Eliphas Levi composed prayers he’d imagine the various Elemental Beings might recite worshiping a Greater Divine being who created this planet and possibly the cosmos. One was written from the perspective of creatures called “Undines” who live in and have power over the microcosmic manifestations of the Element of Water.
PRAYER OF THE UNDINES (WATER)
“Dread King of the Sea, who hast the Keys of the floodgates of Heaven and who enclosest the subterranean Waters in the cavernous hollows of Earth; King of the Deluge and of the Rains of Spring; Thou who openest the sources of Rivers and of Fountains; Thou who commandest moisture, which is like the blood of the earth, to become the sap of plants: We adore thee and we invoke thee! Speak thou unto us Thy inconstant and changeful creatures in the great Tempests of the Sea, and we shall tremble before Thee. Speak unto us also in the murmur of limpid waters, and we shall desire thy love. O Vastness wherein all the Rivers of Being seek to lose themselves, which renew themselves ever in thee. O Ocean of infinite perfections! O Height which reflectest Thyself in the Depth! O Depth which exhalest thyself into the Height! Lead us into Immortality through sacrifice, that we may be found worthy one day to offer unto Thee the Water, the Blood, and the Tears, for the remission of Sins! Amen.”
This fascination with water-dwelling sentient beings has existed through most of recorded annals of human culture as evidenced by belief in Deities of Water starting with the Mesopotamian Tiamat, running through Greek and Roman pantheons (not forgetting that Christianity’s Theotokos or “God bearer”, Mary’s name in Aramaic – Mara – means bitter sea) to the nymphs, water sprites and mermaids. Atlas Obscura examined the frequency of searches on the latter topic both on their site as well we Google — attributing it mainly to cheesy documentaries that credulous viewers’ imaginations are fired up by. I will note that if you do an image search for “mermaid” almost ALL you get is ladies depicted. Read it and weep:
http://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/are-mermaids-real-the-long-tail-of-a-simple-question
SPLASH, Daryl Hannah, 1984. (c) Buena Vista Pictures/ Courtesy: Everett Collection.
thanks to Soror Hypatia for the tip!
