Polytheist Day of Protest and Remembrance

Last updated on: July 23, 2015 at 1:00 am by Yvonne Aburrow

Polytheist Day of Protest and Remembrance 2015-07-21T10:11:51-04:00 Yvonne Aburrow

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“Temple of Baal-Shamin, Palmyra” by Bernard Gagnon – Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons.

I agree with and support the Polytheist Day of Protest and Remembrance, but I would like to see more emphasis within it on the people killed by DAESH, as well. I note that the call to action includes “and all the other horrors Daesh have committed” but that seems like only a nod to the people they have killed.

People are carriers of memory too: the Jews have a saying that “whoever saves a life, saves a world entire”. People have hopes, and dreams, and memories, and loves, and they keep and transmit and create culture.

I am horrified by the atrocities committed by DAESH – the murder and displacement of Yezidis, Christians, and Muslims, and the destruction of whole cultures, peoples, ways of life, and cultural monuments. Their attempt to wipe out anything that does not conform to their extremely narrow version of Islam is nothing short of genocide.

Accordingly, I will be adding to the proposed prayer:

May the victims of terror rest in the loving arms of the Great Goddess.*
May they be reborn among those whom they love.
May they never be forgotten.
May those who are displaced find their way home.
May those who are in danger be safe.

May the evil purposes of DAESH be confounded.
May all their plans turn to dust and ashed in their mouths.
May they be forgotten and confounded.

* For me, the Great Goddess is the Universe herself, the matrix of matter and spirit, the cauldron of rebirth. It is she in whose arms the dead rest, and who gives them rebirth. For me, this idea is not in conflict with my polytheism. If you use my prayer, feel free to adapt it as you see fit, and substitute the name of a deity you feel represents this role.

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