal: Vegetarian

Aequinoctium Vernum Invocation

Earth, you begin your awakening
To the touch of the life-giving Sun
Whose rays stroke you like a lover.
Earth, your joy in awakening
Springs forth first golden
And then the green of life.
We awaken to your new life
And your new season,
And you help us to believe
That no matter how long the winter,
Spring will always come again.
We stand in the time of the year’s morning
And, like all living things,
We reach upwards for the sky.

Chant:
We open Earth and
Earth receives you
She gives you life and
We believe in you

(Each takes a pot of seeds and goes to the garden, and hoes or otherwise prepares a space for planting, and then plants their seeds, chanting while doing so. The pitcher of rainwater is carried out and ritually poured onto the seeds.)

[Pagan Book of Hours]

Calendar of the Sun for March 28th

Calendar of the Sun

Aequinoctium Vernum

Colors: Yellow and light green
Element: Earth
Altar: Upon cloth of yellow and light green set a pitcher of rainwater, small dishes of seeds (as many as there are people), a vase of budding branches, and a single green candle.
Offerings: Seeds to be planted in the garden.
Daily Meal: Vegetarian

Aequinoctium Vernum Invocation

Earth, you begin your awakening
To the touch of the life-giving Sun
Whose rays stroke you like a lover.
Earth, your joy in awakening
Springs forth first golden
And then the green of life.
We awaken to your new life
And your new season,
And you help us to believe
That no matter how long the winter,
Spring will always come again.
We stand in the time of the year’s morning
And, like all living things,
We reach upwards for the sky.

Chant:
We open Earth and
Earth receives you
She gives you life and
We believe in you

(Each takes a pot of seeds and goes to the garden, and hoes or otherwise prepares a space for planting, and then plants their seeds, chanting while doing so. The pitcher of rainwater is carried out and ritually poured onto the seeds.)

[Pagan Book of Hours]

Calendar of the Sun for March 27th

Calendar of the Sun

Aequinoctium Vernum

Colors: Yellow and light green
Element: Earth
Altar: Upon cloth of yellow and light green set a pitcher of rainwater, small dishes of seeds (as many as there are people), a vase of budding branches, and a single green candle.
Offerings: Seeds to be planted in the garden.
Daily Meal: Vegetarian

Aequinoctium Vernum Invocation

Earth, you begin your awakening
To the touch of the life-giving Sun
Whose rays stroke you like a lover.
Earth, your joy in awakening
Springs forth first golden
And then the green of life.
We awaken to your new life
And your new season,
And you help us to believe
That no matter how long the winter,
Spring will always come again.
We stand in the time of the year’s morning
And, like all living things,
We reach upwards for the sky.

Chant:
We open Earth and
Earth receives you
She gives you life and
We believe in you

(Each takes a pot of seeds and goes to the garden, and hoes or otherwise prepares a space for planting, and then plants their seeds, chanting while doing so. The pitcher of rainwater is carried out and ritually poured onto the seeds.)

Pagan Book of Hours

The Breviary of the Asphodel Tradition

Calendar of the Sun

Calendar of the Sun

Media Hiems

Color: White and grey
Element: Earth
Altar: Set out a cloth of white and grey, a vase of bare branches, a single grey candle, a pitcher of melted snow or rainwater, pots of earth, and seeds to be sown and nurtured in the greenhouse.
Offering: Seeds, preferably saved from the year before.
Daily Meal: Vegetarian.

Media Hiems Invocation

Earth that lies asleep
Waiting for the touch of the Sun
To grow in strength and light
And awaken thee to life,
We warm thee with our breath,
We prepare thee with our hands,
We plant thee with our hopes,
We await thy awakening
With faith in the coming of Spring.

Chant:
Breath warms thee
Hands prepare thee
Hope sows thee
Sun awaken thee.

(All take seeds and plant them in the pots of earth, water them, and breathe onto them, visualizing the seeds awakening and growing. The remainder of the water is poured out as a libation to the Earth. The pots are then taken to the greenhouse in procession to be nurtured until planting time.)

Pagan Book of Hours

Calendar of the Sun for Tuesday, March 13th

Calendar of the Sun
13 Hrethemonath

Day of Oath to the Earth

Color: Green
Element: Earth
Altar: On a green cloth lay branches, flowers, stones, twigs, figures of animals and birds, a special pot of good soil, and a small globe.
Offerings: Clean up or protect a natural environment.
Daily Meal: Vegan.

(Each person present stands forth and takes this oath to the Earth:)

By seeds of all beginnings, I make this oath.
By roots of all depths, I swear to protect the purity of your soil.
By stem and trunk that reaches for the sky, I swear to respect your cycle of growth.
By bud that grows, I swear to respect all those who live in that cycle.
By leaf that catches the rain, I swear to protect the air we breathe.
By flower that opens to the dawn, I swear to always see your beauty.
By fruit that gives forth sweetness, I swear to remember where my nourishment comes from.
By seed within the fruit that grows the tree anew,
I swear to try again and again to fulfill this oath,
As many times as the Gods shall decree.
By life and death, by Lord and Lady, by hand and eye, by heart and spirit,
This I do swear here before the Fates
And mark my soul forever with this promise.
As all green things grow, so shall you live and survive,
And your memory be carried forever beneath the feet
Of a thousand generations to come.

Chant:
The Earth is our mother,
We must take care of her,
The Earth is our mother,
We must take care of her.
Hey and a ho and a ho la la
Hey and a ho and a ho la la

(After each person has taken the oath, all place their hands over the pot of soil and concentrate on charging it. Let it remain before the altar until Hesperis the following day, at which time it shall be planted with seeds of a rare and special healing herb, to be kept in the house and cared for and cherished.)

Pagan Book of Hours

The Breviary of the Asphodel Tradition