To celebrate this holiday of our fathers, gather one blue, one red, and one green candle, and light all three of them. Place the red candle in the center of the three. Take a piece of string that is thirteen inches long, and tie a knot in the string after you speak each of the following lines:

Father,
Ancient hunter,
Protector of clans and kin,

Ancient warrior
And keeper of fire,
Protector of the hearth.

Powerful presence
whose courage is manifest in compassion and loyalty.

Father, son,
Uncle, brother,
Loyal as the mighty Bear.

Teacher of the ways
of sacred nature,
Listener of the winds, rider of the waves,

Tiller of the earth,
Spirit free,
Dancer of the ancient hunts.

Father.

Wind whisper your secrets from the ancients.
Water flow through him with your healing secrets.

Fire of the cosmos fill his life force with thy spark.
Earth speak to him through thy animals, rocks, and sea.

Let thy trees whisper in his ears.

Shamans of old,
Chieftains and fathers, Guide his spirit
with wisdom and courage.

Bring ancient lessons
of the alpha wolf,
Protector of the pack.

Strength, courage,
wisdom, insight.
Father of many gifts,
Radiant as the Sun.

Ancestor, protector,
Companion, healer,
Teacher, and friend.
Father.

The strength and fidelity of the fathers is held fast in these knots of truth.

So mote it be.


Holiday lore:
The first Father's Day was observed on June 19, 1910 in Spokane, Washington. At about the same time in various towns and cities across American other people were beginning to celebrate a father's day as a balance to the more well-known Mother's Day holiday. In 1924, President Calvin Coolidge supported the idea of a national Father's Day. It wasn't until 1966 that President Lyndon Johnson signed a presidential proclamation declaring the third Sunday of June as Father's Day. It's a good day to honor the wisdom of the elder males in your family.