![\"Evelyn](\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/124\/2013\/09\/Evelyn-de-Morgan-1855-1919-Eos-169x300.jpg\" "\\"Evelyn")
<\/a>Having gone through a number of verses from the \u201cInvocation of the Graces\u201d line by line, I would now like to present a new translation of those same verses that incorporates some of the connotations Carmichael left out of his translation. The extent to which Carmichael contributed his own material to the original folklore cannot be known \u2014 some people think he might have added a line or two, while others think he pretty much wrote the \u201cInvocation\u201d himself \u2014 so I\u2019m giving my translation a new title to emphasize the fact that any translation is essentially an original work.<\/p>\nTranslating buaidh<\/em> as \u201cgraces\u201d emphasizes the Victorian ideal of femininity. That emphasis is much less present in the Gaelic version, which still comes across as feminine but in a much less Victorian way. The word is more accurately translated as \u201cpower\u201d or \u201cvirtue,\u201d but with a root meaning of \u201cvictory.\u201d Throughout my version of the charm, I translate buaidh <\/em>as virtue, victory or power. All verses except the last verse are from Carmina Gadelica #3; the final verse is from Carmina Gadelica #278, which is another version of the same charm.<\/p>\nI have kept Carmichael\u2019s use of \u201cthee\u201d and \u201cthine\u201d because it reflects the Gaelic distinction between tu<\/em> and sibh<\/em>. \u201cYou\u201d or \u201csibh\u201d <\/em>is plural or formal, while \u201cthee\u201d or \u201ctu\u201d<\/em> is singular or informal. Prayers traditionally use \u201cthee\u201d not to sound pseudo-archaic but to emphasize intimacy with the divine.<\/p>\nSong of the Virtues<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\nI bathe thy palms<\/em>
\nIn showers of wine,<\/em>
\nIn the fiery water,<\/em>
\nIn the seven elements,<\/em>
\nIn the juice of berries,<\/em>
\nIn the honey milk,<\/em>
\nAnd I place the nine pure choice virtues<\/em>
\nIn thy fair fond face:<\/em><\/p>\nVirtue of form,<\/em>
\nVirtue of voice,<\/em>
\nVirtue of fortune,<\/em>
\nVirtue of goodness,<\/em>
\nVirtue of wisdom,<\/em>
\nVictory over poverty,<\/em>
\nVirtue of choice womanhood,<\/em>
\nVirtue of true beauty,<\/em>
\nVirtue of good speech.<\/em><\/p>\nDark is yonder town,<\/em>
\nDark are those therein,<\/em>
\nThou art the brown swan,<\/em>
\nGoing in among them.<\/em>
\nTheir hearts are under thy control,<\/em>
\nTheir tongues are beneath thy sole,<\/em>
\nNor will they ever utter a word<\/em>
\nTo give thee offense.<\/em><\/p>\nA shade art thou in the heat,<\/em>
\nA shelter art thou in the cold,<\/em>
\nEyes art thou to the blind,<\/em>
\nA staff art thou to the pilgrim,<\/em>
\nAn island art thou at sea,<\/em>
\nA fortress art thou on land,<\/em>
\nA well art thou in the desert,<\/em>
\nHealth art thou to the ailing.<\/em><\/p>\nThine is the enchantment of the woman of the otherworld,<\/em>
\nThine is the virtue of Bride the calm,<\/em>
\nThine is the faith of Mary the mild,<\/em>
\nThine is the deed of the woman of Greece,<\/em>
\nThine is the elegance of Emir the lovely,<\/em>
\nThine is the character of Dearshul delightful,<\/em>
\nThine is the boldness of Maebh the strong,<\/em>
\nThine is the charm of the Melodious Mouth.<\/em><\/p>\nThou art the joy of all joyous things,<\/em>
\nThou art the light of the beam of the sun,<\/em>
\nThou art the door of the chief of hospitality,<\/em>
\nThou art the surpassing star of guidance,<\/em>
\nThou art the step of the deer of the hill,<\/em>
\nThou art the step of the steed of the battlefield,<\/em>
\nThou art the virtue of the swan of swimming,<\/em>
\nThou art the little jewel of the mystery of love.<\/em><\/p>\nPower of the mystery of the skies be thine, <\/em>
\nPower of the mystery of the stars be thine, <\/em>
\nPower of the mystery of the moon be thine, <\/em>
\nPower of the mystery of the sun be thine.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
\nLoop of Brighid<\/em>\u00a0is published on alternate Thursdays. Follow it via\u00a0RSS<\/a>\u00a0or\u00a0e-mail<\/a>!<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"On Patheos Agora, Christopher Scott Thompson presents his own translation of the "Ora nam Buaidh" or "Invocation of the Graces" from the original Gaelic of the Carmina Gadelica.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1325,"featured_media":3819,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[349],"tags":[685,350,84,653,367,38,654,762,25,26,83],"class_list":["post-3816","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-loop-of-brighid","tag-alexander-carmichael","tag-brighid","tag-brigid","tag-carmina-gadelica","tag-celtic-spirituality","tag-goddess","tag-invocation-of-the-graces","tag-ora-nam-buaidh","tag-pagan","tag-paganism","tag-poetry"],"yoast_head":"\n
Loop of Brighid: Invocation of the Graces, a Brigidine Sacred Text - Part 8<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"On Patheos Agora, Christopher Scott Thompson presents his own translation of the "Ora nam Buaidh" or "Invocation of the Graces" from the original Gaelic of the Carmina Gadelica.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/agora\/2013\/09\/loop-of-brighid-invocation-of-the-graces-a-brigidine-sacred-text-part-8\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Loop of Brighid: Invocation of the Graces, a Brigidine Sacred Text - Part 8\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"On Patheos Agora, Christopher Scott Thompson presents his own translation of the "Ora nam Buaidh" or "Invocation of the Graces" from the original Gaelic of the Carmina Gadelica.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/agora\/2013\/09\/loop-of-brighid-invocation-of-the-graces-a-brigidine-sacred-text-part-8\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Agora\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2013-09-26T08:00:13+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2015-06-25T22:17:36+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/124\/2013\/09\/Evelyn-de-Morgan-1855-1919-Eos.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"339\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Christopher Scott Thompson\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Christopher Scott Thompson\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/agora\/2013\/09\/loop-of-brighid-invocation-of-the-graces-a-brigidine-sacred-text-part-8\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/agora\/2013\/09\/loop-of-brighid-invocation-of-the-graces-a-brigidine-sacred-text-part-8\/\",\"name\":\"Loop of Brighid: Invocation of the Graces, a Brigidine Sacred Text - 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![\"Evelyn](\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/Evelyn_de_Morgan#mediaviewer\/File:Eos.jpg\" "\\"Evelyn")
<\/a>Having gone through a number of verses from the \u201cInvocation of the Graces\u201d line by line, I would now like to present a new translation of those same verses that incorporates some of the connotations Carmichael left out of his translation. The extent to which Carmichael contributed his own material to the original folklore cannot be known \u2014 some people think he might have added a line or two, while others think he pretty much wrote the \u201cInvocation\u201d himself \u2014 so I\u2019m giving my translation a new title to emphasize the fact that any translation is essentially an original work.<\/p>\n