A blessing for a new bard

A Blessing for a New Bard.

Step into the circle
in the wooded glade,
wide eyed with wonder;
sometimes afraid.

Greet the forest spirits,
who will guide you on your path,
the slender Birch will sing you
to your Bardic hearth.

Receive the gentle blessings
of the sacred in the land,
find your own way
as a Bard to stand,

with others in fellowship,
in the living stream
of wisdom passed down
through the ancestors’ dream.

Learn from the elements,
earth, water, air and fire,
working with the web
of your spiritual desire.

Feel the healing flowing,
to salve your soul and heart,
as through the Sacred Grove,
you feel your fears depart.

Step forth on a journey,
for some short; others long,
weaving the shape
of your own Bardic song.

Gather at the embers,
of each live-long day,
smoor the fire, then kindle
your spark upon its way.

Dance with joy at being,
a feather on the air,
and find a new beginning
with your initiatory dare;

And the web will stretch and hold you
as the gateway opens wide,
and the Order reaches out
to embrace you with pride.
Written by Cradlehag