covenrochester

I doubt they would win any awards, but they might be a good memory aid.

I.

Three things the Awen
Can never covet:
What is beyond it,
What is before it,
And what is above it.

II.

Three verbs of the Awen
Known to the blessed:
Awen is,
Awen transcends,
And Awen manifests.

III.

Three places the Awen
Is always found:
Where there is no sensing,
Where there is no thought,
And where there is no sound.

(An Alternative)

Three places the Awen
Is out of reach:
In human senses,
Human thought,
And human speech.

IV.

Three things the Awen
Gives to thee:
Your cause,
Your form,
And your reason to be.

Гимн пифагорейцев восходящему солнцу

This is a lovely painting by Fyodor Bronnikov, and it hangs in the Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow. I have given the title in Russian, above. In English, it is "The Hymn of the Pythagoreans to the Rising Sun." I have always loved this painting. It reminded me of being trained by a Druidess, when young, to Chant to the Four Corners of the Day. By the way, "Druid" is the proper ancient term for both a female and male Druid. Druidess was not used until the 18th century or so. Still, I like it. "Druid Priestess" would do just as well. Anyway, I may have this painting reproduced on canvas in years to come.

*** Blessed be to those who serve the Great Mother and the Horned Father.

* Copyright to Coven Rochester

Druids and Druidesses Greeting the Sun

When I was 19 years old, I undertook a limited apprenticeship with a Druidess from the North in order to help her in some of her work. I learned a lot from her, but much of it was implicit learning, i.e., what she did and did not do, what she said and did not say.

She did not insist on us learning much in the way of Druidic ritual, but she insisted that we learn the Chants to the Four Corners of the Day. Every morning, before we got to work, she would lead the apprentices and students to the eastern edge of a field or meadow, and we would do the chant to the rising sun, like a plainsong chant. Before lunch, we did the chant to the noonday sun. And at the end of the workday, the chant to the setting sun. At home, we were expect to do the chant to the midnight sun on our own.

She did not care if members of the public were present or if we were being watched. Druids are traditionally public figures and not secretive.

The dawn and noon chants are addressed to the Lord of the Sun, and the sunset and midnight chants are addressed to the Mother of the Night.

The Druidess passed away last year at the Winter Solstice. I have never forgotten the "tune" of the plainsong chants, and I have used them off-and-on for over 30 years. I hope someday that others will take an interest in learning them and preserving them.

*** Blessed be to those who serve the Great Mother and the Horned Father.

* Copyright to Coven Rochester