Invocation To Pan

Pan is the Lord of the Woods, god of goatherds and huntsmen; ecstatic dancer; god of laughter and good humor; god of excessive sexual desire (hence his opposition to marriage). He is called 'the lonely God', and 'the last arrived of the Gods'. Half-man, half-goat, He is the original party animal. He is the mediator between nature and the Gods. He is a God of strength - the marathon torch race in the original Olympics was dedicated to Pan - and He saved the Greeks at Marathon. He was not an Athenian God, but an Arcadian, from the rugged mountainsides. He fought the Titans with Zeus, yet His panic makes battle impossible, breaking the artificial bond of an army and causing everyone to run away. He has connections to Artemis, Goddess of the hunt: He shares Her nymphs and must obey Her. Pan is the one who led Persephone's wedding dance, happily piping His pipes as She was led into the underworld, yet it was Pan who found Demeter in mourning when no one else could find Her. And it was Pan's daughter, Iambe, who got Demeter to laugh and forget Her grief for just a moment. When you clap your hands, you are doing homage to Pan, when you laugh, and when you dance.

The legend of Pan tells of a god born with goat legs and feet, horns, and a furry human upper body. The other gods ridiculed him because of his appearance, and so Pan left Olympus, and went to live in Arcadia. There, he spent his time chasing lovely nymphs, and playing on his pipes. Pan was the god of flocks, forests and fields, and is often associated with Nature in general. At times, he would stamp his foot in anger, and cause a "panic" among mortals.

Pan became especially enamoured of a water nymph, or naiad, named Syrinx. He pursued her, but she escaped him by fleeing to a river, where she was changed to a stand of reeds. Pan finally took some of these, and fashioned the instrument known as "Pan's pipes", on which
he played to console himself.

Face the altar with raised hands and say: 

*** 

O Great God Pan, 

Beast and man, 

Shepherd of goats and Lord of the Land, 

I call you to attend my rites 

On this most magickal of nights. 

God of the wine, 

God of the vine, 

God of the fields and God of the kine, 

Attend my circle with your love 

And send Your blessings from above. 

Help me to heal; 

Help me to feel; 

Help me to bring forth love and weal. 

Pan of the forests, Pan of the glade, 

Be with me as my magick is made! 

*** 

" Great God Pan, return to Earth again! 

Come at my call and show thyself to men. 

Shepherd of Goats, upon the wild hill's way, 

Lead thy lost flock from darkness into day, 

Forgotten are the ways of sleep and night, 

Men seek for them whose eyes have lost the light. 

Open the door, the door which hath no key, 

The door of dreams, whereby men come to thee. 

O Mighty Stag, O answer to me! 

Oh, playful one, with pipe you prance, 

The goat-foot Pan, lord of the dance. 

With feral joy in ancient wood 

You embue life with mirth and good. 

Of seed and beast and plant and tune 

We seek your form under this moon. 

The woodland king, the lord of trees, 

Friend to the moon and stars and breeze. 

Hear us, horned one, your children cry, 

And bring your song of life nearby. 

Give us your fertile and creative force 

And help to return us to wildness, our source. 

Wild wond'rous Pan, the forest's sire 

Enter this circle as we desire. 

Enclose us all, be with us today 

Magically join in our sacred play. 

Pan Incense 

1 tsp -- pine needles 

1/2 tsp -- cinquefoil 

1/2 tsp -- sage 

1/4 tsp -- patchouli leaves 

1/2 tsp - cedar 

1/2 tsp - bay leaf 

1/2 tsp - Devil's shoelace 

11 drops - musk oil 

4 drops - civet oil 

9 drops - fir oil