"The Tools of the Wise"
Copyright 1989 (c) by Dolores Ashcroft-Nowicki and The Elders.
All Rights reserved. No reproduction without written permission.

Now count ye the tools of the Wise Ones.
Now make them and master them well.
But remember that tools are but symbols
Of Powers that deeply indwell.

The Rod is the symbol of Kingship
To guide and to guard and to Rule.
But its Ruler must also be humble
For the Wisest of Kings is the Fool.

The Sword is the bringer of Power.
Its edges are sharp and are two.
One edge is to combat the darkness.
The other, the darkness in you.

The Cup is the giver of Vision
And opens the eye to the light.
To drink is to see what is hidden
For the Gift of the Seer is Sight.

Its wine is the giver of Sorrow,
Of sweetness and Love and of Life.
Who drinks to the dregs will be blessed.
Who passes may come to know strife.

The Horn is the giver of Plenty
Both in things of above and below
But it also holds death in its giving
For the wisest must reap where they sow.

The Staff is the guider of footsteps
For a wise one must venture afar.
He looks for the way that is hidden
For the doorway whose key is a star.

The Knife is the holder of Balance.
It is used both by man and by maid
It pointeth the way to the Goddess
And holds death on the length of its blade.

The Cord it doth bind us together
By the Cord we are welded like one.
Its strength is the strength of the many.
It has to be all or be none.
   ---       ---       ----

So these are the tools of the Wise Ones
Ancient in time and in Love
From a source that has long been forgotten
Laid out on the Dancing Floor.