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Hear Now the
words of the witches,
The secrets
we hid in the night,
When dark was
our destiny's pathway,
That now we
bring forth into light.
Mysterious water
and fire,
The earth and
the wide-ranging air,
By hidden quintessence
we know them,
And will and
keep silent and dare.
The birth and
rebirth of all nature,
The passing
of winter and spring,
We share with
the life universal,
Rejoice in the
magical ring.
Four times in
the year the Great Sabbat
Returns, and
the witches are seen
At Lammas and
Candlemas dancing,
On May Eve and
old Hallowe'en.
When day-time
and night-time are equal,
Whensun is at
greatest and least,
The four Lesser
Sabbats are summoned,
And Witches
gather in feast.
Thirteen silver
moons in a year are,
Thirteen is
the coven's array.
Thirteen times
at Esbat make merry,
For each golden
year and a day.
The power that
was passed down the age,
Each time between
woman and man,
Each century
unto the other,
Ere time and
the ages began.
When drawn is
the magical circle,
By sword or
athame of power,
Its compass
between two worlds lies,
In land of the
shades for that hour.
This world has
no right then to know it,
And world of
beyond will tell naught.
The oldest of
Gods are invoked there,
The Great Work
of magic is wrought.
For the two
are mystical pillars,
That stand at
the gate of the shrine,
And two are
the powers of nature,
The forms and
the forces divine.
The dark and
the light in succession,
The opposites
each unto each,
Shown forth
as a God and a Goddess:
Of this our
ancestors teach.
By night he's
the wild wind's rider,
The Horn'd One,
the Lord of the Shades.
By day he's
the King of the Woodland,
The dweller
in green forest glades.
She is youthful
or old as she pleases,
She sails the
torn clouds in her barque,
The bright silver
lady of midnight,
The crone who
weaves spells in the dark.
The master and
mistress of magic,
That dwell in
the deeps of the mind,
Immortal and
ever-renewing,
With power to
free or to bind.
So drink the
good wine to the Old Gods,
And Dance and
make love in their praise,
Till Elphame's
fair land shall receive us
In peace at
the end of our days.
And Do What
You Will be the challenge,
So be it Love
that harms none,
For this is
the only commandment.
By Magic of
old, be it done!
Doreen Valiente,
"Witchcraft For Tomorrow"
pp.172-173
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