Rise up, Witches, throw off your masks
And cease crying guilt for ancient crimes;
Earth and all her children need us,
For all face now the Burning Times
L A Hussey
The Burning Times
>by Charlie Murphy
In the cool of the evening they used to gather
Neath the stars in the meadow circled near an old oak tree
At the times appointed by the seasons of the earth
And the phases of the moon
In the center stood a woman
Equal to the others and respected for her worth
One of the many we call the witches
The healers and the teachers of the wisdom of the earth
And the people grew through the knowledge she gave them
Herbs to heal their bodies Spells to make their spirits whole
Can't you hear them chanting healing incantations
Calling forth the wise ones Celebrating in dance and song
Chorus Isis Astarte Diana Hecate Demeter Kali Inanna
There were those who came to power through domination
And they bonded in the worship of a dead man on a cross
They sought control of the common people
By demanding allegiance to the Church of Rome
And the Pope declared an Inquisition
It was war against the women whose power they feared
In this Holocaust against the nature people
Nine million European women died
And the tale is told of those who by the hundreds
Holding together chose their death in the sea
While chanting the praises of the Mother Goddess
A refusal of betrayal Women were dying to be free
Chorus
Now the Earth is a witch
And the men still burn her
Stripping her down with mining and the poisons of their war
Still to us, the Earth is a healer A teacher, a mother
A weaver of a web of life that keeps us all alive
She gives us the vision to see through the chaos
She gives us the courage
It is our will to survive
