US PTR, GwOUWINDĀ, XÁRYOMĒNOne of the functions of ancient Paganism often overlooked by secularized neo-Pagans is how it provides a support for the social order. As citizens of a country that supports religious freedom, we, of course, do not want to establish any religion, even our own, as official. However, as citizens of a country that supports religious freedom, we should take our religion into our civic duties, and we should gladly seek to support and guide our country's institutions with prayer.
Because I'm from the US, many of these prayers are specifically American. However, some of those can be easily adapted for citizens of other countries and can serve as inspiration for prayers appropriate for them.
Industry, you have made us strong.
Commerce, you have made us rich.
Agriculture, you have fed us well.
War, you have defended our freedom.
Peace, you have given us something to defend.
Justice, you have enabled us to deserve all these.
Liberty: with these we have built a home for you,
and we ask you to come live with us,
continually reminding us of your gifts and your demands.
We call you, Justice, to come,
no matter what the cost to ourselves.
We call you, Liberty, to come,
no matter what sacrifices you may demand.
We call you, Wisdom, to come,
no matter how wrong we may prove to be.
Bless this land with your presence.
Challenge this land with your demands.
Make all our actions prosperous and true.
Spirits of plants and animals,
of water and stone;
All the Spirits of this land:
Our ancestors weren't kind to your ancestors when they came to this land.
Today, hear our words,
taste our offerings,
so we might begin a new relationship with you,
a few small steps on the road to trust.
Each building an obelisk erected in honor of the multitude of gods of my community,
the many gods of the many beliefs of the many people from whom it is formed.
We plant seeds in the ground and water them, and plants grow,
each with their own Spirit.
We quarry stone, smelt ore, and buildings grow,
each with their own Spirit.
A forest of trees has a Spirit.
A city of buildings has a Spirit.
Through the forests roam the gods and Spirits of the forest.
Through the cities roam the gods and Spirits of the cities.
Entering the [forest/city] I say this prayer to the gods and Spirits of this place
and to those of the [city/forest] I am leaving.
Every pattern is holy,
even these roads I'm driving on.
Every pattern has a Spirit,
even these roads I'm driving on.
I forget that sometimes, though,
so please forgive me,
and I'll sometime give you an offering.
Mighty Horned God,
who rules as much in the city as in the deepest forest,
fill the spaces with your antlers,
strike the streets with your iron hooves,
come among us as we dwell with people,
not among rising trees
and wandering deer.
In the midst of a busy city the gods crowd close,
each asking for worship,
the gods of each and all.
You are so many that I can't begin to honor you one by one:
take these words as a gift to you all.
Keep the pipes and fixtures of the city, Cloacina,
whether what they carry is pure, grey, or otherwise,
functioning well,
for the health of all who live here.
Ishtar, mistress of cities,
make mine strong in finances and art,
and safe for its people to enjoy.
Spread its fame and good reputation far through the land
so people will want to visit
and enjoy all it contains
so that it might be prosperous.
Queen of cities, protect mine,
Astarte,
from all disturbances.
May it be at peace,
its inhabitants safe and prosperous.
Lying awake in the dark of an unfamiliar city,
I can feel the hum that extends through it and holds it together.
I feel the power lines, the water mains, the roads.
I feel the bus routes, the subway tunnels, the bridges.
I feel the police, the firefighters, the EMTs,
the garbagemen, the delivery trucks,
the hospitals, schools, and post offices.
I feel the network that forms the city,
its skeleton and capillaries,
supporting and feeding it.
And I feel your skeleton and capillaries,
supporting and feeding it.
And I know who you are:
You are Xáryomēn.
And I find myself familiar in an unfamiliar city.
The Works of Man are the works of Nature,
for Man is of the World.
The towering buildings of this city stand as nobly as ancient trees,
grown tall with age.
My praise goes out to those who built them,
whether living or dead,
for their skill and vision,
and to the Ancestors who developed the means to build them,
and to the Spirit of the city itself,
formed of and forming the city around us.
When I look at the people who stream by me in the city today,
I do not see my people.
I see the other, the foreigner, the stranger, the unknown, the barbarian.
I know that this is not right, and still I find I am doing it.
How will I escape my trap of exclusion, Holy Ones?
How will I learn who my tribe is?
How will I come to know that my family is passing before me,
and I stand by, not only not knowing,
but actually preventing that knowledge from coming to my mind?
I pray to you, you who are the parents of this family
of which I am a part:
open my eyes, open my ears, open my mind,
open my heart to all the relatives that surround me.
US PTR, GwOUWINDĀ, XÁRYOMĒNOpen my eyes, Dy
us Ptr, to those around me.
Open my heart, Gwouwindā, with your loving care.
Unite me with them, Xáryomēn,
into a society of individuals,
based on reciprocal exchange.
Lord of travelers, unite this land.
We share one road, with many branches:
guide us along it to find each others' homes.
And when we find them, clear our sight
so that we might see that we all live in the same neighborhood,
that none of us lives apart.
Individualism and Community are married, inseparable,
neither ever found without the other.
Community without Individualism would be despotism;
Independence without Community, wandering lost.
When I pray to you, then, I will always pray to the both,
as two separate ones joined together.
This is how I pray to you today,
asking that you strengthen the individual society,
blessing us with both freedom and confraternity.
I am gifted, Moneta, by you,
with enough to live,
and extra to enjoy.
May you remind me daily
of those who do not,
of those who lack for food,
of those who lack for shelter, and for clothing, and for healthcare,
and for all the needs and pleasures of life.
May I give with your inspiration some of my excess,
whether personally or through groups that dispense you wisely,
or provide the things you give to those in need.
A just society cares for all:
may I live in such a society,
created, in some part, by what I give.
Moneta, I ask you, then, not for enough for me,
but for extra enough that I might help others.
To you I return some of what I have earned,
in hopes that you might give me more to attain this goal.
Here in this city, surrounded by a canyon of buildings that seem to block out Nature,
I pray to the gods of nature, who are present everywhere,
here no less than in the wild forest,
or the empty plains over which the storm winds blow,
or the ocean that hides its immense numbers of life in its depths.
For we human beings are not separate from Nature,
and have our own nature,
and this nature is above all to gather into communities,
and to form societies,
and to build cities.
So I stand here in this city and praise Nature,
present Her all around us.
How could we keep Her out?
Amid the flow of people on this street, I find Quirinus, God of Peoples,
God of my people,
and praise him with my steps,
their rhythm blending with those of the others among whom I live and move.
Bring people to my group, Quirinus,
with whom we might worship,
to whom we can provide the opportunity to worship
in community.
Humans aren't meant to be alone,
nor are gods.
So bring us a community to worship yours,
god who brings and binds people together.
In time of war we come together as a people,
as a people we must pray for peace:
Holy Ones, may there be peace.
In time of war we come together in our families,
as families we must pray for peace:
Holy Ones, may there be peace.
In time of war we find ourselves as individuals,
as individuals we must pray for peace:
Holy Ones, may there be peace.
As a people, as families, as individuals, we must pray for peace:
Holy Ones, bring us peace.
Peace, sweet Peace,
bring to this divided land,
Comforting Mother of the soothing hand.
Keep from me, Ares, your burning war,
keep peace, you who fight.
And, if it must come, may conflict be short
and lead to lasting peace.
Father Janus, may your gates be closed,
may your temples' doors be shut;
may all who wish to worship you
do so in their own homes,
reverently touching their doorjambs.
May peace reign,
and each family rest safely about their hearth,
undisturbed this day.
Return to us, Peace.
May our actions in this time of war not offend you so much
as to chase you away for good.
We do what we must,
seeking in it no pleasure,
seeking its end and your return.
We have put your way aside, Peace,
for this time,
but we would never put aside our love for you.
Stay with us, Peace, even in this time of war,
and help all to return to walk on your path.
Do not abandon those who look to you in hope.
On wings that light away war's shadows, fly swiftly to us, Peace,
to those who wait impatiently after praying.
We pray for Peace,
we pray to Peace.
To Peace, Goddess of Promise,
Holy and Pure One, we pray for peace.
Quirinus who guards over people gathered together as a whole,
bring peace to our land,
and to anywhere in the world where people contend.
May all the gods of my people hear my prayers;
as we go to the polls to choose our leaders,
may it be with wisdom.
Lady and Lord, bless my country.
Guide its governors, show them the path to take,
make their actions conform to the Way of Nature.
Knit together the many peoples into one tribe;
unite us, make us a family, as indeed we are under your loving gaze.
King and Queen of the company of the gods,
rulers of the ruling ones,
inspire those who govern us to do the right things,
the necessary things,
and not just the convenient things.
Grant them the vision to bring peace and justice,
drawing wisdom from the ways of the past
without being bound by them,
looking toward the future with clear eyes.
Ba'al, chief of the gods,
rule, Lord on earth,
as you do in their council.
Bring harmony among those who govern us,
as you do among them.
Britannia, you still rule,
still rule the waves,
the protecting moat that rings our land.
Keep us safe, and our ships as well
that ply the seas,
bringing us wealth and power.
With spear and shield protect this land,
mighty Britannia,
your lion that crouches at your feet ready to pounce at your command.
It's not your hands I'm voting with, Demokratia,
so don't let anyone try to tell you that.
I mean, really, what would be the point?
If my vote isn't independently given, it's not under your blessing.
It's only when I don't ask you how to vote that I can really honor you.
Freedom is your worship.
Democracy, as the voters go to the polls,
may they be wise.
May they cast their votes based not on what the candidates
will do for them personally,
or for a group to which they belong,
but for the people as a whole.
May they vote well for the candidate best for the polity.
In times past, people prayed to the deities who ruled governments to bless their society, to ensure good government. They prayed to the god who guided the rule, or the genius of the ruler, or to the ruler himself.
We don't do that. We have no ruler toward whom we might pray, or to whose genius we might pray, or to whose guiding deity we might pray. Or we do have a ruler, but not one; we have many. For our ruler is the People. So if we are to pray for our ruler, we must pray to the genius of the polity itself, not to give power, but authority; not to ease the application of force, but its right use; to gain liberty and justice for each person, and for the People.
Make us a moral nation, Genius; that is, one in which each citizen is continually trying to both know and practice Virtue. Instill in us and encourage in us a love for the Good. This is the only way to pray for our ruler; be pleased by our knowing that.
Strengthen our military, God of War:
not to attack, but to defend,
not to conquer, but prevent being conquered,
not to be aggressive, but to battle the aggressor,
not to impose our will, but to allow time and space for our deeds to inspire.
Strengthen our military, God of War,
that we might be safe and at peace.
We aren't governed by kings anymore,
but those who do govern us still need the Truth of the King.
So, all the gods of kingship—Indra, Jupiter, Lug, Miϑra, Osiris—don't desert us.
In this changed time, we still look to you for help.
Jupiter, Greatest and Best,
protect this country and make it glorious,
rightly respected by those who live elsewhere.
Liberty:
Our Representatives and Senators,
Our President,
Our Supreme Court,
only hold their offices to make you known.
Make this known to them,
so that knowing you they will be inspired to your service.
Renew your old friendship, Minerva and Liberty,
create a land where creativity runs free and freedom possesses the skills to become real.
Work without freedom is enslaving;
Freedom without work, pointless.
Work without freedom is deadening;
Freedom without work, lifeless.
Renew your ancient friendship, Minerva and Liberty,
and inspire the citizens of this country to create a land where you'll feel at home.
Sweet Liberty,
whose self-evident truths can be so hard to see,
and so hard to establish,
and so hard to maintain:
to you, increased devotion.
Minerva, through whose wisdom the founding documents were composed,
and through whose martial power liberty has been maintained,
and through whose teachings of skill the People have prospered:
To you, increased devotion.
To America, ever young and learning,
ever unfolding the lessons of Liberty taught by Minerva:
listen to them well.
With you,
as part of you,
I worship Liberty and Minerva today,
and will each day,
with increased devotion.
Lug, god of immigrants,
join us and those who are new to this country
in advancing its dream.
With your weapons and armor, Father Mars,
protect our land.
With your weapons and armor, Father Mars,
protect our Constitution.
The one to prevent our destruction
The other to make us worthy of emulation.
Lord of a thousand pastures,
Lord of a thousand eyes:
uphold the law in this land.
May it correspond to the aša
that you well protect,
that we may be protected from the Lie,
and live safely, peacefully, and prosperously.
The founding deities, Liberty, Justice, Democracy, and the others,
are continually unfolded by us into a country more and more in accord with their teachings.
Liberty denied to blacks was extended to them with the abolition of slavery.
Justice denied to the indigent was extended to them by requiring public defenders for those who could not pay.
Democracy denied to women was extended to them by the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment.
So even our imperfect system grows closer and closer to the deities' perfection,
even if it does not operate perfectly itself, and sometimes denies even that which has been extended.
These changes are created by human beings,
but they do this as they apprehend more and more the implications of the self-evident truths on which America was founded.
This apprehension is itself the result not just of human effort,
but its inevitability and development in time,
so that each new perception of truth might be absorbed in preparation for the next,
are in the care of Providence, the deity that keeps us under its special protection,
and provides the means through which the other deities might perform their work.
This deity is hard to know, since it is itself one of knowing,
and how can one know the knower?
Indeed, whether Providence is a god or a goddess is not even known.
So, having no shape, it is what gives shape.
Providence is shown in the Great Seal as the Eye and the Pyramid:
the Eye that watches us,
and the unfinished Pyramid of the American ideals.
It is to Providence that we pray today,
that our sight might be clear, to see the founding principles better,
and that we might find the strength to climb the Pyramid again and again,
carrying more blocks of stones, to place them there, strongly cementing them with mortar.
Providence asks us not for offerings of things, but of words that inspire,
ideals in our minds,
and the continuing effort to defend and protect the founding ideas.
Our vow today, then, is not to erect a stone altar, but one that is informed of all that is good and right,
and conducive to the extension of the Self-Evident Truths to all,
and not just to those who pray here.
And for that we ask strength and knowledge and wisdom,
and most of all courage:
May we both know the right and do it.
Lord of the group,
Quirinus, god of the people,
join us now, separate individuals,
into one country,
ruled by law.
Rule of Law, with your rods and axe,
gather us together,
enable the State to enforce the right only under your blessing and approval.
Shang Ti, ruler of all under heaven, rule benevolently
through the Eastern Mother,
through the Western Mother,
through the Ruler of the four quarters.
We offer to the east.
We offer to the west.
We offer to the north.
We offer to the south.
We offer in the way of the Way.
We offer with a request for your just governance of all.
Aid me, Sraoša, in obeying proper laws.
Aid me, Miϑra, with courage to disobey unjust ones.
Aid me, you two who are welcome when you arrive,
in knowing which is which, which to be followed eagerly,
and which to oppose in passion for the Truth.
Teutates, god of the tribe,
strengthen, protect, and provide prosperity to my people.
Reach out your hand in contract and bestowal
as I reach out mine to you in offering.
It was by accident that I blew my horn, Xáryomēn;
I meant no disrespect or insult to any other driver.
May they be able to figure this out,
so that their attitude toward all drivers will be happy.
God of good social relationships,
may my accidental transgression not interfere with
the smooth functioning of my society,
of the connections between your people.
It might be that your blood doesn't flow through my veins,
but your ideas flow through my mind.
Founders and Framers,
each day may I think of them,
and each day work to bring them into being.
On an incomprehensibly vast ocean
To an unknowably deep land;
Trusting to wood and rope and cloth,
and fickle winds,
you came from a need to live as you thought right.
Though I do not like all you did,
and though you would not like all I do,
still like calls to like.
The fire in my heart is yours.
Against obstacles you prevailed,
afraid below decks while storms shook the boat, you carried on.
If I, like you, set myself only to the right,
without the storms destroying my resolve,
I will consider myself truly your descendant.
As like calls to like, as fire to fire,
be with me and give me courage as needed.
President, Chief Executive, Commander-in-Chief:
you have sworn to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution.
Gods and Goddesses of the Oath:
don't let him forget this.
And if he does, torment his dreams,
compelling him to return to his vow.
God of warriors, and god of oaths:
Today I am going to take my [commissioning/enlistment] oath
to support and defend the Constitution, a noble oath in honor of noble ideas.
In the times to come, I may encounter a situation in which it will be easier to break it than to keep it. If that should happen, Týr, prick my memory with your sword to remind me of today's words, that are more than spoken, that are written on my heart.
Help me keep my honor unstained, god of honor;
if without you I don't have the strength, send some to me.
The stakes are high; let me not fail.
Open the doors, Janus.
Break down the walls, Thor.
Burn through the chains, Agni.
Show the way out, Amaterasu.
All the gods, bring freedom to those in your lands,
bring freedom to those in other lands,
bring freedom to all in all lands.
For by right of birth we are free,
and meant to live by Liberty's decree.
Liberty
Mother of Exiles
Hear your children as we call to you!
You have watched over our nation,
keeping it free,
keeping it independent,
for [number] years you have done this,
faithfully and carefully,
with love for your children.
Liberty
Mother of Exiles
Hear your children as we call to you!
Be with us now as you have been with us from our beginning.
Many and great are the gifts Liberty brings.
Many and great are the forms in which she comes to us.
We praise her in all of them.
Liberty of the Harbor,
may your flame shine to light the whole world.
Armed Freedom,
may you watch over our government.
Walking Liberty,
may it be the rising Sun of prosperity from which you stride.
Libertas!
Liberté!
Liberty!
We remember you in all of your forms
and worship you in all of the ways you show yourself to us.
Here today I would like to invoke the sacred name of Liberty.
It was for Liberty that our ancestors fought.
It was with her inspiration that they created our Constitution.
It was with her guidance that they formed a nation.
It was for her continuing inspiration that I pray today.
The Founders had a vision:
a land fit for Liberty to dwell in.
Under her guidance we will make that dream real.
Whether with bound-back or loose hair,
the cap of your pole bites deeper than an iron spear tip on any others.
Whether through images or ideas, words or deeds,
may you triumph throughout the world!
Praised in the past by few,
Praised today by many,
May you, Liberty, be praised in the future by all throughout the world,
by all nations and cultures,
your torch a light to all!
Son of Leto:
You whose chariot is the all-seeing Sun,
whose truth-knowledge sees into every dark corner,
whose arrows strike down liars with no mistakes:
today in this court may only truth be spoken
may only truth be heard
may only truth be decided.
Phoebus Apollo, hear my prayer.
may justice be found in my favor,
if, in fact, my cause is right.
Or, if not, let the Truth prevail,
even if it is to my detriment,
and may I accept the result.
Come to me,
but don't go to me, Hekate.
Go instead to those who unjustly oppose me
and torment them.
Be relentless.
My cause is right.
If not, may it be I who feels your wrath.
It is true that you see everything that happens under you, Helios,
great eye of the heavens.
So you know that I am blameless in this matter
and you know who is to blame.
Harry them with guilt.
Beat down on them relentlessly and mercilessly
until they right the wrong.
Not content with your blindfold's shield,
you avert your eyes from the scales by which you separate the false from the true,
and even with your unseeing eyes, the sword you carry will not miss,
separating the just from the unjust.
May all my deeds,
on this and other days,
be weighed as true
that I might be able to meet your piercing nongaze without fear.
If what I'm doing is right,
a touch as light as the feather of Ma'at will suffice.
Goddess of Truth,
turn my feet onto the path of the Good.
May my discernment be yours, Ma'at,
as I weigh what I have heard.
In one pan of the balance, may there be always your feather.
In this case I bring before the court,
may it be your side that I argue, Miϑra.
Bring me to the truth, and show me the way to proclaim it.
May it not be the side of the more skillful that prevails,
but that of the more deserving of justice.
Great Judge, sit in judgment on this case!
I swear an oath today to Miϑra, bringer of justice,
that I will tell only that which is true.
Whether it be to my advantage or bring me harm,
what I say will be what I know to be true.
Lord of the pledged word
and keeper of oaths:
Miϑra, I pray to you for justice.
Miϑra, who guards laws made by governments,
Rašnu, who guides judges,
be at my side in court today.
From your high mountain, dispense justice.
Impose, Shang Ti, peace-bringing order.
Irony of ironies, that you, God of the Oath,
have no right hand to raise in swearing.
Or perhaps just right, needing nothing to show for your speaking,
the speaking alone being enough.
Even thus, though I raise my hand as a sign of truth to others,
to you and to me the words suffice,
writing my vow into the Ørlög.
I pray to all the gods my people worship, and I ask this:
May what is done be done well.
May what is done be done rightly.
May what is done be done according to justice.
May truth prevail, may falsehood fail,
May words and deeds and thoughts be just.
Commerce is not just a means, but an end. The buying and selling, the trade that Commerce is, unites people in strong bonds. Commerce is therefore one of the bases of community.
Thanks to Commerce, then, for establishing and contributing to our society. We serve you in this way:
by dealing fairly, but with an eye on profit, thereby contributing to human society, ourselves acting like you.
If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, be flattered by our commerce and join with us,
Commerce, god of prosperous social relationships.
Grasp my hand, Mitra, as I hold it out to you.
I offer fairly to you, and you to me.
We are fair traders, you and I.
And I vow to you that all with whom I trade will be to me as you.
I will be honest in my dealings with them,
give value for value,
as you do to me.