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Songs for the Book of Shadows[1]

Songs for the Book of Shadows[1]

Last updated on: September 7, 2012 at 12:27 am by Aidan Kelly

Songs for the Book of Shadows[1] 2012-09-07T00:27:25-07:00 Aidan Kelly

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

I. Conjuration of the Charging Oil

I conjure salt for savor,

I conjure oil for pleasure,

I conjure water for the lightning hour,

I conjure the fivefold leaf for power.

Lady, comb the threads through thorns,

Lead the light between the horns,

Ring the circle from the world,

And all the snarls of karma be uncurled.

II. The Prayer of the Feet

Blessed be the feet that have walked in the kingdom of Death.

Blessed be the feet that have returned from the kingdom of Death.

Blessed be the feet that have trod upon Death.

Blessed be the Lady, the destroyer of Death.

Blessed be Her ways, Her comings and goings,

Her hidings and showings, Her nights and Her days.

Blessed be Her seasons, Her rounds and Her reasons,

The rings on Her fingers, the bells on Her toes.

Blessed be the Lady, through whom everything flows,

For She shall have music wherever She goes.

III. The Words of the Star Queen

I am earth and grass and trees,

I am sun and moon and fire,

I am rain and wind and sea:

I am the goal of all desire.

By love alone I may be known;

Love is the only law I know.

All things live and are my own:

From me they come; to me they go.

I am the goal of all desire:

If you think to win me,

You must seek within yourself,

Else you’ll never find me.

Seek me inward, seek me deep,

Conjure me by song and rhyme:

When I blaze out through your eyes,

Know I was with you all the time.

Worship me with a joyful heart,

And I will join you in the night.

Celebrate me: for all acts

Of love and pleasure are my rites.

IV. The Great Rite in Token

Fire to water, air to earth,

Charge the soul from death to birth.

I am a fountain in the sun;

I am a fragrance in the night;

I am a fire beneath the skin.

Of earth and air we eat,

And are made complete.

Fire to water, air to earth,

Fill the circle with your mirth.

Water of life, fire of the mind,

What is mine is unrefined.

V. A Daily Litany for the Lady[2]

At dawn:

Lady of the Lightning sky,

Lady of the Newborn Sun,

Flood your light into our lives,

And let this day be well-begun.

At noon

Lady of the Fertile Lands,

Lady of the Five-Fold Earth,

Fill us with your living gifts,

And let this day be filled with mirth.

At dusk:

Lady of the Flowering Islands,

Lady of the Fiery Sea,

Dance upon the knowing waters,

Fill us with your mystery.

At midnight:

Lady of the Shining Castle,

Lady of the Silver Wheel,

Guard our sleep and send us dreams,

Turn our lives and make us real.

At the right time:

Fivefold Lady who whirls without motion,

Burns untouched in flower flames,

Ebb and flood of the inward ocean,

Remind us you are what each word names.

VI. Correspondences[3]

Begin the spell by berry tracks,

White, then green, then red, then black.

Follow on the Sun’s bright course:

East, then south, then west, then north.

The magic tools that make the bond

Are cup and pentacle, sword and wand.

The elements that pair and pair

Are water, earth, and fire and air.

Four the beasts of ancient rule—

Lion and goat and snake and bull—

Rule the realms that spirit heals:

Sky and land and sea and wheel.

Birth, fertility, age, and death.

Are stages in the spirit’s breath;

Around and round the sacred wheel,

By light begun, by light concealed.

Brigid bears the cup of birth,

Isis is the sacred earth,

Ares guards the passage west,

Hecate gives our spirits rest..

Here are the keys to magic power;

Use them well—let witchcraft flower

In your mind and in your heart,

So merry meet and merry part.

VII. An Invocation for Litha[4]

Arthur, son of Uther Ben,

Dragon Lord of dragon men,

Born outside the normal course

By my wit and magic force,

Comes to Camlan field to face

The battle that must now take place

Against his rival and his son:

His weird is that these two are one.

Enter Mordred, foe and heir,

His son, and his sister’s son,

For Morgan le Faye had turned his fear

Into a charm that made it seem

As if he lay beside his Queen—

Or so he said to Guenivere.

Mordred comes to claim his throne,

Golden spear and silver stone,

By right of magic and descent,

Oak and holly, horse and tent,

To rule the last half of the year,

Golden stone and silver spear,

Until the child is born again,

Hawk and eagle, owl and wren,

At the southering of the Sun —

Let the battle be begun.

By the power of the Queen,

Golden Sun and Summer Green,

May this fire now burn away

Every fear and all dismay;

May this rite of ancient kings

Strengthen us for waning days.

May our fortunes all increase;

May the land be blest with peace.

[1] The verses in parts I-IV for use in ritual were begun in 1967, and reached their final form by about Lammas 1969.

[2] Written in about 1970 for Larry and Catherine.

[3] Written in about 2003.

[4] Written in 1987 or 1988.

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