Underflow

A Prayer to the Gods for the National Day of Prayer

2013-05-02T20:42:52Z

May Hestia, who warms the hearth and brightens the home,
who is ever first in the hearts of mankind,
be with us: we honor you and praise your might.

May great Zeus, bearer of the firebolt, granter
of rule to the worthy, upholder of the right,
be with us: we honor you and praise your might.

May peerless Hera, friend of those who seek the joy
of marriage, the solace of companionship,
be with us: we honor you and praise your might.

May grey-eyed Athena, protector of cities,
keeper of wisdom, who favors the virtuous,
be with us: we honor you and praise your might.

May Demeter of field and flower, mistress
of all that grows in the earth, founder of the feast,
be with us: we honor you and praise your might.

May golden Aphrodite, whose gift it is
to bring us together in love and compassion,
be with us: we honor you and praise your might.

May swift-footed Hermes, guide of words and meaning,
who clears the way for unity and understanding,
be with us: we honor you and praise your might.

May bright Apollo, lover of knowledge and beauty,
who keeps away all ill, who banishes all blight,
be with us: we honor you and praise your might.

May Artemis of the woodland, mistress of beasts,
guardian of all that is innocent and wild,
be with us: we honor you and praise your might.

May noble Persephone, queen of light and dark,
comfort of the sorrowing and the bereft,
be with us: we honor you and praise your might.

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Demeter

2012-01-10T15:10:33Z

Demeter of the furrowed field, bearer of sheaves,
bearer of sorrow, I pray to you. Goddess,
dear to you is the deep earth, the seed within the soil,
the heavy-headed grain; dearer still your daughter,
for whose sake you would turn away from all whose lives
are bound to your gifts. In this as in all things,
O goddess, do we honor your necessity;
we know well, Demeter, what we owe to your might
and good will. Goddess of harvests, you sustain
our bodies; mother of mysteries, you ennoble
our spirits, you ready us for sweet Elysium.
Gracious Demeter, I pray for your favor.

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Demeter

2011-10-10T07:13:17Z

Shining Demeter, queen of the fruitful earth,
daughter of great-bosomed Rhea of ancient name,
mother of Persephone, friend of the farmer,
friend of all those who hold hope in their hearts.
You hold in your hands the warm black soil, Demeter,
you hold in your hands the lives of men and women.
By your will it is, goddess, that the fields flourish,
the trees bear sweet fruit; by your goodness it is
that we harvest food enough to feed our families.
Kind you are, Demeter, benevolent one,
and yet never should your favor be presumed,
for your wrath is such that it could end all lives
if such was your desire. Your gifts are precious,
O Demeter, more precious than the gold and jewels
that lie beneath the new-sown seeds; your blessings
are the air we breathe, the bread we eat. Blessed goddess,
Demeter of the great heart, we thank you each day
for all you have given us, all we know of life.

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Prayer to Demeter for a Good Harvest

2011-09-22T06:36:59Z

Demeter, gracious goddess who grants to mankind
the gift of grain, whose might it is that brings the trees
to fruit, whose hand we see as buds become blossoms,
who taught to men the art of the seed, whose blessing
we beg, whose wrath we dread, goddess, I pray to you.
The green shoot is yours, Demeter, and the root
that clings to the black soil. In one fair arm you hold
a sheaf of golden wheat, in the other a poppy,
blood-red and fragrant; by your good will we are fed
in body and in soul. Essential Demeter,
friend of the farmer, by whose power do we survive,
I pray to you, show to us a fruitful season,
bless us with an abundant harvest, food enough
to bring us through the long winter. For your goodness
and your kindness we thank you, Demeter; for your
favor we pray to you, O bountiful goddess!

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Litany to Demeter

2011-07-25T05:04:48Z

Blessed Demeter, granter of the most precious
of gifts, yours is the sweet fruit that hangs from the trees,
yours the field of golden grain flowing in the wind,
yours the life that fills our hearts with love and thankfulness.
I praise and honor you, I thank you for your blessings.

Demeter, mistress of seasons, goddess whose hand
guides flowers to bloom and fruit to ripen, whose might
turns spring into summer, to fall and to winter,
who grants well-deserved rest to the laboring soil,
I praise and honor you, I thank you for your blessings.

Wrathful Demeter, friend of the Furies who bring
revenge to the wronged and punishment to the wicked,
noble goddess who answered the theft of a child
with a mother's rightful rage. Worthy Demeter,
I praise and honor you, I thank you for your blessings.

Dark-cloaked Demeter, veiled in sorrow, who traveled
the wide world in search of lost Persephone,
whose misery brought drought and famine to the children
of men, whose joy at her return brought life again.
I praise and honor you, I thank you for your blessings.

Demeter Khthonia, holder of the secrets
of the deep earth, daughter of cymbal-clashing Rhea,
mother of Hades' dark queen, yours are the mysteries
of life and of death, yours the gifts most prized by men.
I praise and honor you, I thank you for your blessings.

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Demeter

2011-04-03T23:45:25Z

Fair-haired Demeter, daughter of nimble-footed Rhea,
grandchild of deep-hearted Gaia, mother of
bright-eyed Persephone: in you, as in them all,
is the soul of the earth. The golden grain is yours,
O Demeter, and the heavy-fruited trees,
the dark rich soil and the seeds that hide within.
Friend of the farmer, friend of all who rely
on your goodness and kindness, your gift of growth,
your gift of bread, your gift of all our lives. Demeter,
bountiful lady, with each spring's greening of the land
you give us hope; with each rich harvest that hope
is answered. Demeter, good mother, I praise you.

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