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Prayers

Since I've written several books on prayers (the most recent being The Big Book of Pagan Prayer and Ritual, which I recommend over my other ones, since it's mostly a combination of my first two books, with some extra prayers. You can buy it, signed, from me for $15.00, with free shipping. Just send an e-mai to Ceisiwr Serith) it's not surprising that I've written some prayers to Proto-Indo-European deities. Some are included in my books, and some I've written since they were published. I've published some of them here for your convenience. There are ones in the book that aren't specifically directed towards Proto-Indo-European gods, but that can be easily adapted, such as those to storm gods, so the books will still be useful. There is also a section on writing your own prayers, which I'm sure will prove useful.

The prayers addressed to the hearth goddess in general can be used for Wétyā, so I've included them here. Although ones directed toward specific, non-Proto-Indo-European, hearth goddesses might be adapted, I've left them out. I've also left out prayers to Nature Spirits and the Ancestors. You'll just have to buy the book. Since I think it likely that the Proto-Indo-Europeans sometimes prayed to all of the gods at once, I've included some prayers to the All-Gods.

For easy access, I've put the deities in alphabetical order.

All-Gods

I call out to you, all of you gods,
I call out to you, all of you goddesses,
so many of you, as many as there are of you:
a hope, not a demand.
Come to this place,
all or some or even one: I’d like to know you all,
even though I know that isn’t possible.
Come as you want to, then:
the choice is yours, not mine.
But I hope your choice will be to come,
and place yourself within this life I’ve prepared for you.
Place yourself, here or there.
Place yourself, now or then.
Place yourself, whenever or wherever.
Only come, High Ones,
and be part of my life.

See them, see them, the gods have arrived!
The Shining Ones, the gods have arrived!
The Golden Ones, the gods have arrived!
The Blessing Ones, the gods have arrived!
Those we have called to, the gods have arrived!
See them, see them, the gods have arrived!

Sometimes I praise one of you,
sometimes another,
or sometimes several, or more.
But today I praise all of you,
you All-Gods,
who form and support and sustain,
whose wonder is manifest in all that is.

I praise every god in my daily prayers,
omitting none,
leaving none out.
The universe does not exclude any of them, so how can I?
Praise, praise, to the infinite number of Blessed Ones.
Praise, praise, let there be praise of them all.

I couldn’t call out all their names:
they are many, they are numerous, they are numbered beyond measure,
the many gods, the infinite ones,
and I and my words are finite.
I pray as I can:
to those who fill the universe
to those who sustain the universe
to those who take part in each solitary event in the universe
and in all of them together,
to the gods, to the goddesses,
beyond limits, beyond encompassing, beyond comprehension.
I speak these words, small as they might be,
in praise.

I praise the gods of my people,
of my ancestors,
all those worshiped today,
all those who will be worshiped in times to come:
all these I worship in my prayers today,
all these I honor with my life each day.

Infinite in number,
Mind-boggling to conceive:
Only a few of you enter my life
and for that I am glad.
As each comes to me I will do them honor
as the Xártus impels.

Holy Ones of Old, we pray to you!
We who have been faithful, pray to you!
Repositories of all wisdom,
out of which all others have only a share:
It is to you we look when in need of advice.
The words you speak drop like late summer rains,
refreshing after a drought,
awakening the dormant grass.
Again and again I call to you,
again and again you answer me.
Old and Wise Ones, it is you whom I worship.

I pour out libations to the ancient High Ones,
I make my offerings to those who should be worshipped.

All gods
All goddesses
All who are worthy of worship:
Hear me.
I remember you in the pouring of this mead.

We lift our voices.
We lift our hands.
With words and gifts we offer to the gods,
calling them here.

How can I not honor you, Holy Ones,
you whose glory is great?
Take these words of praise,
offered to you in thanks.

Hear, All-Gods, these words of ours.
Come, all of you:
there is always room for you,
here and in our hearts.

My words drop into a bottomless well
and reach you,
All-Gods.

My words are nothing with so many given you in all time and space.
And so I say them,
speaking myself into that never-ending river of yours:
All-Gods.

If I try, All-Gods, can I understand one of you?
No chance.
Understand two of you?
Calculations can’t even begin.
Understand all of you?
A better chance, since my understanding collapses in the effort, and you pour into the gaps,
filling me with you, who understand yourself completely.
Maybe even then I can’t say that I understand you,
but at least I’m where the understanding is going on.

In the light of the sun may I see the gods’ gifts;
in the darkness of the night, may I hold them in my heart.
Many thanks to you, High Gods, for all you give.

All the gods, so many of you,
and so many your gifts,
too many of you and too many of them
to thank each for each.
Thanks to all of you at once, then,
for all of them at once:
Our unlimited gratitude for your unlimited benevolence.

Thanks to you, All-Gods, for everything you do.
This short prayer can’t express my great gratitude,
but it is sincere and true.

All-gods, I thank you for guiding my soul and the world through the darkness into light,
and I pray to you, and especially to [ ], to whom I am especially devoted,
that you be with me today, with blessings and protection.

Bhṛǵṇtyā́

Bhṛǵṇtyā́, high one, who inspires fine words,
these words as well, inspired by you:
through me, from you,
they come.
Continue your inspiration, I ask,
and I will continue to praise you and all the gods
with words, with prayers, with beautiful poems,
all from your inspiration.

Diwós Sunú

Sons of the God, I see your glory in the light of the Morning Star.
Horsemen, I see you ride through the sky.
Sailors, I see you travel on the sea of its light.
Saviors, I ask you come into my life,
bringing health and prosperity and freedom from troubles,
as it is within your power to do,
as it has been your practice in the past,
as I look for it in the future.

Sons of the sky, of the most dread god,
friends to mortals, and all who suffer,
bring health and healing to those who worship you,
Diwós Sunú.

Sailors on the sea, Soothers of pain,
bring me home to safe haven,
a harbor of rest,
even if it is now unknown to me.

Donu
(At a riverside or at the source of a river)
Goddess of rivers, flow through me,
leaving behind, Donu,
gifts of healing, Donu,
of this holy place, Donu.

Dyḗus Ptḗr

May my prayer be the road on which you come
from your celestial home, Dyḗus Ptḗr.
May my words be food for your shining horses
as they carry you to me, Dyḗus Ptḗr.
Enter this space, guided by what I speak:
Come to one who is faithful to you,
Come to one who does not neglect his duties to you,
Come to one who is not stingy with offerings.
Dyḗus Ptḗr, come to me.

I stand here on the summit of your high mountain, and think of you.
Surrounded by the sky, lifted up into the sky itself,
the awesome clarity of your focused vision comes closer to me
and I am more aware myself of your law's urgings.
Dyḗus Ptḗr, lord of all that is right, of all that is just, of all that should be;
Dyḗus Ptḗr, judge and king of the world, of all who live and all that is,
Dyḗus Ptḗr, advise me; make the right path open beneath my feet,
make my eyesight clear, that I may always see as far as I do
from the top of this mountain of yours.

Your mind is the clearest of all:
No matter how clear we make our own minds, then,
we can’t know yours.
Sitting outside and above the Xártus you see it completely;
sitting within and among the Xártus you know it completely.
We, entwined about by it, know only our part in it
and even that not well.
It is wise, then to approach with praise and offerings
so that we might know ourselves
or, failing that, know you who know,
and in knowing become wise.

I stand under the bright sky, shining, clear,
blue and empty of all except itself,
and praise the Sky Father,
the Shining Sky Father,
Lord of the Xártus, enforcer of justice:
you see all that is done;
may my deeds be true.

Your eye the sun looks down, Dyḗus Ptḗr
on all things on earth,
whether good or ill.
You see when we do that which helps,
as well as that which harms.
You see when we damage the blessed Earth,
and when we repair the harm we have done.
You see when we harm the animals who are your children and our fellow people,
and when our deeds benefit them.
This is just one of your powers, Dyḗus Ptḗr of clear sight,
but this is what I praise you for today.

There is nowhere for me to place my hand as I swear my oath to you,
you whose shining sees everything.
On nothing sacred to you can I place my hand,
you who are the unreachable sky.
I place my mind, then,
in the uncompromising blue which is the body you show the world,
and ask that if I find you there,
then my words will be heard by you,
and approved by you,
as coming from a familiar mind.

Clear my muddled mind,
Dyḗus Ptḗr,
God of clarity.

Earth Mother

Broad pastured one,
who spreads beneath us,
on whom we walk,
in whom we plant,
from whom grows grass
that feeds out herds.
Mother Earth, to you we call,
to bless our rite with your holy presence.
You who give birth and receive the dead,
The beginning and the end of all.

A creature of earth, I call to you, Earth Mother.
Yet you are here already,
surrounding, supporting,
holding me gently,
so my call is rather to myself,
that I might see you as you really are:
Blesséd, blesséd, most blesséd one,
Holy Mother Earth.

Made of Earth,
Born from Earth,
We call to you,
Mother Earth.

We return a portion of the earth’s blessings.
May she continue to grant them,
and may we continue to deserve them.

Earth Mother, you are the one who has given us this food
in conjunction with the work we have done,
holy labor of which we are justly proud.
But it would have come to naught without your own labor,
giving birth to life.
So we stand here today with pride on our own accomplishments
and with thanks for your manifesting your nature in so lovely a way.

Mother Earth, all of this set before us comes from you,
coming through the labor of men and women,
who planted and harvested,
who bred and butchered,
who preserved and transported,
who brought to market and cooked.
We have worked with you,
co-laborers in this employment.
And now we thank you for the opportunity to share in love with you this meal.
Here is some of the food, so that we might eat together as loving friends do.

Bread lain on the ground,
on which we scatter grain.
We offer to the Earth
in thanks for the gift of the harvest
on the feast day of bread.

Gʷouwindā

Your outstretched enfolding arms offer cattle,
pour out rich milk,
that we might, like children, grow in prosperity.
Leading cows, you come to your worshipers,
who, pouring golden butter, come to you.

Gʷouwindā, I see your soft eyes:
see me standing here.
Gʷouwindā, I hear you when you speak:
hear me as I pray.
Receive gladly the sweet milk I pour.
A child is coming, lovely one:
release them as I release this offering.

From your heavenly udders,
round as the earth,
white as the moon,
pour out inexhaustible milk
for your children who stand here with upraised hands.
We have offered to you, Gʷouwindā,
you know we have,
and now we wait expectantly for your loving gifts,
Provider of Cows.

Hearth Goddess

Fire softly glowing in the heart of my home,
Goddess of the Hearth, Life of my Dwelling,
keep my family free from discord,
free from want, free from fear,
free from all that would disturb us
and that would disturb your perfect peace.

A burning point are you, Lady
A center point are you, Lady
A place of light are you, Lady
A place of warmth are you, Lady
The heart of our home are you, Lady.

We gather at the fire and the fire draws us in
and holds us in her arms.
She speaks the words our hearts, our hearts must hear.
that ever where she is, we are safe,
safe from fear.

[With an offering of food.]
We eat together, home’s center,
with the same food on our tables.
It’s nice to eat with a friend.

The fire that burns on my hearth
is the very heart of my home.
By feeding the fire with wood and with air
I am feeding my home with what it needs most.
I give you these things,
fire on my hearth
and more gifts will follow as we live our lives together.
I place you here in the center of my house:
be the navel about which all turns;
be my home the world you support.
With your warmth enliven the house.
With your warmth enliven those who live in the house.
With your warmth enliven those to whom hospitality is given in the house.
Be, then, the very power by which hospitality is given,
linking those who live here with the greater community.
Be, then, not only the center of the house
but its connection with that which is outside the house.
Be the one we face and the one who faces others.
I place you here in the center of my house,
and I will worship you here.

You are in the shining fire
here in the home's heart.
Stay with me
Stay in our home
And each day I will honor you.

To you, Fiery One, I give this milk;
I pour it out in your honor.

Little fire, I will tend and feed you,
and you will bless me from your vast store.

Against all thieves,
against all intruders,
protect my home, Hearth Goddess.
Erect about it an aura of power,
as if with a wall of fire,
putting fright into the heart of anyone
who would violate my home’s borders.
Goddess of the center,
protect the edges.

Pure goddess, cleanser of all,
clean this home from all pollution,
just as I am cleaning it of all dirt,
all matter not in the right place.

Westyā, warm this home and all its inhabitants,
increasing their lives.
Enlighten not only the rooms in which we dwell,
but our minds, our hearts, with the power of your flames.

Mēnōt

Measuring and measuring again,
checking your math over and over,
your reckoning always right,
but you faithfully measuring out the next.
When I doubt,
and hesitate,
and check my calculations for precision,
I am worshiping you, who expect no more from me
and no less.

Straight
True
Right
Well-formed and measured.
Clear
Pure
are you, Mēnōt.

Mēnōt, you have measured the time of the moon exactly.
See, it returns, just as it should,
just at the right moment!
May my mind be as measured,
my thoughts as sure and correct
as yours as you guide the moon through the month.

Mēnōt who marks the passing of days,
with your sharp edges cut out this month
from the time before and the time after.
Measure it out to fit the pattern laid out for you.

[On the night of the full moon]
Mēnōt, Measurer,
mighty to be seen,
mightiest tonight,
send me wisdom,
send my your greatest wisdom,
on this night of your greatest power.

You rolled your light into a ball
and now you unravel it again.
Soon it will be gone and we will face the dark.
But we know it will end in the proper time
because you are the Lord of Right Measure
and you always do what has been laid down for you.

Mēnōt who measures time and space,
you are therefore lord of numbers,
wise in mathematics,
the way they are arranged,
knowing in the principles that lie beyond all that is:
the laws of the universe are in your mind.
It is to you, then, that I direct my prayers:
words for numbers and an understanding of them.

Mēnōt, make me remember the unremembered.

Clear thought, grant me, Mēnōt, Measurer,
Correct thought, grant me, Mēnōt, Measurer.
Effective thought, grant me, Mēnōt, Measurer.
Clear, correct, effective thought grant me, Mēnōt, Measurer,
this day and all days, Measurer, Mēnōt.

Measuring is true.
If measuring is true it must fit.
Does this fit?
It doesn’t.
Mēnōt, may my mind fit.

[Before a concert.] Mēnōt, may my notes tonight
be precise, and accurate, and well-timed,
just as you dependably cross the sky.
May my songs be beautiful,
just as you are beautiful when you shine.
Mēnōt, may all go well.

Though ecstatic utterances gush freely from the well that burns,
unless cooled by your ordering they are mad jabberings.
No matter where I find my words I turn to Mēnōt to help me shape them,
to form a song of beauty from them,
inspired, but well put,
measured out to fit.

Measure into my memory, Mēnōt,
the words I need to learn
in order to worship.

Páxusōn

Shepherd, go before me,
leading me safely through life.
Páxuson, I ask for your help
which is irresistible and sure.

Perkʷū́nos

Striker, you strike firmly.
Oak God, you stand firm.
Your wágros, which none can withstand,
flies unerringly against serpents,
even the Great Serpent,
to free the Waters, and the Cows, and the loveliest Maidens,
who come dancing forth from the cloven one
as he lies broken beneath your holy blows.
Perkʷū́nos, I praise you,
who rescues Order from Chaos,
and brings it to the lives of those who worship you,
who offer you food and drink,
and words of praise
likes these that I offer you today.

My voice might not be as loud as yours,
but it comes from my essential being too.
May it rise through the crash of clouds and into your ears, Perkwu´nos,
you who obliterate all that stands in your way.
May I be filled with the booming brightness you hurl and not my fears.
May my body tremble with the strength of your arms and not my weaknesses.
May all I do be with your unfailing accuracy and your power which cannot be withstood.

Perkʷū́nos, you held back your storm,
so we were able to have our [barbecue, party, wedding, ritual, etc.] outside today,
as we had wanted.
So here is some mead, which I know you like,
as I had promised, to thank you.

With your flashing weapon,
the wágros, hard-striking,
you slew, Perkʷū́nos, the great snake,
multiple-headed,
Meghis Ɂógʷhis [Great Snake], and released the cows,
released the women,
released the waters,
and released constriction of the far-spreading earth
that we might have land on which to build our lives.
You performed deeds, Mighty Thrower of Lighting,
for which all that is is welcome.
And so I know you have the power to remove obstacles,
to destroy the blocks between me and my desires,
all that keeps me from what I wish,
a great thing to me, a little thing to you.
In anticipation of your gift of this,
I pour out this sweet mead
which provides strength to all who consume it,
that I might in a small way, aid you,
that by pouring it over this axe head
I might enliven your wágros.
And I pledge to you that when my goal is attained
I will, free from the limits that now constrain me,
offer again the golden liquid of enlivening water, flowing out,
gratefully giving again,
This I promise you, Oak God, Striker.
Answer then, I ask you, my prayer.

Perkʷū́nos and the Gʷedhruós

Unrhythmic drumming thunder,
proclaims their coming,
the warrior band, the Gwedhruós,
who ride the clouds to us,
roaring.
Many-edged bolt, proclaim the one
who wields the wágros:
the champion, Perkʷū́nos
comes with the storm,
driving it before him.

Perkʷū́nos and Dyḗus Ptḗr

Hello, Perkʷū́nos, on the cloudy morning.
Protect us, Hero, bless us today.
And you too, Dyḗus Ptḗr,
may you come to us another time,
a clear sky,
a glorious day.

Priyā

Dear One, Priyā,
thank you for the love and beauty you bring into my life,
this lovely, beautiful day.

Wéstyā

Your moving flames are my home’s still center,
the many tongues, your tongue, speaking silence.
I will sit here and listen.
Lukipotyā [Mistress of Light].

Xápōm Népōts

Unkindled water,
hot blood flowing,
twin horses, shining:
he rides within.

Fire is born from waters,
who lovingly enclose him,
feeding him like butter.

Xáryomēn

Xáryomēn, lord of the law of the people,
giver of well-disposed friends:
be our good herdsmen.
Bring us together.
Make us one.
May we come before the gods speaking with one voice.

Pipes and wires, of communication and electricity,
roads, and street signs, and street lamps and lanes,
EMTs, policemen,
Firefighters, doctors, nurses,
Subway workers, bus drivers, taxi drivers,
and the routes they travel, crossing the city:
all these are your body,
your manifestation,
Xáryomen, our dear god of social strength,
under whose blessing we are drawn together,
so many people,
into a unified city:
in thanks to you I pour this butter into the fire,
cow's gift, fire's food, blaze's friend,
this gift to you, people's friend.

Yemos

Yemos, Yemos, first to die,
Yemos, Yemos, Lord of the Dead,
of the encircled land,
of the pastured land,
of the happy land.
Lord of Sacrifice,
to you, to you, to you our praise.

On this night of the dead I pray to Yemos,
the Twin, first to die,
sacrificed to order the Cosmos:
Your end was the beginning of this world.
You made the pathway to your enclosed land,
to the garden where the happy dwell.
I ask you to show me the way that you laid out well,
to pass beyond Gheredh, the fierce guardian,
safely and in peace,
my soul undamaged.
May I be guided to the beginning of your realm
by Gerontos, the old man,
who helps all who ask it of you,
to cross the border between this world and the next.
May I come easily into the land you rule,
you whose death brought eternal life.
But bring me there, I pray, only at the right time,
after a happy and fulfilled life.
May I live long,
escaping Kolyos for as long as possible,
for as long as appropriate.
Protect me in this world,
just as you will reward me in the next.
Yemos, I offer you these words.
I offer you this mead,
the drink of life.
In return, grant me what I ask of you,
You who have the power to do so.
Thus I pray to you,
King and Lord.

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