Prayers to Aphrodite: For Navigating the Unknown in the New Year

Blessed Aphrodite
Fair Lady of Cyprus
Goddess of the World
I give my thanks to you
For guiding me this past year

2021 was not the year
Any of us hoped for
The pandemic rages on 
And it is clear
There will not be
A definitive end

No day of declared victory
No sigh of relief
No joyous celebration
Only a bone-deep exhaustion slightly abated
And a pyrrhic acceptance
Of the new “normal”

In this strange reality,
I pray to you, Goddess
To help me navigate 
These uncharted waters

Give me the skill
To ride the roaring waves
With balance and grace
With ferocity and compassion

Grant me the strength
To persevere in the long days ahead
To support those I love
And to do my work in this world

Empower me with the courage
To face the unknown
With the certainty
That whatever comes,
I shall persist

Bless me with hope
So that, on even the longest nights,
I can shine a light for others

Please surround me with your love
With the love that knows no bounds
The love that transcends all
And touches the very soul

Fierce and Loving Aphrodite
I thank you for your blessings

So mote it be.