By the flame that burneth bright, O Horned One
We call Thy name into the night, O Ancient One
Thee we invoke by the moon-led sea
By the standing stone and the twisted tree.
Thee we invoke where gather Thine own
By the nameless shrine, forgotten and lone
Come where the round of the dance is trod
Horn and hoof of the Goat-foot God
By moon-lit meadow on dusky hill
When the haunted wood is hushed and still
Come to the charm of the chanted prayer
As the moon bewitches the midnight air
Evoke Thy powers that potent bide
In shining stream and secret tide
In fiery flame by starlight pale
In shadowy host that rides the gale
And by the fern-drakes fairy haunted
Of forests wild and woods enchanted
Come? O Come! To the heartbeat's drum!
Come to us who gather below
When the broad white moon is climbing slow
Through the stars to the heavens height
We hear Thy hoofs on the wind of night
As black tree branches shake and sigh
By joy and terror we know Thee nigh
We speak the spell Thy power unlocks
At Solstice, Sabbat, and Equinox.
Note: This poem was also published in Doreen Valinete's "Witchcraft for Tomorrow" in 1978, and since neither Lady Sheba, nor Doreen Valiente have given the author's name, I have credited it to the first published source, which was Lady Sheba's book. It may well have been written by Doreen, and passed on to Sheba, or been written by a third unknown party. Also in the second publication, there are more verses that seem to have been added on at a later time, and which, in my opinion, do not really match the rest of the poem.