Two water invocations

This past week I had the good fortune of invoking West in two separate rituals! Here are the invocations I wrote. A lot of what’s written here is only an approximation of what I said in ritual, since I was caught up in the moment and ad-libbed a bit. Enjoy!

Invocation 1 (all-purpose)

Hail, Water!

Hail vast ocean, deep seething cauldron, big belly, ancient home!

Hail cloud and rain and snow!

Hail mist and fog and sleet!

Hail water in the soil, bulging in the humus, pulsing in the roots, dripping from the leaves!

Hail still pools and hot springs, rivers and lakes and ponds, smelly pond and thick mud!

Hail water in my body, blood and muscle and tooth and brain!

Hail intuition, knowing without knowing, the drip-drip-drip of secret sense!

Hail anger and sadness and hurt and rage and joy and gratitude and love!

O Water, you are my body and I am you!

Water, come join our circle!

Hail and welcome, Water!

Hail and welcome, West!

Invocation 2 (Imbolc, with an emphasis on using Brigid’s Well to set intentions and make pledges for Spring)

West, Spirit of Water!

Hail, guardians of the threshold of the West!

Hail, place of sunset and evening star!

Hail, place of twilight and vast ocean!

Hail, place of deep coiled serpent!

Water, tonight we honor you!

Water, tonight we build our well and gather round!

Water, tonight we seek to make magic with you!

See our well, waiting!

See our offerings, eager!

Water, will you join us?

O Spirits of the West, will you come make magic with us?

Water, you are the ink with which we inscribe our hopes!

Water, you are the rain that nourishes our courage!

O West, will you join our circle?

O Spirits of Water, will you help us make magic?

O guardians of the threshold of the West, I call to you with love in my heart!

Come join our circle!

Come help us make magic!

Hail and welcome, Water!

Hail and welcome, West!

Both of them seem awfully long when they’re written out, but when I timed them, they each fell short of my tradition’s recommended 2-4 minutes. I like shorter invocations–less chance of people getting distracted or bored.

What do you think, reader, of my substitution of the word “threshold” for “watchtowers?” I can’t remember what inspired me to do that, only that I’ve never been certain what exactly the watchtowers are watching. I do like the watchtower imagery, but decided to give “threshold” a try.