Gottheit der Woche 48: Die Matronen

Einen Apfel bringe ich euch – für Gesundheit

Getreide bringe ich euch – für Fruchtbarkeit und Wohlstand

Eine Nuss bringe ich euch – für Weisheit

Matronae Nersihennae,

Mütter der Niers,

Mütter meines Stammes,

meine Gaben für eure Gaben!

Hüterinnen meines Volkes,

Wächterinnen meines Herdfeuers,

Lenkerinnen, weise Ratgeberinnen,

lasst eure Stimmen erklingen!

Aus der Vergangenheit, der Gegenwart und der Zukunft

lasst eure Botschaften hören!

 

In English:

For the Matronae

An apple I bring to you – for health
corn I bring to you – for fruitfulness and prosperity
a nut I bring to you – for wisdom

Matronae Nersihennae*,
mothers of the river Niers,
mothers of my tribe,
my gifts for your gifts!

Keepers of my folk,
guardians of my hearth fire,
guides, wise counselors,
let your voices sound in our minds!

From the past, from today and from tomorrow
let your messages be heard!

*I was very happy when I found evidence that the river behind my garden did (and does) have her own set of Matronae.

Gottheit der Woche 52: Janus

Ich blicke zurück auf ein turbulentes Jahr.

So vieles ist passiert:

Altes, Vertrautes ist gegangen

Neues ist gekommen,

ein stetiger Wandel,

nicht immer erwünscht, nicht immer erhofft,

aber ohne Wandel bliebe nur Stagnation,

und so wachsen wir an neuen Herausforderungen.

Ich blicke aus auf ein neues Jahr.

Noch ahnungslos, was es bringen wird,

nur hoffnungsvoll, was es bringen könnte,

nur voller Hoffnungen und Wünsche.

Janus, du kennst diese Situation,

denn du blickst ständig in beide Richtungen,

kennst die Vergangenheit und siehst die Zukunft,

den rechten und den linken Weg.

Du rätst mir nicht, dieses oder jenes zu tun.

Du nennst nur die Optionen.

Die Entscheidung muss ich selber fällen.

Bei dir

an diesem Punkt

habe ich die Freiheit.

Und so sehe ich dem neuen Jahr entgegen,

im Vertrauen darauf, die richtige Wahl für mich zu treffen.

 

In English:

A new year’s prayer

I look back on a turbulent year.
So much has happened:
Old, familiar things are gone,
new ones have come,
a regular change,
not always wanted, not always hoped for,
but without it there would only be stagnation,
and so we grow with new challenges.

I loof forward on a new year.
Yet unknowingly what it will bring,
just hopeful what it might bring,
just full of hopes and wishes.
Janus, you know this situation,
always looking in both in directions,
knowing the past and seeing the future,
the reight and the left path.

You don’t counsel me to do this or that.
You merely sum up the options.
It’s me who has to decide.
WIth you
at this point
I have the liberty,
And so I look foward on this new year
trusting that I will make the right choices.

Prayer a Day 2018 – Mein Kind

 

In English:

My child

You conjure a smile upon my face,
you lighten my heart,

when you proudly show me something you have painted
or do breakdance in the living room
when you insist on your snuggling session in the evening
or crawl into my bed in the early morning

when you tell me of your epic fight at Minecraft
or we talk about the last book we both have read
when you are humming you favourite melodie endlessly
or construct some weird machine from Lego

Then I know how happy I can be
to have such a treasure* in my life.

* First instinct was to write ‘precious’ but then I thought that sounded too much like Gollum.
I am talking about two different children here btw., even if that’s not mentioned.

Prayer a Day – Nie wieder

In English:

Never again!

9th November 1938: Reichskristallnacht
The synagogues were burning.

9th November 2018:
All around us political parties gain power and influence
that like back then are agitating, polemicising, segregating.
Those who call the Third Reich a ‘flyshit in history’.

Divine powers: I call for your support: Never again!

You, for who time truely doesn’t play a role:
Don’t let us forget what happened back then,
don’t let it happen that those incidences get trivialized,
give us the strength to be there for eacht other,
to be strong for those who can’t stand up for themselves,
as a majority not to stand by in silence
when stupid, weak ignorants want to take the power in their own hands.

Because this is our time, and what happens now
will be what we are judged by in future.
And I don’t want to be asked sometime:
Why haven’t you done something?

Prayer a Day 2018 – Kompost

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In English:

Compost
Deep down under the earth, hidden in moist darkness
they are busy.
Eating, rummaging, digging
and thus transforming
the rests of our food
into nourishing compost.
This is how the circle goes on,
and all that remains to me is to sing a song of praise to the earthworm!

Prayer a Day 2018 – Gebet für Regen

In English:

Prayer for rain

Come on sky, cover yourself:
Let clouds in all shades of grey gather,
big and heavy.
Let the air be filled with the smell of wetness,
wet grass and steaming asphalt.
And then let the first drops fall,
splashing and spattering
until a veil of rain is covering the land
and puddles are mirrorlike shimmering on the ground,
little lakes, saturating the earth
until the land breathes a sign of relief after the long draught.

Prayer a Day 2018 – Vielfalt im Garten

 

In English:

Today’s first cup of cappuccino is in my hand
and my gaze glides out of the window:
White frost covers grass and bushes.
The night has been a cold one.
But between all this white there’s a colourful spot,
hopping around.
A jay, I am surprised to see,
happy for the growing diversity in my garden.