Charge of the Goddess
Now listen to the words of the Great
Mother,
Who was of old also called among men
Artemis, Astarte, Athene, Dione,
Melusine,
Aphrodite,
Cerridwen, Dana, Arianrhod, Isis, Bride
And by many other names.
Whenever ye have need of anything,
Once in the month, and better it be when
the
moon is full,
Then shall ye assemble in some secret
place,
And adore the spirit of me, who am Queen
of
all the Wise.
There shall ye assemble,
Ye who are fain to learn all sorcery, yet
have not won its deepest secrets;
To these will I teach things that are as
yet
unknown.
And ye shall be free from slavery;
And as a sign that ye be really free, ye
shall be
naked in your rites;
And ye shall dance, sing, feast, make
music
and love,
All in my praise.
For mine is the ecstasy of the spirit,
and
mine also is joy on earth;
For my law is love unto all beings.
Keep pure your highest ideal;
Strive ever towards it, let nothing stop
you
or turn you aside;
For mine is the secret door which opens
upon
the land of youth,
And mine is the cup of wine of life,
And the cauldron of Cerridwen,
which is
the
Holy Grail of immortality.
I am the gracious Goddess,
Who gives the gift of joy
unto the heart
of
man.
Upon earth, I give the knowledge of the
spirit eternal;
And beyond death, I give peace,
and
freedom,
And reunion with those
who have gone
before.
Nor do I demand sacrifice;
for behold, I
am
the Mother of all living,
And my love is poured out upon the
earth.
Hear ye the words of the Star Goddess;
She in the dust of whose feet
are the
hosts
of heaven,
Whose body encircles the universe.
I,
Who am the beauty of the green earth,
And the white moon among the stars,
And the mystery of the waters,
and desire
of
the heart of man.
Call unto thy soul;
Arise and come unto me;
For I am the soul of nature,
who gives
life
to the universe.
From me all things proceed,
and unto me
all
things must return;
And before my face,
beloved of Gods and
of
men,
Let thine innermost divine self
be
enfolded
in the rapture of the infinite.
Let my worship be within the heart
that
rejoiceth;
For behold,
all acts of love and
pleasure
are
my rituals.
And therefore let there be beauty
and
strength,
power and compassion,
Honor and humility,
mirth and
reverence
within you.
And thou who thinkest to seek for me,
Know thy seeking
and
yearning shall
avail
thee not,
Unless thou knowest the mystery:
That if that which thou seekest
thou
findest
not within thee;
Thou will never find it without thee.
For behold,
I have been with thee
from the
beginning;
And I am that which is attained
at the
end of
desire.
