The Antlered One, so swift and true,
Walks majestically, as if all knew
That she is the Lady of forest and glen
An ancient deity of women and men.

The mistress of animals,
Of forest, deep and dark,
It is to our hearts she calls.
And to these hearts she’s made her mark

As Mother to us all.

It is to her Lord she steadfastly glides
Under branches, through bracken she hides.
And knows that the greenwood they reign over and love
Is the place where the antlered, the crow, and the dove

Do live in the endless eternal return.
The hoofed, and the scaled, the feathered, the furry
Make their homes in the greenwood and yearn.
For with the Antlered One they don’t have a worry;

She is Mother to us all.

[Hayley Arrington earned her Master of Arts in women’s spirituality from the Institute of Transpersonal Psychology, where she wrote her thesis, Celtic Solar Goddesses: From Goddess of the Sun to Queen of Heaven. A poet since childhood, she writes poetry, fiction, and nonfiction. Her writings have been published in SageWoman magazine, The Global Goddess Oracle, and Folk Horror Revival: Corpse Roads. Current writings can be found at her blog, http://loathlylady.wordpress.com. Initiated into the Twilight Wiccan tradition, she is very active in Twilight Spiral Coven. Hayley was born and raised in the suburbs of Los Angeles, where she still lives with her husband, David and their son, Stephen.]