Handfasting of Dave Rankine & Sorita D'Este

I was honoured to be invited to their long awaited handfasting at the beautiful Rollright Stones, on the Oxfordshire/Warwickshire border. I was also pleased to be asked to do one of the readings, no only that but also to invoke one of the four 'patron' gods for the ritual. It fell to me to invoke Lucifer - a complex deity - perhaps even a post modern contruction. The first line that popped into my head: 'Got your priest in a whirl, not sure if you're a boy or girl' - but sounds familiar.

The name Lucifer first occurs in one of the many translations of the Bible and is perhaps the product of scribal error. The entity actually being referred to is the morning 'star' - Venus. Because of its position as 'herald' of the dawn, it receives the epithet 'lightbringer' or Lucifer. So no evil intent there afterall - although having erupted into the language - the godform perhaps denotes things that are outwardly dark but when you get to known them are not.

There aren't too many good poems or hymns to Lucifer - which surely is a gap in the market? If you know of any good ones please do add a comment. Whilst researching this I found one very wordy example from the mystic 'AE'. And I hope one day to pen my own 'Great Hymn to L'

In the meantime I offered up the following short prayer - which I prefaced, for reasons of my own, by the vibration of the Aurochs rune:

I invoke Lucifer Rising - The Lifeforce
I invoke Lucifer Rising - the morning star
I invoke Lucifer Rising - the evening star
I invoke Lucifer Rising
come in peace, beautiful god
blessings be upon you and this company

I invoke Lucifer Rising - trickster with the crooked smile
I invoke Lucifer Rising - the morning starfire
I invoke Lucifer Rising - the evening starfire
I invoke Lucifer Rising -
come in peace, beautiful god
Lucifer I

here's another from the web:
George William (“A. E.”) Russell (1867–1935). Collected Poems by A.E. 1913.

120. The Morning Star


IN the black pool of the midnight Lu has slung the morning star,
And its foam in rippling silver whitens into day afar
Falling on the mountain rampart piled with pearl above our glen,
Only you and I, beloved, moving in the fields of men.

In the dark tarn of my spirit, love, the morning star, is lit; 5
And its halo, ever brightening, lightens into dawn in it.
Love, a pearl-grey dawn in darkness, breathing peace without desire;
But I fain would shun the burning terrors of the mid-day fire.

Through the faint and tender airs of twilight star on star may gaze,
But the eyes of light are blinded in the white flame of the days, 10
From the heat that melts together oft a rarer essence slips,
And our hearts may still be parted in the meeting of the lips.

What a darkness would I gaze on when the day had passed the west,
If my eyes were dazed and blinded by the whiteness of a breast?
Never through the diamond darkness could I hope to see afar 15
Where beyond the pearly rampart burned the purer evening star.