Calendar of the Moon 11 Ruis/Poseideion
Day of the Underworld II Colour:Grey Element: Earth Altar: The altar should be the same as the night before, with the vinegar water replenished if necessary. Something made of rotting flesh should be placed on the altar, for scent. Offerings: Whatever the Gods tell you. Daily Meal: Fasting tonight, until the next morning. Underworld Invocation II We are the stricken, dying with death, Shrouded with weeds, wrapped in our loss, Silent we wait, clouded by tears, Torn by the wind, ragged with mist. Where we are wounded There is no healing. Where we decay Nothing is sound. Ravaged by night, abandoned by day, Silent we wait, shadows of grey. Old in our broken houses of flesh, Old among ruined pillars of Sun, Old as the halls to which we descend, Old as this dark that does not end. Call: Tonight we go under the ground. Response: Tonight we are as corpses in the Earth. Call: On this night, and the next, and the next, we are dead. Response: On this night, we feel our bodies as they rot. Call: On this night, we praise the worms and the beetles. Response: On this night, we learn about the grave. Call: On this night, we learn that Earth is silence. Response: On this night, we learn that Earth welcomes us home. Call: Receive us, Guardians of the Gate! Response: Receive us, Lords of Death! (All kneel before the altar for a long time, meditating on rot and decay. The chalice is passed, and all take a sip. Then all rise and leave in silence. That night, each should place under their pillow some dried weeds, or a handful of earth from a graveyard, for a reminder.)
[source:paganbookofhours.org]
[Image-Adolf Hirémy-Hirschl (1860–1933)]