A Poem for all my Pagan Wiccan friends on Topix

The Dark Stranger

By Nancy Venus )0(


A Black Goat stood at my door and he asked me why.

Why don't you come and ride with me? Life's short before you die.



I looked at him, his face was black, as black, as black could be.

His horns were large and pointy as he stood in front of me.



I said to him: let me tell you sir, let me tell you true.

My life is filled with many things and not all of them are blue.



He stood there with a solemn grin that turned into a smile.

He said: why don't you stop this talk and ride on me a while?



I looked into his large dark eyes; they seemed to turn to blue.

Then suddenly I realized what I was meant to do.



I ripped off all of my clothes as by desire thwart.

I jumped upon his hairy back, for his lusty spell was wrought.



I rode him over glen and dale while the moon was shining bright.

I rode him over the dark moors, now bright with the moonlight.



I rode him straight down into town; oh let my sin be known.

Look at me! My mind said, and let the townsfolk moan.



I rode him through secret passageways of esoteric thought.

I made sure I rode the beast with all imagined directions sort.



When the night began to wane, he took me to my door.

With a kiss upon my lips, he said he'll be back for more.



Should I feel shame or deep regret about my ride tonight?

No, now you see, I wait for him when the moon is shining bright.

Reposted with permission by Nancy Venus HPs of The Copper Cauldron

Awesome Iliona. Release your inhibitions and let your spirit run free... take off your clothes and ride a black goat in the moonlight... and don't worry about what the townspeople think.

Doreen Valiente is considered by many of us old timers to be the mother of Wicca. For many years she was the High Priestess for Gerald Gardner. Doreen Valiente wrote many of his rites and was a gifted poet in her own right. Here is one of her lighter poems.

The Ballad of Sir Roughchops by Doreen Valiente

A knight of old, so brave and bold,
Sir Roughchops was his name,
And carrying his trusty spear,
He sought for knightly fame.

One summer evening he rode forth,
All armoured for the fray,
Till in a valley deep he found
A darksome wooded way.

On either side the bushes grew,
Till past a little spring
He saw the entrance to a cave.
Said Roughchops,“Here’s a thing!”

“Surely within this cavern dark
Adventure waits for me?
I’ll get my weapon ready raised,
And go inside and see.”

A witch’s cauldron there he found,
That bubbled, stewed and simmered,
Upon a magic bonfire’s glow,
That through the twilight glimmered.

And then the wicked witch herself
To Roughchops whispered,“Sir,
You’re just the man I’m looking for
To give this pot a stir.”

So Roughchops, to oblige the witch,
Being a courteous knight,
Stuck his stiff weapon well inside,
And stirred with all his might.

But oh, alas, that wicked witch
On Roughchops laid a spell!
He stirred and stirred and could not stop,
Though why he could not tell.

Till with a last tremendous stir
The cauldron overset,
And flooded all the cave around
With streams both warm and wet.

When Roughchops drew his weapon out,
It looked all limp and weak,
Whereat the knight was so amazed
That he could scarcely speak.

The evil hag with cackling laugh
Off on her broomstick shot,
And Roughchops with a thoughtful air
Rode back to Camelot.

Now what black art was wrought on him,
A secret must remain;
But strange to say, he straight set out
To find that cave again!

Love it!!!!!!!!!!

http://www.godtube.com/view_video...

Ah yes... more propaganda from the Religious Right.

1) Being a "witch" doesn't mean getting drunk and high. Perhaps she would have had better luck if she stayed sober.

2) I'd hardly call "The 700 Club" a reliable news/information source.

3) Not everyone's spiritual path is the same. Perhaps she did give Wicca an honest try, and it wasn't for -her-. I've given Christianity a try... more than once and through more than one denomination, and it's mumbo-jumbo-ish to me as Wicca may seem to a Christian.

I think I speak for most of the Pagans/Wiccans here when I say, "you'll find no converts here".

The Sussex Witch by Doreen Valiente

She passes through the village street,
As evening shadows fall.
The full moon climbs the winter sky,
The trees are bare and tall.
What is the secret that they share,
Shadow and moon and tree,
And little laughing breeze that makes
The dead leaves dance with glee?
They know their kin. The owl cries
His greeting out to her.
Now the last house and garden's past,
The Down's ridge rises bare.
A climbing moonlit path she sees,
That was a trodden road
Ere comquering Rome or Norman proud
O'er Downland ever strode.
It leads to where, beneath the turf,
The outlines she can trace
Of barrow and of sacred ring,
That mark the Old Gods' place.
The moon rides high. The years roll back,
Are with her garments shed.
Naked she dances out the ring
First wrought by hands long dead.
The blood leaps wild within her veins,
As swifter spins the dance,
Her wide eyes fixed upon the moon,
Her senses rapt in trance.
And though no feet of flesh and blood
Walked with her to that ground,
She knows she does not dance alone
That magic circle's round.

Shellikins wrote:

Ah yes... more propaganda from the Religious Right.
1) Being a "witch" doesn't mean getting drunk and high. Perhaps she would have had better luck if she stayed sober.
2) I'd hardly call "The 700 Club" a reliable news/information source.
3) Not everyone's spiritual path is the same. Perhaps she did give Wicca an honest try, and it wasn't for -her-. I've given Christianity a try... more than once and through more than one denomination, and it's mumbo-jumbo-ish to me as Wicca may seem to a Christian.
I think I speak for most of the Pagans/Wiccans here when I say, "you'll find no converts here".

I'm not looking for a convert, God is going to GET ONE! I'm just doing His work. Enjoy and be blessed. God loves You!

John14:1-3,Romans3:23,Rom.6:23 Rom.5:8,Rom.10:9,Rom. 5:1

Enjoy!

correction for blind eyes wrote:

John14:1-3,Romans3:23,Rom.6:23 Rom.5:8,Rom.10:9,Rom. 5:1
Enjoy!

Oh goodie... more bible passages.

Go do "god's work" somewhere it's wanted. Here, you're just seen as a troll. You don't see Pagans on the Christian threads trying to convert.

Isn't that what "god's work" is? Converting? Keep in mind, most of us WERE Christians, and found it lacking.
So, take your propaganda to another forum.

NM Desert Rat wrote:

The Sussex Witch by Doreen Valiente
She passes through the village street,
As evening shadows fall.
The full moon climbs the winter sky,
The trees are bare and tall.
What is the secret that they share,
Shadow and moon and tree,
And little laughing breeze that makes
The dead leaves dance with glee?
They know their kin. The owl cries
His greeting out to her.
Now the last house and garden's past,
The Down's ridge rises bare.
A climbing moonlit path she sees,
That was a trodden road
Ere comquering Rome or Norman proud
O'er Downland ever strode.
It leads to where, beneath the turf,
The outlines she can trace
Of barrow and of sacred ring,
That mark the Old Gods' place.
The moon rides high. The years roll back,
Are with her garments shed.
Naked she dances out the ring
First wrought by hands long dead.
The blood leaps wild within her veins,
As swifter spins the dance,
Her wide eyes fixed upon the moon,
Her senses rapt in trance.
And though no feet of flesh and blood
Walked with her to that ground,
She knows she does not dance alone
That magic circle's round.

Very nice... TY for sharing!

Shellikins wrote:

<quoted text>
Oh goodie... more bible passages.
Go do "god's work" somewhere it's wanted. Here, you're just seen as a troll. You don't see Pagans on the Christian threads trying to convert.
Isn't that what "god's work" is? Converting? Keep in mind, most of us WERE Christians, and found it lacking.
So, take your propaganda to another forum.

you WERE Christians under who's power? Certainly not God's, but certainly an authority in your life (i.e. parents, loved ones, grandparents, etc..) You found it lacking because you were seeking self-power. That's why you are where you are now. You think you have power or can find power in your beliefs. That couldn't be more wrong. What power do you have? Care to share? I will share with you the power God has given me. Come on lets have some fun with it.

correction for blind eyes wrote:

<quoted text>
you WERE Christians under who's power? Certainly not God's, but certainly an authority in your life (i.e. parents, loved ones, grandparents, etc..) You found it lacking because you were seeking self-power. That's why you are where you are now. You think you have power or can find power in your beliefs. That couldn't be more wrong. What power do you have? Care to share? I will share with you the power God has given me. Come on lets have some fun with it.

I didn't come to paganism to seek power. I came to seek love, and I found it. I love that my Lord and Lady call to me with love, not threats. I don't think that love is real if it is coerced. To give you an example. If someone held a gun to your head and said love me or I'll shoot then could you love them? Of course not. How is that different from your god saying love me or you will burn? Whereas my Lord and Lady say love me because I love you.

Tailkinker wrote:

<quoted text>I didn't come to paganism to seek power. I came to seek love, and I found it. I love that my Lord and Lady call to me with love, not threats. I don't think that love is real if it is coerced. To give you an example. If someone held a gun to your head and said love me or I'll shoot then could you love them? Of course not. How is that different from your god saying love me or you will burn? Whereas my Lord and Lady say love me because I love you.

What is this Lady you speak of? What basis do you believe in these gods? They say they love you, but how do they show there love towards you? What have they given you? What have they shown you, why have they shown you this love? I'm not talking about the people you're with, i'm talking about the gods you serve. What and how have they changed your life for the better? If you sin, how will you be atoned? If you die, where do you go? Where was your religion established? How was it established? Who founded this religion? Were they connected with God? Where did your gods come from? Who do they seek? Who do they want to come in agreement with them? How did you find this religion?

Tons and tons of questions, but will you be able to back up your beliefs with God's Word? I understand what you're saying about God, but do you really understand why? I don't remember God forcing anyone to do His will. We are allowed free will you know. So the gun example was a pretty bad example. He allows us to make choices in life and within those choice we get rewards or consequences, just like in regular life today. If we murder what happens, we go to jail. We either get life or death. Same standard as Gods. Where do you think we get justice from? Why are there cops to stop bad guys, why is there a court for sentencing? This is all established under ORDER through choices. Not because He wants you dead. that's ridiculous.

oh yeah, what kind of pagan do you represent?

correction for blind eyes wrote:

<quoted text>
What is this Lady you speak of? What basis do you believe in these gods? They say they love you, but how do they show there love towards you? What have they given you? What have they shown you, why have they shown you this love? I'm not talking about the people you're with, i'm talking about the gods you serve. What and how have they changed your life for the better? If you sin, how will you be atoned? If you die, where do you go? Where was your religion established? How was it established? Who founded this religion? Were they connected with God? Where did your gods come from? Who do they seek? Who do they want to come in agreement with them? How did you find this religion?
Tons and tons of questions, but will you be able to back up your beliefs with God's Word? I understand what you're saying about God, but do you really understand why? I don't remember God forcing anyone to do His will. We are allowed free will you know. So the gun example was a pretty bad example. He allows us to make choices in life and within those choice we get rewards or consequences, just like in regular life today. If we murder what happens, we go to jail. We either get life or death. Same standard as Gods. Where do you think we get justice from? Why are there cops to stop bad guys, why is there a court for sentencing? This is all established under ORDER through choices. Not because He wants you dead. that's ridiculous.

Paganism is not one religion. Asking who founded it is useless. All religion is man made, anyway.

How do we know they love us? I know because of all the blessings they have given me in my life, most of which has been spent as a Pagan. In case you wonder, I'm 53. I have spiritual fulfillment, a wonderful wife, great kids, a satifying career, and more dreams than you can imagine. My Gods have made my life better by ensuring that I am not a religious bigot, for starters.

Free will? Man, have you been duped. It's not really free will if you will be punished for making the wrong choice. My tradition doesn't have a concept of 'sin' such as Christians do. Our afterlife will be eventually rejoining the Divine, no matter what, this will happen. We will be improving our spiritual growth in the meantime with however many incarnations it takes to do so.

Laws in the US are based on civil rights, not your bible, which only Christians think is any kind of authority. We don't care if we can't 'prove' our religion by it (the very idea of trying to prove faith is idiotic anyway), and it means nothing to us.

It never fails to amaze me how some bible thumping dork will come to a site where they are not welcome to spew their garbage. The term God's word as used by correction is nothing more than a bunch of men getting together and making it up and putting it together into a book called the bible. Robert Grave's said it better than I ever will. There is nothing original in christianity with the exception of jesus. They have borrowed or stolen everything from other religions. The argument can be made that jesus isn't original either. A good example is Woden.

NM Desert Rat wrote:

It never fails to amaze me how some bible thumping dork will come to a site where they are not welcome to spew their garbage. The term God's word as used by correction is nothing more than a bunch of men getting together and making it up and putting it together into a book called the bible. Robert Grave's said it better than I ever will. There is nothing original in christianity with the exception of jesus. They have borrowed or stolen everything from other religions. The argument can be made that jesus isn't original either. A good example is Woden.

Or Mithras, or Tammuz, or Dumuzi, or Osirus, or any sacrificed God.

My Lord and My Lady bless me!
They touch my life in little ways.
They illuminate the path before my tired feet,
They brighten all my days.

When I am troubled they're my guides,
In times of darkness they are the light
In times of joy they revel with me
In times of fear they are my might.

My rhyme is really childish
honestly I am not good
but this thread was about poems
till the christian came to brood

Its getting boreing to refute them
they are always on our back
but its more fun to poke them
with this rhyming skill I lack

In honor of all pagan poets
of epics and of songs
lets fight our christian invaders
with poems to against their wrongs

Maiden, Mother, Crone

I see Her in the forest
Clothed in all the colors of Spring
Running with the wind
Long hair streaming behind
Free and wild
Young and beautiful
New life rushing to see
To embrace all there is

I see Her sitting in the forest
Wearing the colors of Fall
Calm and loving
Gentle and beautiful
With all the creatures of the forest
Coming near
She’s holding a child
That child is me

I see Her standing before
The Cauldron of Rebirth
Ageless hand stirring
The spiral of Life
Wise and beautiful
Firm yet merry
Ready to receive my life
And give it back to me