Prayer a day 2019: Mauern

Walls

They rise high, threatening, bone-crushing

Keeping in, keeping out.

Walls between countries.

Walls in heads.

Walls in hearts.

For your own protection, they say,

meaning:

Because we are not sure,

because we lack trust,

in you and in ourselves.

For your own protection, they say,

meaning:

Because we are afraid of

what we don‘t know

what looks different

what thinks and talks not like us.

For your own protection, they say,

meaning:

For OUR own protection,

so we don‘t have to think,

don‘t have to learn something new,

don‘t have to compete.

Tear down those walls!

But carefully, without violence.

Let them disappear stone by stone,

allowing peaks through holes into the wide world.

Build bridges of them,

creating connections,

so that one day

you and I

will be able to walk across a world without walls.

Prayer a day 2019: Kerzengebet

A candle prayer

This candle burns for someone who is important for me.

Her light shines for that one in difficult times and at dark places.

Her warmth surrounds her, when there is nobody around to hug that person.

Her mass dwindles for that one when this person needs strength urgently.

This candle burns for someone I can‘t support otherwise.

Prayer a day 2019: Eine Wiedererschaffung des Kosmos

Eine (Wieder)erschaffung des Kosmos

Hier stehe ich und frage:

Wer bin ich? Woher komme ich? Wohin gehe ich?

Und um mich herum und in mir selbst forme ich den Kosmos:

Das Land unter meinen Füßen, das mich trägt.

Und über mir den Himmel, voller brennender Gestirne:

Die Sonne,

lebenspendend, wärmend, Funke der Transformation

und Mond und Sterne, Lichter in der Dunkelheit,

Bewahrer von Geschichten und alten Mythen.

Und um mich das Wasser:

Das Meer, das an die Ufer rollt,

und die Flüsse, die das Land durchziehen,

die Erinnerungen mit sich tragend,

lebenserhaltend, erneuernd, reinigend.

Und dazwischen den Weltenbaum,

beides miteinander verbindend,

der das Gewebe des Universums durchbricht

und so Orientierung ermöglicht.

Heiliges Feuer, brenne in mir!

Heilige Quelle, fließe in mir!

Heiliger Baum, wachse in mir!

A recreation of Cosmos

Here I stand and ask myself:

Who am I? Whre do I come from? Where will I go?

And so I shape the cosmos in me and around me:

The land under my feet, that is carrying me.

And above me the sky, full of burning celestial bodies:

The sun,

life giving, warming, spark of transformation,

and moon and stars, lights in the darkness,

keepers of stories and ancient myths.

And around me the water:

The sea, rolling onto the beaches,

and the rivers, crossing the country,

who carry the memories with them,

life supporting, renewing, cleansing.

And between both the world tree,

connecting them,

breaking through the texture of the universe

and thus making orientation possible.

Sacred fire, burn within me!

Sacred well, flow within me!

Sacred tree, grow within me!

Prayer a day 2019: Gebet zu Taranis

Prayer to Taranis – for getting into motion

Sometimes, things moves oh so slowly.

It feel like chewing gum.

Everywhere there are obstacles,

and I feel like running through a maze.

Between

‚Someone should…‘

and

‚It is on the way.‘

there‘s a huge gap, but hardly ever a brigde.

Taranis with the wheel:

Help us to get into motion,

not just to talk about problems,

but to do something useful.

Let the ‚someone‘ become an ‚I‘ or even better a ‚we‘.

Your wheel gets us moving, jollies us up.

Your thunderstorms clear the air, help us to keep our wits about us.

Your rains fall on fertile ground.

Taranis, be at our side!

Prayer a day 2019: Gebet zu Fornax, der römischen Göttin des Ofens

Prayer to Fornax, goddess of the oven

May the flour be good,

may the butter and eggs be fresh,

may the yeast let the dough grow,

and may the oven be heated well,

so that my bread turns out good.

When the smell of fresh baked things wavers in the house,

I will know that your work, Fornax, is done.

Prayer a day 2019: Gebet zu einer Göttin der bewahrten Geheimnisse

Prayer to a goddess of secrets

I‘ll die if I can‘t tell it someone.

I just have to get rid of it.

It is on the tip of my tongue, but nobody is supposed to know about it.

Angerona,

so I come to you.

Goddess of absolute silence,

keeper of secrets,

silent goddess of the new year.

Whatever weighs heavily on my soul

whatever I want to talk about:

It is safe with you.

Your finger, put across your mouth,

promises me:

You won‘t pass it on.

Whatever I share with you:

It is safe with you.

Angerona, keep your smart silence

in a world full of rumours and talk.

Angerona, thank you.

Angerona ist die römische Göttin der bewahrten Geheimnisse. Ihre Statue legt den Zeigefinger in der Schweigegeste über die Lippen. Eine sehr nützliche Göttin, auch heute noch.

Prayer a day 2019: Nehalennia als Fährfrau der Toten

Nehalennia as a guide of souls

Nehalennia,

you guard the freight, you take care that everything arrives safely its destination.

Mostly the load consists of diverse goods, but sometimes it is souls that are on their way to their chosen afterlife.

You guide them safely over the waves, throught the veils and over the rainbowbridge, until they reach the other side

and claim their appropriate place, be it in the underworld, on the isles in the west or some heavenly realm.

It is you that we welcome as our ferrywoman.

Even if we don‘t need your services personally,

we honor you as the guide and companion of the dead.

Bardic Challenge im Mai 2019

Freyas Schönheitssinn

Über meinem Kopf spielt das Licht mit den Blättern der Bäume,

viele Grünschattierungen verwoben durch die Strahlen der Sonne,

und ich sehe Schönheit, Freya.

Strahlende Tänzerin, federleicht

wärmt dein Lächeln meine Seele.

Ganz und gar gibst du dich dem hin,

was du tust,

ganz im Augenblick versunken

schöpft du den Moment aus bis zur Neige.

Mein Herz ist voll von Glück,

von Leidenschaft, und ich sehe durch dich die Welt mit anderen Augen:

Sehe das Wunderbare im Detail,

das Einzigartige in einem Sekundenbruchteil,

vergänglich, aber so schön.

Friere die Erinnerung ein,

das Gefühl dabei,

in meinem Kopf immer lebendig.

Danke, dass du mir immer wieder die Sinne öffnest

und mich das Leben genießen lässt.

Freya‘s sense for beauty

Light is playing with the trees‘ leaves above my head,

many shades of green woven into a pattern by the rays of the sun,

and I see beauty, Freya.

Radiating dancer, light as a feather

your smile lightens up my soul.

You are completely busy with what you are doing,

entranced in the moment

you ladle it down to the last remains.

My heart is filled with happiness and passion,

and through you I see the world with different eyes:

See the wonderous in each detail,

the uniqueness in a split second,

volatile but oh, so beautiful.

Freeze the memory,

the feelings,

ever present in my mind.

Thank you for opening my senses

and letting my enjoy this life.


Friggas Herd

Friggas Herdfeuer brennt in unserer Mitte,

schenkt Wärme in der Kälte,

schenkt Essen denen, die Hunger haben,

schenkt Gemeinschaft denen, die sich einsam fühlen.

Frigga, Göttin des Herdes, ich grüße dich!

Du bist ein Vorbild, dem wir nacheifern können:

Du hältst die Fäden in der Hand,

verknüpfst mit deinen Knoten die Gemeinschaft.

Mit deiner Diplomatie bringst du alle an einen Tisch

und wahrst den Hausfrieden.

Gleichzeitig wirst du zur Kämpferin,

wenn dieser Frieden bedroht wird,

kämpfst wie eine Löwin für das,

was dir wichtig ist.

Dein Herdfeuer ist mehr als bloße Theorie,

mehr als eine Idee:

Durch deinen Einsatz und deine vorausschauende Planung

machst du dein Heim zu einem Ort,

an dem man sich willkommen fühlt

und genug für alle da ist.

Frigga, sei in unserer Mitte!

Frigga‘s hearth

Frigga‘s hearthfire burns in our centre,

offers warmth in the cold,

offers food for the hungry

offers company to the lonely.

Frigga, goddess of the hearth, I greet you!

You are an idol we can strive to follow:

You keep the strings in your hand,

you tie the community together with your knots.

You make them sit together at the table through your diplomacy

and you keep the peace of the house.

At the same time you become a fighter

if your peace is threatened,

fighting like a lioness

for the things that mean something to you.

Your hearth is more than just a theory,

more than an idea:

With your commitment and your ability to plan ahead

you shape this place into a home,

where everyone feels welcome

and where there is enough for everybody.

Frigga, be in our middle!


Gebet für die Disir

Langsam treten sie aus den Schatten,

Mütter, Großmütter, Frauen aus längst vergangenen Zeiten,

manche hielten mich noch in den Armen,

anderer Namen sind verloren im Laufe der Jahrhunderte.

Um mich herum schließt sich der Kreis aus Frauen meiner Vergangenheit.

Sie nehmen mich in ihre Mitte,

liebend, umarmend, stützend, beratend,

tröstend, ermutigend, ermahnend, beschützend.

Schärfer werden ihre Gesichtszüge:

blaue Augen, graue, grüne,

blonde Haare, rot, braun, grau,

glatt oder lockig.

Hände, die von Arbeit künden,

alterskrumme Rücken und aufrechte Gestalten

voller Würde umgeben sie mich,

sorgen für mich und füreinander.

Ihre Stimmen ein Hauch,

ein Flüstern im Wind,

ein Murmeln in der Erinnerung,

ein Rauschen im Bach.

Sie haben die Grenze überschritten,

doch wenn ich sie brauche, sind sie an meiner Seite.

Eines Tages werde ich auch die Grenze überschreiten

und mich einreihen in ihre Linie.

Eine Familie, viele Herdfeuer,

Knotenpunkte in der Zeit,

die uns verbinden und verknüpfen,

in Vergangenheit, Gegenwart und Zukunft.

Disir, geliebte und geehrte Vorfahrinnen,

von fernster Vergangenheit bis heute,

von den lebenden zu den verstorbenen Frauen

mache ich euch dieses Geschenk!

A Disir Prayer

Slowly they leave the shadows,

mothers, grandmothers, women from times long ago,

some of you held me in your arms

the names of others have been lost in time.

Their circle of women from my past closes around me.

They take me in their midst,

loving, embracing, supporting, counseling

comforting, encouraging, exhorting, protecting.

Their features sharpen:

blue eyes, grey or green,

blonde hair, reddish, brown and grey,

straight or curly.

Hands that tell of hard work,

backs bent from age and upright postures

they surround me full of dignity,

acring for me and for each other.

Their voices a breeze,

a whisper in the wind,

a murmur in memory,

a rustle in the river.

They crossed the borderline,

but when I need them they are at my side.

One day I will cross that border, too

and join their line.

One family, many hearth fires,

junctions in time

that connect us and tie us together

in past, present and future.

Disir,

beloved and honored female ancestors,

from a past long gone until today,

from the living to the women that have died

I want to offer you this gift!

Video: Beltane Ritual der Solitary SIG von ADF

Dieses Video haben einige Mitglieder der Interessengemeinschaft (SIG) der Nicht-Haingebundenen ADF-Mitglieder dieses Jahr für Beltane erstellt. Ich hatte die Ehre und das Vergnügen, mich daran beteiligen zu dürfen. Ganz schön aufregend, da ich Zuschauer eigentlich nicht gewohnt bin, zumindest keine menschlichen. Das Ritual ist auf Englisch, da ich vermutlich die einzige Beteiligte war, für die das nicht die Muttersprache war. Viel Spaß beim Gucken!

Midwinter/Winter solstice 2018: Main prayer and core workings in English

Main sacrifice to the deity of the occasion

Sulis,

bright and shining sun,

hear my prayer when I call to you:

My thoughts are focused on your safe return

and I am craving for the feeling of your rays caressing my face.

Half a year ago, at midsummer, I was bathing in your light,

you being on top of your power.

Since then you have lost your strength,

and since the equinox you spread your light mainly at other places.

But now the day of your return has come:

Your radiance and your warmth have been missed sorely.

It almost seems as if the is no end to darkness,

as if the silence would absorb all sounds.

Sulis, I call out to you:

Come back to us!

Take up the journey

and please us with your sight!

(make an offering to Sulis)

 

You’ll need: a sun candle for the middle, tealights arranged in 6-9 rays around the sun candle (depending on your plans, see below): I always use three tealights per ray

Core workings

Lighten your sun candle from the sacred fire.

In this longest night of the year the sun will be reborn –

this sounds so unlike science.

But with it comes

the hope for a better future,

the chance for a new beginning,

the possibility to work on the option

that peace and freedom,

health and justice,

education and prosperity become realitiy for everybody someday.

Without this the earth is turning just a bit more

and a fiery ball is rising in the east.

A sunbeam for hope,

for a better future. (lighten the candles from sunbeam 1 from the middle to the end)

A sunbeam for peace,

so that a future is possible. (lighten the candles from sunbeam 2 from the middle to the end)

A sunbeam for love,

for others and for oneself. (lighten the candles from sunbeam 3 from the middle to the end)

A sunbeam for life,

and letting live (lighten the candles from sunbeam 4 from the middle to the end)

A sunbeam for confidence,

after the longest night, the deepest valley. (lighten the candles from sunbeam 5 from the middle to the end)

(You can add three more sunbeams here, for personal things.)

The first sunbeam at the sky,

a new beginning. (lighten the candles from last sunbeam  from the middle to the end)

(If you are not alone, people can hum during the candle lighting, or you can do it as som form of litany, so they say the second part of each verse.

Let the light and the words sink in for a moment before you move to the next step.)