#Pagan Prayer

[dumbass-fae]

Lady Hestia

Please bless me with the motivation and strength to clean my house today.

[hellenicrisis]

I sing of golden Aphrodite, Goddess of the holy paean;

Commander of men, leader of armies, ruler of hearts.

[beautyofaphrodite]

I love formal, poetic prayers. They make me feel fancy and they make me feel like I know what I’m doing. I feel close to the Gods and like They’re here, listening to me.

I love casual prayers, where I’m basically just talking to the Gods. They make me feel closer to Them and take up a lot less energy. They don’t require me to memorize something, read something, or think a lot about what I’m saying.

I use both types in my practice, depending on how I feel. Throughout the whole day, I will have quick, casual prayers like “Hey, Aph, this thing reminds me of you” or “thanks for this thing”. When I sit in front of my Altar, when I light Her candle, I tend to be more formal unless I don’t have the energy.

Both methods of prayer have their pros and cons and both are so amazing. I LOVE praying, it’s one of my favorite things.

Do you prefer formal prayers, casual prayers, or both?

[nous-teleios]

DO NOT let academia scare you away from reading philosophy. In an academic setting, a lot of philosophy, especially classical philosophy, gets overanalysed and explained in secular, modern terms which take it out of its original, often pagan context.

There are plenty of short, clear, and easy to grasp texts that will help you immensely on your spiritual journey and provide a new outlook, often written by an actual historic worshipper of the Gods.

I recommend starting out with Cicero and Plato. Cicero might have a very political connotation nowadays, but he wrote plenty of beautiful and fluid texts about the Gods and ethics that belong on every pagan's bookshelves.

[a-creature-as-bright-as-the-sun]

I wrote up these prayers for some prayer beads! These are the twelve olympians + Hestia, and some gods that I personally wanted to honor as well. Feel free to pick 'n' choose and modify these how you want, but I thought that I'd would share thems as a community resource, regardless! ^-^

Prayers with the "hails" and gods' names in greek letters (and transliterated) under the cut!

🌜☀️🌛🌜☀️🌛🌜☀️🌛🌜☀️🌛🌜☀️🌛🌜☀️🌛

Hail Zeus and Hera, King and Queen of the heavens and the Theoi.

Hail Zeus, Father of the sky, bringer of rain and storm, protector of friendship and averter of evil.

Hail Hera, Overseer and protector of marriage and women.

Hail Poseidon, Lord of the seas.

Hail Hades, King of the underworld, overseer of the dead, giver of wealth.

Hail Persephone, Queen of the underworld, exacter of justice, Lady of spring and nature.

Hail Aphrodite, Lady of love, mother of desire, passion, beauty, bringer of pleasure.

Hail Ares, Lord of battle, bolsterer of courage, representation or slaughter and bloodshed.

Hail Dionysus, Creator of wine, savior from and inflicter of madness, bringer of ecstacy.

Hail Hermes, Luck bringer, friendliest to man, patron of language and writing.

Hail Hephaestus, Skilled craftsman, patron of artisans.

Hail Athena, Wise strategist, skilled in handicrafts, leader to victory.

Hail Artemis, kind and welcoming Lady, swift of foot and skilled in bowhunting.

Hail Apollo, Lord of oracles, healer and inflicter of illness, leader of the Muses.

Hail Demeter, Lady of the food on our tables and the earth beneath our feet, who loved her daughter so much she made the earth baren in her grief.

Hail Hekate, Lady of the crossroads and ghosts, to whom is offered on the new moon.

Hail Aristaeus, Lord of the rural arts, he who was taught many skills by his family, the Theoi. Gentle, patient god.

Hail Hestia, Lady of the hearth and home, and of the family that tends to those.

Hail Theoi. May you guide me all the days of my life.

Χαιρε Ζευς, (Khaire Zeus) Father of the sky, bringer of rain and storm, protector of friendship and averter of evil.

✨💫✨💫✨💫✨💫✨💫✨💫✨💫✨💫✨💫

Χαιρετε Ζευς και `Ηρη, (Khairete Zeus kai Hera) King and Queen of the heavens and the Θεοι. (Theoi)

Χαιρε `Ηρη, (Khaire Hera) Overseer and protector of marriage and women.

Χαιρε Ποσειδων, (Khaire Poseidon) Lord of the seas.

Χαιρε `Αιδης, (Khaire Haides) King of the underworld, overseer of the dead, giver of wealth.

Χαιρε Περσεφονη, (Khaire Persephone) Queen of the underworld, exacter of justice, Lady of spring and nature.

Χαιρε Άφροδιτη, (Khaire Aphrodite) Lady of love, mother of desire, passion, beauty, bringer of pleasure.

Χαιρε Άρης, (Khaire Ares) Lord of battle, bolsterer of courage, representation or slaughter and bloodshed.

Χαιρε Διονυσος, (Khaire Dionysos) Creator of wine, savior from and inflicter of madness, bringer of ecstacy.

Χαιρε `Ηρμης, (Khaire Hermes) Luck bringer, friendliest to man, patron of language and writing.

Χαιρε `Ηφαιστος, (Khaire Hephaistos) Skilled craftsman, patron of artisans.

Χαιρε Άθηνα, (Khaire Athena) Wise strategist, skilled in handicrafts, leader to victory.

Χαιρε Άρτεμις, (Khaire Artemis) kind and welcoming Lady, swift of foot and skilled in bowhunting.

Χαιρε Άπολλων, (Khaire Apollon) Lord of oracles, healer and inflicter of illness, leader of the Μουσαι. (Muses)

Χαιρε Δημητηρ, (Khaire Demeter) Lady of the food on our tables and the earth beneath our feet, who loved her daughter so much she made the earth baren in her grief.

Χαιρε `Εκατη, (Khaire Hekate) Lady of the crossroads and ghosts, to whom is offered on the new moon.

Χαιρε Άρισταιος, (Khaire Aristaios) Lord of the rural arts, he who was taught many skills by his family, the Θεοι (Theoi). Gentle, patient god.

Χαιρε `Εστια, (Khaire Hestia) Lady of the hearth and home, and of the family that tends to those.

Χαιρετε Θεοι (Khairete Theoi). May you guide me all the days of my life.

[ascendingaeons]

Hymn to Sekhmet

by Joey Rivers (ascendingaeons)

O Sekhmet, Great Eye of Ra, the First and the Last Healer and Destroyer, Mother and Daughter You Who accepted the Command of Ra, Your Father To cleanse the Two Lands of Isfet But Your nature was too mighty, Great of Strength as You Are Wanton and unrestrained, You ravaged Earth as a purifying flame And as Ra looked on and saw His Eye, He was stricken with pause By the Will of the Sun, Your Rage was quieted by a crimson brew And into transformative slumber You fell, Great Goddess And from Your great Rage, Het-Heru rose A new Eye was christened, of eros sublime And you, Great Mother, knew the sadness of regret

You, Great Goddess, know the measure of rage unbound And so You Stand, Great Mother of War, in defense and duty Of the Principles and Consequences of Ma’at Your Children are many, Great Lady of Life Diverse in their multitudes, empowered by their tribulation

Yours is the soldier, Your Mighty Sekhem made flesh and bone Entrenched in a maelstrom of fire and blood Returning home to a nation that does not understand him

Yours is the survivor, a living branch of Your burning Will triumphant Endeavoring to rise above the quagmire of loss and agony Through You their struggle is transmuted into the golden light of ka ascendant

Yours is the mother, she who knows sacrifice and sleepless nights A font unyielding of love and pride, of smiles and laughter perfected They who bear the weight of the world so a child can know childhood

Yours is the healer, an alchemist of the ontological persuasion He who is humbled by the frailty beholden to human experience He who ushers Your Sekhem through the riptide of transformative loss

Yours is the artist, through whose passions course Your Divine Fire Who walks the scales of inspiration and madness, knowing Creation unfiltered An alchemist versed in the milieus of perception

For You, Great Goddess, are the very Force of Change You are that which makes men tremble so Such an unnecessary fear, of wisdom and experience untouched Were I You, I would feel such sadness But how You smile, Great One! How You laugh! How You fight! You are not “she who cowers before Apep!” NO! You are the Great Lioness Who rends Chaos asunder! You fight and rage and bite and tear Passion and emotion alive and unrestrained!

You are Love, Great Goddess You are Fear, Great Goddess You are Devotion, Great Goddess You are Loss, Great Goddess You are Health, Great Goddess You are Sickness, Great Goddess This is why I call You the Mother of Life Your Ka is the very essence of experience! Your Sekhem is the very wind of change!

When I first called upon You, timid and unsure, I beheld Your Gaze, a window of fire open before my face And as quickly as You Saw me, You left And again when I called to You with offering of water and bread Exhausted by grief and devotion, tirelessly sung from a caregiver’s heart You came to me and my eyes were opened to You! As I lay without sleep, You stood at my bedside Stroking my back with strong hands of fire Whispering strength and courage into my ear As a sentinel You walked with me, a Mother Lioness guarding Her cub Such loyalty and tenderness You showed And my eyes were forever opened to Your nature

You are the very Force of Creation, the Monad of Being From which stems those primordial principalities Love and Fear, Physis and Logos, Known and Unknown Order and Disorder, Life and Death, Dynamism and Stasis

I offer henu to You, Great Goddess of Creation The endless potentiality and movement of the living cosmos The Fires Divine that Become living sinews and living earth

I offer henu to Your Husband Ptah, the Cosmic Smith Patron of artisans, of those who tirelessly toil In the pursuit of Bringing Into Being but a shard of the Sacred Unmanifest

I offer henu to Your Son, the Beautiful Nefertem The Ageless Lotus that rose from the Benben Stone The First Splendid Light to Shine in the churning Waters of Nun

It was You Who held my right hand as I accepted the mark of a healer And embraced me as a Mother would Her graduating son I offer You my pain, Great Goddess So that You may transmute it into Strength I offer You my fear, Great Goddess So that You may transmute it into Courage I offer You my uncertainty, Great Goddess So that You may transmute it into Wisdom

Into Your Belly I give of myself to unleash my greatest potential To burst from Your Bosom, shining and emboldened For there is nothing that is beyond Your Reach, Great Mother It is for me, now, to See that nothing is beyond my own

Dua Sekhmet! Dua Sekhmet! Dua Sekhmet!

[bacchant-of-dionysus]

This is a post for disabled people. For mentally ill people. For low energy people.

This is a post for people who work three jobs and look after their kids.

This is a post for people who are TIRED. sick. Struggling.

The Gods will not abandon you.

Even if you don’t worship every day, the Gods will not abandon you.

Even if you can’t pray regularly, the Gods will not abandon you.

Even if you can’t put together offerings, the Gods will not abandon you.

Even if you stumble,

The Gods will not abandon you.

They will not punish you for the crime of being human. They know you are not divine. They know you are imperfect. They do not expect greatness and perfection, they just expect respect and humility.

Stay humble. Stay consistent. Show your reverence in whatever way you can. Keep them in your thoughts before you go to sleep at night.

The Gods know you.

DISCLAIMER: this is my personal interpretation. Obviously beliefs differ and the ancients would have thought very differently. This has just been my experience.

[akhret]

Prayer to Djehuty

Djehuty, the great scribe, bless my hand to master the arts as you have. Master of the quill, master of words, bless my words to become willful and imaginative. O’ wise one, grant me your wisdom to make my mind as sharp as a knife, as graceful as a gazelle, as fast as the striking cobra. Mightest and wisest of the gods, bless me on this day as I call out to you.

-Raet / Akhret

[wolfhowlwitch]

on pagan prayer

I know that a lot of people struggle with praying. and for lots of people, prayer needs to be formal, structured, and serious. but that's not the only way to pray. especially if you find it hard to follow that kind of structure (for any reason)!

I pray about anything at any time. at the drop of a hat, I'll pray. and while I do have some formal prayers I have memorized, most of it is just ~because~.

I pray to Asklepios when I have a tummy ache or the hiccups.

I pray to Hermes for good parking spots or quick traffic, or when I can't think of the word I want to use.

I pray to Ares for courage when I'm having anxiety about saying something

I pray to Hestia for a new recipe to turn out well

I pray to Hygieia for the energy to clean when I really don't feel like doing the dishes or sweeping the floor

don't be afraid to pray for ANYTHING! if you are a pagan who wants to pray but struggles, try incorporating informal prayers for small things into your life. it's okay to ask the gods for help with anything you want help with. and it's okay if you don't always have a 6 stanza prayer at the ready. just pray.

[swift-dove]

Pagan Serenity Prayer

I never practiced Catholicism, but I became very intrigued by the rituals & routines within the practice, especially as an autistic person who finds comfort in routine.

I’ve been struggling with my control issues recently & needed a reminder to let things go & leave it to the gods, but it’s hard! So, I decided to create my own version of a ‘serenity prayer.’

May the sun rise in my heart,

May the wind guide me down my fated path,

And may love set me free from doubt.

I took inspiration from my main three deities—Aphrodite, Hermes, Apollo—and they’re represented within each line! That being said, you do not have to worship these three deities to use this prayer! If you can find ways to associate it with your own practice, feel free to use it as you’d like! :)

[natureslily]

Spirits of darkness, you are my friends;

though the night's blackness stands as a wall,

you will show me the way through,

my guides through shadows,

my protectors from all terrors.

— The Big Book of Pagan Prayer and Ritual

[dumbass-fae]

An insomniac's prayer

Ever restful Hypnos send me into a peaceful slumber. Let my eyes become heavy, my body too. Send me off to dreamland so I may see you. Let me awaken fresh, rested and all anew. Fill my head with sweet dreams of lavender and honey. Send me into sweet slumber, that's all I ask of you.

[hellenicrisis]

I petition and honour sacred Aphrodite.

Holy Goddess; She of the swan and the boar;

She of primordial birth and seafoam blood.

[bitterbatsgrimoire]

Aphrodite; Healing From Heartbreak And Anger

Divine Aphrodite, Goddess of love,

In this time of heartache and pain,

I seek your divine guidance and comfort.

My heart is heavy and my spirit burdened with anger,

Grant me the strength and courage to face my emotions with honesty,

Help me heal the wounds from this heartbreak,

And soothe the pain that lingers within.

May your love inspire me to release the anger that holds me captive.

May your divine beauty remind me of the possibility of renewal and joy,

Even in the aftermath of sorrow.

[nous-teleios]

To abolish any religion, one would have to obliterate the culture that produced it.

Antitheism always means genocide.

[twoheartedangel]

Beloved Ma’at, Lady of Truth, may you help justice, truth, and balance triumph in this time of worry.

Beloved Djehuty, Scribe of the Divine Book, Orderer of Fate, may you lead us towards the best possible future, where knowledge prevails.

Beloved Sekhmet, Queen of the Vulnerable Ones, The One Who Loves Ma’at and Who Detests Evil, and Beloved Bastet, She With the Powerful Heart, Who Slaughters the Crooked-Hearted, may you both protect those most vulnerable and lead us towards a choice that protects the marginalized and the endangered. May you strike down those that wish to bring chaos and to harm the defenseless!

Dua Netjeru! May maat prevail!