Prayers for the Earth

Earth which has many heights and slopes and the unconfined plain
that binds men together;
Earth that bears plants of various healing powers,
May She spread wide for us and thrive.

Pleasant be your hills, O Earth, your snow-clad mountains
and your woods,
On Earth – brown, black, and multi-colored –
the firm Earth protected by Indra;
On this Earth I stand, unvanquished, unslain, unhurt.

Earth, whom unsleeping devas protect for ever without erring,
May She pour on us delicious sweets and endow us with luster.

May Earth, clad in her fiery mantle, dark-kneed, make me aflame;
May She sharpen me bright.

The fragrance that arises from you, O Earth, that plants an
waters carry, and is shared by gandharvas and by apsaras:
make me sweet with that.
May no one hate me.

Rock, soil, stone and dust, Earth is held together and bound firm.
To Her my obeisance, to gold-breasted Earth.

Whatever I dig from you, Earth, may that have quick growth again.
O purifier, may we not injure your vitals or your heart.

Earth in which night and day – the black and the bright in union –
are settled, which is covered and canopied over by rain, may
She establish us with bliss in every dear home.

Wise one, uphold me in grace and splendor.

~ Atharva Veda

Blessed by the Lord be the land, with the precious gifts of heaven,
with the dew, and the deep that lies beneath, with the precious fruits
brought forth by the sun and the riches brought forth by the moon.

With the greatness of the ancient mountains, with the abundance
of the everlasting hills, and with all the treasures of the earth
in its perfection.

~ Deuteronomy 33: 13-16

There is no place on this wide earth,
be it the vast expanse of ocean’s waste,
or peak of wildest mountain, sky-caressed,
In which the ever-present power divine,
In every force of nature’s not a shrine.

~ Senge-Takazumi (Izumo Shrine)

Let us empty ourselves of everything.
Let the mind rest at peace.
The ten thousand things rise and fall
while the Self watches their return.
They grow and flourish and then
return to the source.
Returning to the source is stillness,
which is the way of nature.

Who can wait quietly while the mud settles?
Who can remain still until the moment of action?
Observers of the Tao do not seek fulfillment.
Not seeking fulfillment, they are not swayed
by desire for change.
Without desire there is tranquility.
And in this way all things would be at peace.

~ Lao Tsu

Dear Mother Earth,
Every time I step upon the earth, I will train myself to see
That I am walking on you, my Mother. Every time I place my feet
On the Earth, I have a chance to be in touch with you and with all
Your wonders. With every step I can touch the fact that you are not
Just beneath me, dear Mother, but you are also within me. Each
Mindful step can nourish me, heal me, and bring me into contact
With myself and with you in the present moment.

~ Thich Nhat Hanh

Most High, all powerful, good Lord,
To you all praise, glory and honor
And all blessing;
To you alone, Most High, they belong
And no man is worthy of naming you.
Praised be you, my Lord,
With all you creatures,
Especially My Lord Brother Sun,
Who brings day, and by whom you enlighten us;
He is beautiful, he shines with great splendor;
Of you, Most High, he is the symbol.

Praised be you, my Lord,
For sister Moon and the Stars:
In the heavens you formed them,
Clear, precious and beautiful.

Praised be you, my Lord, for Brother Wind
And for the air and for the clouds,
For the azure calm and for all climes
By which you give life to your creatures.

Praised be you, my Lord, for Sister Water,
Who is very useful and humble,
Precious and chaste.

Praised be you, my Lord, for Brother Fire,
By whom you enlighten the night;
He is beautiful and joyous,
Indomitable and strong.

Praised be you; my Lord,
For Sister our Mother the Earth
Who nourishes us and bears us,
And produces all kinds of fruits,
With the speckled flowers and the herbs.

~ St. Francis of Assisi

O Allah! Praise be to Thee,
Thou art the Guardian of the heavens and the earth,
And of those that are therein.
Praise be to Thee,
Thou art the light of the heavens and the earth
And of those that are therein.
Unto Thee belongs the praise.
Thou art the King of the heavens and the earth,
And of those that are therein.

~ Muhammad

Air is the Vital Force, Water the Progenitor,
The Vast Earth the Mother of All;
Day and Night are nurses, fondling
all creation in their lap.

~ Guru Nanak

Thou art the great God (uTikxo) who is in heaven.
Thou art the Creator of life, thou made the regions above.
The Creator who made the heavens also,
The Maker of the stars and the Pleiades,
The shooting stars declare it unto us.

~ Zulu (South Africa)

O our mother the earth, O our father the sky
Your children are we, and with tired backs
We bring you gifts that you love.
Then weave for us a garment of brightness;
May the warp be the white light of morning,
May the weft be the red light of evening,
May the fringes be the falling rain,
May the border be the standing rainbow.
Thus weave for us a garment of brightness
That we may walk fittingly where grass is green
O our mother the earth, O our father the sky!

~ Tewa Pueblo Prayer

You are the wind that breathes upon the sea,
You are the wave on the ocean,
You are the murmur of leaves rustling,
You are the rays of the sun,
You are the beam of the moon and stars,
You are the power of trees growing,
You are the bud breaking into blossom,
You are the movement of the salmon swimming,
You are the courage of the wild boar fighting,
You are the speed of the stag running,
You are the strength of the ox pulling the plough,
You are the size of the might oak tree,
You are the thoughts of all people,
Who praise your beauty and grace.

~ Adapted from a traditional Celtic devotion

This grand show is eternal.
It is always sunrise somewhere:
The dew is never all dried at once;
A shower is forever falling, vapor is ever rising.
Eternal sunrise, eternal sunset, eternal dawn gloaming
On sea and continents and islands, each in its turn,
As the round earth rolls.

~ John Muir