The Burning Times
Charlie Murphy, Deena Metzger
In the cool of the evening they used to gather
‘Neath the stars in the meadow
Circled near an old oak tree
At the time appointed
By the seasons of the earth and the phases of the moon
In the centre often stood a woman,
Equal with the others and respected for her worth
One of the many we call the witches
The healers and the teachers of the wisdom of the earth
And the people grew in the knowledge she gave them
Herbs to heal their bodies
Spells to make their spirits whole
Hear them chanting healing incantations
Calling on the wise ones
Celebrating in dance and song
Isis, Astarte, Diana, Hecate, Demeter, Kali, Inanna
There were those who came to power through domination
And they were bonded in their worship of a dead man on a cross
They sought control of the common people
By demanding allegiance to the church of Rome
And the pope declared the inquisition
It was a war against the women whose power they feared
In the holocaust against the nature people
Nine million European women died
And the tale is told of those who by the hundreds
Holding together chose their deaths in the sea
While chanting the praises of the mother goddess
A refusal of betrayal, women were dying to be free
Now the earth is a witch and the men still burn her
Stripping her down with mining and the poison of their wars
Still to us the earth is a healer, a teacher, a mother,
The weaver of a web of life that keeps us all alive
She gives us the vision to see through the chaos
She gives us the courage, it is our will to survive