North Wind
We greet you, Spirit of the North. You are the cold, biting wind that blows
across our land, that strips the earth of all that is dead and decayed, that
robs us of false securities, so easily blown away.
Teach us to plant our feet
securely on the earth and to see things as they really are, that the coming of
your Spirit may find us standing firm in integrity.
It is your Spirit whose
winds bring the snows of winter, to wait in
darkness with the sleeping earth,
believing that we, like the earth, already hold
within ourselves the seeds of new life.
West Wind
We greet you Spirit of the West; you cool our hot and tired bodies, refresh
and bring laughter to our hearts. It is you who usher in the setting sun.
It is by your power that the sun hangs suspended for endless moments before you
catch it with your breath and carry it off into the night. Guide our steps at
the end of day: keep us safe from evil. Fill us with your peace as you enfold
us with your great mystery of night that we might rest securely in your arms
until morning calls us forth again.
East Wind
We greet you, Spirit of the East. You usher in the dawn on your breeze; you
stretch forth your fingers and paint our skies. Awaken in us, with each day,
new hopes, new dreams of colors, loves and joys never before imagined. Fill
our bodies with your breath; invigorate us. Carry us to the farthest mountain;
and beyond. In-spirit us that we might reach out to you boldly to grasp the
miracles that are given birth with each new dawn.
South Wind
We greet you, Spirit of the South. You bring the winds of summer and breathe
on us the warmth of the sun to soothe and heal our bodies and our spirits.
You thaw and soften the coldness of our world; you nudge the seedlings to break
through the soil to light. Quicken us, draw us by the urgings of your warm
breath to break through the soil of our own barrenness and fear. Drive our
roots deep into the earth and stretch our branches full out into the sky.
Teach us to hold sacred the memory of the spring rains that we might have the
strength to withstand the heat of the day, and not become parched and narrow
in our love. Lead us to accept fatigue with resignation, knowing that life
is not to be rushed, that there is no flower of the field
that grows from seed to blossom in a single day.
Earth Wind
We greet you, Great Spirit of the Earth. It was from you we came as from a
Mother; you nourish us still and give us shelter. Teach us to walk softly on
your lands, to use with care your gifts, to love with tenderness all our
brothers and sisters who have been born of your goodness. And when the day
comes when you call us back to yourself, help us to return to you as a friend,
to find ourselves embraced, encircled, enfolded in your arms.
Pat Kozak and Janet Schaffran, More than Words
