Praying is talking to the gods. We can do this for a variety of reasons: asking for things, thanking for things, praising, or just a desire to rest in the presence of the sacred. Considering how important prayers have been to Pagans throughout time, it is a shame that prayer doesn’t have much of a role in the spiritual lives of many Pagans. That’s why I wrote A Book of Pagan Prayer.
My interest in prayers didn’t end with the publication of the book, of course. Nor did my pleasure in writing them. I’ve been saving up new prayers; maybe someday another collection will be published. In the meantime, I thought I’d share some of them with you.
Come to us, worthy ones,
to those of your people
who speak in your praise.
In darkness, come,
in shining, come;
in wildness, come,
in hearth’s glow, come;
in still despair,
in dancing joy:
come to your people
who turn their eyes
toward you, who, waiting,
open their mouths,
open their hearts,
bare their souls.
To these, to us,
come, always come,
come to those who come to you,
always come, always come.
I face east and I pray,
the Holy Ones I praise:
To the Shining Gods and Goddesses, praise.
To the Wise Ancestors, praise.
To the secretive Nature Spirits, praise.
To the Sacred Ones,
To the Holy Ones,
To the Numinous Ones:
Praise, praise, always praise.
How can I not honor you, Holy Ones,
you whose glory is great?
Take these words of prais€e,
offered to you in thanks.
Agni (Vedic):
If your tongues will speak my words
I will feed you with butter;
you will grow strong and carry my prayers to the gods.
Airmed (Irish):
From her grave grew herbs of great power,
Airmed, daughter of Diancecht.
This herb is of great power,
Airmed, daughter of Diancecht.
May it heal me with part of your great power,
Airmed, daughter of Diancecht.
The All-Gods:
Health and wealth, Keepers of Treasure, give your worshiper.
May this little offering be returned a thousand-fold.
May by blessings be countless,
scattered out from your storehouse with sweet-scented hands.
If at any time in my prayers I have omitted any of you,
I pour out these words,
All the gods who are.
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.
American Deities:
Industry, you have made us strong.
Commerce, you have made us rich.
Agriculture, you have fed us well.
Commerce, you have joined us together.
War, you have defended our freedom.
Peace, you have given us something to defend.
Justice, you have enabled us to deserve all these.
Liberty: with these we have built a home for you,
and we ask you to come live with us,
continually reminding us of your gifts and your demands.
Any Deity:
Has what I have done here pleased you?
Then please me with what I have asked for.
Has what I have given been welcome?
Then give me what I have asked for.
It is only fair, and you are fair.
Apollo (Greek, Roman):
Flights of arrows descend from your ever-turning bow,
onto those who look toward you from below.
Flights of arrows that bring disease or healing
onto those who look toward you from below.
We who look toward you ask that they be causes of healing,
that their killing power be directed towards illness.
Do this and we will always have good reasons to praise you.
When your arrows pierce my soul, Straight Shooter,
may it be only to kill any falsehoods there.
Your music is true, Apollo.
Each word you speak a song.
each line a symphony:
so too today my speech,
Son of Leto.
Aushrine (Lithuanian):
As the many colors of your miracle rainbow extending from earth to heaven,
so too may my words be here today.
Aushrine, who brings the shining sun,
bring the Shining Ones to hear my words,
and may my words through you shine to please them.
Brighid (Irish):
Make my words sweet enough to call you here,
and sweet enough to praise you when you arrive,
Sweet Brighid.
A Bhrighid, the flame on our hearth,
in our hearts,
receive this olive oil poured to you,
butter of the southern lands,
and my promise as well of your butter sweet,
spread thickly on bread,
on our return.
Milk as well will be poured to you,
Protector of our well-blessed hearth,
of our inner hearts,
which turn to you with love.
Castor and Pollux (Greek):
On either side of my AFV ride,
sons of Zeus.
May my treads be as well-placed and unfaltering as the hooves of your own steeds,
on which you ride.
May each piece of ordinance that flies from me be like your spears,
as sure in aim and as certain in destructive power.
Bring me through this battle successfully,
Dioskouri;
may my mission be fully accomplished.
Then, when you have brought me back to base unharmed,
I will offer to you in thanks.
This is my vow to you, Castor and Pollux.
Ceres (Roman):
Increase our crops.
Cause to increase our crops.
Bring rain and sun to increase our crops.
May your earth be fertile to increase our crops.
May your earth be fertile to cause to increase our crops.
Mother Ceres, may our crops increase.
Dawn:
Sing into being over the horizon,
the rose, the many pinks of your coming,
and waken our minds from their dream-bestowed haze.
Open our eyes, ready our ears,
for the thundering flash,
for the sudden shout,
with which the sun will bound over the horizon
through the gates opened by you,
who are welcome to my night-darkened soul.
Dawn in my heart,
Maiden who brings hope to those who despair;
light to those wrapped in darkness.
Death:
You have your own place, Death,
and this is not it.
There you rule as king;
here we are the most common of people.
There you dwell in a noble palace;
here we live in a simple house.
There you enjoy sparkling riches;
here our poverty shames us.
Go to your place, Death,
and wait for us there.
We have heard your message and we will respond.
But we are busy here, Death.
We have many things to do.
Be patient, we will respond,
but only when the time is right.
Return to your home, Death,
and wait for us to come.
For you it will be only a little while.
For us it will have been a lifetime.
When it is right for me to enter your kingdom,
Lord of Death, Gatherer of Souls,
May I go gently.
May I be a leaf dropping from a tree.
May I be a snowflake falling from the clouds.
May I be a drop of dew drying in the light of dawn.
Like opening my hands, like letting go,
Like one final gift:
May it be like that.
Dyé:us Pté:r (Proto-Indo-European):
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 Xartus you see it completely;
sitting within and among the Xartus 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 the we might know ourselves
or, failing that, know you who know,
and in knowing become wise.
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 Xartus you see it completely;
sitting within and among the Xartus 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 what know,
and in knowing become wise.
Earth:
Mother of earth and people and plants,
bring grain and milk for these children.
Frey (Norse):
A friend who is filled with the force of life.
A god who is great with the sweetest grace.
A lord laughing with the might of love.
A Healer is Frey who makes things whole.
And he is the one with wonderful gifts
holding my health with a hand that is strong.
The God (Wiccan):
We call upon the All-Father:
Come to us!
By the raging wind:
Come to us!
By the blaze of fire:
Come to us!
By the surging water:
Come to us!
By the cold, still earth:
Come to us!
By the Spirit of All:
Come to us!
Come to your people:
Come to us!
We sing in praise of the God of Help;
we sing with words finely wrought,
we sing with thanks for His blessings,
we sing to Him just as we ought,
we sing for His gifts freely given,
we sing for His lessons well-taught.
The God (Wiccan) as Death:
Come, Stern Lord:
Come to us!
Out of the darkness:
Come to us!
By the tempest wind:
Come to us!
By the devouring flame:
Come to us!
By the overwhelming sea:
Come to us!
By the opening earth:
Come to us!
By the Spirit that waits:
Come to us!
Come to your people:
Come to us!
The Goddess (Wiccan):
Mother, can you hear me crying?
Gather me in your infinitely encompassing arms,
hug me to your soft breast,
and whisper, “There, There;
all will be well.
All will be well, but for now cry.
My clothes have been wet with tears before and will be again.
So for now, cry,
and all will be well.”
She is great and not to be held
because it is her arms that hold.
She is ever-present and not to be seen
because there is nothing to compare her to.
Ride across the plains
and you are on her body.
Climb the mountains
and you climb her breasts.
Go into the ocean
and you are in her very womb.
Mystic Yoni, not to be held.
Mystic Yoni, not to be seen.
Mystic Yoni, only to be loved.
Mystic Yoni, Gift-Giver.
Mystic Yoni, Birth-Giver.
We call on the Great Mother:
Come to us!
By the singing air:
Come to us!
By the dancing fire:
Come to us!
By the ocean water:
Come to us!
By the silent earth:
Come to us!
By the Spirit of All:
Come to us!
Come to your people:
Come to us!
When the Priestess stands in the circle,
filled with the divine Female Power,
she is not the symbol of the Goddess,
she is not wearing the Goddess:
she is the Goddess Herself,
here among us,
here, blessing us with what is only Hers to give.
That is why the Priestess is standing here in this circle.
It is why she stands in the center and waits for the Goddess to come.
Let us wait with her.
Let us sing for her.
Let us sing for the Goddess,
so that seeing us ready she might come.
[singing]
Come to us, Mother,
Oh come to us here;
Come to us, Goddess,
Oh come to us here.
[repeat as desired]
The Goddess (Wiccan) as Death:
Come, Dark Mother,
Come to us!
Out of the night, on owl’s wings:
Come to us!
By the screeching wind:
Come to us!
By the cleansing fire:
Come to us!
By the absorbing water:
Come to us!
By the resting earth:
Come to us!
By the Spirit that waits:
Come to us!
Come to your people:
Come to us!
The Green Man (Wiccan):
From the tree leaves eyes are peering, smiling.
But when I turn my back it seems like they’re looking with distrust.
So I leave this for the Green Man to prove my good intentions.
Gwouwinda (Proto-Indo-European):
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.
Hearth Goddess:
[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.
This fire I sit by is the Goddess of the Hearth.
Not a sign, or a symbol, or an image, or a representation, or a manifestation of a goddess who lives on some celestial, spiritual, unobserved place:
Here in front of me is this goddess herself.
Warmed and lit by her, and eating food cooked through her,
I will sit, and know her here, and thank her for this wonder.
Hekate (Greek)
Your torch has brought me here.
Your knife bars the path.
Burn, cut away,
Wisdom-bringer.
Helios (Greek):
It is true that you see everything that happens under you, Helios,
great eye of the heavens.
So you know that I am blameless in this matter
and you know who is to blame.
Harry them with guilt.
Beat down on them relentlessly and mercilessly
until they right the wrong.
Herakles/Hercules (Greek/Roman):
With arrows you killed the snake of the Hesperides,
With a torch the Hydra,
With your own hands the Nemean lion.
I don’t care what weapon you use as long as my difficulties fall before you.
Hermes (Greek):
Closely have I read,
and often,
of how you stole Apollo’s cattle,
and by clever stratagem sought to hide the deed
and avoid your guilt,
becoming thereby the god of thieves.
Trickster, I ask you to turn your trickery against those selfsame thieves,
and defeat the aims of those who would despoil this house.
Hermes, I praise your intelligence, which will ever find a way in,
and ask that it be just as effective in keeping burglars out.
Inanna (Sumerian):
It is she, Inanna;
she is the great Inanna.
The victor over enemies in war,
It is she, Inanna;
she is the great Inanna.
The victor over barriers to love,
It is she, Inanna;
she is the great Inanna.
The victor over all that opposes us,
It is she, Inanna;
she is the great Inanna.
Indra (Vedic):
Indra having stolen, as an eagle,
the sacred drink, the soma,
from the Asuras,
the snakes who raise themselves against the gods,
became strong.
I, in drinking these Waters of Life,
derive for myself not only strength,
but inspired sight.
Isis (Egyptian):
When Osiris was slain, and divided into pieces scattered over the land,
you went and found them one by one, recovering, Isis, the lost,
a wife’s love driving you on.
Search out all I have lost to time and age and sorrow,
and return it to me, each bit, one by one,
with a mother’s love.
Janus (Roman)
Janus, guard well our doors in our absence.
Jupiter (Roman):
Iupiter Optimus Maximus
Jupiter, Best and Greatest
From your seat above the sky
Look down to me.
Smell the sweet scent rising to you.
Hear the holy words reaching to you.
Answer my prayer, Most Holy One.
Justice:
Not content with your blindfold’s shield
you avert your eyes from the scales by which you separate the false from the true,
and even with your unseeing eyes the sword you carry will not miss,
separating the just from the unjust.
May all my deeds,
on this and other days,
be weighed as true
that I might be able to meet your piercing non-gaze without fear.
Liberty (American):
Liberty
Mother of Exiles
Hear your children as we call to you!
You have watched over our nation,
keeping it free,
keeping it independent,
for [ ] years you have done this,
faithfully and carefully,
with love for your children.
Liberty
Mother of Exiles
Hear your children as we call to you!
Be with us now as you have been with us from our beginning.
Many and great are the gifts Liberty brings.
Many and great are the forms in which she comes to us.
We praise her in all of them.
Liberty of the Harbor,
may your flame shine to light the whole world.
Armed Freedom,
may you watch over our government.
Walking Liberty,
may it be the rising sun of prosperity from which you stride.
Libertas!
Liberté!
Liberty!
We remember you in all of your forms
and worship you in all of the ways you show yourself to us.
Here today I would like to invoke the sacred name of Liberty.
It was for Liberty that our ancestors fought.
It was with her inspiration that they created our Constitution.
It was with her guidance that they formed a nation.
It was for her continuing inspiration that I pray today.
The Founders had a vision:
a land fit for Liberty to dwell in.
Under her guidance we will make that dream real.
Lugh (Irish):
Lugh, of arts and skills,
as your spear,
so my hammer:
May if fall powerfully and accurately,
and may my work be performed with beauty and without delay.
Manannán (Irish)
A Mhannanán, rider on the secret sea,
whose white-maned waves lie under the wheels
of your chariot which through a meadowed plain,
a fertile land of flowers fair,
makes its way to me.
A Mhannanán, hear my well-wrought prayer,
receive from me this silver fare:
keep me in your fabled care.
O Mhanannán, who stills the waves,
bring waves to me, and then still them too.
Bring clouds, bring turmoil, bring broaching winds;
then calm seas, as if after a storm.
Dredge up from the deep the ancient fears,
then soothe them away with your branch’s ringing.
O Mhanannán, hear my prayer.
Amid overwhelming waves I call to you,
and, sea’s son, you will calm them.
For they are the horses which draw your chariot,
your goad the ringing of golden bells.
Marduk (Babylonian):
I praise Marduk, mighty in battle,
who slew menacing Chaos,
yes, even Tiamat of the gaping jaws,
and her lover Apsu, when they rose against the gods.
Surely no disorder can withstand him,
surely not the small ones of my day.
A faithful servant to a well-disposed and powerful king,
I ask for this deserved reward.
Mars (Roman):
This ram, Father Mars, to you,
that you may be increased in power
that I might be increased in power
for prosperity and protection.
Spear and shield, spear and shield,
Father Mars, Father Mars,
Dance the steps, dance the steps,
Sing the hymn, sing the hymn.
Bring the spring, bring the spring.
Spear and shield, spear and shield,
Dance and sing, dance and sing,
Pater Mars, Pater Mars.
The Maruts (Vedic):
What is the clattering noise I hear, as tree limbs against each other?
It is the Maruts, coming in splendor, bringing rain.
What is the glittering fire I see, as of clouds hiding lightning?
It is the Maruts, coming in splendor, bringing rain.
What is the awe-inspiring presence I feel, as of the clashing of armies?
It is the Maruts, coming in splendor, bringing rain.
Splendorous Maruts, come quickly, bringing rain.
Meitros (Proto-Indo-European):
Grasp my hand, Meitros, as I hold it out to you.
I offer fairly to you, and you to me.
We are fair traders, you and I.
And I vow to you that all with whom I trade will be to me as you.
I will be honest in my dealings with them,
give value for value,
as you do to me.
Menot (Proto-Indo-European):
Measuring time,
Measuring space,
Measuring well,
you always find the right answer.
No surprise, that, since the answer only exists because of the measuring,
as that made by your ever-turning wheel
that rolls through the night sky.
True measurement brings light to the darkness.
True worship of you, Menot,
opens our minds and dispels ignorance.
Measuring is true.
If measuring is true it must fit.
Does this fit?
It doesn’t.
Menot, may my mind fit.
Mithras (Roman):
Mithras Soter,
Mithras Pater,
Mithras of the Ever-Descending Knife:
Through your obedience to Sol Invictus
you rose to be with him,
to grasp hands with him,
to feast with him.
May I be as obedient to you.
May you alone be my crown.
May I come to sit beside you in the never-ending feast,
there among the stars.
Through Mercury may I rise.
Through Venus may I rise.
Through Mars may I rise.
Through Jupiter may I rise.
Through the Moon may I rises.
Through the Sun may I rise.
Through Saturn may I rise.
Through the agency of the salvific bull-slaying,
May I rise,
May I be made immortal.
Morpheus(Greek):
Protect me while I sleep, Morpheus,
keep my body safe,
bring dreams that teach,
bring dreams that heal,
bring dreams of comfort and peace,
a peace only a god can give.
The Morrígain (Irish):
A snake that is not a snake,
A dog that is not a dog,
A cow that is not a cow --
You’re not these things, Morrígain,
and I am not sure I want to know what you are.
If my offering pleases you, though,
protect rather than destroy.
Nuit (Thelemic):
You come in the silence, Nuit,
when space is left open for your infinite emptiness.
And so it is that speech, and deeds, and any searching won’t find you.
Only waiting.
I sit here and wait with openness, with longing but no expectation.
Though all else is empty, the longing remains.
I hope you will not begrudge me that, and will still bring me to you.
Night:
Outward sight subdued,
may inward sight grow,
in the night, in the night,
Sister of Dawn.
The Ocean:
All life began in you;
preserve my life while I sail on you.
Odin (Norse):
Odin who speaks in riddles and hints,
speak clearly through the runes I draw.
Pan(Greek, Roman):
Io Pan, the shout in the hills,
Io Pan, the hooves on the rocks,
Io Pan the song in the wild:
Io Pan, Io Pan.
Io Pan, the scattering of the flocks,
Io Pan, the singing of the pipes,
Io Pan, the roaring in the fields:
Io Pan, Io Pan.
Io Pan, the goat,
Io Pan, the man,
Io Pan, the god:
Io Pan, Io Pan.
Pan, be in their drums,
Pan, be in their guitars,
Pan, be in their basses,
Pan, be in their bodies and voices,
those of the band about to perform.
Peace:
Come to me, Peace,
as you would to the world.
As you would calm strife,
calm my mind.
As you would banish weapons,
banish my self-doubt.
As you would bring happiness,
bring it to me.
Come, Peace, bring peace,
to me as you would to the world.
Poseidon (Greek):
Earthquake-bringer, destroyer of cities,
whose horse’s hooves shatter the shores on which they land,
bring down the walls which surround me,
powder to dust their supporting stones,
view with the derision fit for a god their flaunted strengths:
free me from even my most beloved prisons;
release me to the widely-extending world that awaits liberated souls.
Rhiannon (Welsh):
It’s quite obvious, really,
but at the same time a marvel:
a woman on a pale horse,
a woman who can not be reached by great exertion.
Impossible to reach, she is easy to attain.
We need only call and ask for her love.
So I call to you, Rhiannon;
out of my need I call to you.
I call to her - look, she stops.
Listen to my needs, Rhiannon,
fulfill them:
Please listen to someone who loves you.
Sarasvati (Vedic):
A sweet river, as of milk,
Sarasvati, with amrta in her hands,
gives gifts, protects, inspires.
She is worthy of praise,
beautiful in her arising:
My prayer to her for true words.
Sequana (Gaulish Goddess of the Seine River):
Far from where the river springs,
the ship parts the unstopped river,
at the heart of a city brightly-lit,
renowned for art; for beauty and splendor;
your gift to the world, Sequana,
and for this my gift to you.
Shang Ti:
From your high mountain, dispense justice.
Impose, Shang Ti, peace-bringing order.
Silvanus (Roman):
Silvanus of the wild,
be Silvanus of my land,
and I will pour wine to you as a libation.
Soma (Vedic):
May he who, pressed out, is life, is power,
May he whose roaring calls us to the ritual, to drink,
May he, granting gifts, filling us with immortality,
May he, king Soma, be praised in this prayer.
May he, hearing me, come to join me in this rite.
May my words draw him hither.
Storm God:
We speak to the Lord of the Lightning,
we seek out the Lord of the Right,
to Him, the ever-bright Champion,
a hymn to banish the night.
For when he comes,
he comes in the darkness.
And when he comes,
he brings in the light.
A flash which cuts through the grayness,
a crash which deafens our ears,
a spike which pins down the Chaos,
a strike which softens our fears.
For when he comes,
he comes in the darkness.
And when he comes,
he brings in the light.
With rain, he brings us the greening,
with grain, he brightens our days,
with might he drives away falseness,
with right he opens our ways.
For when he comes,
he comes in the darkness.
And when he comes,
he brings in the light.
For truth, he slays all confusion,
for youth, he stands as a star,
the day, he shows in the storm cloud,
the way, he marks from afar.
And when he comes,
he comes in the darkness.
And when he comes,
he brings in the light.
Yes, when he comes,
he comes in the darkness.
And when he comes,
he brings in the light.
Terminus
Terminus, guard well our land in our absence.
Lord who protects borders,
protect me, my household, my land,
and all who enter here as guests.
In return for which, in promise of future offerings,
to establish, maintain, and strengthen friendship between us,
this wine, this grain, this egg,
willingly given.
Tyr (Norse):
Irony of ironies, that you, God of the Oath,
have no right hand to raise in swearing.
Or perhaps just right, needing nothing to show for your speaking,
the speaking alone being enough.
Even thus, though I raise my hand as a sign of truth to others,
to you and to me the words suffice,
writing my vow into the Ørlog.
Unknown deities:
Whatever deity or spirit or ancestor
whose presence I feel in this place:
take this offering as a gift in return for your blessing.
Vac (Vedic)
I ask Word, in the simplest words I know,
for simpler words,
for words more true.
Varuna (Vedic):
As I have sought forgiveness from,
and given compensation to,
those I have wronged,
I seek forgiveness of,
and burn this butter to,
you, Varuna:
may your snares which enclose wrongdoers pass me by.
Lord of Order, Varuna, of the Rta,
Enforcer of the Sacred Law,
whose snares await those you violate your Ordinances:
inspire in me devotion to the rules of the fame I am about to play.
If my acts are fair, they can never be excellent,
and instead of glory will bring down on me your deserved punishment.
Vishnu (Vedic, Hindu):
With one step he measured out the earth:
He is Vishnu, great in creation.
With one step he measured out the air:
He is Vishnu, great in creation.
With one step he measured out the sky:
He is Vishnu, great in creation.
With three steps he measured out the three worlds:
He is Vishnu, great in creation.
Westya: (Proto-Indo-European):
Your moving flames are my home’s still center,
the many tongues, your tongue, speaking silence.
I will sit here and listen
Lukipotya:.
Woden (Anglo-Saxon):
All who wander without direction:
to these, Woden, be a guide.
All who puzzle without solution:
to these, Woden, be a guide.
All who search without finding:
to these, Woden, be a guide.
All who inquire without answer:
to these, Woden, be a guide.
All who seek without out obtaining:
to these, Woden, be a guide.
God who understands:
to those to whom the journey is worth the cost,
even not arriving,
to these, Woden, be a guide.
Xakwom Nepot (Proto-Indo-European):
Unkindled water,
hot blood flowing,
twin horses, shining:
he rides within.
Fire is born from waters,
who, lovingly, enclose him,
feeding him like butter.
Xáryomen (Proto-Indo-European):
Lying awake in the dark of an unfamiliar city,
I can feel the hum which 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.
Zeus (Greek):
If ever I have poured out libations to you,
or crumbled honey cakes in your honey,
accept this offering to you now
and look kindly on me.
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