"all these I place ... between myself and the powers of darkness"

At Tara in this fateful hour
I place all Heaven with its power
And the sun with its brightness,
And the snow with its whiteness,
And the fire with all the strength it hath,
And the lightning with its rapid wrath,
And the winds with their swiftness along their path,
And the sea with its deepness,
And the rocks with their steepness,
And the earth with its starkness:
All these I place
By God's almighty help and grace
Between myself and the powers of darkness!
-"Patrick's Rune" from A Swiftly Tilting Planet by Madeleine L'Engle