Colours of the Divine

 

White is for the Maiden, the Mother is throned in red,
White as pure as virgin snow; red as the sacred blood we shed.
The Crone is cloaked in deepest black, the keeper of the night,
Guiding souls by darkest moon, with wisdom as her light.

Yellow is for the Sun King, the Horned One is verdant green,
Yellow bright as summer's sun, green where forest growth is seen.
The King of Death wears deepest blue, the guardian of decay,
Cradling life within the void, as dusk consumes the day.

Black is for the Mother, white is for the Crone,
Black as rich and fertile soil, white as pale as bone.
Red is for the Maiden, a red as deep as fire,
Dancing 'neath the crescent moon, inciting life's desire.

Blue is for the Horned One, King of Death in yellow bright,
Blue as twilight’s quiet calm, yellow as a guiding light.
The Sun King stands in verdant green, life sprouting once again
Dancing where the earth is lush, in springtime’s joyous reign.

Red is for the Crone, black is for the Maid,
Red as the blood of sacrifice, black as night's cascade.
White is for the Mother, pure as the starlit tide,
Nurturing all with full moons glow, where magic does abide.

Green is for the King of Death, the Sun King dons the blue,
Green as moss on ancient bones, blue as skies anew.
The Horned One shines in yellow’s glow, a beacon in the field,
Life and death in balance held, nature’s cycles sealed.

Fervour Ekstasis

A whisper, like ivy tendrils

Caresses my mind

And makes me shiver.

I see the God in his eyes,

Smell Him in his sweat,

Taste Him on his skin.

I feel Him in his fingers.

My sight turns to mist

And drum beats echo from far away.

I slip, slide from his embrace 

And fall into His

Through smoke and wine and madness.

In frenzy, I feel the need to scream,

To dance, to roar – We are lions! –

The need to tear flesh and wash it down with blood.

I fall from myself

Deeper and madder and to a darker place;

I fall into silence.

I fall before Him,

Desire set upon the altar of my flesh;

My thoughts of Him alone.

My obsession, my dream, my Muse-man.

In bondage to His glorious call

I drink of His inspiration -

Fill me, O God, with Your heat

And when the flames consume me

Lead me to be reborn. 

Horned is the hunter

Horned is the hunter
And horned is the prey
For he who takes the offered life
Is also he who’s slain

He who is the offerer
Is the offering
and the prey’s blood dripping on the ground
In the hunter’s veins does sing

Crowned is the victor
And crowned in defeat
For the life that leaches from the prey
In the hunter’s heart does beat

Summer’s Lord and Winter’s
Death and life, night and day
The cycle carries on and on           
The hunter is the prey

Divine Irony

The gods do dream in mortal shape

And walk among us while we’re awake

Yet while we sleep we yearn to be

Like those who crave mortality

The sorrow we shun within our lives

Our pain, our fears, our hopes and lies

The gods seek out and they embrace

All that which we fear to face

The pain of love, of birth, of death

They yearn to feel with every breath

And while we long like them to be -

They envy our humanity.

Fridge Magnet Anthesteria

You whisper;

       And I -

Joy drunk,

Fall from your mad embrace

Through milk and honey and warm ecstasy.

My blood trembles
And fevered visions flood from your fierce worship

Prayer to the Muses

Sisters of the spoken word

Ladies of all artistry
Nymphs of Mind who ride ones thoughts
Who give and offer, tease and taunt
Born of storm and memory

I call thee Ladies, to inspire
The graceful, glorious, gifted Nine
I Name thee Muses and call ye forth
To imbue my Craft with creative force
To give shape to what I can’t define

A Dream of Apollon

I dreamt last night,

Of hazel eyes

And the smell of bay leaves burning.

You knelt above me

Music in your touch

Playing upon me like on the strings of a lyre.

Blazing like the sun,

Your golden gaze drew me forward

Like a bloom searching for heat.

You tasted of honey,

Parting my lips with your tongue

And setting my flesh aflame with your kiss.

I dreamt of you,

Lying with me in a noon-warmed field,

As sunlight chased patterns over our glistening skin.

I dreamt of you

And woke with the warmth of sunshine

Clinging to my spirit

Medusa, My Love

My Lady of the oceans' steep
High cliffs;
Those built up with
The bones of all who've
Looked upon and seen
Thy face alight and shining bright
With terror,
Beautiful and fair;
And whose eyes that hold
Reflections now of me.
I stare as though, I've turned to stone
Enthralled;
In thrall to thee
I give myself, breath and soul
To thee in offering.
And offer forth my life, my flesh
My joy and suffering,
To gaze from now
To the end of time
Upon thy mystery.

Memories of the Stag King – Ostara Ramblings

 

The snow falls and magic stalks the Young Stag

He lifts his head, smelling Nature stir

Too young for battle, to old to not attempt

He chases, never catching his quarry

The hunt becomes eternal, replayed in dreams and whispers and half-real remembered scenes

Young Stag becomes King Stag, forever searching for his first spring. 

Know this – I died for you

(An offering for Remembrance Day)

Whether I rest ‘neath the poppies of Flanders Fields,

Or in an Unknown Soldier’s grave;

If my bones are dust under Marathon’s plain

Or I lie below Acteon’s waves

            Know this – I died for you

If I fought with shield and blooded spear

Or with the cannon’s mighty roar

If stalked through burning jungles growth

Or on jet-wings fiercely soared

            Know this – I fought for you

Whether it was freedom we were fighting for

Or land or goods or love

My opponents were as flesh as I

Made of bone and breath and Blood

            Know this – I took life for you

When war is fought and blood is shed

It is no ones victory

But we must protect all that we love

Safeguard home and family

            And I would die again for you

You need not know why I fought

Or where from which I came

You needn’t know how I died  

Or even know my name

            But remember what I gave for you

I traded in my dreams for death

Left behind husband, child, wife

In order to uphold your chance

To live a free and peaceful life
            Be worthy of what I gave for you

It is up to you now to hold the watch

To wage war against tyranny

Weather with weapons or words or protest

You must struggle to remain free

            Do not give up what I won for you

Litha

Sun stands stock still like a forge blazing in the heavens

The colours of fields and flowers woven out of its light

Where sea meets sky a heat haze hangs on the horizon

Teasing with glimpses of faeries flying just out of sight

The sun rises strong, but knows its strengths fading

The Horned One accepts His own death with His crown

For from now on till rebirth, the Sun God is waning

To the life of the land the life of the God has been bound

So jump the bonfire and burn away evil

Carry a torch in procession and bless land and home

Gather the garlands and deck all with flowers

Celebrate beauty for its sake alone

Sing of Midsummer's wonder in play and in pageant

Sing of the eternally conquering light

But never forget that the longest day’s laughter

Always lead us back into the dark of the night

Autumnal God

Blood, red upon the leaves of brown

And red leaves lie upon the ground

A crown of oak and berries wound

Upon His head held high and proud

His feet, firm upon the hallowed road

His cloak cast over the glades and fields

It’s shadow causing life to yield

And strength within the seeds to seal

And like the power that He wields

Be kept safe deep within the earth’s abode

Balance never does last overlong

Winter’s silence gives to summer’s song

And summer yields when winter’s strong

The Old God rules now and not the young

And the Young God shall be reborn from old

Lammas Sacrifice

 The corn is cut with a crescent blade
As summers strength begins to fade
The god fulfills the pact he made
For his sacrifice to end his reign

The scythe that brought the harvest in
Cuts his neck and cleaves his skin
Yet he offers it with a willing grin
For by his death shall life remain

His blood seeps thick into the ground
From his hands falls a golden crown
His fate to the fate of the crops is bound
As his strength is passed into seed and grain

Sun-King once, now ghostly pale
We send him off with a mourning wail
Yet too with joy, for his fate entails
That like the seeds he will rise again
 

Samhain

            A cheshire smile made of moonlight

            The sound of bones beating the drums

            The hiss of the winds in the willows

            The fading light of the weakening sun

            The wail of the ghosts of the Fallen

            The wail of the Goddess who mourns

            The wail of the Horned One who's offered

            Merge with the call of the Wild Hunt's horn

            Jack o lantern lights flicker in darkness

            The smell of rotting leaves fill the night

            The veil is torn all asunder     

            Giving glances and glimpses of Sight

            The dead and the gone walk among us

            Those who we honour and grieve

            We revel in the grace of the darkness

            During this All Hallowed Eve

A Prayer to Dionysus

Dionusos, send your blessing

Relieve me of my mortal pains

Fill me with your healing madness

Before I drive myself insane

Blessed Bakkhus, bring oblivion

Let me sleep a dream-filled sleep

Send your wisdom-laden liquid

To drag me down into the deep

Eleuthereus, emancipator

Relax my body and my mind

Fill my lungs up with your visions

Show me what I need to find

Nyktipolos who prowls the night

Drown out my hurt with ecstasy

Through lust and pain and violent loving

Set my mind and spirit free

Kharidotes – who brings grace

Inspire me in words and rhyme

Ease the passage of my thoughts

And turn them into flowing lines

Dionusos send your blessings

Let me see with mystic sight

Let me wander in your shadows

Until I’m ready for the light

Storm Crossed

(a poem for Zeus)

A deep-throated rumble stirs the heavens

And with a nod, the earth shakes

His storm grey gaze summons me

And I surrender.

I fall, as so many before me have

Into love, lightning-quick.

My will, my reason,

Brushed away by the barest hint of his lips against mine. 

A Heart to Cleave To

(A poem written for the wedding of two friends)

To find a heart to cleave to

A soul to delve within

Warm flesh to lie beside at night

To stare into anothers eyes

And see yourself therein

To find heaven in a simple touch

And hell within goodbye

To hear your name upon their lips

Be greeted with a single kiss

And feel your soul take flight

To have fasted your fate unto another’s

To have two lives merge into one

What other blessings could I offer thee,

Greater than what you share between,

Greater than the beauty of your love

By Red and Green and Sacred Things

 

By red and green and sacred things,

Through wine and weed and words -

A call that only I can hear,

My thoughts within me churn.

A deafening silence within me rings,

Words tumble from my lips,

The spirits of the world draws near

And hold me in their grip.

By sounds and signs and images

Transcribed upon the page,

Of ecstasy and love and lust

Of sorrow, pain and rage.

The liquid passes o’er my lips,

His red-blood fills my veins,

The smoke expands within my lungs;

And reality does wane.

I spin and dance and leap about

And yell and prophesy;

The veils of space and time grow dim

And rend eternity.

The worlds collide and overlap –

Heaven, Earth and Hell.

I walk on old and shadowed roads

Ones that he knows so well.

Truth and lies and in between

Twist and fuse and merge,

Whispers shout into my ears,

And fantasies emerge.

My body aches and yearns and longs –

I hunger for his kiss.

His scent excites my flesh and soul,

His touch brings fear and bliss.

These gifts given from my Lord

Teach of secrets and unseen

Granted by the power of

Words and red and green.

Elemental Prayers

Earth and Stone
Bread and Bone
Kin and Kind
Hearth and Home
To Earth I call
Uphold me
Grant me strength
And prosperity

Sea and Wave
Love that Saves
Hope and Heart
And all we crave
To Water I call
Purify me
Grant me grace

And beauty

Wind and Air
Thoughts we share
Life and Light
Youth so fair
To Air I call
Advise me
Grant me truth
And the gift to See

Heat and Hate
The need to create
Flame and Fire
Passion Great
To Fire I call
Consecrate me
Grant me power

And nobility