the ointment jar prayers to bast
NATURAL
Dua Bast,
So naturally does it click into place,
To walk with you in the sun,
To sit with you by candle flame.
So naturally does it feel to worship you,
Like I have done this many times before,
Like we have sat before many sun rises,
Like you have been waiting for me —
At the edges of my perception,
Through my cat's eyes,
In ways I may never know.
Miss me no longer for I have returned,
Not with fanfare, not with an assembly,
But me, flesh and bone, heart and soul,
Standing before you with a light in my hand,
Reaching out to take your extended paw.
She who rises on the horizon, who delights in joy and love —
I delight in you; may you delight in me
DANCE OF FIRE
The fire, the flame,
The thrum of a heartbeat.
The stars, the sun
Light that I seek.
— Rise, rise, rise! —
Awake in peace,
Awaken in peace, Bast,
And bask in the warmth set upon you.
Awaken in peace,
You are welcome here,
By my side, in my front, behind,
My left, my right,
Above me, below me, beyond, too.
The banging of drums, the shake of sistra,
Summoning, placating, and for you to enjoy.
The fire of life, the flame of your pleased heart,
Ib-bast — of your heart, Bast!
Dua Bast, Mistress of Netjeru,
Dua Bast, Lady of Life!
SHORT ADORATION TO THE PRESENCE OF BAST
O Bast, you have blessed me with your presence!
Adoration to you, Lady of Life's Pleasures.
Adoration to you, Lady of Joy!
She who brings the Breath of Life, I praise you.
I look upon your beauty, the shining light of your haloed head and any weapon or tool you wield.
Gorgeous are you, feline queen who instills fear in vermin and protects as a lioness does.
Dua Bast!
THEOPHORIC NAMES
Emauibast, in the arms of Bast,
Herubast, who satisfies Bast,
Khaibbast, Bast makes the heart rejoice,
Netjerbast, divine is Bast.
Seneferbast, who delights Bast,
Seneferankhbast, who causes life to be beautiful, who delights the life of Bast.
Seneferibbast, who delights the heart of Bast,
Snedjemibbast, pleasing the heart of Bast,
Wahemibbast, carrying out the heart of Bast,
Wahibbast, steadfast is the heart of Bast.
Khenmetbast, united with Bast,
Maketbast, protected by Bast,
Meribast, beloved of Bast.
Iry-ib-bast, one who does what Bast desires, what Bast loves, for Bast's heart — who belongs to the heart of Bast.
A poem of my favourite theophoric names for Bast.
DELIGHTS
Bast, you delight in humour and smiles.
You delight in that moment of realisation when things click into place.
You delight in jokes and hidden messages.
You delight in synchronicities, song, smell, taste.
Let us dance and sing, and be merry and well.
PROTECTION AND COMFORT
Dua Bast!
Beautiful cat-goddess, Lady of Life's Pleasures!
Protector of the Home and her People,
She of the Ointment Jar and Pleasant Perfumes,
Fierce Guardian of Ra, Eye of Ra, Daughter of the Sun!
May you be with me in comfort and protection.
prayers to hekate
GUARDIAN, GUIDE, GATEKEEPER
Hail to beloved Hekate, guardian, guide and gatekeeper.
Guardian,
Hekate Kourotrophos, Hekate Enodia,
She who protects children and the vulnerable,
She of the three-way crossroads,
When I crave safety, you are there —
waiting, watching, a warm presence to calm my sorrows.
Guide,
Hekate Propolos, Hekate Phosphorus,
She who is our companion to the underworld,
She who bears her torches to light the way,
Just as you accompany the goddess Persephone
to Hades, your flames continue to illuminate my
travels through rocky caves.
Gatekeeper,
Hekate Kleidoukhos, Hekate Propylaia,
The key-keeper of the cosmos,
She before the gate, she who governs thresholds,
I honour you most high for the doorways you open,
and the ones you keep closed.
Praise to Hekate Polymorphous, many-formed goddess!
Each night and day I wish to sing of your many faces,
for the blessed wisdom that they bring.
prayers to serapis
HYMN TO SERAPIS
Greetings, Blessed One, Serapis,
Next to you, also known by many names,
Pluton-Hades, Helios, Askleipios, Osiris, Zeus,
Serapis, with an all-remembering heart.
Many and marvellous are your deeds, praiseworthy Serapis,
Both the deeds which are cited along the sacred towers of Egypt,
And those of your consort, Isis, performed throughout all Greece!
You are a saviour who follows us who in all things
Consider carefully what is on our minds.
You have carried out obvious marvels in the sea-girt Delos,
And you brought the cultic rites of Apollonios to great praise.
The starry heaven is your head,
The sea your belly,
Your ears lie in the aether,
And the bright light of the sun is your clear piercing eye.
Great God of Wisdom,
Healer of All,
He who teaches us to balance material and the soul,
Abundant one, who tills and sows the seeds of life.
Part of this hymn is from the Hymn to Serapis by Aelius Aristides and the Nicocreon oracle preserved by Macrobius.
prayers to hermes
prayers to dionysus
prayers to the samothrakion
HYMN TO THE GREAT GODS
O Great Gods!
It is you who I sing of!
You were once in Samothrace,
And now you are here,
In my home,
In my shrine
In my heart,
In my mind.
Theoi Samothrakes, Theoi Megaloi, Great Gods!
I rejoice in your presence!
O Great Gods!
Welcome to your sanctuary,
The sanctuary of my being,
Whole and connected,
In pieces and divided.
Above all, protected, in whichever form I hold.
You are the Great Pantheon of the Mysteries!
And I am your Kleidouchos and Propolos,
Your Korybant, your Lampad,
Your Hierokeryx, your Areter,
Your Manteis, your Xenos,
Familiar and strange in your realm,
I walk this path steadily and full of ecstasy!
I am your Hiereus! Your priest of the Great Mysteries!
Accept me and my homage to you.
Incense burning bright and strong,
Libations poured down to the earth,
Offerings at hand for you and I,
Communion of the Great Gods
And their priest.
prayers to the archangels