The Deer's Cry

With this much of my Anglo heritage dedicated to the immense beauty of the exoteric world, is my challenge as the original nature mystic to turn inwards, away from all that is described in this prayer below, to a completely self-referent intellectual God, or, is it possible, perhaps, that the prayer describes all my interiors, just as aptly?

How wide are my arms? Though I look at the below, and I get that mystified feeling that arises when I watch people demonise the Other. Any other. Doesn't matter whether it's the Islamic nations, doesn't matter whether it's the slightly overweight kid teased on the bus, doesn't matter whether it's the bitching about the department that's responsible for ordering the wrong brand of paper in the office. We, the human race, we've been doing it since time began, 'The Deer's Cry' is a testament to that. Could the post-modern, post-structuralist challenge be to eliminate this demonisation from our language, from our sight, from our sense? In my happy little idealistic world, I can't, for a second, fathom that it can't be done. So yeah, 33 years later, I'm still fascinated, utterly fascinated, that we, as humans, create polarisation, create war. Yes, create. Over and over again.

I guess my key question is can any knowledge, really, corrupt? Are we ever, really, better off for demonising an idea (or a person or a place or a sense), or, can we acknowledge it's existence, then use the magic that I use when kids are misbehaving, which is, ignoring the nasty behaviour, til it just goes away.....

I can't help but note how similar the adjuring is, below, to my Egyptian Book of Mary and the Angels, which is dated substantially later than The Deer's Cry, at 1100 A.D.


Courtesy of St Patrick, dated approx 433 A.D:


I arise to-day
Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,
Through belief in the threeness,
Through confession of the oneness
Of the Creator of Creation.

I arise to-day
Through the strength of Christ's birth with His baptism,
Through the strength of His crucifixion with His burial,
Through the strength of his resurrection with His ascension,
Through the strength of His descent for the judgment of Doom.

I arise to-day
Through the strength of the love of Cherubim,
In obedience of angels,
In the service of archangels,
In hope of resurrection to meet with reward,
In prayers of patriarchs,
In predictions of prophets,
In preachings of apostles,
In faiths of confessors,
In innocence of holy virgins,
In deeds of righteous men.

I arise to-day
Through the strength of heaven:
Light of sun,
Radiance of moon,
Splendor of fire,
Speed of lightning.
Swiftness of wind,
Depth of sea,
Stability of earth,
Firmness of rock.

I arise to-day
Through God's strength to pilot me:
God's might to uphold me,
God's eye to look before me,
God's ear to hear me,
God's word to speak for me,
God's hand to guard me,
God's way to lie before me,
God's shield to protect me,
God's host to save me
From snares of devils,
From temptations of vices,
From every one who shall wish me ill,
Afar and anear,
Alone and in multitude.

I summon to-day all these powers
between me and those evils,
Against every cruel merciless power that
may oppose my body and soul,
Against the incantations of false prophets,
Against the black laws of pagandom,
Against the false laws of heretics,
Against craft of idolatry,
Against spells of women and smiths and wizards,
Against every knowledge that corrupts
mans body and soul.

Christ to shield me to-day
Against poison, against burning,
Against drowning, against wounding,
So that there may come to me an abundance of reward.
Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me,
Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ on my right, Christ on my left,
Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit down, Christ when I arise,
Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of every one who speaks of me,
Christ in every eye that sees me,
Christ in every ear that hears me.

I arise today,
Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,
Through belief in the threeness,
Through confession of the oneness
Of Creator of Creation.