I haven’t blogged in a while, mostly because I’ve been spending
most of my time writing. But Samhain is my favorite holiday. So, I thought it
appropriate that I post something today. This year has been a roller coaster for
me, as I know it has been for everyone. My grandmother passed early in the
year, a close friend died a month later. I wrote two books, I reorganized The
Morrigan’s Call to an online format this year, as well as another festival I
organize. I’m getting married in a couple of days. And that’s just the tip of
the iceberg.
Yet if anything, this pandemic has taught me to focus on my personal
connection to deity, to refine my daily practices. When my day job closed for a
month, my daily spiritual practices were what kept me sane and focused. One
aspect of my practice is creating prayers. Prayer is a word I think we need to
reclaim in Paganism, it is something that is part of all religions. It’s one of
many topics that I discuss in my forthcoming book Dedicant, Devotee, Priest:
A Pagan Guide to Divine Relationships. You can also find many prayers to
the Morrigan in Priestess of the Morrigan, coming out in Jan 2021.
So, when October rolled around, I was suddenly done with
most of my deadlines and wasn’t really sure what to do with myself. A friend
posted a 31 Days of The Morrigan challenge and I thought it would be a good way
to challenge myself to write more prayers for the Great Queen, themed around
the prompts. Here are a few of my favorite ones created for the challenge.
A Prayer to the Battle Fury
Naked you dance from shield rim to spear point,
Battle fury shrieking, wild, frenzied,
above the fray.
You are both madness and the will to survive.
Blessing the weapons of those you favor,
imbuing them with strength,
with courage,
with victory.
Upon my spear point dance, oh Morrigan!
Oh, deadly battle fury!
See me through the darkness I face.
That I may leave the battlefield whole,
and with your blessings.
A Prayer to The Morrigan for Blessings
White, red eared heifer,
Shapeshifter,
who hindered Cúchulainn at the Ford.
Driver of kine,
from Cruachan.
Raven full of guile,
Whispering secrets into the ears,
of the Brown Bull.
Hag offering milk from a cow.
You are the wealth of the fertile land.
You are thirst and need, sated.
Bless me with your cunning
With your soothing healing,
With your abundance,
This day and always.
A Prayer for Courage
Badb's wolves are all sharp teeth,
maws red with blood.
Macha's wolves hunt in shadows,
eyes seeing and finding all they seek.
Anu's wolves roll is soft moss,
fierce mother's guarding the den.
Let me be the noblest of ravens
and the finest of your wolves,
In your service, oh Morrigan!
Soft when needed, fierce when required.
A Prayer to the Morrigan as Goddess of Sovereignty
An Morrigan,
Singing spells of power, you shape the land.
From Odra's flesh and bone you shaped a sleepy stream.
Anu,
The hills are your breasts,
Fertile, lush.
Badb,
The barrows and cairns are your womb,
the river ford's your mournful haunt.
Macha,
The fairy mounds are your domain,
Emain Macha, marked out by your hand.
May I feel your power in the ground beneath my feet.
May I hear your words in the rushing sounds of your rivers.
May I find rest in your barrows and shadowed realm when it
is my time
A Prayer to Nemain
Nemain,
You are frenzy,
Battle madness,
Blood spilt upon the ground.
The blood of enemies,
your wine, your battle paint.
Your screaming voice,
Strikes fear into the hearts of men.
Poisonous sorceresses,
Blood stained battle fury,
Teach me to stand in the eye of the storm,
to know when to take action,
and when to be still.
Teach me to pursue my goals with wild abandon,
to not tame my wildness but instead use it,
to both destroy and create.
A Prayer to the Phantom Queen in Times of Grief
Great Queen,
You come for us all,
Sometimes in the frenzy and heat of battle,
Sometimes a quiet phantom in the silence.
Old or young it makes no difference.
You are the keeper of liminal spaces,
You gather your portion of the dead.
You greet us with a welcoming embrace,
a strong hand to take,
a guide, wearing a cloak of raven feathers.
To lead us to the shores of your river,
to wash away the sorrow,
the blood, the fear,
To restore all that is weary within us.
Keen with us Washer Woman,
when it is our time to grieve the ones who take your hand.
Remind us that you will be there to greet us when it is our time.
Teach us not to fear death,
but to trust you will be there,
guiding us home.
The Morrigan's Sword: A Prayer for Victory
An Morrigan,
Cath Badb, fury,
Lady of war and battle,
Your wisdom is like a blade,
Cutting,
Sharp,
Piercing.
But it is also a blade held ready to defend.
A sword to protect what is...
held dear,
what is loved,
what is just.
May I be a blade in your hand.
May I be tempered with your wisdom.
May I be victorious against,
the challenges I face.