“Bring to woods and fields your own true love, lay you down upon the fertile ground. As you languish in each tender move, pray the Gods to bless the joy you’ve found”.
These words from my song, Gods and Lovers, set a mood of romance, sexuality and love! As the Goddess has told us, “…all acts of love and pleasure are my rituals”. Therefore, we Pagans celebrate these acts of love, which elevate our spirits in that sacred communion of heart to heart, soul to soul, body to body.
Crow Women recognize God energy
Even though the Crowwomyn are a Goddess-oriented coven, we acknowledge and revere the Gods, their masculine energy and influence. Our recent album, Pantheon, honors many Deities, including those ancient male Holy Ones who create the balance of energies so important to the pagan world.
As we have celebrated the sexuality of The Goddess in many of our songs, so we revel in the randiness of the Gods, and welcome their juicy abundance in our lives!
While these Gods hark back to an earlier time- a time when everyday life was full of Majik and the Deities influenced every action- we can feel their presence in our lives today. If we pay attention, if we allow our minds to open to the undercurrent of magic in the air, we can sense the Divine working to bring us pleasure and joy.
Juicy beginnings of the song
The origin of this song references a Majikal encounter from several years ago. At a time in my life when I was hankering for a sizzling romance, the Goddess stepped in an arranged a liaison for me! The voice of the Goddess literally whispered in my ear, insisting, directing me, saying, “Stay here, don’t go home yet, go over there, start a conversation with that man, don’t leave…” and the rest unfolded like a Hollywood movie! Intense blue eyes, flirtatious comments, a glass of wine, a tumble in the back seat of a car, then several days of dalliance before he left town.
The Majikal connection continued through digital messages and phone calls. He remains dear to me even now, in spite of my present and lasting love with my partner.
To honor this experience, yet hide the details of the actual event, I wrote a song celebrating sexuality, romance and physical connection, in the form of recognizing the Gods of fertility and sex. My creation was Goddess-inspired, and flowed from an abundance of emotion. I included mention of several Gods known for their influence of romance and love. Because the man (now many miles away) is an artist, the final verse of the song reflects his artistry as a painter, and the splendor of our coming together.
Who are these Gods?
In my song, I reference Pan, Chief of the Satyrs, with his goat horns and hooves. He is a major womanizer, encouraging his followers, the Maenads, into a sexual frenzy! Pan entices us on a wanton journey to abandon fear and pretentions! He leads us toward pleasure with our lover, with no doubt or shame. Pan shows us how to be our true, authentic, carnal selves.
We encounter a strong and powerful God in Cernurnnos- The Horned God! A seated god-figure, surrounded by other powerful animal images, Cernurnnos is an ancient symbol of wealth, fecundity and power. His affinity to the Oak shows him to be a part of the wild landscape, where we experience the most primitive impulses and abandon our inhibitions- feeling the passion of the Horned One.
Finally, we encounter Cupid- also known as Eros. The original Cupid is depicted as a young and charming God, who creates love matches for those desiring sexual passion. Cupid can be mischeivious or align us with our perfect lover.
In the Victorian era, his image morphed into that of a winged infant, shooting arrows toward the would-be lovers. This characteristic is evident in the following excerpt from Shakespeare, Midsummer Night’s Dream:
Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind
And therefore is winged Cupid painted blind.
Nor hath love’s mind of any judgement taste;
Wings and no eyes figure unheedy haste.
And therefore is love said to be a child
Because in choice he is so oft beguiled.[18]
Celebrating males and Gods in song
I am not the only one to create a song about Men- or about the Divine Male. If you are familiar with Hymn to Herne by SJ Tucker you know the rolicking, rowdy expression of the power of the Horned One! You can hear Hymn to Herne here on YouTube.
Outside the Pagan songbook, there are of course multitudes of songs written about that essence of Maleness! Whether your man is a two-timer, like the Smooth Operator that Sade describes, or sincerely faithful to his mate, as in the classic by When A Man Loves a Woman by Percy Sledge, a relationship between a woman and a man (or any pairing of passionate people) has such strong emotional dynamics. We often express these feelings through song.
How’s your love life?
Pagans everywhere celebrate the union of Goddess with her consort God, a template for Woman and Man. The Great Rite elevates the act of sex to a powerful ceremony of Majic and Charm. Do you find a strong spiritual connection with your lover- male, female or nonbinary? The dichotomy of male/female can be part of any carnal encounter, when we recognize that the Horned God is among us, regardless of gender designation, and deep within our DNA! Rejoice and allow the sexual energy to flow!
I’ll finish with the lyrics and audio of my song Gods and Lovers. This song, one of 21 new songs on our most recent album Patheon: Honoring the Pagan Divine, can be found on our Bandcamp page.
Blessings on your unions!
Gods and Lovers
Every man and maiden come
To the Garden of Delight
Satisfying wish and will
In the Greatness of the Rite.Chorus:
Come together, come with me
Place your kiss upon my heart.
Underneath the Magic Tree
There may passion start.Great God Pan, we bring our hearts to you,
Welcome blessings of the goat-horned one.
Sky-clad lovers, standing free and true,
See all acts of love and pleasure done.Cernunnos, accompany
Those desiring of desire.
Like the Oak with spreading limbs,
We embody Nature’s fire.
(Chorus)Bring to woods and fields your own true love,
Lay you down to bless the fertile ground.
As you languish in each tender move,
Pray the Gods to bless the joy you’ve found.Cry aloud for passion’s sting,
Bare your breast to Cupid’s aim.
Long will lovers’ heat endure
In surrender to the flame.
(Chorus)Bind the colors of the earth and sky,
Paint them on our hearts, our eyes, our lips-
That each kiss, each sigh and each embrace
With their brilliance will the sun eclipse.
With their brilliance will the sun eclipse.music & lyrics © Marilyn Stacey Leftwich (ASCAP) 2019
For more information about the Crow Women pagan choir, and access to all the blog posts by Marilyn and the other 9 crowsingers who have written for Pagan Song, you can visit the Crow Women author page here on Pagan Song.
You can find our collected articles about God Magic, and about Sex and Love magic, in our online Book of Shadows here on Pagan Song. We’ve been online for over 6 years, with hundreds of posts to our name. Many resources for you!
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