The Charges of the One and the Opposite

[crowdog66]

I recently created these for the Matrix RPG I'm running, "Degrees of Separation", and while I've posted them to mtx_deg_sep I also wanted to include them in my own LJ, because I think they turned out very well.

In Wiccan practice, a "charge" is a piece of liturgy read aloud by the officiating Priest/ess, and is taken as the divinely inspired words of the Deity being invoked. In Temple practice in the DegSep universe, charges are also used when the High Priest of the One or the High Priestess of the Opposite addresses the assembled worshippers at the beginning of a religious ceremony or festival. There are several versions of the Charges approved for Temple use, but these are the ones most widely known, and are often used as prayers or mediations even outside of a formal ritual context.

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The Charge of The One (traditionally read before the Charge of the Opposite)

I am He whom you have called Life. I am the Consort and Mate of Him you fear, the Winter Lord, the Opposite -- speak My name, and He is there, for Ours is a love that crushes death beneath its heel and pays no heed to the wheel of time. Therefore I hear you, My dearest heart, and behold! I smile upon you.

Truth and mercy, compassion and healing, these are Mine and My blessings to those who seek Me. Arise with Me in the rapture of a perfect sky and cast away the lies that have bound you: touch the face of the sun and drink deeply from the cup of brotherhood, for in Me all men find light and hope eternal.

See My face in the warmth of every dawn, in the shafts of radiance striking fire from the cliffs of the cities and the wilds. Seek Me with pride and humility, but seek Me best with love and strength. Cry to Me in longing, and yours will be the power to rejoice without measure. Acknowledge your desire and look upon Me, and you will discover your own unquenchable spirit, your hunger for truth, and your illuminating wisdom.

I am the fire within your heart and the yearning of your soul.
I am the voice who calls you to begin your journey.
I am the hunter of knowledge and the seeker of the holy quest.
I am the key that unlocks every door.
I am the healer of all wounds, the warrior who rights all wrongs in their time.
I make the weak strong and the arrogant humble; I raise up the oppressed and empower the lost.
I am the passion in the breast of every lover; I am the hope of every fortress; I am the seed that breaks the silent earth.
I am the thousand-named embodiment of rebirth; know that by all names, I am the same.
I am the corn at harvest and the apples on the trees.
I am the wine of life, the draught that sustains and renews.
I bring love and strength, peace and passion, hope and joy, for I am the gentle lover in the night.
I am He who leads you home, for I am the glory of discovery, and I am that which is attained at the end of desire.

I call upon your bodies to arise and come unto Me, for I am the flesh of the earth and all its beings. I give the knowledge of life everlasting, and beyond death I give the promise of regeneration and renewal. Let My worship be in the body that sings, and honor My sacrifice with celebrations of life and of pleasure. Therefore, let there be beauty and strength, power and compassion, honor and humility, mirth and reverence within you. Find delight in freedom and freedom of delight; embrace all things that make you human and remind you of what it is to be truly alive.

Take My love with you everywhere and find the power within to become who you will, for I have been with you from the beginning, and every beat of your heart arises from My light, which can never die.

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The Charge of the Opposite (traditionally read immediately after the Charge of the One)

I am He whom you have called Death. I am the Consort and Mate of Him you adore, the Summer Lord, the One -- shall you call forth to Him, and not hear Me answer?

Scourge and flame, blade and blood, these are Mine and My gifts to those who seek Me. Come to Me in the deepest night and see that which cannot be seen, face the terror that is yours alone: for this is My path, and I love not the weak and fearful. Hear My call on long winter nights, in the twilight mist, in the cloud that crosses the moon. Swim to Me through the blackest oceans, to the center of your greatest fears. Scream to Me in terror, and yours will be the power to endure. Swallow your fear and look upon Me, and you will discover truest strength, most adamant courage, and darkest wisdom.

I am the shadow in the brightest day.
I am the reminder of mortality at the height of your revelries.
I am the fury which rips the flesh from injustice; I slit the throats of the cruel and drink the blood of the heartless.
I am the glowing forge that transforms your inner demons into tools of power.
I am the fire that kisses away your shackles.
I am the cold sword that brings destruction to your enemies.
I am the silence before your first heartbeat and after your last.
I am the clouded mirror in which you scry your own soul.
I am the absence of air that awaits at the bottom of every breath.
I am the ending before life begins again, the decay that fertilizes the living.
I am the bottomless pit, the never-ending struggle to reclaim that which is denied, for I am that which is hidden, secluded and forbidden.
I am the things that may not be spoken of, and I am the laughter at the edge of death.

Seek Me, and you shall be transformed, for once you look upon My face, there is no return. You shall approach Me in silence, and as a sign that you are free from fear, your breast shall be bare to My blade, for fear has no place in My mysteries, and that which you seek of Me will destroy you if you recoil from it. I will lead you through the darkness; My hand you grasp in the passage between the shadows of life and death. To those that toy with Me, I am an instrument of self-destruction. Yet to the true seeker do I bring knowledge beyond mortal comprehension.

Think of Me when you feel most alive, and give Me due honor, until the time when I shall meet you at the crossroads between the worlds.

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(I wish I could take credit for most of the above, but I can't. Parts of it are my own, but other bits were lifted almost whole cloth from several Wiccan Charges of the God, the Goddess, and the Dark Goddess, though as pieces of editing I'm rather proud of them, and I do intend to use them as Charges in RL, outside of the RP.)

Comments

[he-dreams-awake.livejournal.com]

Wonderous Laurie! This is a great piece. Neo wants to talk to you. Could you please messege him on AIM? He's downloading and his buddy list won't come up.
Thank you,
Trinity