Blessing of the old one

May the blessing of the Old One be upon you.
May you see far into the black night with keen owl eyes.
May you pad quietly through the shadowed wood, wolfhound at your side.
May you wrap the starry night around you like a cloak.
May you breathe in pain and breathe out compassion.
May you know the comfort of silence and the grace of your own company.
I bless you with a broken heart that is stitched together,
torn and unravelled, then mended once again.
I bless you with a scar on your breast
and a tattoo of green vines to encircle your heart.
I bless you with the strength to bear that which is unbearable.
I am the Old Woman.
I know how the story ends.
Go now, keep to the winding path of your life, and remember me.
At the dark of every moon, remember me.
At the crossroads of every life decision, remember me.
When you light candles for the ancestors on All Hallows Eve, remember me.
When you enter the Underworld of loss and despair, remember me.
When you abide in the tomb of darkness and the womb of awakening, remember me.
Today, tonight, and for evermore.
  ©2013 Joanna Powell Colbert.)