Burning Times

In the cold of the evening, they used to gather

Neath the stars in the meadow, circled near the old oak tree

At the times appointed by the seasons

Of the earth, and the phases of the Moon

In the center, often stood a woman

Equal with the others, respected for her worth

One of the many we call the witches

The healers, the teachers, of the wisdom of the earth

And the people grew in the knowledge she gave them

Herbs to heal their bodies, smells to make their spirits whole

Hear them chanting healing incantations

Calling for the wise ones, celebrating in dance and song

(Isis, Astarte, Diana, Hecate, Demeter, Kali Inanna)

There were those that came to power, through domination

They were bonded in their 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, he commenced the inquisition

As a war against the women, whose powers they feared

In this holocaust, in this age of evil

Nine million European women, they died

And the tale is told, of those who by the hundreds

Holding hands together, chose their deaths in the sea

While chanting the praises of the Mother Goddess

A refusal of betrayal, women were dying to be free

(Isis, Astarte, Diana, Hecate, Demeter, Kali Inanna)

Now the earth is a witch, and we still burn her

Stripping her down with mining, and the poison of our wars

Still to us, the earth is a healer, a teacher, and a mother

A weaver of a web of light, 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