The Charge of Hekate

THE CHARGE OF HEKATE

Hear the words of Soteira, Most Manifest Goddess, from whom we all came and to whom we will one day return; She who is Above and Below, Within and Without...

Come, my children, to my moonlit temple and bathe in the healing light of my torches, I call your soul to order...and to action.

I will hold to me all those who cannot protect themselves. I will instil in the few, the power to stand against the many. My fire is both pure and fierce; let those who would harm those in my care, feel the soul-burn of their actions and come to realise they are no more or less than mortal.

Celebrate my names and forms in the phases of the moon and the turning of the seasons. Look for me not in the world around you, but instead look deep within yourself

You were born of my Great Fire. I gave you the spark of your soul and have always been with you...

Hail Hekate, Anima Mundi.

Hail Hekate, Anima Mundi.

Hail Hekate, Anima Mundi.

She who is the very soul of the world,

Within me lives the same spark,

That fuels all of creation, And birthed the universe.

Hail Hekate, Anima Mundi.

Hail Hekate, Anima Mundi.

Hail Hekate, Anima Mundi.

- Keeping Her Keys

- artist unknown 

Thanksgiving & Gratitude

 Thanksgiving has become a political bone of contention. Not for me. I honor this day by being grateful for all blessings in my life. It isn’t anything to do with history, it’s about my gratitude. 

I have very fond memories of Thanksgiving through my life. I realize that is not the case for everyone. However, if someone had a bad mother, should all of us not celebrate Mother’s Day?

I do not celebrate the Pilgrims, I celebrate joy, family, friendship, good food, laughter. I acknowledge the good in my life even in these times of chaos. 

The Goddesses have given us so much, some more than others. Okay. I am still grateful for what I have, the beauty I see everyday, friendships, my own harvests and those of friends.

If you choose not to celebrate as I do or many others, I honor that. I am grateful for the freedom to do so. And that is a very good point. Freedom of spiritual belief, freedom of religion, freedom to be grateful in our own ways.

So with that said, I share here a prayer I was inspired to write as a blessing before meals. And whatever and however you choose to celebrate on Thursday, May it bring you the blessings of that which you need.

Prayer Before Meals

Great Mother, Mistress, 

Governess of all the Elements, 

Queen of the Universe, Creatress Divine,

To You we give our gratitude 

for all blessings and lessons 

You bestow upon us.

Our honor and love is Yours.

For this meal we now partake of, 

receive our unending thanks.

May we never hunger, 

May we never thirst, 

May we always thrive with 

Your blessings upon us.

So mote it be.

Copyright EA Kaufman 2021

Homecoming

This poem/prayer is so dear to me. It embodies all the Goddess is to me and gives great comfort.

"Homecoming" 

~ Linda Reuther, 

“And the Great Mother said:

Come my child and give me all that you are.

I am not afraid of your strength and darkness, of your fear and pain.

Give me your tears. They will be my rushing rivers and roaring oceans.
Give me your rage. It will

erupt into my molten volcanoes and rolling thunder.
Give me your tired spirit. I will lay it to rest in my soft meadows.
Give me your hopes and dreams. I will plant a field of sunflowers and arch rainbows in the sky.
You are not too much for me. My arms and heart welcome your true fullness.
There is room in my world for all of you, all that you are.
I will cradle you in the boughs of my ancient redwoods and the valleys of my gentle rolling hills.
My soft winds will sing you lullabies and soothe your burdened heart.
Release your deep pain.
You are not alone and you have never been alone.”

Blessings Dark & Deep

Cleansing Prayer

Wrote this Tuesday morning and thought I’d share. Beautiful blessings dark and deep.

Cleansing Prayer 

Smoke and fire, Earth and air,

Cleanse and bless this home with care.

In the Lady’s name I make it so,

All harm and bane released must go.

By the Lady Mother that I revere,

Only good now enters here.

With gratitude I freely send

To my Lady without end.

C EA Kaufman 9/20/2022

A Daily Prayer

 Good Sunday morning and many blessings. I am struggling a bit with shingles - gotta love the Crone years. However, I am doing well for the most part, but this morning I am having a bit of a flare up. 

To take my mind off it, I went browsing the internet and found a little prayer to the Universe. This inspired a daily short prayer to the Mother Goddesses. I am a firm believer in daily devotions, even just little ones. So I share it here.

Light a candle, perhaps a stick of incense, and recite three times.

A Daily Prayer

Oh Blessed Mothers I come to You,

With honor and love, blessings too.

Give me strength to face my day

Whatever it is that comes my way.

With love I open to what may be,

I light this flame’s power times three.

As Your loving blessings always assist me,

So I shall be the best I can be.

With honor and love, blessings too,

With strength from the Great Mothers,

It is made true.

E A Kaufman C 9/18/2022

Blessings dark and deep.

Sweet Dreams

Now I lay me down to sleep,

Blessed Goddess, in Your keep.

Send sweet dreams the whole night through

And keep me faithful, good, and true.

And in the morn when I wake,

Gentle Goddess, feed me cake!

Barbara Ardinger 

In addition to the little prayer, sprinkle a few drops of pure essential oil of lavender over your bed, then lay down and breathe in the  calming scent. Sweet dreams!

Blessings dark and deep!

21 Days of the Winter Solstice 14

from elephantjournal.com

Blessings dark and deep!

21 Days of the Winter Solstice 2

O! Mighty Goddess, in silvery ice,
watching over us as we sleep, 

a layer of shining white,
covering the earth each night,

frost on the world and in the soul,

we thank You for visiting us.

Because of You, 

we seek warmth
in the comfort of our homes and hearths.

Patti Wigington

Blessings dark and deep!

21 Days of the Winter Solstice 1

Winter Solstice Tree Blessing

Holy Lady, Creator of Trees,

bestow Your abundant blessings upon 

this our Solstice tree, a symbol of joy.

May its evergreen branches be a sign

of your never-fading love & wisdom.

May its colorful lights and ornaments

 decorate our home and our world with love & peace.

May the gifts that surround this tree

be symbols of the gifts we have received

from the beautiful Earth Herself.

Blessed Winter Solstice tree within our home,

may Joy and Peace, wisdom and abundance,

compassion & love come and nest 

in your branches and in our hearts.

So mote it be.

  a Christian prayer for blessing the Christmas tree,

found at beliefnet.com & re-worded by E A Kaufman

Blessings dark and deep!

Hallows Everyday - 22

Prayers For the Autumn Evening

(light a candle)

Candle brightening, flame's own flower,

harbinger of daylight's ebb;

Light the pathway to the bower - 

find the way to spirit's web.

(after your evening ablutions)

I cast off the garments of today

and ask my Goddesses to bless me

with healing, nourishing, restorative rest

as I sleep this night. *

 (before going to bed)

I quieten my soul with the chimes of the silver branch:

great gladness in my heart, no sadness in my mind,

rich rest within my soul.

May these three clear notes, gifts of the Goddesses, *

resound through all beings,

bringing peace and rest at this Autumn day's end.* 

(extinguish your candle)

Vessel of Healing, Cup of Transformation,

I am but a drop of your draught

as I sink down to sweet sleep.*

prayers from

Celtic Devotional, Daily Prayers and Blessings

by Caitlin Matthews

Blessings dark and deep!

* a few adaptions were made to these prayers to reflect my own practice.

Hallows Everyday - 21

Prayers For the Autumn Morning 

Upon Rising

I kindle my soul from the Autumn sunlight,

(light a candle)

glow of life, glow of light, glow of love,

be upon my being, my heart, and my soul

this Autumn day,

from break of light, till fall of night.

(choose a small pocket stone from your collection to carry on this day)

From the treasury of  my soul I draw forth,

gem of light, gem of life, gem of love

to preserve my soul from to darkness,

On this Autumn day.

Before Leaving You Home In the Morning

I mantle myself in the covering of creatures:

stillness of owl, perception of eagle,

humility of wren, speed of horse,

strength of bear, courtesy of deer, repose of serpent,

silence of mouse, courage of salmon.

Nine creatures about me to clothe and protect me, 

on the ways that I walk.

(extinguish the candle, place the stone in a pouch 

and tuck into your bra, over your heart)

prayers from 

Celtic Devotional, Daily Prayers and Blessings

by Caitlin Matthews

Blessings dark and deep!

Invocation of the Circle

I love this circle invocation by Doreen Valiente, found in "Witchcraft, A Tradition Renewed" by Doreen and Evan John Jones. I'm always writing, rewriting, and searching out invocations, prayers, quarter calls, for my circles. I like to change it up all the time. This is a favorite.

Invocation of the Circle

By stang and cauldron, cup and knife,

By right of office that I hold,

Ye ancient powers of death and life,

Forgather to the circle's fold.

Kinship to kinship, blood to blood,

By wild night wind and starry sky,

By heathland brown and darkling wood,

To this our circle now draw nigh.

In likeness of a henge of stone,

Stand guard around this circle's rim,

While looming through the dark alone,

Stands in the east the Hele-stone dim.

I summon forth the fairy hounds,

Sharp-fanged, white-coated, red of ear,

To prowl beyond the circle's bounds,

And put intruders' hearts in fear.

Ancestral powers of this our blood,

We are your people, guard us well,

By earth and air, by fire and flood,

By magic mime and spoken spell.

Our craft's own Goddess I invoke,

And Ancient Ones of hill and mound.

With fire aflame and drifting smoke,

I dedicate this circle's bound.

By three times three,

Thus shall it be!

~Doreen Valiente, Witchcraft: a Tradition Renewed~

Hallows Everyday 25

Song of the Samhain Goddess

 

Deep night in the forest,

Deep night on the hill.

The Old Wise One opens her cloak -

Inside, bitter smoke coils like a snake.

Heaped at her feet, orange pumpkins grin.

The bones of her hand shine through the skin.

 

Breath of Mystery rides the wind:

Honor me.

Breath of death cold on the back of your neck:

Honor me.

Breath of magic whirls around you:

Honor me.

Breath of endings and beginnings, always new.

Honor me now.

 

~Cait Johnson~

From Witch in the Kitchen

Magical Cooking for All Seasons

Hallows Everyday 17

Song of Samhain

I am the Hallowtide of all souls passing,

I am the bright releaser of all souls pain,

I am the quickener of the fallen seed case,

I am the glance of snow, the strike of rain.

I am the hollow of winter twilight,

I am the hearth fire and the welcome bread,

I am the curtained awning of the pillow,

I am unending wisdom's golden thread.

from "Celtic Devotional,

Daily Prayers and Blessings"

by Caitlin Matthews

Blessings dark and deep! 

Full Moon Blessings!

I hear the Goddess

when the Full Moon dances in my eyes.

... She is here, whispering my name.

Cast the circle,

let the world stay out,

my spirit is in ecstasy:

a world within, a world without.

Mother, be Thou adored.

My Lady, I am in Your womb of flower,

Connected to Your mysteries and sacredness.

Mother, be Thou adored.

I am one with the Divine,

I am stardust.

I shall eternally be Your daughter.

Mother, be Thou adored.

(excerpt from Mother Be Thou Adored by Karla Bardanza)

Blessings full and bright!

A Witch's New Year Blessing!

A Witch's New Year Blessing

I weave for you a magick charm,

That this new year brings you no harm.

Love, good health, and an abundance of money,

Happiness, joy, and laughter a-plenty.

Peace in the world,

Time to do what you love,

All that you need, may it rain down from above.

These wishes I send with the best intentions,

Happy New Year, my dears, and the Goddesses' blessings!

(copyright 2014 E A Kaufman)

  The Witch of Stitches

Hallows Everyday 29

Yesterday I did not want to post Hallows Everyday. I learned that Layne Redmond had passed and I wanted to pay tribute to her instead. It occurs to me that since Hallows is about honoring the dead, I did, indeed, do that.

Layne, it seemed from what I read, spent her last months doing what she loved, working on the revision of her book, When The Drummers Were Women. In a video I saw of her, she appeared to be happy, almost joyous. I didn't know her personally, only from her writings, Facebook, and especially, her music. I know she was with people who loved her and took care of her. Really, I thought she would just go on. Instead, at this sacred time, she left. If one can choose, this seems the perfect time.

We are in the Autumn of the year, the quiet time when all that dies lays to rest. So the dead sleep, but come spring, all that dies will be reborn, and in that we, the living, can take comfort.

Samhain Evening Prayer

Lady, You are Prophetess and Queen.

The Final Harvest has been met;

the land lies sleeping, expectant.

In the Winter stillness

You will conceive tomorrow's hope.

Receptive and quiescent, 

Your dream unfolds as a counterpoint

to the Dark Night that will enshroud us all.

Life and Death are balanced.

Endings and beginnings are wrought.

Your blessing weaves all into a holy tapestry,

complete and irrevocable.

by Galen Gillotte,

from Book of Hours, Prayers To The Goddess

Blessings dark and deep.

Hallows Everyday 20

Threshold Invocation for the Festival of Samhain

Recite this prayer in the evening at your open 

front door on the eve of Samhain, October 31.

Grandmother Wisdom, open the door,

Grandfather Counsel, come you in.

Let their be welcome to the ancient lore,

Let there be welcome to the Winter of the Year.

In cold and darkness, you are traveling,

Under crystal skies you will arrive.

May the blessed time of Samhain

Clarify the souls of all beings,

Bringing joy and wisdom to revelation.

From the depths to the heights,

From the heights to the depths,

In the cave of every soul.

- from Celtic Devotional by Caitlin Matthews -

Blessings nine!

Hallows Everyday 3

Evocation of the Witch

I am one with the Universe.

I am nothing and I am everything.

I am the stars and the moon,

The seas and the storms,

The breath of life,

The alchemical change,

The living and the dead,

I am!

I am the power and the joy,

I am the spirit that dances,

I am the magick and the priestess,

The witch and the sorceress,

The angels and the Elements,

Omnipotent, Omnipresent,

I am!

I am the past, the present, and the future.

I am the void.

And I am the manifestation of all my desire,

I am!

So Blessed Be.

(- author unknown -)

Blessings nine!

Feast of Epona

Epona, Goddess

Epona, the Great Mare, is a Gaulish goddess of horses. Adopted by Roman soldiers, they spread Her cult throughout the world. However, She is also a fertility goddess, a goddess of the moon, a goddess of abundance and prosperity. She is sometimes shown holding bread or other foods of the harvest. She also may be depicted wearing keys, a possible connection to the Underworld, dreams and nightmares. For myself, She assists in crossing into the Otherworlds, Her white horse the vehicle.

Make offerings of seasonal fruits, such as berries, and bread; honeyed milk has always seemed a perfect libation to me. A white candle,  statues of horses, and the offerings, make a fine altar for Her.

Epona, Divine White Mare,

Open the way for me,

Bestow dreams and visions

As I ride along with You

Through the long night and

Into the places of Mystery.

Hail Epona!

Blessings nine!