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Prayers

 

Far from what some may believe, prayer and worship are vital parts of the Ancient Celtic and Druidic beliefs. It is through prayer and praise that we speak to our gods and thus can we receive divine aid from them and gain providence with them.

 There are many different prayers however all of which may have their own rites and their own timing therein. Therefore this page is a list of not only every prayer in the Society but also a record of when the prayer are appropriate and what they bring. More special prayers that can only be uttered by Druids will not be on this list, as this is purely for members of Senchus.

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Midday and Midnight Prayer

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Lucan hints towards the importance of Midnight and Midday in his Pharsalia when describing sacred groves:

 

'The people feared to approach the grove, and even the priest would not walk there at midday or midnight lest he should then meet its divine guardian' (Pharsalia, 3:33).

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 While Lucan relates that this was a time of fear amongst the Gauls, that even their priests wished to avoid a meeting with the god. It should be remembered that throughout this poem he repeatedly demeans the Druids and the Gauls. Instead we should merely look at what is happening as described by Lucan.

 According to him, a god, either the god worshipped at the grove or another more local god who is the direct lord of the grove is moving about at midnight and midday.

 Now if we can remove Lucan's more obvious political overtones, wouldn't this seem to be an appropiate time for prayer. While the lord is out in his grove? Surely Lucan's time of fear may seem to some a time of silence, less they should bother the god but when has the gods ever hated the sound of music?

 Instead the Society would wager that this is an important time of prayer, where sanctuaries are closed up. We would suggest this as a time of worship for any members of Senchus, however also a time to avoid the sanctuaries. It is currently unknown what these prayers may have looked like and all are welcome to pray in their own manner or to use the prayers made by the Society.

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Below is a schedule of prayers per day.

 

Hymn Before Prayer

 

The Carmen Gadelica curiously records that in Scotland, there was a 'Rune' or hymn spoken before prayer. It was done by elders who said this privately or at the sea. Because of the strange form of prayer, the Society has adopted this before prayer, additionally, the prayer is recorded as being spoken in a strange fashion:

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‘Sometimes the hymn and the prayer are intoned in low, tremulous, unmeasured cadences like the moving and moaning, the soughing and sighting, of ever-murmuring sea’

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Due to the connection of the waters and the earler description of its use at sea, this will likely be accepted as the proper way of saying the Rune. A pagan version has been made for Society and Senchus use:

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  1. I am bending my knee

  2. In the eye of my father who created me

  3. In the eye of the gods who purchased me

  4. In the eye of holy fire who cleansed me

In friendship and affection

  1.       Through thine own beauty, oh lord

  2.        Bestow upon us fullness in our need,

  1.     Love towards heaven

  2.     The affection of Mother

  3.     The smile of Ogma

  4.      The Wisdom of Eochaid

  5.      The Grace of Lugh

  6.      The Fear of Sidhe

  7.       And Truth

   7.To do on the world of them

   8.As Druid and Sage

   9.Do with them:

            1.Each shade and light,

            2.Each day and night

            3.Each time in kindness

            6.Give us your blessing

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Waking Prayer

  1. Thanks be to thee, oh gods,

  2. Who brought me from last night,

  3. To the gladsome light of this day,

  4. To win my future days on earth,

  5. Did my guardians compete last night,

  6. Praise be to you, oh gods, till Erathe,

  7. For the blessings you have given me,

  8. My food, my speech, my deeds, my health,

  9. And I beg you,

  10. To shield me from falsehood,

  11. To shield me from ill,

  12. To bless me this night,

  13. And I, oh blessed ones,

  14. Gods of mighty powers!

  15. Aids of man!

  16. Give me wisdom along with your blessings,

  17. May Truth claim me,

  18. And protect me on sea and on land,

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Faid Fiada

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 The Faid Fiada or the deers cry is a Lorica that was most famously utilised by Saint Patrick. However there have been some recent studies that suggest that the Lorica had pagan origins, connected to the mists of the Tuatha De and other magical and mystical attributes. The hymn itself is an incantation and therefore must be spoken daily to receive it's protection, possibly connecting it to the daily prayers of Senchus. 

 Although the original pagan prayer is lost, a possible paganised version of it is written below:

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1. Today i Gird Myself

   1. With Mighty Powers:

   2. Invocation of the Kings,

   3. Belief in those three,

   4. In divine Truth,

   5. In holy presence,

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2. Today i gird myself

    1. With the power of the World's birth and its creation,

    2. With the power of rivers and the goddesses,

    3. With the power of Birds and their messages,

    4. With the power of its destruction and the coming of Erdathe,

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3. Today i gird myself

    1. With the power of the gods,

    2. With the strength of the Holies,

    3. With the bands of the sidhe,

    4. With the presence of the gods,

    5. With the image of the kings,

    6. With the words of the ollams,

     7. With the teachings of the druids,

     8. With the faith of my brothers,

     9. With the innocence of Holy Virgins,

    10. With the deeds of righteous men,

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4. Today i gird myself

    1. With the strength of heaven,

    2. Light of the sun,

    3. Brightness of the moon,

    4. Brilliance of fire,

    5. Speed of lightning,

    6. Swiftness of wind,

    7. Depth of sea,

    8. Firmness of earth,

    9. Stability of rock.

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5. Today i gird myself

    1. With the strength of Ogma to direct me,

    2. The word of Eochaid to exalt me,

    3. The wisdom of Lugh to lead me,

    4. The eye of birds to watch over me,

    5. Divine winds to hear me,

    6. The Song of birds to speak to me,

    7.  The bands of Sidhe to defend me,

    8. The True path to go before me,

    9. The mists of the gods to guard me,

   10. Divine magics to protect me:

            1. Against the snares of demons,

            2. Against the temptations of evils,

            3. Against the evil eye,

            4. Against everyone who wishes me ill
                      Far and near

                       Among few and among many

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6. Today i interpose all these powers between myself

     1. And every harsh pitiless power which may come against my body        and my soul:

     2. Against the magic of falsehood,

     3. Against those who break law,

     4. Against those who shame law,

     5. Against those who would break idols,

     6. Against the spells of witches and foreigners and priests,

     7. Against falsehood that deprives knowledge of body and soul,

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7. May the gods protect me today

     1. Against poison,

     2. Against burning,

     3. Against drowning,

     4. Against wounding,

     5. That many rewards come to me,

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8. Today i gird myself

   1. With Mighty Powers:

   2. Invocation of the Kings,

   3. Belief in those three,

   4. In divine Truth.

   5. In holy presence.

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The Evening Prayer

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 Based off of a folk prayer recorded here. It is not clear which mother it goes to so that it leaves the worship more open to interpretation. This could function as the midnight prayer.

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  1. Night is falling, dear mother, the long day is over

  2. And before your loved image, I’m kneeling once more

  3. To thank you for keeping me safe through the day,

  4. To ask you this night to keep evil away

  5. Many times, have I fallen today, Mother dear

  6. Many offerings neglected since last I knelt here

  7. Not in the mercy of my own Mother mild

  8. Purify me of all evils I have committed

  9. I’m going to rest for the day’s work is done,

  10. It’s hours and its moments have passed one by one

  11. And fair men have judged me and counted them all

  12. They have numbered each truth

  13. They have counted each falsehood

  14. In their judgments are made to the allotment of fate

  15. Oh Mother, purify me. For your word alone

  16. Is sufficient to clean the whole world from its evil

  17. And if here is the dawn, I should draw my last breath

  18. And sleep that I take the long sleep of death

  19. Be near me dear Mother, for your child’s dear sake

  20. When I should in eternity’s waters wake.

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Resting Prayer

  1. I am now going into sleep,

  2. Be it that I in health shall waken,

  3. If death be to me in the death-sleep,

  4. Be it that that on beloved shores

  5. Oh, Sidhe and ancestors, I in peace shall waken,

  6. My soul is why you, oh beloved,

  7. Gods and kings of heavens,

  8. You who defended my blood,

  9. Who gave life to me,

  10. Encompass me this night, defenders,

  11. That no harm, no evil shall befall me,

  12. Whilst the body is dwelling the sleep,

  13. The soul is flying with white birds,

  14. Be it the guardians in charge of the soul,

                Early and late, night and day

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