This year I was asked specifically to hail the Nine Sisters for the help they offer around mental illnesses, with an emphasis pre-invocation for those of us who struggle with addictions. You can make offerings in these areas on behalf of yourself of another, and even offer the relevant emotions inside yourself to Them. The invocations are done in the first person with the hope of not coming across to you that we are each struggling in all of these ways, so may you find whatever “I” statement in here that rings true for you. If you or someone you know struggles with this, you may also pray for help for them.
First is Kolga, Who offers help to those who struggle with the sense of hopelessness that can prevent sobriety attempts and inspire relapse.
Hail Kolga, Undine of the Coldest Waters!
You are much like the icicles that hang over Your favored waters, Your beauty awe-inspiring and Your potential to easily impale any who stand beneath You never forgotten.
I come to You now in praise and to ask for Your guidance.
My heart is frozen.
I ask for help in fighting the frigidness when it no longer serves me.
I ask to learn how to draw strength from the solidity in times of need.
I ask for strength as I seek a new relationship with those things I use to numb my feelings.
May I be open to the lessons You choose to teach me and remain ever grateful.
Hail Kolga!
Second is Duva, Who offers help for those of us who struggle with the lack of mental clarity that can prevent sobriety attempts or make sustained sobriety more difficult.
Hail Duva, Undine of the Concealing Mists!
Your long hair is as fine as the fogs that shroud You, Your hidden beauty made all the more alluring by the strands that drift about Your form.
I come to You now in praise and to ask for Your guidance.
My true face has been hidden from the world.
I ask for help in showing those parts of me I am afraid to reveal.
I ask to learn when it is truly wiser to remain unseen.
I ask for strength as I seek a new relationship with those things I use to cloud my feelings.
May I be open to the lessons You choose to teach me and remain ever grateful.
Hail Duva!
Third is Blodughadda, Who offers help for those of us who struggle with the consuming urges that are indicative of addiction.
Hail Blodughadda, Undine of the Churning Estuaries!
Your smile composed of Your many rows of teeth is as beautiful as it is fearsome, always glistening with the blood of another.
I come to You now in praise and to ask for Your guidance.
My hungers persist far beyond my needs.
I ask for help in seeing and curbing those actions that damage myself and others.
I ask to learn how to feed these desires in responsible ways.
I ask for strength as I seek a new relationship with the patterns of my past that I continue today and use to excuse my behavior.
May I be open to the lessons You choose to teach me and remain ever grateful.
Hail Blodughadda!
Fourth is Hronn, Who offers help for those of us who struggle with facing the fears of being without one's addictive substance or behavior, as well as those who face the symptoms of withdrawal.
Hail Hronn, Undine of the Draining Whirlpool!
Your beauty is a sleek and shadowed reflection of the dark depths of Your domain, and just as intense for those who view it.
I come to You now in praise and to ask for Your guidance.
My many fears have stifled my ability to live.
I ask for help in finding my way with or through these fears, not around.
I ask to learn when fear is a helpful sign rather than a result of habit.
I ask for strength as I seek a new relationship with those things I use to avoid facing these fears, as well as those fears I use to avoid facing my own depths.
May I be open to the lessons You choose to teach me and remain ever grateful.
Hail Hronn!
Fifth is Hevring, Who offers help for those of us who struggle with facing the pains that may have lead one to addiction, including those pains that can lead to relapse.
Hail Hevring, Undine of the Mounting Wave!
Your body is always weary with grief, and still Your beauty has yet to dissolve in those tears, remaining as fair and tender as the jelly that always hold You.
I come to You now in praise and to ask for Your guidance.
My sorrows have become all that I know.
I ask for help in not letting those who have hurt me define who I am.
I ask to learn how to release these emotions when they move from expression to obsession, from cleansing a wound to never letting it heal.
I ask for strength as I seek a new relationship with those things I use to avoid the process of grieving, as well as the things I use to unknowingly lengthen it.
May I be open to the lessons You choose to teach me and remain ever grateful.
Hail Hevring!
Sixth is Bylgia, Who offers help for those of us who struggle with the feeling that “just one more won’t hurt” and feel trapped in the habit of the repetition.
Hail Bylgia, Undine of the Foaming Breakers!
Your beauty is as striking as the crashing waves You ride and as delicate as the drifting foam You leave in Your wake.
I come to You now in praise and to ask for Your guidance.
My compulsions have cost me too much.
I ask for help in not letting my obsessions blind me to what and who I hold dear.
I ask to learn how and where these behaviors can be used outside of their own self-feeding cycles.
I ask for strength as I seek a new relationship with those things, people, and situations I use and risk in pursuit of that ever-growing thrill.
May I be open to the lessons You choose to teach me and remain ever grateful.
Hail Bylgia!
Seventh is Bara, Who offers help for those of us who struggle with the anger and irritability that often comes with addiction, be it when one has greatly indulged or been deprived, especially during attempts at sobriety.
Hail Bara, Undine of the Massive Wave!
Nothing about You is subtle or small, and so Your beauty is as evident as the work of Your great club on our crumbling shores.
I come to You now in praise and to ask for Your guidance.
My rage is breaking me.
I ask for help in preventing my lashing out aimlessly, frantically, or carelessly.
I ask to learn how to redirect my anger effectively and without shame.
I ask for strength as I seek a new relationship with everything and everyone I use to add fuel to my fire.
May I be open to the lessons You choose to teach me and remain ever grateful.
Hail Bara!
Eighth is Unn, Who offers help for those of us who struggle with trying to find fulfilling ways to stay grounded despite the urge to become inebriated.
Hail Unn, Undine of the Undulating Tides!
Timed by the melodic clicking of Your many shells, Your graceful, rhythmic motions are as reliable as Your beauty.
I come to You now in praise and to ask for Your guidance.
My mind is rarely with my body.
I ask for help in not viewing my mental and physical self as something from which I must escape.
I ask to learn how to use this as a tool when I must function despite my pains becoming too much to bear.
I ask for strength as I seek a new relationship with those many things that cause me to detach, as well as what I use to make it happen.
May I be open to the lessons You choose to teach me and remain ever grateful.
Hail Unn!
Ninth is Himinglava, Who offers help for those of us who struggle with inconsistent will power and mood, especially when facing the often difficult path of sobriety, and those of us who struggle with the feeling that our preferred inebriant is the only thing that will fix our pains.
Hail Himinglava, Undine of the Sun-Kissed Waters!
The light that glistens on this ocean’s surface is the only thing close to the radiance of Your beauty.
I come to You now in praise and to ask for Your guidance.
My moods are in chaos.
I ask for help in seeing when I am not actually reacting to the person in front of me.
I ask to learn the difference between less erratically experiencing my emotions and extinguishing them.
I ask for strength as I seek a new relationship with the things I use and do to ignore and excuse the extent of my ever-changing mind.
May I be open to the lessons You choose to teach me and remain ever grateful.
Hail Himinglava!