I call to Urania of the stars,
daughter of Zeus and wise Mnemosyne,
great muse who looks ever to the sky,
bearer of the stellar globe,
well-cloaked in spangled darkness,
yours is the art of the heavenly sphere,
the reading of the starry night,
the distant lights of the many worlds.
Friend of the star-gazer and the poet,
the prophet and the sage, I praise your might.
O Urania, great of wisdom,
I pray to you, goddess, I honor your gifts.
To Thalia
I call to Thalia, wreathed in ivy,
daughter of Zeus and wise Mnemosyne,
good mother of the Corybantes
who dance with spear and shield a-clash,
O merry muse of comedy,
of country rhyme and rustic tales,
bearer of the long-armed crook
with which the shepherd guides his flock,
yours is the laughter that clears the soul,
the simple jest and the sharpened wit.
O ever-blooming Thalia,
I pray to you, goddess, I honor your gifts.
To Terpsichore
I call to Terpsichore, great of grace,
daughter of Zeus and wise Mnemosyne,
beautiful goddess, lissome and lithe,
merry-hearted muse of dance,
giver of comfort and of bliss,
we know you as we whirl and sway,
we find you as the music finds us.
Yours, O goddess, is joy in motion,
yours is the rhythm of the form,
yours the embodiment of song.
Terpsichore, granter of delight
I pray to you, goddess, I honor your gifts.
To Polyhymnia
I call to Polyhymnia, blessed one,
daughter of Zeus and wise Mnemosyne,
I call to you, goddess whose gift it is
to glorify the holy, to grant us faith,
to inspire us in all devotion,
to fire our souls with love for the gods.
Polyhymnia, sustainer of hope,
yours are the words of reverence,
the heartfelt call to deity;
yours is the spark of divine ecstasy.
Polyhymnia, exalted one,
I pray to you, goddess, I honor your gifts.
To Melpomene
I call to Melpomene, great of might,
daughter of Zeus and wise Mnemosyne,
mother of the Sirens who sing men
to their doom, O muse of tragedy,
goddess who joins the many voices,
goddess who knows the many tales.
Melpomene, you sing of sorrows,
you sing of the bonds of fate,
of greatness brought to a bitter end;
you grant the gift of the heart’s release.
Melpomene who bears the sword,
I pray to you, goddess, I honor your gifts.
To Euterpe
I call to Euterpe who gives such delight,
daughter of Zeus and wise Mnemosyne,
goddess who plays upon the flute,
O muse of sweet music, I call out to you.
Yours is the singer and the song;
yours is the rhythm and the tune;
yours is melody, harmony, rhapsody.
Friend of the songsmith and the player,
O goddess, you hold in hand the power
to soothe the spirit, to charge the soul.
Euterpe, granter of joy to all,
I pray to you, goddess, I honor your gifts.
To Erato
I call to Erato, wreathed in roses,
daughter of Zeus and wise Mnemosyne,
goddess who sings of the heart’s desire,
who plays so sweetly upon the lyre.
O muse who inspires the words of love
that quicken the breath, that fire the loins,
that bring us together in pleasure and joy,
Erato who is the friend of lovers,
O beautiful goddess, beloved one,
yours is the spark that kindles love’s flame.
Erato, summoner of passion,
I pray to you, goddess, I honor your gifts.
To Clio
I call to Clio, great of knowledge,
daughter of Zeus and wise Mnemosyne,
goddess who knows much of ancient days,
of what has been, and thus of what may be.
Great muse of history, you look to the past
and understand its import and its might;
you hold in your heart the lessons of time,
the wisdom that has passed through the world.
Through your power do we hear the words
of those long gone, do we receive their counsel.
Clio, chronicler of the good and the ill,
I pray to you, goddess, I honor your gifts.
To Calliope
I call to Calliope, eldest of muses,
daughter of Zeus and wise Mnemosyne,
goddess who tells the hero’s tale,
recounter of great deeds. Calliope,
mother of sweet-singing Orpheus,
you know well of sorrow and of loss;
you know too of the venturesome soul,
the core of greatness in humanity,
and how to tend a noble story
that it may grow into a legend.
Calliope, easer of the flow of words,
I pray to you, goddess, I honor your gifts.
To Leto
All praise to Leto, blessed among mothers,
who brought forth fair twins, Artemis and Apollo,
children mighty and shining bright. Leto,
daughter of Coeus and luminous Phoebe,
dark-veiled goddess, gentle and kind,
friend of women who lie in childbed,
of mothers who hold their babes at night,
protector of youth, of all innocent ones,
O Leto, great goddess who hears all prayers,
I call to you with a grateful heart.
I honor you, good and gracious Leto,
I offer you my praise and seek your blessing.
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