Calendar of the Sun

5 Blutmonath
Herne’s Day I: Prey

Color: Brown and green
Element: Earth
Altar: On a cloth of brown and green lay dried leaves, pine incense, a vase of dead branches with dry leaves attached, antlers, and figures of deer. The room is dark, lit with a single green candle.
Offerings: Cobs of corn. Willingness to face a fear that is pursuing you.
Daily Meal: Vegetarian.

Invocation to Herne I

Hail, Lord of the Forest!
The deer are gathering
In these your deepest woods,
Great stag with antlers wide and proud,
Soft-eyed doe for whom
The warriors clash their horns,
Delicate fawn mottled as the underbrush.
The hares are finding
Their winter burrows,
The squirrels collecting
Their hoards of fodder,
The pheasant and quail
Readying themselves for the season
Of death on many sides.
You who understands
The desperate chase,
Heart pounding, feet pounding,
Knowing well that death
Is your destiny,
Help us to make peace
With the oncoming challenge
And to know that it is only
One of our many moments
In the cycle of life.

Chant:
Horned One, Lover, Son,
Leaper in the corn
Deep in the Mother
Die and be reborn.

(As the last sound of the chant dies away, all bow to the altar and leave room in silence.)

[Pagan Book of Hours]