Calendar of the Moon
8 Saille
Agni's Day
Color: Red
Element: Fire
Altar: Upon a red cloth place a single torch, and light incense of cedar, and a bowl of melted
butter mixed with warm milk, which is poured out as a libation during the chant.
Offerings: Speak the truth.
Daily Meal: Hot and spicy.
Invocation to Agni
Lord of the fire that brought us
From savages hunting in the cold
To humans who cluster around the light,
Fire that warms us, cooks our food,
Lord of golden teeth and swift tongue,
You who live in no god's palace
For you are at home in every home,
Teach us your lesson of truth.
When the storm god, best friend
Of you, the god of lightning's fire,
Stole a woman and confided only in you,
Fire god, you went and told her seeking lover,
And she was rescued, and you were cursed
By your own friend to be known always
As the One Who Eats All Things.
Yet you held your ground, telling him
That truth is higher in your estimation
Than any bond of the heart,
And to turn your eyes away from wrongdoing
Is a wrongdoing in itself.
Teach us to hold close to your truth,
Truth that burns and scalds and blisters,
Truth that is so painful that it can be mistaken
For some kind of small death.
This is the gift of the Fire God,
Agni the friend to all, who will play no favorites,
Scorch us with your purifying fire.
Chant:
Fire flow, fire flow through me,
Bonfire, brush fire, lightning strike.
[Pagan Book of Hours]