Prayers
Mara’s Prayer
Dear Mara,
Merciful Earth, be with us
Bountiful Harvest, be with us
Lady Luck, be with us
Mother Market, be with us
Bread-raiser, be with us
Hearthtender, be with us
Queen of Rot, be with us
Weekly Prayers
As an exercise in creating daily practice and spending more intentional time with different powers, I set out to create a set of daily prayers, with each day's power chosen to match the planetary energy of the days of the week. I spent a month developing it, and so sometimes ended up with more than one prayer for the power of each day. Most often now I do a more general daily offering rather than varying who I spend time with, but I like having these prayers as a go-to when I want to engage more.
Sunday
Redbird, firstborn, brightest star
Lifegiver, death’s lover
Desert mirage and warm summer grass
Snowblindness and hopeful thaw
You burn hot in all things,
Magic and sex and simply living,
The riddle of contradiction
Let me study you; continue to teach me
Allow me to be your student and
Ensure the enemies of my household
Burn themselves down and flame out
Redbird, Fiery One, Bright Lady,
Grant my household passion
Grant us inspiration
Grant us magic
Thank you.
Monday
Dark Lady, Velvet Sky, Black Blade
I come before you on your day,
in the sacred nighttime
As the voice of my household
to ask your blessings.
Cover us in your hair that we
may go unseen by our enemies
Cover us in your maille that we may not be harmed
Teach us to wield your weapons
Strengthen our magic
Remind us that we need not fear for we are the monsters under the bed.
Thank you.
Tuesday
Righteous One, Honorable One, Maligned One, Lord of Battle,
Master of the Stolen Crown,
Striver for Balance, Dread Fairness,
I come to you on your day, at this sacred place
As the voice for my household.
Lend me your glaive and shield
That I might protect my family
From those that would harm us
Reinforce my words and show me
Discipline to maintain my work
Grant all of us wisdom as we face
the challenges of the day and the world.
Protect my child and help me keep her safe
Thank you.
Wednesday
Pillai, Sweet One, Son of Luck,
Bring me opportunities
Show me doors that I might pick locks
Bluebird, Darling One, Harbinger of Spring,
Teach me not to be afraid
Help me recover and go on and find new options
Pillai! Darling Bluebird!
I come before you on your day, in this sacred place
As the voice for my household
Grant us luck and grant us hope
Grant us opportunities and ensure we can see them
Turn away ill luck, poor health and bad timing.
Thank you.
Thursday
Pechak, Hawk, great battler,
Velos, Serpent, cunning fighter,
On your day and in this sacred place
I come before you as the voice for my household
Pechak, mighty one, swift one,
Lend me your strength,
Smash the enemies of my household,
Leave them unable to work against us.
Set your wings around us as a shield
to keep us from harm.
Velos, clever one, cunning one,
Lend me your strategy,
Confuse the enemies of my household,
Make them distracted and let their work
against us be wasted. Keep us safe
from poisonous tongues and teeth.
Wrap your scales around us as a shield
to keep us from harm.
Thank you.
Friday
On your day and in this sacred place
I come before you as the voice for my household
Brhenti, hearthfire, inspiration
get me through this longest of work days,
inspire me and grant me
luck and wit in my creative projects,
energyy in maintaining my house and family.
Brhenti, lady of putting by,
sealer of mason jars, gentle heat of dehydration,
guide my thoughts as I prepare.
Keep me quick to spot a deal.
Keep me reasonable in the face of threats.
Keep me calm when everyone is shouting.
Brhenti, mother of artifice,
Teacher of craft and lady of the forge
Keep me on track when my mind wanders,
Remind me that I am happier when I create.
Protect our household,
Remind us to put by and squirrel away,
To make good choices and invest in the future.
Brhenti, Mericiful Metal, Copper Woman,
Be sword and shield,
Defend my household
Protect us and guide us to prepare
For a future we cannot know.
Thank you.
Saturday
Tzymir of the broken crown,
Father of Crystals, Source of Magic
On your day and in this sacred place and this late hour,
I come before you as the voice for my household
Dead god and labyrinth-walker,
Teach me grace and confidence,
Guide my study, lend me magic
Bring us wealth from your realm
deep in the earth
Bring us wisdom from the labyrinth
Guide us through the twisting paths
and lead those who would harm us into wrong turns and dead ends.
Thank you.
Poems for Kuan Yin
In my mid-twenties, I went through a very difficult relationship, a cross country move, and my first round of health scares. Somewhere in there I ended up finding the most comfort in Buddhist meditation and practice, and especially in cultivating a relationship with Kuan Yin, the Bodhisattva of compassion. I would have bouts of vertigo so severe that moving more than an inch at a time would lead to nausea for hours, and without the ability to read or watch anything, and trying not to panic about whether I would recover and what this might mean. I prayed, and I recited mantras, because I didn't know what else to do, and eventually it helped.
<p>
<em>Prayer to Kuan Yin</em> <br> Om mani padme hum.<br> Hail to the jewel<br> in the heart of the lotus,<br> multifaced, hermaphroditic,<br> goddess of compassion<br> and bodhisattva of patience.<br> I often cause suffering.<br> My mouth moves faster<br> Than my regret, coughing up<br> Emotional acid reflux.<br> Share your infinite compassion<br> With my fucked up self,<br> A minty chewy taste<br> When my foot’s in my mouth.<br> Teach me how you love all beings<br> When they’re so fucking stupid.<br> Teach me how not to<br> Call them all so fucking stupid<br> Since that doesn’t seem<br> Terribly Buddhist of me.<br> I really am a terrible Buddhist,<br> O lady of compassion.<br> Luckily for me you put up with that.<br> Show me how to save everyone<br> Or if you can’t, I’ll settle<br> For learning when to shut up.<br> Thanks, o bodhisattva<br> Who sees the suffering of the world.<br> Namo guan shih yin pusa.
</p><p>
The Bodhisattva Vow is a vow taken never to cause harm to a living being. At first glance, this sounds quite simple – most of us don't usually go out of our way to hurt people, right?
It's pretty easy to decide, say, not to hit people. What about saying things that are hurtful, though? Many people can't resist at least a little gossiping. What about when speaking the truth is harmful? What about the careless thing you say that stings, or the time you put your foot in your mouth because you just don't know that something is a painful subject for someone.
And don't forget that 'living beings' is not limited to people. It obviously means taking care of your pets, and making sure that potted plant in your kitchen is taken care of. What about that ant trap under your sink, though, or your instinctive reaction to smash a spider on your wall?
Suppose you want to take the afternoon off and go for a peaceful nature walk. First you must make sure that taking the afternoon off won't hurt anyone; obviously the severity of this depends on what you do for a living, but start simple: will someone else have to work later to cover for you? If you pack a lunch, did the cows or pigs or poultry suffer before it became lunchmeat and cheese? Once you're out there, watch your step- you might be crushing insects with your every step. Don't disturb anything, or you may disrupt the habitat of a wild animal.
Not as easy as it looked, is it?
Vow
The more attention I pay
to the insects, to the
thousand tiny lives
around me each day,
the harder it seems to get.
Ants appear out of cracks,
grasshoppers fling themselves
at my feet, even moths
land under my shoes.
The more precious the life,
the harder to avoid
destroying it.
I need more eyes,
more arms, fewer legs
perhaps, or just your blessing
and patience as I try again. </p>
According to myth, Kuan Yin chose to incarnate as the princess Miao Shan. Her father the king was a cruel man, and insisted that she marry an older, rich man. When she refused, saying that she wanted to enter a temple and study the words of the Buddha, her father first imprisoned her and denied her food, then allowed her to enter the temple while ordering the monks to work her to the bone. Still, she was devoted to her work and her purity caused the animals of the forest to befriend her and help her. Furious, her father set fire to the temple. Miao Shan put it out with her bare hands and was not burned.
Her father ordered her killed, but the executioner’s weapon shattered three times when he approached her. When he finally resorted to strangling her, Miao Shan, understanding that the executioner would suffer at her father’s hand if he did not succeed, allowed herself to be killed and took on the karmic guilt of the murder. This karma caused her to descend to one of the many hells of Buddhist belief, where she took pity on all those suffering. She released much of her own good karma, causing the hell to transform into a paradise and the souls within it to be freed to their next life. One of the lords of hell sent her back to earth to keep her from wreaking havoc in his realms. Miao Shan then traveled to the Fragrant Mountain and studied Buddhism full-time, as she’d always wanted to do.
Gently Burning Heart
Lady phoenix, Miao Shan,
arms aflame in the temple,
body burning as your spirit.
Death drawn out, accepted,
folded into your heart
in origami flowers you
planted in hell, watered with
your tears and grew up again,
embers rushed back to life
seeking peace,
finding suffering
and still seeking.
Selfish
a thousand arms,
a thousand comforts
against the many arrows
look at me
one among everyone
suffering in your view
True understanding and compassion for others begins with the self. If you do not feel sympathy for yourself, or cut yourself some slack, you will have a hard time accepting the weaknesses of others as well. When I hate myself, when the depression sets in and the snow falls inside my chest, I look to Kuan Yin for reassurance. When I can't warm myself, she is gentle as a mother wrapping a child in hats and mittens for the snow. She gives me strength, and knowing that she feels my suffering, no matter how petty I worry that it is, is like having a thick, warm scarf I can wrap myself in.