Pray to the Moon when She is round,
Luck with you will then abound,
What you seek for shall be found
On the sea or solid ground.

Thursday, July 14, 2011

Poetry for the Esbat: Blessing Moon 2011

I thought I would start my own tradition of recognizing the Esbats with poetry. Not only are poems beautiful, but they make for wonderful reflection & mediation. Naturally, I must begin with the lovely words of my much adored Doreen Valiente. The following posthumously published work can be found in, Charge of the Goddess: The Mother of Modern Witchcraft.
 

The Gathering for the Esbat

O Moon that rid'st the night to wake,
Before the dawn is pale,
The hamadryad in the brake,
The satyr in the vale,
Caught in thy net of shadows,
What dreams hast thou to show?
Who treads the silent meadows
To worship thee below?
The patter of the rain is hushed,
The wind's wild dance is done;
Cloud-mountains ruby-red were flushed
About the setting sun;
And now beneath thine argent beam
The wild wood standeth still.
Some spirit of an ancient dream
Breathes from the silent hill.
Witch-Goddess Moon, thy spell invokes
The Ancient Ones of night.
Once more the old stone altar smokes,
The fire is glimmering bright.
Scattered and few thy children be,
Yet gather we unknown,
To dance the old round merrily
About the time-worn stone.
We ask no heaven, we fear no hell,
Nor mourn our outcast lot,
Treading the mazes of a spell
By priests and men forgot.

4 comments:

Nestis said...

Beautiful. May Selene in Her radiance shine on you and yours tonight (despite the cloud cover). :)

Unknown said...

Fabulous. Loved it.
May I read this at the Moon rite tonight??

Moma Fauna said...

thank you Nestis & may you receive the same blessing. :)

Carol, isn't she wonderful? i am sure she would love to have you read it at the ritual. what a wonderful way to honour a legendary woman -- by sharing her sacred work. in fact, i am sure that is what she intended when, just before she died, she asked that her poetry be published. would you like me to bring the book, or would you rather just print this?

Unknown said...

I can print it out since I'm at work and all, so you don't have to cart around the book :) I think its the perfect transition to the moon song !

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