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Orphic Hymns · Hymn 07

The Stars

Ἄστρων

Orphic tradition · 13 lines · The Heavenly Stars

Cosmic orderWisdom

Prayer and ritual

These hymns may be spoken as complete prayers to the Gods. Within the Temple’s practice, a ritual is a direct theurgical act; hymnody gathers the mind and turns it toward the Divine, helping the initiate enter reverent communion with the Gods.

Use a hymn on its own in place of another prayer, or add it to the prayer portion of a suitable ritual. Choose according to the deity addressed and the petition expressed in the hymn. When combining them, preserve the ritual’s prescribed sequence and let the hymn give voice to its purpose.

The petition of this hymn

Prayer to the heavenly Stars as radiant divine powers and revealers of destiny. It seeks a favourable course for sacred labours and works of good renown.

Use independently when praying for direction and the worthy fulfilment of an undertaking. It may accompany an established celestial rite, joining its purpose to the hymn's request for a good course and honourable works.

English hieratic rendering

Hymn 07 · An English rendering aligned with the Greek lines.

  1. I summon forth the sacred radiance of the heavenly Stars,
  2. calling upon the pure Daimones with holy voices.
  3. Heavenly Stars, beloved children of black Night,
  4. rushing in fire, circling in your revolving courses,
  5. shining in answer to one another, ever aflame, begetters of all,
  6. appointed by Fate, revealers of every destiny,
  7. who guide the divine path of mortal humankind,
  8. watching over the seven radiant zones, wanderers of the air,
  9. heavenly and earthly, running in fire, ever unwearied,
  10. forever illumining the dusky robe of Night,
  11. sparkling with flashes, kindly presences of the night,
  12. come to the labours rich in sacred knowledge of this holy rite,
  13. bringing a fortunate course to fulfilment in works of good renown.

Ancient Greek & pronunciation

Read the English pronunciation spelling directly below each Greek line.

13 Greek lines
  1. Ἄστρων οὐρανίων ἱερὸν σέλας ἐκπροκαλοῦμαι,AH-strohn oo-rah-NEE-ohn ee-eh-ROHN SEH-lahs ehk-proh-kah-LOO-meh,
  2. εὐιέροις φωνῇσι κικλήσκων δαίμονας ἁγνούς.eh-vee-EH-rees foh-NEE-see kee-KLEE-skohn DHEH-moh-nahs ahgh-NOOS.
  3. Ἀστέρες οὐράνιοι, Νυκτὸς φίλα τέκνα μελαίνης,ah-STEH-rehs oo-RAH-nee-ee, neek-TOHS FEE-lah TEHK-nah meh-LEH-nees,
  4. ἐγκυκλίοις δίνησι πυρρόθιοι κυκλέοντες,ehn-gee-KLEE-ees DHEE-nee-see pee-ROH-thee-ee kee-KLEH-ohn-dehs,
  5. ἀνταυγεῖς, πυρόεντες ἀεί, γενετῆρες ἁπάντων,ahn-dahv-YEES, pee-ROH-ehn-dehs ah-EE, yeh-neh-TEE-rehs ah-PAHN-dohn,
  6. μοιρίδιοι, πάσης μοίρης σημάντορες ὄντες,mee-REE-dhee-ee, PAH-sees MEE-rees see-MAHN-doh-rehs OHN-dehs,
  7. θνητῶν ἀνθρώπων θείην διέποντες ἀταρπόν,thnee-TOHN ahn-THROH-pohn THEE-een dhee-EH-pohn-dehs ah-tahr-POHN,
  8. ἑπταφαεῖς ζώνας ἐφορώμενοι, ἠερόπλαγκτοι,ehp-tah-fah-EES ZOH-nahs eh-foh-ROH-meh-nee, ee-eh-ROH-plahng-tee,
  9. οὐράνιοι χθόνιοί τε, πυρίδρομοι, αἰὲν ἀτειρεῖς,oo-RAH-nee-ee KHTHOH-nee-EE teh, pee-REE-dhroh-mee, eh-EHN ah-tee-REES,
  10. αὐγάζοντες ἀεὶ νυκτὸς ζοφοειδέα πέπλον,ahv-GHAH-zohn-dehs ah-EE neek-TOHS zoh-foh-ee-DHEH-ah PEH-plohn,
  11. μαρμαρυγαῖς στίλβοντες, εὔφρονες ἐννύχιοί τε·mahr-mah-ree-YEHS STEEL-vohn-dehs, EH-froh-nehs eh-NEE-hyee-EE teh·
  12. ἔλθετ’ ἐπ’ εὐιέρου τελετῆς πολυΐστορας ἄθλουςEHL-theht’ ehp’ eh-vee-EH-roo teh-leh-TEES poh-lee-EE-stoh-rahs AHTH-loos
  13. ἐσθλὸν ἐπ’ εὐδόξοις ἔργοις δρόμον ἐκτελέοντες.ehsth-LOHN ehp’ ehv-DHOHK-sees EHR-yees DHROH-mohn ehk-teh-LEH-ohn-dehs.
Short sound guide for English speakers

Every line beneath the Greek uses English pronunciation spellings. Say each hyphenated syllable in sequence and emphasize the syllable in CAPITALS. For example, οὐρανόθεν is oo-rah-NOH-thehn. Read adjacent vowels separately: theh-AH has two syllables; oo-rah-NEE-een has four. Hyphens guide the voice; they do not mark pauses.

SpellingSound to make
ah · eh · ee · oh · oofather · met · see · go without its final glide · moon. Keep these vowels clear in unstressed syllables too.
th · dhThe unvoiced th in thin · the voiced th in this. Thus DHEE begins with the sound in “thee.”
khThe ch in Scottish loch or German Bach: let air pass at the back of the mouth, without closing it into a k.
hyThe breathy beginning of a carefully spoken Hugh. Raise the middle of the tongue toward the roof of the mouth and let air pass without voice. In shy, sound s followed by hy; do not use the English sh sound or the English word “shy.”
ghMake the kh sound above, then add voice. Keep the passage open; this is a flowing sound, not a hard g.
y · gy as in yes, with gentle friction · always a hard g as in get.
rTap the tongue lightly behind the upper teeth, or use a light roll.
ks · psSound both consonants, even at the beginning of a word: ks as in backs, ps as in lips.
n-g · m-b · n-dSound the nasal and the following consonant. In AHN-geh-leh, the n-g group is like finger, with the g audible.

Always sound s as in hiss, even at the end of DHEE-kees; z is voiced, as in zero. All other consonants have their usual English sounds. Initial consonant groups may be unfamiliar: sound every written consonant, without inserting an extra vowel. A word without capitals carries no written stress in the Greek. Where two syllables have capitals, both written accents are retained. An apostrophe marks a vowel already elided in the Greek; do not add it back. A hyphen at the end of a Greek verse joins the unfinished word to the next verse.

These spellings follow the Modern Greek liturgical reading used throughout this library. Breathings and iota subscripts are silent; separately pronounced vowels remain separate. The few Greek consonants without an exact English equivalent use the sound cues above. Ancient vowel length, pitch accent and metre are not reconstructed.

Hymn notes

Sacred meaning

The Stars shine in relation to one another and govern their appointed courses under Fate. Their seven radiant zones and guidance of the mortal divine path join cosmic order to the course of sacred human action.

Ancient offering rubric: Aromatic substances.

Textual note

Line 4 follows Abel's πυρρόθιοι, rushing in fire, rather than περιθρόνιοι, circling around a throne. The seven radiant zones of line 8 are retained without assigning additional correspondences.

Text and attribution

Greek text: Eugenius Abel, Orphica (1885), printed pages 61. The text follows the printed main reading of this edition; source-specific variants are recorded where relevant. Read the digitised edition. Greek source. Wikisource transcription, revision 124078; checked and corrected against Abel’s print. The English hieratic rendering and suggested devotional use are new editorial work. The applications are guidance for this library, not additional lines of the ancient poem.