An Excerpt From A Pagan Ritual Prayer Book

Full Moon

*Blessed be the Goddess of All
in Her image the Moon.
Threefold is the Moon and threefold we name her.
When waxing, she is the Maiden.
Blessed be the Maiden.
When waning, she is Dark One.
Blessed be the Dark One.
But when full, she is the Mother
and under this name we call her today.
Come, All-Mother;
Your people are gathered here:
Purified, prepared,
properly dedicated to your service.
Come, Mother of All, and shine within us.
Though all else may be dark,
You will be our beacon.
Though all others shall reject us,
You will hold us in your arms.
Though all else be uncertain,
We will place our trust in your wheel of change.
Come, Mother, and be with us.

*They say there's a Man in the Moon.
And why not; what man, or what woman too, wouldn't want to be in the body of the Goddess?
But we already are, we always are.
So says the light of the full Moon tonight.

* Your milky light, Full Moon Goddess, feeds your babies,
your children who rely on you for food to grow.
Pour down each night, Good Mother,
but especially on this one, when you have so much to give.

Urban Prayers

*Each building an obelisk erected in honor of the multitude of gods of my community,
the many gods of the many beliefs of the many people from who it is formed.

* We plant seeds in the ground and water them, and plants grow,
each with their own spirit.
We quarry stone, smelt ore, and buildings grow, each with their own spirit.
A forest of trees has a spirit.
A city of buildings has a spirit.
Through the forests roam the gods and spirits of the forest.
Through the cities roam the gods and spirits of the cities.
Entering the [forest/city] I say this prayer to the gods and spirits of this place
and to those of the [city/forest] I am leaving.

* Every pattern is holy,
even these roads I'm driving on.
Every pattern has a spirit,
even these roads I'm driving on.
I forget that sometimes, though,
so please forgive me,
and I'll sometime give you an offering.

* The Works of Man are the works of Nature,
for Man is of the World.
The towering buildings of this city stand as nobly as ancient trees,
grown tall with age.
My praise goes out to those who built them,
whether living or dead,
for their skill and vision,
and to the Ancestors who developed the means to build them,
and to the spirit of the city itself,
formed of and forming the city around us.

The All-Gods:
* In the midst of a busy city, the gods crowd close,
each asking for worship,
the gods of each and all.
You are so many that I can't begin to honor you one by one:
take these words as a gift to you all.

Xáryomen:
* Lying awake in the dark of an unfamiliar city,
I can feel the hum that extends through it and holds it together.
I feel the power lines, the water mains, the roads.
I feel the bus routes, the subway tunnels, the bridges.
I feel the police, the fire fighters, the EMTs,
the garbage men, the delivery trucks,
the hospitals, schools, and post offices.
I feel the network that forms the city,
its skeleton and capillaries,
supporting and feeding it.
And I feel your skeleton and capillaries,
supporting and feeding it.
And I know who you are
and find myself familiar in an unfamiliar city.

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An Excerpt from "A Pagan Ritual Prayer Book"