Preparation:
It is recommended that you have two bowls: one with pure water, another empty. You will also need a glass with your offering to the Gods. Typical offerings are wine, milk, or water, but the offering can be specific to the deity you are addressing. It is also appropriate to have a candle and incense. In this example, the god Hephaestus is addressed, but you may use a prayer to a different god instead.
Wash your hands in the bowl of water to purify yourself before the gods.
My Gods who order the Cosmos
as you order Fate,
and from whom all Good comes,
I come before you now,
pure in body and spirit,
and with reverence and devotion.
I honor the ancestors also:
my own ancestors
as well as the ancestors
and great men of my people.
I live through them
and they continue through me.
Today, I especially honor Hephaestus.
‘Sing, clear-voiced Muses, of Hephaestus famed for inventions.
With bright-eyed Athene he taught men
glorious gifts throughout the world,—
men who before used to dwell
in caves in the mountains like wild beasts.
But now that they have learned crafts through Hephaestus
the famed worker, easily they live
a peaceful life in their own houses
the whole year round.
Be gracious, Hephaestus,
and grant me success and prosperity!’
As you give to me, I give back to you. Hail!
Pour some of your offering into the empty bowl.
It is said that
‘verily at the first Chaos came to be,
but next wide-bosomed Earth.’
And that we are like to the Cosmos:
‘Of Ymir’s flesh
was earth created,
of his blood the sea,
of his bones the hills,
of his hair trees and plants,
of his skull the heaven;
And of his brows
the gentle powers
formed Midgard for the sons of men;
but of his brain
the heavy clouds are
all created.’
And that
‘the world subsists through the goodness of divinity.’
Therefore, as the Cosmos
is ordered out of Chaos by divinity,
so I, as I partake of this drink,
shall likewise be brought to order by divinity.
The remainder of the drink is consumed.
As I complete my sacred duty
of honoring my Gods,
my ancestors, and the World
which is an image of divinity,
I will remember that
‘piety consists of holy thoughts’
and that I am to be
courageous, just, temperate, and wise
in every aspect of my life.
The offering can be left in the bowl for some time. Later, it can be poured outside into the ground.
Europagan 