A Prayer of Autumn Welcoming

Welcome, Autumn, arms full of summer’s blessing,
carrying the seeds of life for next year’s planting.
Come, enter my home with your golden wisdom;
be my guest and share my table.

Welcome, Old Wise One,
may I be your student in the school of gratitude.
Guide me in reflecting upon the summer now gone,
that I might give thanks for all the many gifts
that have enriched me in that season of growth.

I greet you, spirits of darkness
that dwell in the night and within me.
While you are frightening, you are also a source of power;
may I not fear you
but learn to live in holy harmony with you;
you are not evil unless you dominate me.
Night within me, I welcome you as well;
may all your spirits that reside in me
live in harmony with the Spirit of the Holy.

– Edward Hays
(from Prayers for a Planetary Pilgrim)

See also the previous Wild Reed posts:
• O Sacred Season of Autumn
• “Thou Hast Thy Music Too”
• Autumn’s Wordless Message
• Autumn – Within and Beyond (2018)
• Autumn – Within and Beyond (2016)
• Autumnal (and Rather Pagan) Thoughts on the Making of “All Things New”
• Autumn Psalm
• Autumn Beauty
• Autumn Leaves
• Autumn Hues
• Autumn by the Creek
• From the River to the Falls
• Autumn Dance
• An Autumn Walk by Minnehaha Creek
• The Last of Autumn’s Hues
• “This Autumn Land Is Dreaming”

Image: Michael J. Bayly.