ab:charge1.txt                                                16jan90


                        The Charge (prose version)

HP stands to HPS's left; both face Coven.

HP:     "Listen to the words of the Great Mother; she who of old was also
        called among men Artemis, Astarte, Athene, Dione, Melusine,
        Aphrodite, Cerridwen, Cybele, Arianrhod, Isis, Dana, Bride and by
        many other names. At her altars the youth of Lacedaemon in Sparta
        made due sacrifice."

HPS:   "Whenever ye have need of anything, once in the month, and better it
        be when the moon is full, then shall ye assemble in some secret
        place  and adore the spirit of me, who am Queen of all the
        witcheries. There shall ye assemble, ye who are fain to learn all
        sorcery,  yet have not won its deepest secrets; to these will I
        teach things that are yet unknown. And ye shall be free from
        slavery; and as a sign that ye be really free, ye shall be naked in
        your rites; and ye shall dance, sing, feast, make music and love,
        all in my praise. For mine is the ecstasy of the spirit, and mine
        also is joy on earth; for my law is love unto all beings. Keep pure
        your highest ideal; strive ever towards it; let naught stop you or
        turn you aside.
        For mine is the secret door which opens upon the Land of Youth, and
        mine is the cup of the wine of life, and the Cauldron of Cerridwen,
        which is the Holy Grail of immortality. I am the Gracious Goddess,
        who gives the gift of joy unto the heart of man. Upon earth, I give
        the knowledge of the spirit eternal; and beyond death, I give peace
        and freedom and reunion with those who have gone before. Nor do I
        demand aught in sacrifice; for behold, I am the Mother of all
        living, and my love is poured out upon the earth."

HP:    "Hear ye the words of the Star Goddess; she in the dust of whose feet
        are the hosts of heaven, and whose body encircles the Universe."

HPS:   "I who am the beauty of the green earth, and the white Moon  among
        the stars, and the mystery of the waters, and the desire of the 
        heart of man, call unto thy soul. Arise, and come unto me. 
        For I am the soul of nature, who gives life to the universe. 
        From me all things proceed, and unto me all things must return; and
        before my face, beloved of Gods and of men, let thine innermost
        divine self be enfolded in the rapture of the infinite.
        Let my worship be within the heart that rejoiceth; for behold,
        all acts of love and pleasure are my rituals. And therefore 
        let there be beauty and strength, power and compassion, 
        honour and humility, mirth and reverence within you.
        And thou who thinkest to seek for me, know thy seeking and yearning
        shall avail thee not unless thou knowest the mystery; 
        that if that which thou seekest thee findest not within thee,
        thou wilt never find it without thee. For behold, I have been
        with thee from the beginning; and I am that which is attained
        at the end of desire."
----------
-Lots of published sources
        eg. Janet and Stewart Farrar's "The Witches' Way"

