Speaking to the Goddess
Prayers, Invocations, Songs, Mantras, Chants, Rituals
Goddess, Devi, Divine Mother, Shakti, Mother Earth



Research by
Michael P. Garofalo
Green Way Research, Red Bluff, California

 

Prayers     Songs     Chants     Mantras

Resources     Links     Bibliography   

Cloud Hands Blog     Shakti Devi of Tantra     Nature Spirits 

One Old Druid's Final Journey     Nature Spirituality     Rituals

Months and Seasons     Tantra    

 

 

 

 

 

Recommended Reading

Praying to a Goddess

 

Book of Pagan Prayer.  By Ceisiwr Serith.  San Francisco, California, Weiser Books, 2002.  Notes, annotated bibliography, appendices, 286 pages.  ISBN: 1578632552.  VSCL.  Begins with an essay titled "Why and How We Pray" (68 pages) and then a collection of over 500 prayers for NeoPagans. 


A Pagan Ritual Prayer Book.  By Ceisiwr Serith.  Weiser, 336 pages, 2011.  VSCL.


The Pagan's Muse:  Words of Ritual, Invocation, and Inspiration.  Edited by Jane Raeburn.  New York, Citadel Press, Kensington Pub., 2003.  211 pages.  ISBN: 0806524405.  VSCL. 


 

Quotations

Speaking to the Goddess:
Prayers, Invocations, Songs, Mantras, Chants, Rituals

 

  

"Mighty, majestic, and radiant,
You shine brilliantly in the evening,
You brighten the day at dawn,
You stand in the heavens like the sun and the moon,
Your wonders are known both above and below,
To the greatness of the Holy Priestess of Heaven,
To you, Inanna, I sing!"
-   Diane Wolkstein, Inanna

 

 

"Obsience to Her
Who is Pure Being, Consciousness, Bliss.
As Power,
Who Exists in the Forms of Time and Space,
And All That is Therein, 
Who is the Divine Illuminatrix in All Beings."
-  A Tantric Prayer

 

 

"Yah Devi sarva bhuteshu,
vishnumayeti shabditaa
Namastasyai, namastasyai,
namastasyai namoh namaha"
This goddess, who in all things, exists as the very form of God.
I bow to you, I bow to you, I bow to you, again and again."
-  Yah Devi (This Goddess)
   Krishna Das, Pilgrim Heart

 

 

"Hail Mary, Full of Grace, the Lord is with Thee,
Blessed are Thou, Amongst Women,
And Blessed in the Fruit of thy Womb, Jesus;
Holy Mary, Mother of God,
Pray for us sinners,
Now, and at the hour of our death,
Amen."
-  The Hail Mary Prayer, Roman Catholic Church

 

 

"Oh Goddess, Source of Gods and Mortals,
All-Fertile, All-Destroying Gaia,
Mother of All, Who brings forth the bounteous fruits and flowers,
All variety, Maiden who anchors the eternal world in our own,
Immortal, Blessed, crowned with every grace,
Deep bosomed Earth, sweet plains and fields fragrant grasses in the nurturing rains,
Around you fly the beauteous stars, eternal and divine,
Come, Blessed Goddess, and hear the prayers of Your children,
And make the increase of the fruits and grains your constant care, 
With the fertile seasons Your handmaidens,
Draw near, and bless your supplicants."
-  Orphic Hym to Gaia, Translated by Virginia Stewart.  

 

 

"Hail Diana
Hail Artemis Diana
Blessed Lady of the Beasts
I dedicate myself to You
May my path honor Thee
May my spirit celebrate Thee
May my life force magnify Thee
These things I pray
Be fulfilled this day
Goddess Mother help me
To know what is right."
-  Goddess Prayers and Invocations

 

 

"Fair as a jasmine flower, the moon or a flake of snow,
Dressed in white, her hands adorned by the graceful veena staff,
Adorned by Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva, and the other deities,
Protect me, Oh Goddess Saraswati, remover of ignorance."
-   Hindu Goddess

 

 

"I, Isis, am all that hath been that is or shall be,
I, who made light from my feathers, The wind from my wings,
No mortal man ever hath me unveiled! - Until now."
-  Invocation of Isis

 

 

 

"Spenta Armaiti, Mother of all humility,
Wisdom, piety, and benevolence are yours,
Love, serenity, and service are yours,
Devotion, tranquility, and peace, are yours,
May these traits also be within me,
May these traits reside in my heart and spirit,
Blessed Armaiti, amplify these traits within me.
That I might continue to serve the Kindred in devotion and reverence!
That I might continue to serve the Folk in love and joy!
Mighty Aramaiti, accept this gift, a reflection of my devoted heart. Be it so!"
-  From Reverend Jessie Olson, ADF Priestess, Chico, California

"Spenta Armaiti is one of the Amesha Spentas, the seven "Bounteous Immortals" of the Zoroastrian tradition. These are emanations of the one God Ahura Mazda, which are sometimes personified and sometimes considered as abstract concepts. Of all the Seven, Spenta Armaiti is perhaps the most difficult to translate and explain. The term Spenta is itself hard to translate into English; it means "increasing" or "growing" but with a connotation of goodness, holiness, and benevolence. Ali Jafarey translates it prosaically as "progressive." Armaiti is even more difficult to convey in English. Scholars of Avesta have rendered the name as "divine wisdom," "devotion," "piety," "benevolence," "loving- kindness," "right-mindedness," "peace and love," or even "service." Jafarey, using the later Persian word aramati or "tranquillity" as his model, translates Armaiti as "serenity." Thus his translation of Spenta Armaiti is "Progressive Serenity," a rather opaque term. Dr. Farhang Mehr has translated Spenta Armaiti with the more gracious "universal bountiful peace.""
-   Hannah Shapero

 

 

 

"I went there of my own free will.
I went there in my finest gown,
With my rarest Jewels
With my Queen of Heaven crown.
In the Underworld
At each of the Seven Gates
I was stripped Seven times
Of all I thought I was
Till I stood bare in who I really am."
-  Inanna, Goddess for Embracing the Shadows

 

 

 

"Devi prachanda dora danda daitya
darpa winashine
Roopam dehi jayam dehi
Yasho dehi dwisho jahi."
Oh Goddess, with your great staff you have
destroyed the demons of egoism and thought.
Grant me freedom, victory, fame and destroy all hositility."
-  Devi Puja (Worship of the Goddess)
   Krishna Das, Pilgrim Heart

 

 

Prayer to Shri Maha Devi Lakshmi

 
Lakshmi
 
               
"I bow to you, O Mother of All Worlds, O Lotus Born, O Four-Armed Giver of Boons.  
Gently floating on the Shatki Seas, sitting firmly on the Heart of Vishnu.
O Maha Devi, sitting on a pink lotus, thank you for letting us see Your beauty, elegance, exquisiteness, perfection.
Thank You for showering our soils with abundant rain, and for the millions of petals, flowers, fruits, seeds, nuts. 
Praised be you, Loving Devi, shimmering in golden adornments and wearing a splendid red silk gown.  
You are Shakti, Siddhi, Svadha, Svaha, Sudha.
You are the purifier of this world.
You are the evening, the night, the light, the darkness.
You are Glory, ecstasy, joyfulness, intelligence, and devotion.
You are Sarasvati. 
You are Maha Devi Lakshmi. 
You celebrate with us and You bring to us flowers, baskets of delicious food, a golden pot of coins, sacred plants, your beauty, your smile, the world as it is right now.   
You are the Knower of Great Truths, the Watcher of the Here and Now. 
O Auspicious One, you fathom the Secret Knowledge and are Supra-Insightful, Supra-Intuitive, Supra-Genius.
You are the Science of the Self, O Devi, and you are the giver of the Fruit of Freedom (Mukti).
Logic, the knowledge of all Vedas, the Tantras, worldly knowledge, and Raja Neeti are all yours.
You are fully filled and are present everywhere in this world within and without your ideal, grandiose, or fierce forms. 
O Devi, who other than You could reside in the Hart of the Him who is the real form of all Yajyas, who is contemplated by all Gods and Yogis.
O Devi, when you give up these entire Three Worlds, this entire creation goes to destruction, and then You Yourself choose to play with possibilities of an alternative world, compelled to give life anther spin again and again through dozens of Kali Yugas.   
By your grace only, a person gets a Wife, Husband, daughter, son, house, family, prosperity, peace and friends.
Those upon whom You, O Devi, bestow your kindness, they are so favored with good health, prosperity, safety, peace, and happiness.   
You are the Mother of these entire worlds, and the Goddess of Gods. 
Vishnu and You, O Mother, are present everywhere in this moving and unmoving creation. 
Please favor us with continued work, good health, wealth, home, farm, animals, enjoyables, clean water, and food. 
O Vishnu-Vaksha-Stal-Vaasini, help keep us Loving relations with our Wife, Husband, daughter, son, parents, family, spiritual community, alter-egos and friends. 
O Devi, Protect our valuables, books, tools, applicances, art, jewelry, personal belongings, and home life.   
O Pure One, your presence moves us to now celebrate purity, kindness, truthfulness, and goodness. 
You help us, O Devi, to become admirable, virtuous, brave, fortunate, full of goodness, and intelligent.
O Devi, even Sri Brahma Ji is not capable of praising Your greatness.
Thus, Maha Devi Lakshmi, may You be satisfied with us and don't ever leave us."
-  Adapted by Mike Garofalo from Shri Lakshmi Prayers, Celestial Timings

 

 

Inanna, Istar, Ashtart: "She was addressed as"Mother of the Fruitful Breast", Queen of Heaven, Light of the World, 
Creator of People, Mother of Deities, River of Life, etc. The breast-offering pose suggested her function as the Goddess 
of all nourishment and fertility. Ishtar, also known as Innana in Sumeria is, above all, a lunar Goddess who gives life 
as the waxing moon and then withdraws it as the waning moon. The light and dark dimensions to her power, her 
dying and resurrected son-lover Tammuz, who annually descends to the underworld and rises again from it-all 
suggest a lunar mythology which revolves around the connection made between the light and dark lunar phases 
and rhythmic alteration of the Earth's fertility."
 -  Angels and Earthly Beings

 

 

 

Prayer in Honor of Frigga
 

Frigg1

In Honor of Frigga  
"Shining Lady of Asgard,
All-seeing, all-knowing,
at Your command worlds are born,
at Your nod and tender smile, life burst into being.
Valiant Goddess, ruthless foe, cunning Queen,
Illuminate your wyrd.
Strengthen our hamyngja.
Make us fruitful in all things, like the barley and flax that is your gift.
Nourish our souls, God-Mother,
Pour forth from Your cornucopia of abundance
and in return we will give You our devotion, our praise, our industry.
Holy Mother of all life, foremost amongst the Asynjur, bestow upon us Your wisdom.
Make our hearts fertile fields for Your bounty, and on Your spindle of shimmering starlight,
Weave for us a joyous fate."

 

 

 

Prayer to Ma Durga


"O Universal Mother!
Create fresh ideas for innovation in our minds.
Glorify true feeling of love in our hearts.
Develop a purposeful vision in our Spirit.
Amplify every signal of happiness in our life.

O Universal Mother!
Evolve compassion and kindness in our attitude.
Extend true love and lovely wishes in our hearts.
Expand our thinking pattern toward all directions.
Globalize the spirit of humanity in our world.

O Universal Mother!
We are thy little children.
Spread thou eternal bless everywhere for everyone and
Fuse all our thoughts for construction of creative ideas.
Harmonize our every thought, words and actions.
Integrate our minds, hearts and spirits.
and unify our souls with infinite soul.
For attaining the final journey of all human beings."
-  Prayer to the Goddess Durga, by Ajay Kumar Singh

 

 

 

"May my insight be unobstructed! 
May my knowledge prosper in textbooks, verses, magic books, doctrinal books, and poems. 
So be it: mahaprabhave hili hili mili mili. 
May it go forth for me by the power of the blessed goddess Sarasvati! 
Karate keyure keyurabati hili mili hili mili hili hili."
 
A mantra (dharani) and petitionary prayer in honor of the Goddess Sarasvati from the Golden Radiance Scripture, circa 400 CE.  Translated by Miranda Shaw, PhD., Buddhist Goddesses of India, p.238.

 

My version:

"Goddess Sarasvati, Illustrious One, Bestower of Understanding,
Hail to Thee, O Goddess of the Refreshing River of Mindfulness!
Goddess of Melodious Voice
Make my voice pleasant and give me the ability to gladden others;
Wisdom Goddess
Increase my knowledge of worthwhile and respected books and writers;
Goddess of Writing
Help my words to flow smoothly, clearly, beautifully, and be of benefit to others;
Great Artist of Celestial Harmonies,
Help me create art and music that is skillful and graceful;
Divine Muse
Inspire me with poetry, creativity, verses, and mystical revelations;
The One of the Clear Mind and Pure Heart
Keep me in sound mind and high spirits for all my earthly days;
Beautiful Goddess
Gorgeous flowers, flowing streams, colorful birds, fine jewels, and cool moons
All Honor Thee unceasingly. 
So be it: mahaprabhave hili hili mili mili. 
May it flow forth from me by the Power and Grace of the Blessed Goddess Sarasvati! 
Karate keyure keyurabati hili mili hili mili hili hili."






 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Michael P. Garofalo's E-mail

 

Valley Spirit Yoga
Yoga Practice, Education, and Research

 

© 2005-2012, Green Way Research, Red Bluff, California
Michael P. Garofalo, All Rights Reserved

Red Bluff, Tehama County, North Sacramento Valley, Northern California, U.S.A.
Cities and small towns in the area: Sacramento, Davis, Woodland, Vacaville, Marysville,
Yuba City, Williams, Colusa, Willows, Orland, Oroville, Paradise, Durham, Chico, Hamilton City,
Corning, Rancho Tehama, Los Molinos, Vina, Tehama, Proberta, Gerber, Red Bluff,
Manton, Cottonwood, Olinda, Cloverdale, Dairyville, Bend, Centerville, Summit City,
Anderson, Shasta Lake, Palo Cedro, Igo, Ono, Redding, Shasta, Richfield, Fall River,
Montgomery Creek, Alturas, McCloud, Dunsmuir, Yreka, Happy Camp,
Shingletown, Burney, Mt. Shasta City, Weaverville, Chester, Susanville,
Weed, Gridley,  NorCalifia, CA, California.

This webpage was last updated on July 9, 2012. 

 

In Honor of the Goddess, Devi, Divine Mother, Shakti, Mother Earth

Cloud Hands Blog