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Authors: Alaric Albertsson
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prayer.
I prefer to meditate later in the day, and instead greet the
morning with a prayer. And I readily confess that I am not
a “morning person”, so it is best, for myself, if the words
are prepared and ready to come from my lips. I am not very
good at extemporaneous speaking when I first wake up. For
this reason, I have a set prayer that I like to use in the morning. The prayer is to the goddess Sunne, sovereign spirit of
the sun. As I address her, I usually mark the sigel rune in the f 62 2
daily devotions
air with my right hand. Sigel is the Anglo-Saxon rune that represents the sun.
S
The wording of the prayer is:
Hail to you, Sunne,
Jewel of the Heavens,
Rightly are you called the Glory of Elves!
Bright and fair,
Sailors’ prayer,
Love’s light woven through your hair.
Giver of life, to you I pray,
Guide my steps throughout this day.
My spiritual path is Saxon, and the words reflect this very
well. The phrase “sailors’ prayer” is inspired by the passage in the Anglo-Saxon Rune Poem that tells us “the sun, for sailors,
is always hoped for when they depart over the fishes’ bath”
( sigel sæmannum simble biþ on hihte, þonne híe hine fériaþ ofer fisces bæþ ). The expressions “Glory of Elves” and “Jewel of the Heavens” are old Germanic kennings for the sun.
A morning prayer to Sunne is appropriate for me as a
Saxon Pagan, but the spirituality of a Hellenic (Greek) Pagan
would be better reflected in a prayer to Helios, the Greek god
of the sun, while a Kemetic (Egyptian) Pagan might direct
his or her morning prayer to Ra. The Irish Pagan could pray
to the goddess Éadaoin. The Slavic Pagan to Dazhbog. These
f 63 2
daily devotions
are all, of course, sun deities within their respective cultures.
The form of the prayer and any gestures associated with it
should also be culturally appropriate. Obviously a Kemetic
Pagan is not going to mark the sigel rune while praying to Ra, since the Anglo-Saxon runes do not express Kemetic spirituality, but an akhet (the Egyptian symbol of the horizon where the sun rises) might be worn or held during the prayer.
While it is important that your morning prayer reflect
your spiritual path, the deity you pray to does not necessar-
ily need to be a solar or dawn deity. An Irish Pagan can offer
a morning prayer to Éadaoin, but the prayer can as easily be
directed to Brigid or the Dagda if that person has a strong
connection to either of the deities. A Kemetic devotee of Isis
might choose to direct a prayer to that goddess rather than to
the sun god Ra. Here again, the important thing is that your
prayer be true to your spiritual path. A solar deity from your
cultural pantheon is an obvious choice to address in a morn-
ing prayer, but you are essentially giving thanks for a new
day and all that it may bring, and that prayer can be directed
to whatever god or goddess you feel a connection with.
SINGING IN THE SHOWER
Early morning is just one of many moments throughout the
day that can be invested with meaning through prayer. If you
find that praying just after you wake up is little more than an exercise in somnambulism, if your morning prayer sounds
more like a discordant growl, it might be more effective for
you to greet the day a little later.
You may find it easier and more meaningful to pray after
you have had a cup of coffee and have rubbed the crusty bits
f 64 2
daily devotions
of sleep from the corners of your eyes. If so, the morning
shower is another good time to greet the day. While show-
ering is a very physical, material act, on a spiritual level you are also washing away the previous day and preparing yourself for what awaits in your immediate future. If you invest
the act of showering with your spirituality, it becomes a sort
of ritual in itself. You might use a prayer to your ancestors, such as this:
Beloved ancestors,
Mothers who gave birth to my mothers,
fathers who sired my
I prefer to meditate later in the day, and instead greet the
morning with a prayer. And I readily confess that I am not
a “morning person”, so it is best, for myself, if the words
are prepared and ready to come from my lips. I am not very
good at extemporaneous speaking when I first wake up. For
this reason, I have a set prayer that I like to use in the morning. The prayer is to the goddess Sunne, sovereign spirit of
the sun. As I address her, I usually mark the sigel rune in the f 62 2
daily devotions
air with my right hand. Sigel is the Anglo-Saxon rune that represents the sun.
S
The wording of the prayer is:
Hail to you, Sunne,
Jewel of the Heavens,
Rightly are you called the Glory of Elves!
Bright and fair,
Sailors’ prayer,
Love’s light woven through your hair.
Giver of life, to you I pray,
Guide my steps throughout this day.
My spiritual path is Saxon, and the words reflect this very
well. The phrase “sailors’ prayer” is inspired by the passage in the Anglo-Saxon Rune Poem that tells us “the sun, for sailors,
is always hoped for when they depart over the fishes’ bath”
( sigel sæmannum simble biþ on hihte, þonne híe hine fériaþ ofer fisces bæþ ). The expressions “Glory of Elves” and “Jewel of the Heavens” are old Germanic kennings for the sun.
A morning prayer to Sunne is appropriate for me as a
Saxon Pagan, but the spirituality of a Hellenic (Greek) Pagan
would be better reflected in a prayer to Helios, the Greek god
of the sun, while a Kemetic (Egyptian) Pagan might direct
his or her morning prayer to Ra. The Irish Pagan could pray
to the goddess Éadaoin. The Slavic Pagan to Dazhbog. These
f 63 2
daily devotions
are all, of course, sun deities within their respective cultures.
The form of the prayer and any gestures associated with it
should also be culturally appropriate. Obviously a Kemetic
Pagan is not going to mark the sigel rune while praying to Ra, since the Anglo-Saxon runes do not express Kemetic spirituality, but an akhet (the Egyptian symbol of the horizon where the sun rises) might be worn or held during the prayer.
While it is important that your morning prayer reflect
your spiritual path, the deity you pray to does not necessar-
ily need to be a solar or dawn deity. An Irish Pagan can offer
a morning prayer to Éadaoin, but the prayer can as easily be
directed to Brigid or the Dagda if that person has a strong
connection to either of the deities. A Kemetic devotee of Isis
might choose to direct a prayer to that goddess rather than to
the sun god Ra. Here again, the important thing is that your
prayer be true to your spiritual path. A solar deity from your
cultural pantheon is an obvious choice to address in a morn-
ing prayer, but you are essentially giving thanks for a new
day and all that it may bring, and that prayer can be directed
to whatever god or goddess you feel a connection with.
SINGING IN THE SHOWER
Early morning is just one of many moments throughout the
day that can be invested with meaning through prayer. If you
find that praying just after you wake up is little more than an exercise in somnambulism, if your morning prayer sounds
more like a discordant growl, it might be more effective for
you to greet the day a little later.
You may find it easier and more meaningful to pray after
you have had a cup of coffee and have rubbed the crusty bits
f 64 2
daily devotions
of sleep from the corners of your eyes. If so, the morning
shower is another good time to greet the day. While show-
ering is a very physical, material act, on a spiritual level you are also washing away the previous day and preparing yourself for what awaits in your immediate future. If you invest
the act of showering with your spirituality, it becomes a sort
of ritual in itself. You might use a prayer to your ancestors, such as this:
Beloved ancestors,
Mothers who gave birth to my mothers,
fathers who sired my
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