Prayer

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen...

Do they all have to be like that? Prayers are a foundational aspect of one's spiritual practice. For me, it was also the source of frustration and disconnect for a very long time. It felt like my words stopped at the ceiling, and I never felt the presence of anyone responding to them unless I was in great distress. And because I know I've struggled with it, I suspect others do, too.

So fundamentally, at its core, what is prayer?

It is the dialogue between yourself and the gods. It is advice, expression, and communion. Relationships like these take time and effort to initiate and maintain, just like any friendship. And to do that, it's important to let the gods know they are important to you. You can do this by making offerings and special rituals, but let's start with the basics: words.

I grew up in the Catholic faith, and so prayers were said a certain way as I transitioned into adolescence. Many of my favorites were (and are) memorized prayers, such as the Hail Mary, or the Our Father. Years later, as I was introduced to friends of different faiths, I was informed that memorized prayers were bad, because they didn't mean as much if you didn't make them up on the spot. At the time, their reasoning seemed sound. But as I got older (and even now), I will still occasionally turn to those and other memorized prayers, and find them steeped in meaning to me. I have found Wiccans who memorize certain words for casting circles, or memorize the entirety of The Charge of the Goddess, while others always speak in the spontaneity of the moment.

The point is this: prayer is not the words themselves, because language is arbitrary. It's the meaning behind them that gets your point across. This is especially important to remember, because very few of our gods originally spoke the English we do today. My gods were first worshiped in Old Norse, or in Celtic. But I've even prayed in Sign Language, knowing that it's not the language, but the meaning, that is significant.

But I didn't know how to communicate my desires for a very long time. For many years, it was difficult to pray, because I always wanted to start with whom I was addressing. God and Jesus never seemed right, and later on, neither did Goddess. However, I had a good friend lend me some of his books on Wicca, realizing before I did that I was headed down a Pagan path. He let me borrow A Book of Pagan Prayer, which is an excellent resource. Not just for the beautifully written prayers, mantras, and callings, but for the advice Serith gives at the beginning of every chapter.

I took some of those teachings and added some of my own. There are many relatively easy ways of creating a spiritual lifestyle (for a fantastic book on the matter, I highly recommend Dianne Sylvan's The Circle Within). Call to the gods not just by their names, but by their acts, deeds, and other titles. Tell the Lady how beautiful she looks when glancing up towards the Moon. Send small phrases of gratitude up to the gods when something goes right. Pray for perseverance when trying to finish your workout strong. The gods--your gods--are there, and they are listening to you. Our gods are alive and well, breathing in and out with each turn of our surrounding planets and stars. They live in your morning cereal, and send messages through the wind.

Which means you have to learn the language to hear them.

It may be good, if you have troubles connecting (and even if you don't), to set aside ten minutes in the morning, and ten in the evening just for prayer. It isn't just about thanking them and asking for assistance. It's also listening. If you ask a question, leave a space for the answer. Even if at first you get nothing but your A/C and crickets chirping, keep at it.

Some people use divinatory techniques to connect with their gods, and that is another language for them to communicate with you. The wider your vocabulary, the more the gods can speak to you. Some examples of this are astrology, numerology, Tarot, tea leaf readings, automatic writing, and many others. But don't let your mind become distracted by the many toys out there: your goal is talking with the gods. Keep it simple, keep it cheap.

The Lord and Lady love you. Don't forget that. They want happiness and health for all their children.

May they bless you with both.

- Katherine R