Burning Times

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 centre, often stood a woman Equal with 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 in the knowledge she gave them Herbs to heal their bodies, spells to make their spirits whole Hear them chanting healing incantations Calling forth the wise ones, celebrating in dance and song Isis, Astarte, Diana, Hecate, Demeter, Kali, Innana There were those who came to power, through domination And 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 declared the inquisition It was a war against the women, whose power they feared In that 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 Now the Earth is a witch, and the men still burn her Stripping her down with mining, and the poisons of their wars Still to us the Earth is a healer, a teacher, a mother The 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