This year for Mōdranicht our household has decided to have a discussion exploring what virtues make for a woman of valor. I would like to extend this to all of y’all. Give me a list of your top 5 virtues. The best answers posted below will be read before our Dísir/Matronae shrine.  

I don’t recall if I’ve posted any of this batch of prayers before, but with Thanksgiving coming up it seemed appropriate to share them. Be well, have fun, enjoy good food and conversation, be mindful and appreciative of the blessings of the Gods, and don’t let the bastards divide us. 

May the son of Zeus
bring protection to this home.
May the husband of Ariadnē
bring passion to this home.
May the father of Charis
bring peace to this home.
May the brother of Hermēs
bring prosperity to this home,
this day and all days,
this night and all nights!

Dionysos Patrōos,
whose home is harmonious
and family flourishing,
we seek your wisdom and guidance
as we make decisions that affect our household.
Help us to make choices that honor you
and are in accordance with your principles,
and may we always have the best interests
of our loved ones in mind,
and behave towards them
with integrity, trust and compassion.

O Dionysos Phyletikos,
grant that I remain faithful
to all of my responsibilities,
never shirking those duties
to family, friend, and community
which are your special concern.
O Dionysos Skoidos,
help me to see my home
as a temple to the Gods,
and everything done in it
as a holy service.
O Dionysos Dikaios,
may my life be clean, and orderly,
and all of my interactions
with people filled with
kindness, understanding,
and righteousness.
O Dionysos Tritopatōr,
may I treat my loved ones respectfully
and always demonstrate
concern for their needs,
never violating the commitments I have sworn
or causing another to do likewise.

O Dionysos Dygos, dear God who in distant days
discovered delightful Ariadnē on Dia’s desolate shores,
and carried the fair maiden off to Mount Nysa’s flowery slopes
where you built for your dance-loving queen an amazing dwelling
that became rich with the cries and laughter of your many fine offspring;
I pray, O patient, understanding, and gentle-natured Charoumenos,
that the atmosphere of this home be saturated
with your peace, joy, and grace. Let all deceit,
disrespect, disease and disorder be barred from this place
and instead, O awesome Oikouros, may this home be a sanctuary
where piety, industry, duty, bravery
and other such virtues are encouraged to thrive.

Within thy Holy Heart,
I take refuge, O kindly Kradiaĩos:
do not despise the petitions of your people
in times of trouble, but rescue us from
all dangers, from all disturbances,
and from all doubt that would try
to seep into our hearts which belong to you
fully pure one, thrice-blessed one,
O Dionysos the Deliverer.

Breathe in me,
O Holy Heart of Dionysos,
that my thoughts may all be holy.

Act in me,
O Holy Heart of Dionysos,
that my work, too, may be holy.

Direct my heart,
O Holy Heart of Dionysos,
that I may love what is holy.

Strengthen me,
O Holy Heart of Dionysos,
to defend all that is holy.

Guard me, then,
O Holy Heart of Dionysos,
that I may always be holy.

O Holy Heart of Dionysos,
which emerged undefiled
from the lacerations of the Titans
and the fiery bolts of loudroaring Zeus,
we pray, Inebriating One, sustain and comfort us
in all the trials of this present life, and grant to us at last
fullness of joy, and pleasure for evermore,
through the grafting of our hearts to your Holy Heart,
longsuffering Lord of the Vine.

O ardent Dionysos
to you all hearts are open,
all desires are known,
and from you no secrets are hidden;
so I do not have to fear, or hide, or pretend
to be anything other than what I am around you.
I can worship you with my whole heart,
weird and broken as it is,
holding nothing back,
with nothing to feel shame or guilt about.
I am free, and wild, and fucking insane,
and I am completely yours,
O Holy Heart of my God.

Firstborn Phanēs,
mighty Four-horned God,
Winged One who breathes wind and flame,
you are the light when all around is darkness,
you are the shining Star of the mysteries,
you are the Bull of Heaven who brings rain;
O Dionysos Nyktelios,
pour your illumination into our hearts.
When we cannot see the way before us,
may we continue to put our trust in you,
that under your guidance and protection
we may be kept from stumbling this day,
and through your guidance eventually find our way
to Mount Nysa, domain of orgiastic Iakchos,
and enter into our rest in that flowery meadow,
with the heroes and other blessed initiates
who have wine as their fortunate reward.
O Dionysos Nyktelios,
pour your illumination into our hearts.

Zagreus who hunts by moonlight,
and holds life and death in your hands,
may my heart never rest until it finds you
who are its center, its love,
the only certainty and peace it knows,
and source of boundless, overflowing joy.
Place my fragile, cracked heart
in your own mighty and enduring heart,
so that it may be healed and made whole,
and remain continually under your protection
and guidance. O son of Persephonē
and snake-formed Zeus.
May your compassionate heart
help me make right the wrongs I have done
whether from ignorance,
or irrational, destructive desires,
or the guilt I have inherited
from my wicked ancestors.
And may your holy heart cleanse the rest of my heart
so that I may persevere in doing good
and in fleeing evil until my final breath,
and please, I pray, pour your intoxicating
inspiration into my heart, you who walk
through the crowd of celebrants with snakes
draped over your shoulders, delighting
in their passionate veneration. Along with
inspiration, I implore you, pour some
of the pain of your indestructible heart
into my heart, O Suffering God, so that I
may carry some of it for you,
even if it is only a small amount,
for your burden is great indeed,
redeemer and restorer of mankind,
perpetual sacrifice poured out
so that the Gods may grant us
grace in abundance.

Hail, Heart of Dionysos, intoxicate me!
Hail, Heart of my Maddener, make me roar!
Hail, Heart of my Hunter, join me in the chase!
Hail, Heart of my Destroyer, tear me open!
Hail, Heart of my Savior, restore me!
Hail, Heart of my Initiator, perfect me!
Hail, Heart of my Director, instruct me!
Hail, Heart of my Vigneron, cultivate me!
Hail, Heart of my King, be my crown!
Hail, Heart of my Benefactor, enrich me!
Hail, Heart of my Beloved, fill me with your grace!
Hail, Heart of my Friend, comfort me!
Hail, Heart of my Brother, stay with me!
Hail, Heart of the child Dionysos, draw me to yourself!
Hail, Heart of the conqueror Dionysos, defend me against enemy hosts!
Hail, Heart of the stranger Dionysos, make me see things differently!
Hail, Heart of Dionysos dying on the vine, share your sufferings with me!
Hail, Heart of Dionysos in all your states, reveal yourself to me!
Hail, most humble Heart, dwell within me!
Hail, most splendorous Heart, shine within me!
Hail, most compassionate Heart, work within me!
Hail, most ardent Heart, be my reward!
Hail, most holy and indestructible Heart, bless me!

Gold-voiced Orpheus sang that the chalk-faced spirits
of the wind-swept steppes chased the thunder-sired calf
straight into the mirror that shattered out into our world,
scattering seeds that would grow into pomegranates,
and ash trees, and figs, and apples, and roses, and tulips,
and ivy that strangles, and aconite, and pine, and hemp,
and wormwood, and mushrooms, and most precious of all
the gnarled vine from which grows the grapes we crush to make our wine.
Our God is all this and so much more. And so we give thanks to you
Dionysos, and ask you to bless our garden and all that we are growing in it,
whether that is flowers which delight our eyes with their vivid colors,
or potent medicines for the body and soul, or food to fill our hungry bellies
that is both healthy and delicious, or the ingredients for incenses
and offerings for our household divinities, or whatever else you have
seen fit to make grow in our garden, O Father of Life, Much-Flourishing One.

Dionysos Abrokomes, we thank you
for providing seasonable weather
and making the Earth fruitful so that
it might produce what is needed for life.
Dionysos Beboskekaios, we ask you
to bless all those who labor in the fields,
those who sell their goods at market,
those who prepare our meals,
and those who make the drugs
that keep both our bodies and souls healthy.
Dionysos Gapedon, we offer you
the firstfruits of all that we acquire
or create, mindful that it is only through
your awesome power and benevolence
that such things have been given us,
and hopeful that in respectfully giving back
we shall receive much more from you in the future,
O kind and gracious one.

O Dionysos Medōmethēs and Bakchepaian,
we lift up any family members who are going through difficult times,
whether it be illness, emotional pain, or other challenges,
and we ask for your healing touch and comfort be upon them,
for they are dear to us as your own Staphylos and Oinopion.

King Dionysos Drepanēphoros,
protector of his people,
I ask you to protect my family
from sickness, from harm,
from envy and division,
and from every kind of accident.
Master Dionysos Desmōluthēnaios,
protector of his people,
if any of us have been subjected
to any curses, spells, or bindings,
I beg you to render these curses,
spells, or bindings null and void
through your might and authority.
Lord Dionysos Dialusos,
protector of his people,
if any evil spirits have been sent against us,
I ask that these evil spirits be sent
to the place of punishment within the Labyrinth,
to be dealt with as you please, Dikerōs.
Then, Hunt Master,
I ask you to send your Furious Host
to guard and protect all of the members
of this pious and Gods-loving household.
[Name all family members.]

Bakcheios who begot many fine children
with your exceedingly beautiful wife Freyja,
and would do anything to defend them,
we pray for the happiness and protection of our family.
Shield us from any danger, Terror of wicked Wights,
and guide our family safely through life’s challenges,
that we may honor you into ripe old age,
and the fruitful continuity of our line be ensured,
O you who fill the halls of Sessrúmnir with joy.

O Dionysos Syndesmos,
we thank you for the blessings
you have stitched into our family
since bringing us together,
for life can be cold, and cruel, and lonely
without people to share it with.
We are grateful for the love and support
we find in one another, Dionysos Plektos,
and may we never take our family for granted,
or fail to cherish the moments we have together.

O Dionysos Lyaios,
I am impure and broken,
imperfect and yet full
of an ardent longing for you.
I have sullied my mind
with improper thoughts,
and behaved in a manner
that was beneath me,
contrary to the laws and norms
that you have given your people
so that we may live the good life
forever with you on Mount Nysa.
Forgive me,
open me up,
release me,
Lord, I pray!
Let your ecstatic madness engulf me
like the heavenly fire that birthed you,
so that I may rise up shining
and pure as the nocturnal stars once more,
and bellow in the hunt
as one of your Furious Host.
And let these words of yours always
be emblazoned upon my heart:
“you can serve your weakness,
or you can fulfill your purpose.”
I implore you to amputate whatever impedes,
and strengthen that which connects me to you,
O master of my wild heart.