During the month
of July, our blog’s focus will be on science and spirituality – two spheres of
human experience that have often been at odds over the centuries. And yet, as our
esteemed authors will remind us over the next few weeks, these two areas of our
lives overlap quite a bit, and they have the potential to enrich our world all
the more as they begin to reconverge after a long time apart.
This week, please
join me in appreciating the following poems, both old and new, which celebrate
the wonders of creation from a variety
of perspectives. We begin with an invocation to Urania, the Muse of Astronomy!
“Ad Uraniam” (“To Urania”)
By Ilona Niederkorn III, Staff Writer
In the realms of the night, Urania soars,
Gazing down with wisdom untold.
She whispers the secrets of cosmic lore,
A symphony of stars, to behold.
Under the cloak of darkness profound,
Urania weaves constellations in the sky.
Her artistry paints the heavens around,
A masterpiece, a cosmic tapestry.
In the language of the stars, Urania speaks,
Unveiling the riddles that the night sky keeps.
She dances 'neath the moon’s soft silvered gleam,
With secrets of the ages, profound and deep.
Under the endless dome of the night's dark veil,
Urania spreads her canvas wide.
Guiding us through the vast cosmic whale,
Illuminating the heavens that reside.
Through the telescope's lens, Urania peers,
Revealing the patterns of the stars.
She charts the dance of planets and comets dear,
In a symphony of cosmic bars.
With each new discovery, Urania smiles,
Illuminating the shadows of the unknown.
She whispers to the curious, revealing the while,
The secrets of the night and the sky's throne.
In the silent midnight, Urania sighs,
Lamenting the mysteries that still remain.
Yet, she continues her quest, unfurled in the skies,
Gazing upon the tapestry of the night domain.
In the garden of stars, Urania roams,
Tending to the constellations' light.
She whispers tales in the soft night winds,
Guiding the seekers under the moonlit night.
In the vast canvas of the night sky,
Urania dances, painting with her star-dusted brush.
She sings the harmonies of the universe high,
In the language of the stars, forever truthful.
In the symphony of the night, Urania leads,
With her celestial melodies.
She reveals the mysteries of the infinite deep,
Gazing upon the cosmic secrets she holds with great esteem.
Urania, the Muse of Astronomy, observes the Milky Way
from an open field. (Image Credit: Digital artwork created by the Editor.)
Orphic Hymn #5: “To Protogonos, or the Firstborn”
(Date Unknown)
Editor’s Note: Compare the hymn to the Cosmic Christ in Colossians
1:15-20.
O Mighty first-begotten, hear my prayer,
Two-fold, egg-born, and wandering through the air,
Bull-roarer, glorying in your golden wings,
From whom the race of gods and mortals springs.
Ericapaeus, celebrated power,
Ineffable, occult, all shining flower.
From eyes obscure you wipe the gloom of night,
All-spreading splendor, pure and holy light
Hence Phanes called, the glory of the sky,
On waving pinions through the world you fly.
Priapus, dark-eyed splendor, you I sing,
Genial, all-prudent, ever-blessed King,
With joyful aspect on our rights divine
And holy sacrifice propitious shine.
“Praise to Phanes”
By Rania Himmel, Staff Writer
In the beginning, there was only void,
Before the creation and before the Divine,
There was a limitless, endless night,
A formless realm, a silent, timeless space.
From the depths of this endless night,
A spark of cosmic fire ignited,
And Phanes, the Supreme Being, emerged,
From the primordial abyss, a glorious sight.
With the power of his divine mind,
Phanes brought order to the chaos of the void,
He created the heavens and the earth,
And all living beings and forms of life.
He scattered the stars in the infinite night,
And molded the planets in his hands,
He created the oceans and the lands,
And filled the air with the songs of the birds and bees.
Phanes, in his infinite wisdom,
Created the Elements of Fire, Earth, Air, and Water,
Each with their own unique essence and power,
To harmonize in the cosmic dance of existence.
Phanes, the Creator of all,
Wove the strands of life into the tapestry of existence,
All beings and creatures, from the tiniest ant to the grandest
mountain,
Are the manifestations of his divine imagination.
Under Phanes' watchful gaze,
Life unfolded in its beautiful and diverse forms,
From the tiniest seeds, plants and trees unfurled,
And the animal kingdom, in all its glorious variety, took its place
alongside humans.
With the spark of consciousness,
Phanes infused life into humans,
Endowing them with intelligence and creativity,
So that they may become co-creators in the ever-evolving saga of
existence.
Phanes, the Creator of all,
Bestowed upon humans the power of free will,
And gave them the capacity to choose their path,
To embrace knowledge, love, and harmony, or to stray into darkness and
discord.
Despite the trials and tribulations of mortal life,
Phanes' creations continued to evolve and grow,
Each life a beautiful and complex journey,
A dance between light and darkness, joy and sorrow.
In the eternal dance of existence,
Phanes' love and wisdom guides all beings,
And the journey of life is a constant struggle between good and evil,
A struggle to realize one's true nature and to unify with the Divine.
Phanes, the Supreme Being, is the source of all,
The creator of the universe and the sustainer of life,
From the grandest galaxies to the smallest atoms,
Everything is a manifestation of Phanes' divine power and intelligence.
Phanes, the Cosmic Creator,
Whose wisdom and power cannot be contained,
Radiates love and light to all of creation,
Inviting all beings to dance in the great cosmic symphony.
“The Cosmic Dawn” (Date Unknown)
Job 38:1-7 (JPS Tanakh 1917)
1.Then the LORD
answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said:
2. “Who is this
that darkeneth counsel by words without knowledge? 3. Gird up now thy loins
like a man; For I will demand of thee, and declare thou unto Me.
4. “Where wast
thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? Declare, if thou hast the
understanding. 5. Who determined the measures thereof, if thou knowest? Or who
stretched the line upon it? 6. Whereupon were the foundations thereof fastened?
Or who laid the cornerstone thereof, 7. When the morning stars sang together, and
all the sons of God shouted for joy?
“Contemplating the Creator” (2nd Century
BCE)
Sirach 42:15-25 (King James
Version)
15. I will now
remember the works of the Lord and declare the things that I have seen: In the
words of the Lord are his works. 16. The sun that giveth light looketh upon all
things, and the work thereof is full of the glory of the Lord. 17. The Lord
hath not given power to the saints to declare all his marvelous works, which
the Almighty Lord firmly settled, that whatsoever is might be established for
his glory. 18. He seeketh out the deep, and the heart, and considereth their
crafty devices: for the Lord knoweth all that may be known, and he beholdeth
the signs of the world. 19. He declareth the things that are past, and for to
come, and revealeth the steps of hidden things. 20. No thought escapeth him,
neither any word is hidden from him. 21. He hath garnished the excellent works
of his wisdom, and he is from everlasting to everlasting: unto him may nothing
be added, neither can he be diminished, and he hath no need of any counsellor.
22. Oh, how
desirable are all his works! and that a man may see even to a spark. 23. All
these things live and remain forever for all uses, and they are all obedient. 24.
All things are double one against another: and he hath made nothing imperfect. 25.
One thing establisheth the good or another: and who shall be filled with
beholding his glory?
A Creation Poem from the 3rd Century CE
2 Esdras 16:55-62 (King James
Version)
55. [God] spake
but the word, “Let the earth be made”; and it was made: “Let the heaven be made”;
and it was created. 56. In his Word were the stars made, and he knoweth the
number of them. 57. He searcheth the deep, and the treasures thereof; he hath
measured the sea, and what it containeth. 58. He hath shut the sea in the midst
of the waters, and with his word hath he hanged the earth upon the waters. 59.
He spreadeth out the heavens like a vault; upon the waters hath he founded it. 60.
In the desert hath he made springs of water, and pools upon the tops of the
mountains, that the floods might pour down from the high rocks to water the
earth.
61. He made man and put his heart in the midst of the body, and gave him breath, life, and
understanding. 62. Yea and the Spirit of Almighty God, which made all things,
and searcheth out all hidden things in the secrets of the earth.
Among the manifold wonders of creation, unicorns are
rainbows have been popular subjects in Western art since antiquity. 😊 (Image Credit: Digital artwork by the Editor.)
“Caedmon’s Hymn”
By. St. Caedmon of Whitby (7th Century CE)
Now shall we praise the Prince of heaven,
The might of the Maker and his manifold thought,
The work of the Father: of what wonders he wrought
The Lord everlasting, when he laid out the worlds.
He first raised up for the race of men
The heaven as a roof, the holy Ruler.
Then the world below, the Ward of mankind,
The Lord everlasting, at last established
As a home for man, the Almighty Lord.
Weekly Words of Wisdom
By Viviana Rivera, Staff Writer
Every day, we're surrounded by
the beauty and mystery of the natural world. Whether it's the simple sight of a
sunset, the sound of birdsong, or the feeling of the wind on your skin, there's
so much to appreciate when we take a moment to notice.
In the hustle and bustle of
modern life, it's easy to forget the sacredness of these moments. But when we
slow down and really take in the world around us, we can discover the divine in
the simplest things.
Stoic Proverb of the Week
Contributed by Amy Kendrick, Staff Writer
Editor’s Note: Compare the
hymn to the Cosmic Logos in John 1:1-18.
The Stoic concept of the Logos
as the guiding principle of creation is central to their philosophy. As
Epictetus put it, "the Logos of the Universe is always well disposed
towards itself" (Enchiridion 5.11). Here, Epictetus is
referring to the idea that the universe is guided by a rational principle,
which he calls the Logos. This principle is a rational order that pervades and
binds together the entire universe. The Stoics believed that the Logos is
manifested in the rational order of nature and in the human mind.
