Prayers and rites to Cel (Terra)

 

Etruscan prayer to Cel

Oh, Thou, Cel, primal Genetrix, whose capacious bosom doth tenderly cradle the very seeds of forthcoming harvests and the nascent stirrings of all terrestrial life! From Thy profound and verdant depths, where the sun’s auroral kiss doth first awaken the slumbering germ, to those umbrageous and solemn declivities that border upon the silent realms of the Manes, Thy dominion is absolute, Thy generative influence without cessation. Thou art the unyielding foundation upon which our Etruscan hearths are built, the bounteous sustainer from whose dark, emollient breast the golden grain doth miraculously ascend, a testament to Thy ceaseless, nurturing care.

Cel Ati, Mother benign and of formidable power! The vinedresser, with sweat-bedewed brow, doth look unto Thee as his tendrils unfurl their delicate emerald filigree, and the husbandman, casting his hopeful seed upon the furrowed lea, doth invoke Thy sacred name, trusting in Thy ancient compact with the recurrent seasons. For in Thy gift, O mighty Cel, lieth not merely the promise of the wheaten ear and the swelling grape, but the very warp and weft of our mortal existence, the silent, steadfast assurance of continuity. The lowing herds upon a thousand pastures acknowledge Thy sustenance, and the deep-rooted forests, standing as silent sentinels through the ages, draw their enduring strength from Thy inscrutable heart.

When the augur, with grave and reverent mien, doth mark the celestial quadrant wherefrom the eagle takes its significant flight, or notes the lightning’s dread descent, is it not Thy chthonic wisdom, O Cel, that whispers through the quivering earth, lending portent to the ephemeral sign? Thou art the silent witness to the turning of fates, the unacknowledged presence in the casting of lots, Thy influence as pervasive as the very soil that clings to our weary sandals. The Etruscan folk, from the humblest artisan to the most noble Lucumo, owe unto Thee their daily bread, their flowing wine, the very clay that shapes the votive offering.

Grant then, O Cel of the ample embrace, that Thy fields may ever be fecund, Thy hidden springs perennially sweet. May the pestilential blight and the scorching drought turn aside from our consecrated lands, and may the shadow of Thy handmaid, gentle Persipnei, touch lightly upon the souls departing, guiding them through Thy subterranean corridors to their appointed rest. For Thou art the beginning and the end, the quiescent Earth that receives all, and from whom all blessings are ultimately reborn. Let our voices, though but fleeting echoes in the grand theatre of Thy works, rise in perpetual veneration of Thy majesty, Cel, Earth Mother, eternal and ever-bountiful!

Etruscan liturgy to Cel

 

Liturgy to Cel, Mother of the Earth

(Ritual Context: To secure fertility, prosperity, and protection from chthonic forces.)

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Invocation (Klarathia)

Priest (Cepen):
“Cel ati, Cel hinθa, Cel śuthi!
(Cel, mother; Cel, sovereign; Cel, holy one!)
Tularu spureni, methlumi rasneas, θaura θesum θuθcun.
(You who mark the boundaries of cities, the measure of the people, accept this offering.)
Śuri-c mlaχ ceχa, śuri-c θunχulθa, śuri-c θuθiu.
(With lightning you speak, with thunder you judge, with earth you nourish.)

Munθu śuθi, śucri θaura, θunχveleśa celi-c!
(Bend your ear, sacred goddess, to the smoke of this rite!)
Zilci-c marunuχva, ais-c śasnal, ais-c tinscvil.
(By the authority of the skies, by the divine law, by the will of Tinia [Jupiter].)

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Offering (Eisna)

(The priest pours wine, scatters grain, and burns incense on a sacred altar [θaura]).

Priest:
“Celi-c θaura! Celi-c θaura! Celi-c θaura!
(To Cel, this offering! Thrice repeated.)
Vinum θu θaura, far θu θaura, θuθiu θaura-c śuθ!
(Wine we pour, grain we scatter, incense we burn for you!)
Śuθi-c śarri, Cel ati, pruθuve-c tesam tev.
(Accept these gifts, Mother Cel, and open the path of abundance.)

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Divination Petition (Trin θufi)

(A bronze liver model [Etruscan: haruspex tool] is raised, seeking signs of Cel’s favor.)

Priest:
“Nethunsl-c śucri, Cel-c śucri, θui θufi-c turan!
(By Netḥuns [Neptune] of the deep, by Cel of the earth, reveal the divine will!)
Śpante-c fulguriθa, θunχulθa-c θesum, θaura śuθi-c śarri!
(Interpret the lightning, judge the thunder, let the offering be accepted!)
Śuri-c marunuχve, śuri-c aisnaθ, śuri-c zilciθ!”
(By the voice of the storm, by the divine sign, by the sky’s decree!)

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Closing (Aiserase)

Priest (raising a libation bowl):
“Cel ati, śuθi-c śarri!
(Mother Cel, accept our prayer!)
Velθina-c spureni, θaura-c θesum, θuθiu-c śuth!
(Bless the people, the land, and the seasons!)
Zilχ ceχa, aisnaθ-c θaura, θunχveleśa-c θui!”
(The rite is spoken, the offering given, the earth appeased!)

(The assembly responds: “Śuthi Cel! Śuthi Cel! Śuthi Cel!” – “Holy Cel! Thrice hailed!”)