My Personalized Version of the Prayer to All of the Gods I

Over the course of the past week or so, I have been using “Prayer to All of the Gods I” as my main shrine prayer, albeit with some modifications to incorporate a few other deities beyond the scope of the original prayer. It’s a lot of libations, a lovely smattering of incense, and … you guys, I had to acquire a bigger libation receptacle bowl.

Hermes be praised, I had in my mind the exact offering bowl I needed. I knew for a fact that the least environmentally wasteful and most economical way to acquire the bowl would be to visit the Goodwill. I knew about how large the base would have to be. I knew it should be unadorned to let the beauty of the wooden libation coaster take center stage.

I thought about the future trip while I washed my seven offering bowls every single evening after doing the profane dishes and cleaning out the sink. It was somewhere between a mental fixation and a prayer.

And it was there, nestled among the many bowls just waiting for me, the only one its size, the only clear glass bowl in the entire area that didn’t have ornamental everythings all over it.

This version of the prayer makes space for the Mousai, Mnemosyne, Iris, and the Agathodaimon, and it also incorporates three non-Hellenic Goddesses whom I worship in a sponde way compatible with the Hellenic household ritual: Sulis, Seshat, and Bast. There are a few other Gods whom I worship in the morning now at a separate shrine with a separate kind of rite, and the distinction here is essentially (a) when I started cultic reverence and (b) in what context.

This prayer takes about 10 minutes to give to the Gods; the more generic form that I made available would take 8-9 minutes. I follow this with a prayer to Apollôn, a prayer to the Gods of the day, the prayer Proclus wrote to wisdom-bringing Gods, and a modified form of the prayer to the threshold Gods that incorporates Hygeia in her public health aspect. Usually, I spend about 40-45 minutes of my morning in ritual — 30 minutes, with an additional 10 at another shrine in my apartment. I’ve been doing meditation a bit later in the day, and I also say a prayer and turn on some electric candles at a wall shrine by my work desk when I start my librarian workday.

In a previous post, I mentioned having some spiritually stagnant stuff going on in November, December, and January. Essentially, it was cranky burnout about a lot of things because I wasn’t properly doing self-care, and my commitment to doing a daily ritual for such a length of time sometimes seemed overwhelming because I was tired and it was dark outside and I was falling back into bad habits.

For several months, I did divination inquiring about modifications I could make for what I thought would ease things, and Apollôn kept indicating um, no. Why did I make all of these commitments, I kept thinking — but relationships are, in fact, the last things one should slack off on when one is feeling psychological stress no matter how much our brains lie and say we should be reclusive. I’m happy that the divination indicated that I should push through because it led to this beautiful prayer that I think is much more adequate than what I had been doing at shrine previously. Interestingly, divination indicated that Prayer to All of the Gods II is not something that I should offer unless something dire has happened that prevents me from doing my ordinary ritual. It’s more of a gift for others than something I can frequently use just based on the commitments I have made. It would be a great prayer for anyone to incorporate into a prayer in under 5 minutes situation.

This all led me to reflect on how cultivating discipline and persistence are important, but also ensuring that when we plan our habits and routines, we are appropriately making room and carving out the time to fulfill the firm commitments we have made without reservations.

[Personal Version of the] Simple Prayer to All of the Gods I

Incense: Frankincense, aromatic herbs

I pray first to Hestia, Goddess whose hair
ropes slick with fragrant oil and wax,
Goddess of the Earth, foundation of the world
who remains unmoved at the hearth.
Next, I pray to all-holding Zeus,
O Leader of the celestial circuit,
stately God upheld by ironlike Nyx,
O household God who guards the storerooms
abundant with crisp sheets and fine teas,
companion of Agathodaimon;
then to Hera of the peacocks,
Goddess who bears the whipping winds
tied fast around your divine waist,
who pours libations of nectar upon zoogonic worlds,
whose trials crown each person’s life;
now to foam-born Aphrodite,
Ouranic and terrestrial, coupler of lovers,
daughter of Ouranos, daughter of Zeus,
bestower of Eros from sky to mountain to sea;
to Demeter crowned with golden grain,
veiled mother of Queen Persephone,
you who brings abundance and perfection,
orderer of the mysteries who once saved all;
and next to Poseidon, king of the thrashing sea,
of tides and tectonics, of skin-stinging brine,
co-ruler with Zeus, master of generation.
O Gods, accept this offering and be well-disposed.

(libation)

Now I pray to the immaculate children:
Athene of the spear and the shield,
O owl-eyed one, Goddess of war and strategy,
diplomacy and tact, of philosophy and academia,
Goddess of the library, preserver of intellect,
you birthed by lightning-wielding Zeus;
to Hephaistos and Ares sired by Hera alone,
Gods who make the way, who propel us forward —
O Hephaistos, smith of Heaven, fashioner of bodies,
generator of the fire that moves us,
master of technical skill, of silicon and wire;
O Ares, great warrior on the blood-soaked battlefield,
your divisiveness unbound, your rage quenched
by the soothing words of shining Aphrodite.
O Gods, accept this offering and be well-disposed.

(libation)

Now I pray to Apollon, O Mousegetes,
O Moiragetes, O God who brings us to perfection,
purifier of people, bestower of oracular utterances,
you who bears truth, you who harmonizes all;
to Artemis, Goddess who runs in the mountains
accompanied by your nymphai and dogs,
who flies like a shadow between fragrant summer trees,
whose footfalls know no sound in midwinter snow,
bestower of birth and of life, of existence;
to Hermes, purveyor of the melodious lyre,
quick-fingered son of shadow-loving Maia,
O pastoral God, shepherd, guide, traveler,
inventor of language alongside lovely Mnemosyne;
now to Dionysos, the always-future king,
liberator of all, releaser of bonds and anxieties,
purifier of the mind, nurturer of life-easing plants.
O Gods, accept this offering and be well-disposed.

(libation)

I pray to the Mousai, you nine who dance in rounds
accompanying Apollon, your chorister,
O Ennead that brings all harmonies into one;
to your mother Mnemosyne, Titaness
dividing out what remains united in your copper-bitter lake.

Next, to the Kharites, Aglaea, Euphrosyne, Thalia,
daughters of Zeus and Eurynome,
daughters of Helios and Aegle,
you who accompany Aphrodite and Persephone,
who hold court in the bright skies,
the rippling sea, the vast terrestrial expanses.

Now, to the Horai, Eunomia, Dikē, Eirene,
preservers of order, maintainers of the seasons,
keepers of sacred laws, you who temper novelty,
who bring justice, peace, and flourishing to all.

Now, to the Moirai, Klotho, Lakhesis, Atropos,
who allot our lives their measure, daughters of Ananke,
companions of the Sirens who sing the Far-Darter’s song,
who weave what was, what is, what may be.

(libation)

I pray to bright-shining Helios,
purifier, perfector, granter of bliss,
and to your sister, soft-shining Selene,
nurturer of all, bestower of blessings;
to Iris who reveals the will of Hera
coruscating through the thickest air;
to Eris whose discord drives our souls,
who purifies us through desire for the Good;
to Nemesis who accords all our dues,
who holds us within the bounds of cosmic law,
guide of our souls through trials by fire;
and to Hekate of the three realms,
key-keeper, mistress of the worldly daimones,
Goddess who grants liberation and bondage.
O Gods, accept this offering and be well-disposed.

(libation)

To Seshat, O Mistress of the House of Books,
bright star of the seven reeds who stands in Ra’s company,
Goddess who rules temple libraries, whose ka is great,
who governs the wisdom of humankind,
you who has corralled the shapes of animals,
of things, of people, into the signs of human voices.
O Goddess, accept this water and be well disposed.

(libation)

To Bast, whose ka is great, nurse of young girls,
O Eye of Ra, you who is first in the birth house,
Lady of Bubastis, you who is infinitely kind and stern,
Thank you for being there for my family when I was a girl.
O Goddess, accept this offering in gratitude.

(libation)

To Sulis, O Sul, whose cleansing baths
are world-renowned for their healing powers,
Maiden of the Sun shining down upon us all,
bringing life, vitality, and the light of truth.
O Goddess, accept this offering and be well-disposed.

(libation)

Now to the Agathodaimon, I pray, serpentine God,
guardian of the storeroom, provider of wealth,
who is called nisse and tomte and the house-spirit,
you who inspires sound-minded financial management.
O Daimon, accept this offering and be well-disposed.

(libation)

Next for the Gods unknown, whom I do not know,
and the other Gods unacknowledged by name,
whose stately care fills the world to overflowing:
O Gods, accept this offering and be well-disposed.

(libation)

May you, O Gods, bless my family, friends, and communities
with what is most good; nurture us with your providential love.
May you, O Immortals, grant me what is good.
May prudence, courage, and temperance grow within me.
May I be a garden bearing the fruits of justice,
ever-turning towards pure things, ever-advancing in aretē.
May I be your instrument within the world,
healing suffering and confronting injustices.
May I nurture the numinous spark within all beings
in whatever way is most appropriate for me,
well-rooted in divine light and piety, in faith and love.

💛