I do not summon softness.
I do not call the goddess in garlands.
I call the Huntress who runs through bloodied bramble,
The She-Bear who guards the axis of the stars.
I call Artemis in her oldest form,
Child of Leto, twin of flame,
Who never bowed to husband nor king.
Come, Arkteia. Come, Bear-Mother.
Come, clad not in silk but in the skin of night.
I stand at the edge.
Barefoot. Bared-soul.
I come not to worship, but to awaken.
I call the spirits of the Arktoi, the bear-maidens,
The ones who danced in moonlight, who shed the maiden-skin.
Who learned claw, tooth, silence, fire.
Let them rise again.
Let them circle the one I name.
Let them whisper strength into her bones.
Let them paint the old marks upon his skin.
Guard them, Artemis, as you guarded Iphigenia.
Fierce. Hidden. Transformed.
Let your names echo:
BRIMO — Earth-breaker.
BAUBŌ — Obscene, sacred, unashamed.
IEA — Shooter of deer.
AMAMA APHROUMA — Queen of the wish.
PHAESSA — Radiance hidden in shadow.
BREXERIKANDARA— Fire-bodied, unutterable.
Let your arrows fly unseen,
Your breath be wind in their lungs,
Your bear-claws rend the cords of fear.
Let the Bear come.
The one who rules heaven, axis, star-turning dome.
Let Her circle the named one.
Let Her take up vigil beside their sleep.
Speak their name aloud. Speak it with breath.
Mark it upon the earth, or in the air with ash.
This is the ancient oath:
That none who walk the forest alone
Shall do so unguarded, if they are kin to the Bear.
Repeat:
ARTEMIS, HUNTRESS, BEAR-MOTHER, COME.
ARKTOI, BEAR-MAIDENS, RISE.
COSMIC BEAR, STAR-TURNER, PROTECT.
Ritual Note:
Must be performed under the crescent or full moon, ideally at a threshold (edge of forest, mouth of cave, abandoned shrine).
Go barefoot. Bring something from the wild (bone, bark, fur) and something from your own transition (a braid, a scrap, a symbol).
Mark forehead with red ochre, mud, or ash.
Speak the name of the protected soul three times.
Listen for silence, for breath not your own.
You may feel eyes in the dark. Do not fear them. Bow.
