Sacred Moments #9


Many Neo-Pagans in the Northern Hemisphere may be celebrating Lughnasadh around this time. While most are likely to celebrate closer to the beginning of the month, I tend to wait for the cross-quarter day, which this year falls on the 6th for those in the US. For the last decade or so, this particular Sabbat has always had deep meaning for me, so when I came across the following not to long ago, felt it was definitely worth sharing.

To Tailtiu

Great-hearted Tailtiu, daughter of distant kings,
beloved bride of Eochaid, enduring one
who lived through loss, who weathered the storm of war
and stood strong in spite of sorrow and suffering.
Tailtiu, foster-mother of clever, crafty Lugh,
kind one who cared well for the long-handed one,
as if he were her own dear child; in gratitude
for your love and keeping, in honor of your goodness
and your mettle, did he decree that games be held,
that all should feast and frolic in your name,
recalling your virtue and your worth. O goddess,
Tailtiu of field and farm, I praise and honor you.

source

 

Sacred Moments #8


Happy Full Moon!!

Circle Round

Dance now the circle round
to the spiral never ending.

Joyful now feet on ground
to the beat our bodies bending.

Centered now on the sound
to our mother we are sending.

Peace now love we have found
to a heart in need of mending.

Dance now the circle round
to the spiral never ending.

by Sephira

 

Sacred Moment #5


Hitting a few different categories all at once this go around, so this Sacred Moment is a Musical Musings for the Pagan Insights Project post as well.

One of the first CD’s I came across early in my Pagan path was “Legends of the Goddess” by Laura Powers, and I remember listening to it (and the other 2 in the series) over and over again for quite awhile. This particular one “Dance ‘Til The Rain Begins” is from the 3rd album in the series – “Trilogy: Legends of the Goddess III” and it was one of my favorites, so thought I’d share it today.

Sacred Moments #4


Ran across this the other day and thought it was worth sharing!

By the Light of Morning…

By the light of morning
In the chill air
We greet you, o Helios, Lord of the Sun

And at this hour
And with all our hopes laid bare
We seek you, o Helios, Lord of the Sun

For when the Sun rises
And the light of day kisses our skins
We will know you, o Helios, Lord of the Sun

So watch us today
As we play, as we toil
Watch and guard over us, o Helios, Lord of the Sun

by Hector Lugo

Sacred Moments #3


This week we are offering a selection from the Pyramid Texts, which are a collection of religious texts  from Ancient Egypt, that date back to the Old Kingdom period. The following is a hymn to the Goddess Nut…

Utterance 432

782. O Great One, who came into being in the sky, you have achieved power,
you have achieved strength, and have filled every place with your beauty;
the entire land is yours. Take possession of it, for you have enclosed the earth
and all things within your embrace, and you have set this King as an
Imperishable Star who is in you.

source: “The Ancient Egyptian Pyramid Texts” translation by R.O. Faulkner

Sacred Moments #2


Today’s devotional is a sonnet by an Odinswoman we know. Many thanks to her for allowing us to post it here.

 

Gallows Load

Burnished gallows set with red
Caress the fevered, empty mind
Of man who hangs bloodied and blind
To reach for wisdom, not for bread.

I think to hang there in his stead
And wonder if I dare to bind
My destiny to be his kind
And follow where he never lead.

To ride my orlog like a steed,
If I could dare to take the plunge
Into the noiseless emptiness
That calls me with its baseless need,
Of wisdom’s touch and daring’s lunge
To aid with endless lovingness.

       ~ by Deoridhe Grimsdottir

Sacred Moments #1


Hello readers!

We’re going to start posting “devotionals” a couple of times a week – inspiring quotes, snippets of lore, prayers, meditations, ideas and pictures that we love. Some of it will be religion-specific, and some of it will be a lot more general. Some of it won’t even be Pagan-specific. We hope you enjoy them! We’re calling them “Sacred Moments” – at least to start with – to reflect the moments in one’s day when one pauses, and one’s mind is quiet, and the sacred is immanent.

Sacred Moment #1:

“Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it. Do not believe in anything simply because it is spoken and rumored by many. Do not believe in anything simply because it is found written in your religious books. Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of your teachers and elders. Do not believe in traditions because they have been handed down for many generations. But after observation and analysis, when you find that anything agrees with reason and is conducive to the good and benefit of one and all, then accept it and live up to it.”

– Siddhartha Gutama the Buddha