Prayer to Artemis

[hearthstone]

Artemis, light-footed maiden, child of great Zeus
and blessed Leto, sharp-eyed one whose aim never fails.
Luminous Artemis, sure-stepping huntress,
graceful one who takes joy in dance and in contests,
ruthless protector of children and young women,
kind one to whom mothers turn in their travail.
Artemis, deer-slayer, guardian of untamed life,
I pray to you. Dark-eyed mistress of animals,
in thick-grown woods and sun-soaked fields we know you,
in the maddening chase, in the fire in our lungs,
in skill and precision, in the body's memory;
grant me understanding of such chaste passion.