Well it is a new year, all fresh and promising of things to come. Often we forget the true qualities of the world and art. We live in a simple yet unadorned life. We THINK that the conundrum we are living in is all there is.

I was reminded of this when I accidentally fell over this amazing and beautiful classic poem. It is a prayer to all the G-ds of Hellas, one by one. The beauty of it, makes me want to cry. So this is my tiny news years gift for you. Remember that life is more than just fighting and surviving, sometimes we may rest and be nurtured by beauty.

——————————

“Come to me, O Beloved Mistress, Three-faced

Selene; kindly hear my Sacred Chants;

Night’s Ornament, young, bringing Light to Mortals,

O Child of Morn who ride upon the Fierce Bulls,

O Queen who drive Your Car on Equal Course

With Helios, who with the Triple Forms

Of Triple Graces dance in Revel with

The Stars. You’re Justice and the Moira’s Threads:

Klotho and Lachesis and Atropos

Three-headed, You’re Persephone, Megaira,

Allekto, Many-Formed, who arm Your Hands

With Dreaded, Murky Lamps, who shake Your Locks

Of fearful Serpents on Your Brow, who sound

The Roar of Bulls out from Your Mouths, whose Womb

Is decked out with the Scales of Creeping Things,

With Pois’nous Rows of Serpents down the Back,

Bound down Your Backs with Horrifying Chains

Night-Crier, Bull-faced, loving Solitude,

Bull-headed, You have Eyes of Bulls, the Voice

Of Dogs; You hide Your Forms in Shanks of Lions,

Your Ankle is Wolf-shaped, Fierce Dogs are dear

To You, wherefore they call You Hekate,

Many-named, Mene, cleaving Air just like

Dart-shooter Artemis, Persephone,

Shooter of Deer, night shining, triple-sounding.

Triple-headed, triple-voiced Selene

Triple-pointed, triple-faced, triple-necked.

And Goddess of the Triple Ways, who hold

Untiring Flaming Fire in Triple Baskets,

And You who oft frequent the Triple Way

And rule the Triple Decades, unto me

Who’m calling You be gracious and with Kindness

Give Heed, You who protect the Spacious World

At night, before whom Daimons quake in Fear

And Gods Immortal tremble. Goddess who

Exalt Men, You of Many Names, who bear

Fair Offspring, Bull-eyed, Horned, Mother of Gods

And Men, and Nature, Mother of All Things,

For You frequent Olympos, and the broad

And boundless Chasm You traverse. Beginning

And End are You, and You Alone rule All.

For All Things are from You, and in You do

All Things, Eternal One, come to their End.

As Everlasting Band around Your Temples

You wear Great Kronos’ Chains, unbreakable

And unremovable, and You hold in
Your Hands a Golden Scepter. Letters ’round

Your Scepter Kronos wrote Himself and gave

To You to wear that All Things stay steadfast:

Subduer and subdued. Mankind’s Subduer,

And Force-subduer; Chaos, too. You rule.

Hail, Goddess, and attend Your Epithets,

I burn for You this Spice, O Child of Zeus,

Dart-shooter, Heav’nly One, Goddess of Harbors,

Who roam the Mountains, Goddess of Crossroads, O Nether and Nocturnal, and Infernal,

Goddess of Dark, Quiet and Frightful One,

O You who have Your Meal amid the Graves,

Night, Darkness, Broad Chaos: Necessity

Hard to escape are You; You’re Moira and Erinys, Torment, Justice and Destroyer,

And You keep Kerberos in Chains, with Scales

Of Serpents are You dark, O You with Hair

Of Serpents, Serpent-girded, who drink Blood,

Who bring Death and Destruction, and who feast

On Hearts, Flesh Eater, who devour Those Dead

Untimely, and You who make Grief resound

And spread Madness, come to my Sacrifices,

• And now for me do You fulfill this Matter.”

[Tr.:E. N. O’Neil]