Lift the veil that blinds my eyes from seeing you. Fill my soul that wanders in the darkness seeking you. The astral plane has no trace of you, bringer of joy. Let my body be united with you, if only for a moment. Time is endless & unbearable without you, my God.
Let the clouds of Mt. Olympus be parted, for your arrival. The darkness of the soul & senses be ended. Your presence brings the remedy for my ills. Awake Maenad! Your Lord hears your cry and sees the tears shed from lack of its source of life.
I seek you in the music I hear. I dance with you in spirit. Incense fills my humble Temple. Candle flame surrounds your shrine. I let my guard down to receive your ecstatic presence.
Come join us, O Dionysus who loves the night. Your beloved Maenads & Priestesses revel in ecstatic-rites. Roaming the forest & mountain tops singing hymns of praise beneath a watchful Moon. You are ever ancient, ever new. Divine youth & manhood is your reflection, radiant son of Zeus. Let us approach you, and receive your blessings, with a kiss from your rose-colored lips. May this kiss intoxicate us, delight us, and possess us, now & forever. Let us drink from the cup of divinity & shed our mortality. Your wine flows through us & gives us unending joy, being united with you. O Lord Dionysus! Ever ancient, ever new.
My daughter & I are devoted to the God Dionysus. We are modern maenads. At Summer Solstice, we said goodbye to Dionysus, as He returns to His realm where his devoted followers receive Him with great celebration.
Now at the Winter Solstice, we call Dionysus to return to the upper world where we dwell. We call out to Him by shouting many of His titles, “Bringer of ecstasy, Divine Liberator, He who releases,” etc. With music & dance we continue to bring Him back into our lives. Maenads live for interaction with Him. The Love He gives, the burning desire to be in His presence, and joy to once again to feel His touch & caresses, fill us with hope & thrills the soul.
For those who love and/or devoted to Dionysus, know that He is a God of great depth of passion. Only by opening up to Him in a meditation, ritual, dancing & celebration can we crack the boundary that keeps us from experiencing the real Dionysus. One way can be a journey, with music, incense, dim lighting & letting go is a way Dionysus can reach out to us.
Sit with only candles lit. Clear your mind of any thought or images. Invite Him to embrace you. Let Frankincense fill your senses. Use music that will open the gates of the Otherworld. Instrumental music for your journey is the best. (For praising & feel the presence of Dionysus as the wild God of joy, frenzy & ecstatic joy in His presence other music is called for.) Don’t think, just let what appears within your mind & soul be.
This is the type of journey where Dionysus can reveal His essence. A God of passionate love, it is intoxicating. He can bring the body to the heights of physical pleasure. The mind can show you Him as a God or the mind goes asleep, so your soul can be united. The soul can be stricken dumbfounded by such a divine visitor. Overwhelmed by an assault of outpouring love so deep, it can be divine pleasure with pain at the same time.
Education & knowledge can only help the soul know what others think or know about Him. Be brave enough to scale the heights of your soul. Seek Him out. Call to Him by the titles that are special to you. Invite Him to dwell within your secret place, where you & Him can taste the delights of a soul with its Divine lover.
Welcome Dionysus this Winter Solstice back from the Otherworld. Celebrate His birth among us. Dance, sing & raise a glass or two during Yule & His feast-days to come. And explore the depths & limits of your soul where you can be, even for a brief time, united with the gifts of love, passion & delights of the God Dionysus.
At the Summer Solstice, we said goodbye to the God Dionysus, as we await his return at his birth. (December 25). At Winter Solstice we call out to him to return to his faithful Maenads, who long for His presence among us. But He is still presence to us in prayer & deep contemplation.
For like us, the Deities cannot do without love. Love draws the Deities to us. This is why they left us humans long ago. Their names were no longer spoken. No rituals or ceremonies in their honor. No offerings, incense or prayers were theirs anymore.
Their return surprised a world that had grown cold. A few people spoke about them. That spoken word spread to others. We rediscovered the Deities that lied sleeping, forgotten by us. Ceremonies were created, rituals were performed. We don’t know the ancient way, but made our own, trying to find the original sources.
Being a Polytheist Pagan isn’t a common spiritual path. Yes, we are dedicated to a main Deity, but love & honor others. The Gods & Goddesses draw us to them. They make their presence known to our souls. There is no limits or countries or borders that bar our way.
This Winter Solstice I and a fellow Priestess (we are both modern maenads) played music, our instruments & danced, calling for the God Dionysus to return to us here on the Earthy plane. December 25 we celebrate his birth. He was Thrice-born, and know both life & death.
Winter we celebrate more of his major festivals, such as Lagunophora, Haloa, Lenaia, Anthesteria & the Dionysia. A Dark Moon ritual in January or February is also a way to honor him. He is the fire of Divine Love. His presence can be felt strongly in singing, dancing, feasting & romantic pleasures.
Remember to give him a libation of wine, milk & honey. When we drink champagne on December 25 through the Yule season, we also give home thanks for his gift of cheer & merriment. Love requires love in return. Say his name & titles, such as “he who comes, he who releases, Divine liberator, bringer of joy, and Giver of grace. Make new titles for him. Dionysus hears your praise & makes his presence known among you.
My spiritual union with the God Dionysus is usually through music & dance. Especially in sacred or ecstatic dancing, Dionysus is drawn to his own. Modern maenads, Priestesses like me. He can easily come to anyone, at any times when asked. Or not.
For months I have had physical limitations that have stopped me from singing. As a Cantor at Mass for 25 plus yrs, wedding singer, and a choir member since age 9, I loved to sing! A dentist ruined my teeth which has stopped me from singing. So I will have to get them pulled out.
Then, female surgery was necessary, due to years of nursing, lifting patients & a disabled husband for decades. So here I sit, in a lazy-boy, recovering, limited to walking around my house. I can’t even drive. But my soul want to soar to its divine spouse.
So I pray, and pray again. I call Him by His many names. My favorites are “divine liberator & he who releases.” I use prayer beads dedicated to Him. Nothing is working. Another Dark Night? No, this is a physical limitation on my part. We each have our own ways that we can unite with the Divine.
So I will heal & pray while I wait for Dionysus. No sacred dance for now. Music can still lift the heart. This maenad will love without feeling any in return. But I ask Him if he would take just a few seconds from Mt.Olympus, and give me a brief rush of His divine presence. if not, I will wait. For any Deity, they are in eternity. Time doesn’t move like it does for us.
Lord Dionysus, I will return to you. Sooner than later. Be ready to dance with this modern maenad.
Come beloved, the night has been too long. I have grown cold & wither without your touch. I resist no more, “I surrender” is my song. Let your presence sweep over me, may I feel your divine presence. At last, I cry “no more” and let my barren soul cry, Lord, your love is too much!
No longer barriers can contain my spirit, I fly without any fears. Moving mountains, soaring over valleys, nothing on earth holds me now. Yes, I have been drown by my own tears. there is nothing that can keep me from you. What force do I possess to do this? Love is the source, your divine heartbeat the only sound.
Whether life or death comes what may, you are my only goal. Let the veil be torn between God & mortal soul. No longer will I be young or old. Love finally pierced & destroyed my mortal frame. Neither warm or hot, mild, or cold.
At last at the desired home I have reached. You have overpowered me by holy fire. I belong to you alone, at last. You have granted my one true desire. May I remember this moment, when you are distant, far away from me. I just need to remember your fiery arrow. And you alone has set me free.
My Lord, I have been waiting for you. Take a brief moment & look down. See the lengths I will go do. As I am begging once again to be found. Remember all the emotions you awakened in me? How you pursued my heart & soul. With you I soared and finally felt free! Now I am alone and emptiness has taken its toll.
Without your fire that burned within me, there exists a vast chasm of pain. Descend Olympus’ heights and see. Release my chains, let me feel your fiery touch once again. Take my body, mind & soul God of ecstasy! Dionysus, mount your leopard, chase me down. You are the breath of life to me. Upon a mountain top, let us love, on Cybele’s sacred ground.
Bring this Dark Night & painful agony to its proper end. Tear the veil that separates you from me . Sweet wine and divine madness now send. My beloved Dionysus, hear my urgent plea. I throw all caution to the wind, my gates are cast aside. It is now or never my spouse, let my soul be where you can abide.
I have drank your holy wine. My blood is now divine. I am united with my Deity. Your fire now flows through me. With my soul I truly see, all doubts now flee. Dionysus, son of Zeus! From my mortal chains, I am now loose. I can fly to infinity. There is no time or space. In our secret, holy place. Mortality becomes Divinity.
I drink your holy wine. My blood is now divine. I am united with my Deity. Your fire now flows through me. With my soul I truly see, all doubts now flee. Dionysus, son of Zeus! From my mortal chains, I am now loose. I can fly to infinity. There is no time or space. In our secret, holy place. Mortality becomes divinity.
Come beloved, the night has been too long. I have grown cold & wither without your touch. I resist no more, “I surrender” is my song. Let your presence sweep over me, may I feel your divine presence. At last, I cry “no more” and let my barren soul cry, Lord, your love is too much!
Walking the mystic's path 