The Wizard
By:  Isaac Bonewits
Tune:  The Gambler

On a cold Samhain midnight,
The God we were invoking,
When an old man walked out from the woods
And calmly cut a gate.
And as we stared astonished,
He strode into our circle,
Smiling sweetly as he said
ÒI hope IÕm not too late.Ó

He said ÒKids IÕve spent nine lifetimes
ReadinÕ peopleÕs auras
KnowinÕ what their powers were
By the way they cast each spell.
And I can see by lookinÕ
That youÕve all run out of magick.
For a taste of your chalice there,
Some truths to you IÕll tell.Ó

So we handed him our chalice
And he drained it in one swallow.
Offered him the pentacle
He inhaled all of our cakes.
And we all got weirdly quiet
As he belched and started talkinÕ
ÒIf youÕre gonna practice magick, kids
You gotta learn just what it takes.Ó

ÒYou gotta know when to banish
Know when to vanish,
Know when to back away,
And know when to stand.
You never count your karma
When youÕre dancinÕ in the circle.
ThereÕll be time for countinÕ karma
In the Summerland.Ó

ÒNow every wizard knows
That the tough part of the Old Ways
Is knowinÕ when to keep your peace,
And when to pick a fight.
See, the Gods gave you your magicks
Well knowinÕ you was mortal,
ExpectinÕ little save that you
Would try to use Ôem right.Ó

ÒYou gotta know when to banish
Know when to vanish,
Know when to back away,
And know when to stand.
You never count your karma
When youÕre dancinÕ in the circle.
ThereÕll be time for countinÕ karma
In the Summerland.Ó

And when heÕs finished speakinÕ
He gave us all a big smile,
Jumped up lightly to his feet
And led us Ôround the ring.
And when the dance was over,
We looked both high and low,
He was gone but we still had
Some wisdom we could sing.

ÒYou gotta know when to banish
Know when to vanish,
Know when to back away,
And know when to stand.
You never count your karma
When youÕre dancinÕ in the circle.
ThereÕll be time for countinÕ karma
In the Summerland.Ó