The Equinox (Volume I, Number VI)

THE RITES OF ELEUSIS Surely the scented sleep That crowns the equal war ls wiser than only to weep— Το weep for evermore ! Now, at the crown of the year, The decadent days of October, I come to thee, God, without fear ; Pious, chaste, and sober. I solemnly sacrifice This first-fruit flower of wine For a vehicle of thy vice, As I am Thine to be mine. For five in the year gone by I pray Thee give to me one; A lover stronger than I, A moon to swallow the sun ! May he be like a lily-white goat, Crisp as a thicket of thorns, With a collar of gold for his throat, A scarlet bow for his horns! CANCER. May our Lady Artemis be favourable! TAURUS. May our Lady Artemis never be awakened ! [NYMPH?ששמ/!ושמששand dances her "uirginal(lanæ. ΡΑΝ. Of what worth is the gold in the mine? CANCER. Brother Pan, be silent. NYMPH. Bear the Cup οί Libation! CANCER- 333'333-333- PAN, [Rea/es. Mother of Light, and the Gods ! Mother of Music, awake! Silence and Speech are at odds ; Heaven and Hell are at stake. By the Rose and the Cross I conjure; I constrain by the Snake and the Sword ; I am he that is sworn to endure—Bring us the word of the Lord ! By the brood of the Bysses of Brightening, whose God was my sire ; By the Lord of the Flame and the Lightning, the King of the Spirits of Fire ; 120