Let Love Lead Us
A winter solstice prayer for 2016
We could feed all the people of the world
if we did not let greed and profit lead us
We could free animals from their suffering
if we did not let greed and profit lead us
We could release all beings from slavery
if we did not let greed and profit lead us
All the waters of the world could run clear and clean
if we did not let greed and profit lead us
All the forests of the world could stand tall and proud
if we did not let greed and profit lead us
All the winds of the world could flow fresh and pure
if we did not let greed and profit lead us
We could live in love and connection
if we did not let greed and profit lead us
We could be who we were meant to be
if only we would…
Turn greed into green for the planet
Let a different kind of prophet lead us
—Stephanie Marohn, December 2016
This prayer calls to mind another winter solstice prayer I wrote, compelled by the 9/11 disaster in 2001. Sadly, the world could use the following prayer as much now as ever. It was published in an anthology of prayers: WomanPrayers (HarperSanFrancisco, 2003). Here it is:
Invocation to the Light
A winter solstice prayer after the tragedy of 9/11
On this solstice eve
with the world poised at the precipice
waiting to plunge or cross over
I call upon all the angels of mercy
who have ever shed a tear for the human race
I call upon all the guardians of peace
who have ever raised an olive branch or let fly a flock of doves
I call upon all the mystics
who have ever crossed a desert in search of the truth
I call upon all who have journeyed to the underworld
and returned with the wisdom of the dark
I call upon all the ancestral spirits who know the pain of parting the veil
I call upon the guardians of the four directions of the universe
O East, O South, O West, O North
help us to open our hearts to your weeping whispers
I call upon the luminous, numinous Center of the orb
O help us to embrace again the mystery of unknowing
I call upon all the animal messengers who hold the secret of oneness
I call upon all the faeries and sprites who dance in the forest
I call upon the undines, the gnomes, the sylphs, and the salamanders
the oracles of the mountains and the sages of the springs
I call upon the elves
the pookas
the djinns and the genies
the heavenly nymphs
the houris and peris
the cherubim
the seraphim
the celestial choir
the witches
the magi
the prophets
the messiah
saints and avatars
paragons and virtues
archangels in waiting
wings, haloes, and music
I call upon the three Fates
the three Graces
the nine Muses
and the seven Sisters
all the gods and goddesses
of a thousand names and guises
I call upon the Angel of the Abyss with the flame in his hand
the Angel of Memory who knows where we’ve been
the Angel of Truth
the Angel of Hope
the Angel of the Apocalypse who rides into the night
O come to us now
All forces of light
help us find our way through the wilderness
open our eyes to your sight
© Stephanie Marohn, 2001