5.18. Lesser Nekysia⁑
As one of the offerings to the dead, the Lesser Nekysia may be made to the dead in general at any time. If multiple such offerings for the dead generally across the span of a year, one of them is designated to be a Greater Nekysia when held on the date of greatest importance and the others are to be made as Lesser Nekysia. The Lesser Nekysia should not be held on a day that other non-Nekysia events are held; if this overlap should occur, the Lesser Nekysia is to be rescheduled to a different day if at all possible.
The Lesser Nekysia should not be combined with other offerings, but it may be performed as part of the Leitūrgia if no other offerings are made; however, it is best done on its own.
Whether done in a group or independently, this offering may be attended by anyone unless decided otherwise.
5.18.1. Supplies and Tools Required⁑
A match or lighter
Offering dishes as necessary
While other offerings may make use of the usual set of offering vessels, it is preferred for the Lesser Nekysia to make use of a separate set reserved only for the dead if available; otherwise, the usual offering vessels or vessels used for household works are acceptable.
Chipped or cracked (but not wholly broken, shattered, or leaking) vessels are ideal, especially if already previously used for offerings generally but are no longer fit to do so.
Unlike with the usual offering vessels, offering vessels for a Lesser Nekysia need not be in a matching set, and indeed are preferred if they do not match each other.
A light
A candle or oil lamp are equally acceptable.
Narrow candles (e.g. tapers) or wide candles (e.g. tealights, votives) are equally acceptable.
Incense in a holder
The incense should be of a smell or blend of smells appropriate for general offerings. However, if the Lesser Nekysia is made for a specific person, scents favored by them should be used.
Loose incense burning on charcoal in a brazier with a plate or handle is ideal, but self-igniting stick or cone incense burning in a holder that can easily and safely be held is acceptable.
Drink, food, and flowers as desired
Only one kind of drink must be offered, with additional kinds of drink or offerings of food and flowers optional.
There are no restrictions on the number or kinds of food or drink that may be offered in a Lesser Nekysia; unlike with other offerings, a wider variety of them being made than a smaller one is appreciated.
If one cooks food in preparation for a Lesser Nekysia, at least the first portion of it should be given to the Lesser Nekysia, and the remainder is ideally eaten as part of the post-offering meal.
Unlike with other offerings, meat may be acceptable as an offering for a Lesser Nekysia. If meat is prepared as part of the offering, it may also be eaten as part of the post-offering meal.
Bell (optional)
5.18.2. Preparation⁑
Before the offering, follow the Kanones of hygiene (full bathing preferred), clothing, and abstinence (lax preferred, strict required); the hormos may be worn if desired.
This offering does not strictly require a bōmos; one’s permanent bōmos is preferred, but if one already has a dedicated place for ancestral worship or veneration that is open to such an offering, that may be used instead, or it may be done directly on the floor.
5.18.3. Offering⁑
Tip
If the offering is being made as part of the Leitūrgia, the offering process begins with the Shining Prayer.
5.18.3.1. Prologue⁑
5.18.3.1.1. Lighting the Lykhnon⁑
If the Nekysia is being done with a lykhnon which is to be lit for the Nekysia and is to be extinguished afterwards, light it and recite (leader only):
I call upon you, o living God, radiant with illuminating fire,o unseen parent of the Sun, o invisible begetter of light!Give your strength to this fire,pour forth your light-giving power into this fire,and set to work your divine spark within this fire.Let it enter into this flame and fill it with your spirit,moving it by your holy breath and presence!O sacred fire, o light that shines with the light of God!Manifest your power for my knowledge, and let there be the light of knowing!Manifest your power for my rebirth, and let there be the light of life!Let the holy temple of almighty God within you open for me,let there be breadth, depth, length, height, fullness, and brightness,let the crown of your Sun-like radiance appear!May God shine forth through your flame and within your light,and may your light remain by me here in this place and now at this time!
5.18.3.1.2. Call to the Way⁑
Tip
Optional if done casually.
Standing by the doorway to the euktērion facing outwards, recite (leader only):
O all you children of mankind, o all you born of the Earth,o all who you have given yourselves over to drink and sleep in your ignorance of God!Make yourselves sober, cease your drunken sickness,end your bewitchment by unreasoning sleep!Why have you given yourselves over to death,when you have the power to claim immortality?You who have wandered with Error, you who have partnered with Ignorance:think again, think anew!Free yourselves from the darkness, take hold of the Light,take part in divine immortality, leave behind your corrupt destruction!Do not surrender to the way of death by your mockery or distance,but come, rise, and be guided on the way of life!
Close the door.
5.18.3.1.3. First Salutation⁑
5.18.3.1.3.1. On One’s Own⁑
Recite:
May I live in wholeness and health!
5.18.3.1.3.2. If Others are Present⁑
The leader announces:
Hail to those whom the greeting is given with blessing,to my siblings, to holy children of God!
The leader recites:
May we live in wholeness and health!
All others present repeat the above as one.
5.18.3.1.4. Assertion and Confession⁑
Tip
Optional if done casually.
Standing in front of but some distance away from the bōmos, recite:
I am one who stands in the House of Life.I am one who sees in the Chamber of Darkness.I am one who hears in the temples of divinity.I am one who speaks in the halls of humanity.I am one who loves mind, word, and knowledge.I am one who seeks order, truth, and wisdom.The wish of my heart is that which brought me here;may I be counted among the disciples of the gods!
Bow, then recite:
O gods who watch over and give life to humanity,receive me and deliver me to dwell with the eternal gods!For I have ever revered the gods whom my parents revealed to me,and as long as I live my life in the lot of the living,I always honor those who begot my body and of other human beings.I do and will not kill anyone,I do and will not steal anything entrusted to me,I do and will not do any other pernicious thing.But if I have transgressed in anything during this life,or have consumed of what was not licit,it was not of my own account,but because of this drive and desirethat arose from the pits of this body.
Move towards the bōmos and prepare to take your place at it.
5.18.3.1.5. Undertaking the Nekysia⁑
Recite (leader only, changing personal pronouns if needed):
I now undertake this Nekysia.
5.18.3.1.6. Foundation — Opening⁑
Clap, extend the arms out, and recite (leader only):
The glory of the All is God, both Divinity and Nature,for natural Divinity is renewed by Nature,and divine Nature is founded in Divinity.
Prostrate silently, setting intentions silently if desired, then sit or kneel at the bōmos.
5.18.3.1.7. Opening the Doors of Divinity⁑
Tip
Optional, but encouraged if done at a temporary bōmos.
Make an opening gesture with the hands above the bōmos, and recite (leader only):
Open, Heavens and Earth! Open, Day and Night!Open, East and West! Open, South and North!Open, winds and waters! Open, fire and stone!The two doors of the Earth are opened!The two doors of the Heavens are opened!The four doors of the horizon are opened!The four doors of the world are opened!The gods send forth their light through the doors;exalted be all the gods upon their great thrones!My face looks upon the gods on their thrones,and the gods on their thrones look upon me.I am about to sing the hymns of divinity;may my hymns be heard and my praise be accepted!
5.18.3.1.8. Prologue of Aid and Seven Requests⁑
Recite:
Almighty God, Lord, King, Master, Helper, hear me!
Recite, bowing at each “O God”:
O God, hear me my prayers.O God, save me from error.O God, cleanse me from vice.O God, protect me from danger.O God, rescue me from torment.O God, keep me from irreverence.O God, free me from ignorance.
If desired, prostrate and recite the Supplication of the Holy:
Holy God, Holy Strong, Holy Immortal, be merciful to me.Holy God, Holy Maker, Holy Forebear, be gracious to us.Holy God, Holy One, Holy Source, be propitious to us all.
5.18.3.1.9. Ritual Invocation of Hermēs⁑
Recite:
Hail to you, Hermēs, prophet and scribe and teacher!O thrice-great, great among the great, greatest beyond greatness!You who know the sacred mysteries,you who establish their utterances,you who distinguish truth from falsehood,you who witness the Light and Life of God,you who have entered into the goodness of God!Bless my thinking, bless my speaking, bless my working, o Hermēs,that all that I think, all that I say, and all that I do may be for Life, Light, and Goodness,that I may have your guidance and assistance in this Nekysia.
5.18.3.1.10. Invocation of the Agathos Daimōn⁑
Tip
Optional, but encouraged if alone.
Recite:
O my companion, o my genius, o my angel!Honor our bond, honor my destiny, honor God’s will!Manifest yourself to me as my Agathos Daimōn!Be faithful and steadfast for me!Be loving and passionate for me!Be my complete contentment!Be my total nourishment!Grant me every success and all attainment!Make my mind lucid and bright in all things!O never-born crown of the powers of divinity!O holy one, mighty one, immortal one,do not abandon me!O my friend, my savior, my protector,reveal yourself kindly to me as Truth!Join yourself to me that I may join myself to youas One, in One!
5.18.3.1.11. Shining Prayer⁑
Tip
If the offering is being made as part of the Leitūrgia, the offering begins at this point.
Recite:
O God! I greet you and call upon you, eternal and unbegotten,you who are One,you who alone hold together and surround the whole creation of all things,you whom none understand,you whom all daimones fear,you whom the gods worship,you whose name not even the gods can utter!O God, you who are greater than all,you who are the creator of all,you who see all and are not seen,you who hear all and are not heard!O God, you who gave to the Sun all power and gloryand to the Moon the privilege to have fixed courses,yet who made the Sun to rise and set and the Moon to wax and wane,that none can compare them with your true glory!O God, you who took nothing from your own creation,but created all things that exist!O God, you who took nothing from the firstborn darkness,but apportioned all things that they might be equal!For it is with you that both order and light arose,and it is by you that all things were arranged.O God, all of your creation is subject to you,you whose true form whom none can truly see,you who yet change into all forms!Hear me and help me, o Lord,joyful and willing, faultless and unflawed, who pollute no place,King of kings, Daimōn of daimones, Aiōn of aiōnes, God of gods,by your Glory and Holiness and Beauty and Goodness,for I call upon you and bear witnessto the unsurpassed mystery of your name now and forever. ※
5.18.3.2. Preparation of Offerings⁑
For whatever is to be offered, so long as it is not ceremonially set aside for later, set it out as appropriate to the offering, e.g. prepare vessels, light charcoal, pour drinks, etc., but do not light any light or incense as yet.
If one is making an offering at a bōmos with a loibeion, remove the lid from the loibeion and set it down to the side of the bōmos. Dip the forefinger of the dominant hand into the water and flick it upwards above the head, reciting (leader only, changing personal pronouns if needed):
An offering of water to the Heavens from whence I come.
Then dip the forefinger of the dominant hand into the water and flick it downward (even onto the psiathos if present), reciting (leader only, changing personal pronouns if needed):
An offering of water to the earth from whence I am born.
A drop of water from the loibeion may be put into the drink offering, but otherwise the loibeion is not used for this offering. Whether or not one puts a drop of water from the loibeion into the drink offering, the lid is to be put back on the loibeion at this point.
5.18.3.3. All-Greeting to the Gods⁑
Recite:
Hail, o Agathē Tykhē!Hail, o Agathos Daimōn!Hail, o daimōn of this place!Hail, o daimōn of this hour!Hail, o daimōn of this day!Hail, o daimones of every place, of every hour, of every day!Hail, o whole Cosmos composed of Earth and Heaven!Hail, o Aiōn, who have established yourselfin invisible light over the holy firmament!
5.18.3.4. Collection of the Dead⁑
Note
Where indicated by “NN.”, “MM.”, and “FF.”, use the names of oneself, one’s mother, and one’s father; if a parent’s name is not known, it may be omitted.
Light the light and incense.
Recite (leader only, changing personal pronouns if needed):
May the blessing and peace of all the gods always be upon me,who has come to remember and honor all those who have left this world,who upholds their virtue and merit and righteousness as a legacy.May the blessing and peace of all the gods always be upon the sages,whose words reveal to me the mysteries once revealed to them,who set out on the Way for me to follow in their footsteps.May the blessing and peace of all the gods always be upon all the dead,those who have gone before me from life into death,those who have left this world for the next.Hear me, all you of my blessed dead!
Recite (one by one by each person in decreasing seniority if in a group):
I am NN., child of MM. and FF. …
Recite (leader only, changing personal pronouns if needed):
I am your child who carries on the light you have passed to me.I am your child who carries on the life you have given to me.I am your child who carries on the goodness you have entrusted to me.May the blessing and peace of all the gods be upon you and your graves.As I pray and work for you and your blessing and peace,so too pray and work for me and my blessing and peace.Never will I forget you, that you might never forget me.Always will I honor you, that you might always honor me.Honor to the blessed dead of my family, my name, and my blood.Honor to the blessed dead of my faith, my religion, and my gods.Honor to the blessed dead of my work, my trade, and my labor.Honor to the blessed dead of my lineage, my tradition, and my inheritance.Honor and reverence to…
At this point, recite the names of one’s deceased ancestors, teachers, guides, friends, and the like, only reciting “Honor and reverence to…” once at the start; if in a group, all people are to list their ancestors equally, starting with the leader and proceeding in decreasing seniority from there, each person starting their own list with “Honor and reverence to…”.
Recite:
Honor to the great dead of this land.Honor to the great dead in the heavens.Honor to the mighty dead whose names we all know.Honor to the mighty dead whose names we have forgotten.Honor to all the dead whose spirits we still carry on.Honor to all the dead who walk with us in our lives.
5.18.3.5. Glorification of the Dead⁑
Recite (leader only, changing personal pronouns if needed):
Rise up, rise up, o beloved dead, o blessed dead!I call out to you: rise up, and take heart!The gods call out to you: rise up, and rejoice!You are given offerings, offerings that I give,offerings the priest gives, offerings the king gives.With my love and my praise, with my hopes and my wishes:may you always rise up, take heart, and rejoice;may you always be made great in the heavens;may you always go forth in the shining light;may you always receive offerings that uplift you!Abiding in eternal purity, rejoicing in eternal goodness,standing tall amongst the gods, supported by the gods,beloved by all, all having awe in their hearts of you—as night gives way to morning, as rain gives way to sunshine,so too does my mourning give way to celebration,so too does your smallness give way to greatness.The gods call out to you: rise up, and take heart!I call out to you: rise up, and rejoice!Glory to you, honor to you, o beloved dead, o blessed dead!
5.18.3.6. Dedication of Offerings⁑
5.18.3.6.1. Dedicatory Invocation⁑
Where marked, announce the overall types of things to be offered (“light” for candles and lamps, “incense” for incense, “drink” for water or wine, etc. according to the labels given below).
Recite (changing personal pronouns if needed):
Hail to you, o all you blessed souls of the dead! By your blessing and by this offering I make to you of …, remember me as I remember you, and be kind to me as I am kind to you!
5.18.3.6.2. Dedication of Light⁑
O all you blessed souls of the dead, I light for you this…, that it may burn for your honor, enlightenment, empowerment, and exaltation. Grant as this flame shines with its light for you, so too may your light shine upon me as a blessing. Hail to you, o all you blessed souls of the dead!
5.18.3.6.3. Dedication of Incense⁑
O all you blessed souls of the dead, I burn for you this…, sweet-smelling, sacred, and pleasing to you, that it may fortify you, dignify you, and satisfy you. Grant that as this incense rises up to you, so too may your virtue rise up to me as a blessing. Hail to you, o all you blessed souls of the dead!
5.18.3.6.4. Dedication of Drink⁑
O all you blessed souls of the dead, I pour out to you this…, fresh, sweet, and pure, that it may please you, sate you, and cheer you. Grant that as this drink is poured out to you, so too may your merit be poured out upon me as a blessing. Hail to you, o all you blessed souls of the dead!
5.18.3.6.5. Dedication of Food⁑
O all you blessed souls of the dead, I set out to you this…, fresh, hearty, and pure, that it may please you, sate you, and cheer you. Grant that as this food is laid out for you, so too may your guidance be laid out for me as a blessing. Hail to you, all you blessed souls of the dead!
5.18.3.6.6. Dedication of Flowers or Other Offerings⁑
O all you blessed souls of the dead, I place out for you this…, whole, splendid, and pure, that it may please you, sate you, and cheer you. Grant that as these gifts are given to you, so too may your support be given to me as a blessing. Hail to you, o all you blessed souls of the dead!
5.18.3.7. Prayer for the Dead⁑
If desired, recite whatever personal prayers for the dead as one might choose, especially those from traditions or cultures one is familiar with.
5.18.3.8. Communion with the Dead⁑
If desired, engage with the dead in communion, contemplation, and communication.
5.18.3.9. Peace of the Dead⁑
Recite (changing personal pronouns if needed):
O all you dead who have left your flesh for it to return to the world,o all you dead who have passed from this world to the next,o all you dead who have gone from life into death!May you who have gone before ushave a better lot than the pain of life in death.May we who yet remain behind youhave a better lot than the sorrow of death in life.May all you blessed souls of the deadhave all peace, all mercy, and all grace for good.We hear the whispers of your hearts in our own;may we always have the hearing to listen to you,for then we may never forget you.We see the radiance of your spirits in our own;may we always have the sight to look for you,for then we may always remember you.We feel the presence of your souls in our own;may we always have the awareness to feel for you,for then we may always be together with you.In peace, may you have light, and always be illumined with peace.In peace, may you have guidance, and always be guided to peace.In peace, may you have rest, and always rest in peace.In peace, pray for us that we might not suffer while we still live.In peace, pray for us that we might not be burdened in our final moments.In peace, pray for us that we might be guided towards the way up with you.May you never again suffer any pain, any sorrow, or any grief,but have and always have comfort and relief and ease,and always be at peace and look upon us who yet live with peace,in the Life and Light and Goodness of God. ※
5.18.3.10. Final Offering for the Dead⁑
Recite (changing personal pronouns if needed):
O all you blessed souls of the dead!May you be given sustenance and comfort and ease;may you be given strength and hope and joy;may you be given beauty and grace and honor.May you have these and may you enjoy these,all things and every thing that is good and purethat the souls of the blessed dead thrive upon.You whose goodness to me is as a sheltering refuge,you whose heart is joined to truth now and always,you who know the difference between good and evil,you whose goodness is a monument for all your children,you who went before me, whom I here now remember!May divine peace and mercy be with you,may grace and light be with you,may blessing and power be with you.May everything good and pure be with you. ※
5.18.3.11. Blessing of the Dead⁑
Recite (changing personal pronouns if needed):
By their light, their virtue, their merit, their guidance, and their support, may all the blessed souls of the dead all enjoy eternal union with the divine Source from which all things have come and to which all things will return. May these offerings bring them peace, and may they shine as stars upon me and illumine me in all my works, bringing blessings of every good thing, all good things, and only good things for good.
Ring the bell softly.
5.18.3.12. Rededication⁑
Recite, recounting the offerings made and specifying any unique or special aspects of the offering and stating the “in my home” part if the offering was indeed made in one’s home (leader only, changing personal pronouns if needed):
O all you blessed souls of the dead, I have made these offerings to you of (light, incense, etc.). I have made these offerings for you for (occasion/reason…), here at this place and now at this time and today on this day (…). I have made these offerings to you freely and joyfully, and I ask that you accept them in a spirit of the same. I have made these offerings to you as an expression of my thanks, my love, my honor, my respect, my trust, and my joy for you. May you abide in the Life and Light and Goodness of God, and know that, with these offerings, I honor you (in my home and) in my heart and in my head and with my hands. Hail to you, o all you blessed souls of the dead, and may you always grant me your blessing! Hail to you, o all you blessed souls of the dead!
Tip
If the offering is being made as part of the Leitūrgia, the Leitūrgia resumes at this point.
5.18.3.13. Epilogue⁑
5.18.3.13.1. Prayer of Thanksgiving⁑
Recite:
We give thanks to you!Every soul and heart reaches up to you,o ineffable Name honored as “God” and praised as “Forebear”,for to everyone and everything you have showntender kindness, affection, love, and sweetest activity,granting to us mind, word, and knowledge:mind, that we may understand you;word, that we may call upon you;knowledge, that we may know you.We rejoice, for we have been enlightened by your knowledge.We rejoice, for you have revealed yourself to us.We rejoice, for you have made us incarnate divine by your knowledge.The thanksgiving of humanity to you is this alone:that we may know you.O Light of Mind, we know you.O Life of Life, we know you.O Womb of every creature, we know you.O Mother pregnant with the nature of the Father, we know you.O eternal permanence of the begetting Source, we know you.Thus do we worship your goodness.Thus do we ask for one favor:that we be preserved in your knowledge.Thus do we ask for one protection:that we not fall away from this sort of life. ※
If desired, prostrate and recite the Supplication of the Holy:
Holy God, Holy Strong, Holy Immortal, be merciful to me.Holy God, Holy Maker, Holy Forebear, be gracious to us.Holy God, Holy One, Holy Source, be propitious to us all.
5.18.3.13.2. Conclusion of Work⁑
Recite (changing personal pronouns if needed):
I have been attached to your holy form.I have been given power by your holy name.I have been filled with your holy emanation.I praise you with a gladdened heart!I thank you with an outstretched soul!Be merciful, be gracious, be propitious to me,o Lord, o God of gods, o Master! ※
Prostrate silently, then stand.
5.18.3.13.3. Foundation — Closing⁑
Extend the arms out, and recite (leader only):
The glory of the All is God, both Divinity and Nature,for natural Divinity is renewed by Nature,and divine Nature is founded in Divinity.
Clap once.
5.18.3.13.4. Concluding the Nekysia⁑
Recite (leader only):
Thus concludes this Nekysia.
5.18.3.13.5. Final Salutation⁑
5.18.3.13.5.1. On One’s Own⁑
Recite:
May I walk in reverence and knowledge!
5.18.3.13.5.2. If Others are Present⁑
The leader recites to all:
May we walk in reverence and knowledge!
All others present repeat the above as one.
5.18.3.14. Post-Offering Breakdown⁑
If desired, eat a meal, especially if there are others present. If food was cooked from which the first portion was taken as an offering for the Lesser Nekysia, this is ideal and encouraged to eat as part of the meal. Although a vegetarian meal is encouraged, if non-vegetarian food was cooked for offering in a Lesser Nekysia, it should also be eaten as part of the meal along with other foods that were cooked for this purpose.
With the exception of the offerings made, break down and clean up the euktērion. Dispose of the offerings as appropriate when possible to do so. Unlike most other offerings where they may be respectfully consumed or repurposed as a means of disposal, food and drink and flowers should not be consumed or repurposed but should instead be dumped in the trash or outside; incense ash should be either be dumped in the trash or outside, or repurposed only for necromantic works. When disposing of offerings outside, disposing of them in a well, pit, or at the gate of a graveyard is encouraged if possible and safe to do so.
Those who make, lead, or attend a Lesser Nekysia are encouraged to bathe and dress in fresh clothes after the Lesser Nekysia, regardless of having done so prior to the Lesser Nekysia.
5.18.3.14.1. Recounting of Hermēs’ Final Words⁑
If desired, read Hermēs’ final words upon his deathbed, whether aloud or silently.
Thus far, my children, I, expelled from my homeland, have lived as a sojourner and an exile. Now, safe and secure, I seek my home again. When, after a little while, I am fully released from my bodily chains and depart, see to it that you do not bewail me as if I were dead. I return to that best and blessed city in which all its citizens know not death or corruption, a city governed by God, the One, the Unique, the Supreme. As long as all people desire to know and revere God, they are united by the fullness of God’s inestimable and inviolable goodness, and filled with God’s wondrous sweetness.I confess to you, my children, that that life is the true life. In it, all effects of changeability are banished, while its citizens join themselves inseparably to the eternal Good and enjoy true blessedness. It is this life which many consider to be the only one that is rather called “death”, nor is there one single mortal life, but many–as many, I would say, as there are hindrances to the virtues of the highest God, as many as there are clouds of ignorance, as many as there are failures to fulfill sacred vows, and all the other errors in which our mortal condition is entangled.So dry your tears, my children! For this dissolution in which occurs the unloading of the burden of corruptibility brings with it no calamitous end for me, but to me offers a glorious return! There is no reason to mourn me when you devote yourselves to the glory of true life as I give myself over to it now. Thus far I have gasped as one about to receive the prize of true immortality, which the divine steadfastness of my soul, providence, sobriety, justice, and the unimpaired worship of God has earned for me.You yourselves will follow me and find me in the homeland–and surely you will not fail to know me in my transformed state. This is because each person, when the darkness of unknowing is dispersed, will recognize all their fellow citizens by that single immense light of goodness which is God–more truly than I am able to tell. I tell you, you will follow me if you most wholly venerate the virtues of divine Life, Light, and Goodness. By these virtues, I earnestly exhort you: despise the multitude of diversions and distractions of this world and its life that is to be called “death”, and worship instead with knowledge and reverence, supplication and hymning the One who brought about the entire mechanism of the world’s body and who put souls in these earthly tents.’’Silence, and hearken—for I know not what wondrously sweet music echoes in my ears, whose immensely pleasing melody I confess that I have never more fully attended to. It is so different than the sounds of musical instruments by which we enjoy the symphony that procures and preserves good habits. I cannot, for lack of experience, describe that which the swiftness of the wondrous firmament produces by the mixing of high and low notes, with the seven celestial spheres veering in a contrary direction.
5.18.3.14.2. Extinguishing the Lykhnon⁑
If the Nekysia is being done with a lykhnon that was lit for the Nekysia and is to be extinguished afterwards, recite (leader only):
It is you who gives us fire, and through the fire light;it is you who gives us light for our eyes and our hearts.I put out this lamp that shines with your holy fire,not to quench your light nor to stem your blessing,but for the safety and preservation of my life.As I put out this flame, grant me your Light forever,for yours is the light that can never truly be extinguished.Go forth from this lamp, o holy light of the highest God;depart, holy brightness, and let your flame be scattered,but let your light always dwell within me as a lamp in my soul,that I too may always shine with the holy light of the highest God.
Extinguish the lykhnon.