Calendar of the Moon
20 Fearn/Elaphebolion
Day of Nuada of the Silver Hand
Color: Silver and red
Element: Fire
Altar: Upon a red cloth place the figure of a silver hand, crossed with a sword, two white
candles, and incense of musk and ambergris.
Offerings: Give aid to those with physical handicaps.
Daily Meal: Soup or stews. Bread.
Invocation to Nuada of the Silver Hand
Once there was a great warrior
In a land where the custom dictated
That the king must always be perfect,
So that the land would remain perfect.
The great warrior, Nuada,
Was made king, and fought many battles,
And fine and brave was his figure
As he lay about him with his sword.
But during one battle he was wounded
Near to the death, and his left hand
Was cut off, and it was thought that he would die.
Instead, he lived, surprising all,
And had a hand of silver crafted
To replace the one of flesh,
And said, Here I am, your king,
Made no less than I was before
For all that I suffered pain and loss.
Indeed, I am more your king than ever
Now that I know what it is to touch death.
Yet the people rejected him, fearing
That his imperfection would taint the perfect land,
And the land withered indeed, and they did starve,
But not because the imperfection
Was in the king that they had driven out,
But because it was in them, for believing
That any man could be other than imperfect,
For flaws and scars and marks of wear
Are gifts of the Gods, to wear with pride
That we are made in their image,
Which is perfect in its imperfection.
(The candle is put out, and all leave silently, and meditate on perfection and imperfection.)
[Pagan Book of Hours]