Read A Pagan Ritual Prayer Book Online
Authors: Ceisiwr Serith
A Pagan Ritual Prayer Book (10 page)
Ariomanus:
Lion-headed god, of fiery breath,
burn away from me all that separates myself from the divine.
Fear-inspiring entity,
do your worst,
do your best.
Above and below,
and me between.
Around and about,
and me in the midst.
Before and after,
and me here now.
The waters support and surround me
The land extends about me
The sky reaches out above me
At the center burns a living flame.
Open your eyes and look around
and see the sacred in our midst
and see us in the midst of the sacred.
If you truly know that you're truly here
then you'll truly know that the holy is here
and always was.
The Sacred Space is here.
The Sacred Time is now.
Nowhere to travel,
nothing to wait for.
Just know it to be true,
and you are there
and you are then.
It is by standing here that we know this place to be sacred.
It is by doing holy things that we know this day to be sacred.
It is by worshiping the Holy Ones with all that we are
that we will know that we are sacred,
and will carry the sacred into all places,
on all days.
I am here
and I belong here.
How could I not when every deed and decision I have made in my life has brought me here?
Whether arriving here has brought me good or ill,
or brought good or ill to others,
here is where I belong.
And it is from here that I must pray.
We have come to worship today,
making this time sacred by worshipping
and this space by worshipping together.
We are standing here.
You are standing here.
I am standing here.
We are standing here.
And today we will raise open hands
and pray to those who are holy
with sweet words of welcome.
From the home to the wild,
I walk a sacred path.
From the wild to the home,
I walk a sacred path.
The wild is sacred.
The home is sacred.
The wild and the home, both sacred.
Most sacred of all, the Path between.
We are here.
We are here.
We are here.
And here is where we will worship the Holy Ones.
The time is now.
The time is now.
The time is now.
And now is when we will worship the Holy ones.
Never denying the holiness of Here.
Never denying the holiness of Now.
Never denying the presence of the Holy Ones in all Heres and Nows.
In this prayer, mead is poured into a bowl, and then cast as an offering in the directions as noted. The prayer is complemented by a closing prayer found in
chapter 11
:
We stand, pillars, in the center of the world,
while all else turns about us.
In the center, Chaos enters Cosmos.
It endangers and enlightens it,
gifting it with power:
Power to the South [offering]
Power to the West [offering]
Power to the North [offering]
Power to the East, [offering]
the place of prayer, the place of light,
the place of the Holy Ones.
And power to the Center, [offering]
where we stand, pillars,
while all else turns about us.
Gods who watch over this place,
whom I don't know.
Ancestors who watch over this place,
whom I don't know.
Land Spirits who dwell in this place,
whom I don't know:
I'm leaving this offering to you, unknowing,
out of my ignorance, to the unknown.
East, where light rises
Are you there?
You are.
South, where light stands high
Are you there?
You are.
West, where light descends
Are you there?
You are.
North, where darkness is
Are you there?
You are.
Center, where I am
Are you there?
I am.
I place myself in Air, in the East I place myself, under the protection of Raphael I place myself.
I place myself in Fire, in the South I place myself, under the protection of Michael I place myself.
I place myself in Water, in the West I place myself, under the protection of Gabriel I place myself.
I place myself in Earth, in the North I place myself, under the protection of Uriel I place myself.
I place myself in the Above, in the Sky I place myself, under the protection of the Father I place myself.
I place myself in the Below, in the Earth I place myself, under the protection of the Mother I place myself.
I place myself in Spirit, in the Center I place myself, under the protection of all the Holy Ones I place myself.
In this moment
In this place
In the midst of the elements
In the midst of the Two
In the midst of the Center
In the midst of all the divine ones
I place myself under their protection.
We speak our prayers in the proper way,
to the proper directions
to those who dwell there.
Toward the East we pray,
to the spirits of thought,
the spirits of the words we use.
Toward the South we pray, to the spirits of deeds,
the spirits of our ritual acts.
Toward the West we pray,
to the spirits of emotion,
the spirits of the feelings we give.
Toward the North we pray,
to the spirits of beings,
to the spirits of the bodies that turn.
We speak in the Center,
where the directions join,
and bring us to life that we might pray:
from the Center may we always speak.
This space, this sacred space,
is guarded by the sacred beings of protection,
who answer those who call to them.
With confidence in their continued presence I begin my rites.
I make this sign in the East,
the sign of Air,
to the beings of Air,
to call to them, to call them here,
to come to those who worship here.
Come, you are welcome, Spirits of Air.
I make this sign in the South,
the sign of Fire,
to the beings of Fire,
to call to them, to call them here,
to come to those who worship here.
Come, you are welcome, Spirits of Fire.
I make this sign in the West,
the sign of Water,
to the beings of Water,
to call to them, to call them here,
to come to those who worship here.
Come, you are welcome, Spirits of Water.
I make this sign in the North,
the sign of Earth,
to the beings of Earth,
to call to them, to call them here,
to come to those who worship here.
Come, you are welcome, Spirits of Earth.
May blow from the East the wind of Air, hot and moist, to form its part of this circle's balance.
May blow from the South the wind of Fire, hot and dry, to form its part of this circle's balance.
May blow from the West the wind of Water, cold and moist, to form its part of this circle's balance.
May blow from the North the wind of Earth, cold and dry, to form its part of this circle's balance.
May the four winds join in the Center in balance.
That side, mundane,
this side, divine.
We draw the line
for our ritual,
for this time.
