Recently, I had the opportunity to serve on a ritual where the Three Graces (Euphrosyne, Aglaea, and Thalia) were called in and honored. The Three Graces were known as the attendants of Aphrodite. So, as I am both dedicated to Aphrodite and I have taken on a personal task of writing at least one chant/song for each public ritual I work this year, I decided to honor these deities with song.
The Three Graces
Written and sung by Q'desha Yansumi Diwata
Lyrics
In the ancient land of Greece
There were the Graces Three
Between the three of them no party lacked for revelry
Euphrosyne was filled with mirth
Aglaea was splendor in spad-es
Thalia was all good cheer - They livened up even Hades!
One day the Graces Three set off
To party and boogaloo (*pause here to let the Sisters "boogaloo")
Just as they embarked Thalia said, “My sisters, I am blue!”
Aglaea said, “what IS this blue?”
Euphrosyne said, “Blue, who?”
Said Thalia, “My heart is heavy and I don’t know what to do!”
Euphrosyne said, “take this trinket”
And handed her a gift
“see a pretty pinwheel” she said, “your spirits are sure to lift!”
“Joy” She said, “is always
within your arm’s reach”
“all you have to do is get your mind to your own beach!”
Aglaea thought a moment
And suddenly she said
“and add a merry little dance to cure your stressed out head!”
Taking her sisters by the hand
They spun and danced around
They danced and spun around so much, they fell upon the ground
But up again, they danced and laughed
The day so merrily
they arrived to see their sisters, in the grove, like you and me
Thalia said, “My sisters dear!
I Know just what to do!
When joy and merriment - have flown away from you!
“Pick up a thing of whimsy” she said
“and dance a step or two
When you find yourself in play, the joy returns to you!”
“so sing along with me,” she said
Repeat it round and round
Sing this song when your joy is nowhere to be found:
Hi ho the merry o
Return to joy with me
We’ll chase away our sorrows with great mirth and revelry!
(repeat this verse until energy reaches high point)
(end with repeat of “we’ll chase away our sorrows with great joy and revelry!”)
Over this past weekend, my tribe headed out to the woods in Sonoma County for our annual coven-wide retreat. Isis Oasis is a truly wonderful, magical place and I hope to return there for many more retreats with our coven.
Our Coven has a tradition at our Harvest Home (what others might call "Mabon") ritual: we each select an item of importance to us that we will give away during our ritual on the Saturday night of retreat. This item is something that we should feel some attachment to such that it "has feels" around giving it away - it is up to you to choose the item. During the ritual, we tell a short story about the importance of the item and it is put into the center of the room. When everyone has given up their items, the whole tribe gets up and chooses an item that calls to them.
The item that I gave away, this year, was an abalone shell that has been doing some magicks on my altar to Aphrodite. Several years ago, when I first approached working with this Coven of wonderful folk, I started working with Aphrodite, asking her to bring someone into my life that was my sanctuary. I used this abalone shell to work a lot of that magic and Aphrodite answered my prayers tenfold. Not only did I find a coven family who is it's own type of sanctuary for me, but the universe found a way to put P-Love and I together - *HE* is my sanctuary. I wanted to help others find that bit of sanctuary that I have found so I gave this item away. I know that it has found a good home.
At the end of the retreat, I was standing under a large oak tree near one of the firepits outside. We had just been sitting around that firepit, talking on various things, one of them being Aphrodite. Later, as I stood under that oak tree, I saw, in front of me, a flat, round, palm-sized, gray stone, embedded in the dirt. I like to use these kinds of stones for warding magicks - they're small, light, easy to carry, easy to charge. So I walked over and picked it up. There was a leaf sticking to the underside and as I brushed it away, I noticed something was different about this stone. There, carved into the other side of the stone, was a dove, in flight, with a heart in the center.
Aphrodite, you continue to give me many blessings. Hail, Aphrodite!
