by Ellen Evert Hopman, A DRUID’S HERBAL
Beloved Brighid of the triple flame
Daughter of the Dagda
Guardian of the sacred spring
Whose voice is the soul of the harp
We call on thee.
Teach our hands to heal and our hearts to sing
We entrust our life’s progress to your care
and ask that you shape us
bending and turning our hearts on your bright anvil of flame
till we are made perfect jewels
fit to be set in the eye of your timeless harp
to play for the soul of the people in times of sorrow
and times of celebration
We thank you for your gifts to us of poetry and music
of laughter and tears
and for the healing balm of your wisdom
May we always remember to meditate
on the gift of your sacred waters
which surround us at our birth
and sail us to our destiny
Our hearts are open to receive your blessing
Midwife of our souls, rain on us
Shower your inspiration in curtains of song
from sacred waterfalls in the realm where you dwell
Come to us as Virgin with the soft smell of flowers
Come to us as Mother and feed us your fruits
Come to us as the Wise Women in the stark blasts of Winter
Help us to see your Mystery in all creation
that we may know gratitude and reverence
Our hearts sing to you with love
Teach us to change like the revolving seasons
Teach us to grow like the green corn that feeds the people.
Teach us to fashion beauty like the stillness of the forest pool
and the roar of the ocean wave.
Teach us to heal like the soothing gem which cools the eyes and
Restores the limbs
With humility and bright expectation
We invoke thee this hour!
Ellen Evert Hopman, from A DRUIDS HERBAL – FOR THE SACRED EARTH YEAR, Destiny Books, Rochester, VT, 1995)