Submitted May 11, 2013
Approved May 15, 2013
Approved May 15, 2013
Item
1: Essays on the Nine Virtues
Wisdom:
“Our Own Druidry” defines wisdom as “good judgment, the ability
to perceive people and situations correctly, deliberate about and
decide on the correct response.”
Wisdom
is in many ways borne of experience, and it is no fault of the
younger person to be less wise than the elder. However, experience
does not lead to wisdom automatically. It is the responsibility of
each person to live in the kind of active engagement with life and
the world that facilitates the increase of wisdom.
Wisdom
need not come from personal experience. As an old saying goes,
“Everyone learns from experience, but only a fool insists that the
experience must be his own.” Wisdom literature such as the Havamal
can provide much insight from the experiences or observations of
others. And good stories – myths, novels, movies, etc. – while
not as didactic, can also provide vicarious experience from which we
can take wise counsel.
In
practice, wisdom is the quality that allows a person to make sound
decisions, to judge others accurately and to be less likely to fall
into a trap. Wisdom often works in coordination with other virtues;
for example, moderation and wisdom may both come into play as someone
makes the wise choice to avoid intoxication when driving.
This
is an apt one with which to begin the list, because the other virtues
all depend on some measure of wisdom in order to be effective in
their application.
Piety:
The Random House dictionary defines piety as “Reverence for God or
devout fulfillment of religious obligations.”
Piety,
at its root, is simply about being mindful of the kindreds and our
relationship to them. We express our love, respect, loyalty and honor
of them through ritual and ceremony. But the words and motions of
ritual are only the outer form. Piety implies an orientation of the
heart and spirit so that the ceremony expresses the internal reality.
It isn't piety if it is simply reciting words.
Because
of this, while piety is expressed in ritual, it can also be expressed
moment to moment in simply thinking about the gods, speaking small
prayers to them and, above all, treating them with honor and respect,
not as cosmic gumball machines sent to do us favors.
Piety
isn't limited to the gods, however. The other kindreds, the ancestors
and land spirits, may also be the object of reverence and respect.
Tradition
is part of piety as well, in that our rituals are based on old
traditions, brought forward into a new century. One aspect of
honoring the gods is understanding how our ancestors honored them and
striving to acknowledge them in the ways they prefer to be
acknowledged. Wisdom comes into play here in that it guides us toward
discerning the better ways to relate to the spirits and away from
those practices or motivations that are self-serving.
Vision:
“Our
Own Druidry” speaks of vision as being aware of one's
place
or role in the cosmos, relating to the past, present and future. The
key point to remember is that one's place may be big or small,
depending on the vantage point. As a human being on a planet with
more than 6 billion human beings, in a galaxy with a hundred billion
stars, I am insignificant. As a friend, lover, son, grandfather –
and as a child of Mother Earth – I am important.
One's
place in the cosmos is not frozen in time. It pertains to the past,
present and future. Vision means an ability to see one's place not
just today, but next year, next decade and, after a long enough
period, as a legacy of one who has moved into the Otherworld.
It
also entails an understanding of how one's place in the past affects
the present and the future. To see one's own life, or the life of
another, with true vision means to appreciate the interconnections of
time, space and relationship and how what has gone before affects
what is to come.
Finally,
remember that vision is not limited to one's self – vision can
pertain to another person, an organization, a nation or a world.
Courage:
The Random House dictionary describes courage as, “the
quality of mind
or
spirit that enables a person
to
face
difficulty,
danger, pain, etc., without fear; bravery.”
I
do not really agree with that. I think it's more accurate to say it
is, “the
quality of mind
or
spirit that enables a person
to
face
difficulty,
danger, pain, etc., despite
fear.” The absence of fear is not so much courage as recklessness.
I
see courage as the balancing point between cowardice and
recklessness. It is to do that which is difficult and dangerous in
order to achieve a worthy goal. It is to act despite fear, not
necessarily without fear. Do not mistake recklessness for courage:
Courage takes risks and dangers into account, recklessness ignores
them. Courage leads to dangerous actions taken for good reason,
recklessness leads to dangerous actions undertaken for their own
sake.
In
the same vein, just as to charge ahead is not necessarily courage, to
retreat is not necessarily cowardice. It can be an act of courage to
defer taking action when under great pressure to act. But blending
courage with wisdom gives one the discernment to determine when
taking risky action is warranted and when it would just be foolish.
Courage
necessarily entails selflessness. Courage is risk, and in many cases,
courage is willingly giving up something for a greater good.
Integrity:
To behave with integrity is to maintain one's ethical principles in
the face of temptation. It is to be consistent in character and to
put principle ahead of desire. Integrity requires keeping promises,
upholding oaths, speaking truth and sometimes sacrificing one's own
desires.
Behaving
with integrity is not just a matter of public perception. Even when
alone, a person of integrity is called on to uphold his or her
standards. What is done in secret (if indeed it is secret from the
kindred) will have repercussions into one's wider world. What we do
when nobody's watching says more about our true character than what
we do in front of witnesses.
Integrity
requires other virtues in order to be consistent. It takes courage to
do the right thing at personal risk. Wisdom to know what the right
thing is. Moderation to resist giving in to passions. The life of
integrity can be difficult, but it's also rewarding, not least in
giving one a good name (good reputation) to pass down.
Perseverance:
Random House defines perseverance as “steady persistence in a
course of action … especially in spite of difficulties, obstacles
or discouragement.”
Simple
in concept, often very difficult in practice. Very often, we give up
the pursuit of something when it becomes hard. We may even decide we
don't really want it any more, the “sour grapes” of Aesop's
fable. But of course, we do want it … just not badly enough to
endure the challenges that come in the pursuit.
To
press on through tough times requires a focus on the desired outcome
– physical changes, learning new skills, wooing a lover, getting a
good job, or whatever it may be. (Finishing the ADF Dedicant
program!) These things are rarely won easily, and a person who sets
out to achieve them should be prepared for some tough going along the
way. Perseverance is the virtue that makes them possible at all.
Patience
is not singled out as a virtue on the ADF list, but perseverance very
often requires it, as the goals sought can take a very long time to
reach. As weeks and months and even years pass with the goal
remaining out of reach, maybe even seeming unattainable through all
that time, will you continue pressing on toward it? (And Wisdom again
comes into play here, as we try to discern the difference between a
worthwhile goal and a truly lost cause.)
Hospitality:
The opening section of The Havamal is all about hospitality. The
author (tradition holds these are the words of Odin himself) speaks
of how weary travelers need food, drink, warmth, fresh clothing after
arriving at a home.
Hospitality,
in its general sense, is about being a “gracious host and
appreciative guest,” as Our Own Druidry phrases it. A host who
offers food to the hungry traveler, dry clothes to the rain-soaked
visitor, fire to the one coming in from the cold. A guest who does
not demand these things, but accepts them with gratitude when they
are offered.
There
is a more subtle sense of hospitality too, which is about adapting to
another's needs without calling attention to it. General principles
are fine in many cases, but there are people with special needs. The
handicapped person who can't stand up for very long, or at all; the
blind or deaf; the alcoholic who should not drink any alcohol, and so
on.
Hospitality,
tempered by wisdom, accommodates those things without making the
person feel singled out. Offer the person with a drinking problem
only non-alcoholic beverage options; don't serve a meat-based entree
if your dinner guests include vegetarians. The end result of
hospitality should be guests who have had their needs met by someone
who has put some thought into understanding what those needs are.
Moderation:
Random
House says of moderation that it is “avoiding extremes or excess.”
The
practice of moderation implies balance. While it shuns
overindulgence, it does not counsel asceticism. When one engages in
things that are good and pleasurable, but also prone to be pursued to
excess – food, drink or sex for example – moderation seeks to
find the zone between too much and not enough.
The
words attributed to Odin in the Havamal are instructive here:
“Less
good there lies than most believe
In ale for mortal men; For the more he drinks, the less does man
Of his mind the mastery hold.”
In ale for mortal men; For the more he drinks, the less does man
Of his mind the mastery hold.”
Or:
“Shun
not the mead, but drink in measure;
Speak to the point or be still;
For rudeness none shall rightly blame thee
If soon thy bed thou seekest.”
Speak to the point or be still;
For rudeness none shall rightly blame thee
If soon thy bed thou seekest.”
This
text contains several stanzas counseling against overindulgence in
drink, perhaps a contrast to the popular image of drunken, bawdy
Norsemen. But notice that the Havamal, neither here nor elsewhere,
advocates abstaining from drink. It only advises controlling oneself
to avoid the consequences of excess.
This
is the essence of moderation. “Shun not the mead, but drink in
measure.” The axiom may be applied in like manner to food, or sex
or sloth or exertion. One can easily overindulge in work, and feel
oneself virtuous by doing so, without taking heed of the other
aspects of life going neglected in the process.
Fertility:
I understand from discussions on the ADF Dedicant list that the name
of this virtue has been the subject of some debate. Indeed, it does
seem to be a wide-ranging concept. According to Our Own Druidry,
fertility is “bounty of mind, body and spirit involving creativity
and industry, an appreciation of the physical and sensual, nurturing
these qualities in others.”
In
common parlance, the word can connote a bountiful harvest, human
reproduction, fecundity, a prolific creativity and productivity of
work, among other meanings. Summarizing it is difficult, but what all
of these things have in common is a drive toward creation. Whether
the life force expressed in sexual love and, often, pregnancy, or in
growing plants for food or beauty, or in writing, art and craft,
fertility always suggests a rich vein of result. A person who writes
a poem or song once every long while can hardly be called a bard,
while one who is always writing, even if much of what he writes ends
up deemed unworthy, may well be. A man who plants a flower in a pot
is not a gardener, really, but one who is always planting and growing
something, even if some of his attempts fail, is indeed a gardener.
To
be a virtue, fertility needs to be pursued with deliberate intention.
It entails cultivating skills and talents, applying another virtue –
perseverance in this case – to soldier on through the less
successful attempts and the early days of learning something new when
failure is the rule rather than the exception.
Item
2: Essays on the High Days
Autumn
Equinox
The
Autumn Equinox, Mabon, is the feast that celebrates the harvest. It
marks the end of summer and the reaping of grain.
The
day is called Harvest Home in the Anglo-Saxon hearth (Albertsson,
171.)
Traditionally
it was celebrated at the completion of the harvest, a time that
varies from place to place. Today, as a matter of convention, the
equinox serves as a close approximation. Historically, the European
peoples celebrated the feast in different ways under different names,
but all mark the turn from grain harvest into the final weeks before
the coming of winter.
The
Autumn Equinox has marked the start of my favorite time of year for
many years. I love the Autumn, when the heat of summer has broken and
the deep cold of winter not yet come. The smells and colors of nature
are especially intense, and the touches of chill in the air are
reminders of the cycles of nature.
Personal
meaning:
This is a time of retreat for me (in the sense of rest and
restoration). The warmth of summer is fading, and it's time to build
up stores for winter. It is time to take stock of the year so far,
and to prepare for the final months of it. This is a time conducive
to meditation and prayer, for looking within myself for spiritual
connection.
Samhain/Hallows
As
is probably true of most Americans, I grew up knowing Samhain as
Halloween. Only relatively recently have I learned more about its
ancient roots as a day in which the veil between worlds is thinnest.
Samhain
also marked the “third harvest,” meat. Animals were slaughtered
for meat, as keeping them fed over the winter would be expensive or
impossible. In Celtic lands, the Samhain celebration included the
lighting of fires at dusk, feasting, processions and pranks.
(MacLeod, 61.)
Many
pagans celebrate Samhain with a “dumb supper” in honor of the
ancestors. It is a meal in which no one speaks for the duration,
allowing those who have gone before silence in which to make their
presence known. the tradition appears to have its roots in rural
America rather than any ancient pagan culture. (Albertsson 175-177.)
Still, it is meaningful and powerful.
Personal
meaning: I
have celebrated Samhain with ADF twice as of this writing. I find it
to be an opportune time to honor those who have passed into the
Otherworld ahead of us, whether recently or long ago.
Yule
The
Winter's Solstice marks the longest night of the year and the slow
return or rebirth of the sun as the days slowly grow longer through
the winter and spring. The Norse culture celebrates this time as
Yule, marked by a 12-day celebration, a burning Yule log and
feasting. It begins with Mother's Night, honoring the goddesses, and
may include the sacrifice of a boar – or a modern equivalent such
as eating roast pork. (Our
Own Druidry
66.) Albertsson
notes that among Saxon pagans, the only Yule tradition of real
antiquity that is still practiced is the Wassail bowl (178).
Yule
was originally celebrated around what is now the end of the year, but
can occur anytime between
about mid-November and the beginning of January. (Wikipedia)
In
contemporary practice, the Winter's Solstice is a suitable time to
praise the returning of the sun, to honor the Norse or Anglo-Saxon
deities in public ritual and, as Yule and the Solstice traditions
have become subsumed into Christmas, gift-giving might also be
appropriate.
Personal
meaning: Yule
is mixed with Christmas for me, given that all of my blood family
celebrates the Christian observance and so did I for many years. It
is a time for family and gifts (both given and received.)
Imbolc
Imbolc
is an Irish cross-quarter day, falling early in February. It is
associated with the coming of spring and the beginning of lactation
in ewes.
The
goddess Brigit is the deity most closely connected to Imbolc.
However, another important item of lore concerns The Cailleach, the
hag. Imbolc is traditionally the day on which she gathers her
firewood for the remainder of winter. If the weather on Imbolc is
nice, it portends a longer winter, as The Cailleach is making the day
pleasant to allow more time to gather firewood. Therefore, bad
weather is cause for celebration as it means winter will end sooner.
(Carlyon)
In
the Germanic hearth culture there is an agrarian festival called the
Charming of the Plow, centered on a blessing of the fields in
preparation for planting season. It is a celebration of fertility and
a pleading to the gods for bountiful harvests. A more direct
parallel, however, is Ewemolc, a variation of the Celtic celebration.
(Albertsson 156)
Personal
meaning: Imbolc
is about anticipation of the coming spring, despite the snow on the
ground and the chill in the air when it's celebrated. It usually
comes right about the time I'm growing weary of winter and ready to
see green on the trees again.
Ostara
Ostara
marks the spring equinox, the ending of winter and the return of life
to the land. Under the budding new leaves, the earth awakens and
growth emerges from the once snow-covered ground.
In
a general Indo-European sense, the high day is a celebration of
fertility, renewal and life, although it seems to have not been an
important day in many hearth cultures within the ADF family. It is
important to the Germanic/Nordic culture, and is named for the Saxon
goddess Eostre, from which the Christian Easter also takes its name.
(Albertsson 161)
The
celebration of the vernal equinox is the celebration of the cycle of
life, the rebirth of life from death. Imbolc promises this renewal
while the cold still grips the land, and by Beltane the warmth is
fully manifest. The equinox is the time in between, the liminal time
between winter and spring where the transition has begun but is not
complete.
Personal
meaning: Ostara
is the observance of spring's arrival. The air is warming and,
usually where I live, the threat of snow is almost (but not quite)
past.
Beltane
Beltane
celebrates the return of warm weather. The name may mean “fire of
Bel” or “bright fires,” but that is uncertain. (McLeod 14) It
is about fertility and abundance. Like its opposite high day Samhain,
Beltane is a day when the veil between our world and the Otherworld
is especially thin (Chadwick 181). It was also, agriculturally, the
time when farmers would take their livestock out to new fields, away
from the crops and settlements, where they could graze on new grass
(McLeod 58).
Celebration
of the day, also called “May Day” or “Summerfinding,” is
centered around lighthearted revelry – dancing around a maypole,
singing, sex and general merriment. Beltane expresses a sense of
great relief that the fallow time of winter, the endurance of the
cold and privation of living off of food stores is at an end. By May
in most of northern Europe, as the traditional song “Hal An Tow”
puts it, “Summer is a-comin' in and winter's gone away.”
In
Ireland, the ancients celebrated Beltane with bonfires and dancing
sunwise around the fires. It was customary to release the animals and
drive them through the smoke for purification. (Jones and Pennick
90).
Personal
meaning: Summer
has arrived, and celebrating the warmth awakens my sensuality.
Midsummer
Midsummer
marks the summer solstice, the longest day and shortest night of the
year.
Midsummer
appears to have been an important event in many of the ancient
societies that inform ADF's modern hearth cultures. The Romans, for
example, allowed non-virginal women to enter the temple of Vesta and
make offerings during this time of the year only (Gill). While high
days sometimes take on differing significance and importance in
cold-weather climates (Norse, Celtic) compared to warm-weather
(Greek, Roman), midsummer appears to have been important in either
case. In the northern lands, the day was often marked with bonfires,
and the celebrations focused on gods of the sun, gods of fire and the
community itself (Albertsson 168).
But
not all cultures observed midsummer with any particular ceremonies.
This is not really surprising. The day has no agricultural
significance, marking neither a sowing nor harvest time. Rather,
where it is celebrated it seems to be more for pure pleasure in the
warm weather and relatively easy living compared to the colder
months.
Personal
meaning: The
height of summer is not always the most comfortable time of year, but
I usually find it easy and free.
Lammas/Lughnassadh
While
these days are celebrated around the same time, the beginning of
August, they have different meanings. Lammas (Anglo-Saxon – called
Freyfaxi in the Norse context (Our Own Druidry 67)) celebrates the
first wheat harvest. Lammas is celebrated by baking bread and
offering portions to the gods – a classic example of sacrifice as a
giving back to the gods of the bounty they have provided (Albertsson
169-170).
The
Irish Lughnassadh honors the god Lugh, or Lug, and his mother
Tailtiu. Traditionally it's celebrated with contests of skill, and
large fairs with many activities (MacLeod 60). One tradition from
Ireland involved cutting sheaves of grain. The first one cut was
called the Harvest Maiden, and dressed and decorated accordingly. The
last one cut was named the Hag and given to a farmer who had not yet
finished his harvest, a signal that he should hurry it up (MacLeod
61).
Things
were different elsewhere. In Rome, for example, where the harvest was
mostly complete by this time of year, several festivals honored Ceres
and other gods (Our
Own Druidry 71),
while Vedic cultures may observe the Soma Feast, named for a now-lost
drink purported to have had intoxicating properties (Our Own Druidry
68).
Personal
meaning: Around
this time is when I begin anticipating the turn of the weather to
cool and then cold, but it isn't here yet. It's about preparing
before it arrives.
WORKS
CITED
Albertsson,
Alaric, Travels
Through Middle Earth: The Path of a Saxon Pagan,
Woodbury, Minn., Llewellyn, 2009. Print.
Ar
n'Draiocht Fein, Our
Own Druidry,
Tucson, Ariz., ADF Publishing, 2009, print.
Carlyon,
Dillion, Brighid,
the Cailleach and the Battle for Spring,
Druid's Egg. 2008, Web. Accessed 2 May 2013.
(http://www.druidsegg.reformed-druids.org/newsimbolc08-05.htm)
Jones,
Prudence & Pennick, Nigel. A
History of Pagan Europe.
London, Routledge,1995. Print.
Gill,
N.S., Six
Vestal Virgins,
About.com, 2013. Web. Accessed 6 February 2013.
(http://ancienthistory.about.com/cs/rome/a/aa1114001.htm)
MacLeod,
Sharon Paice, Celtic
Myth and Religion,
Jefferson, N.C., McFarland & Company, Inc. , 2012. Print.
“Yule,”
Wikipedia,
n.p.,
n.d.
Book
Reviews
Indo-European
Studies
A
History of Pagan Europe
Prudence
Jones and Nigel Pennick
"A
History of Pagan Europe," by Prudence Jones and Nigel Pennick,
presents a survey of the pagan cultures of Europe, including Russia
and the British Isles. The authors broadly define paganism as
polytheistic religion that sees nature as theophany – a reflection
of the divine rather than the fallen, broken thing of Christian
theology – and recognizing a feminine divine principle in addition
to the masculine.
In
the introduction, the authors suggest that modern paganism tends to
see the gods as manifestations of a God and Goddess rather than as
distinct, individual beings. I think this is an overgeneralization
perhaps reflecting the dominance of Wicca in the pagan world.
The
overarching theme of the book is the decline and eventual near-end of
the various pagan cultures chronicled at the hand of Christianity. In
most cases, a remnant of pagans survived, often driven underground,
but Christianity – and to a lesser extent, Islam -- spread and
became the dominant religions throughout Europe.
The
authors devote two chapters to Rome, which hosted a flourishing pagan
civilization for many centuries, and conquered much of Europe. That
gave Christianity, which rose to prominence first in Rome after the
first missionaries brought it out of Judea, a road into much of the
rest of the pagan world.
Many
histories identify Constantine as the Roman emperor responsible for
turning the Empire to Christianity and cementing the fall of
paganism. Jones and Pennick, however, make clear that while
Constantine adopted a form of Christianity (baptized on his
deathbed), he did not forbid pagan worship. That fell to his three
sons.
Christianity
became the official religion of Rome by the mid fourth century CE,
and pagan practices were gradually forbidden and quashed across the
continent. The authors recount many specific instances in the
chapters on various cultures, such as St. Martin of Tours destroying
pagan shrines in northern Gaul in the late fourth century, and a list
of punishments for pagan worship in the Norse lands published around
690.
The
authors also find some surprising survivals, however. Even as
Christianity and Islam spread and supplanted pagan religion – often
by force – there were pockets where pagan worship seems to have
continued. In the chapter on the Baltic Lands, for example, they
document the resistance of certain cultures, such as the Mari and the
Udmurt, to both Christianity and Islam. In Lapland, they write,
forcible baptisms led simply to dual faith practices – the baptized
Laplanders would return to worship Thor. (But this co-existence was
not necessarily a peaceful one. The authors note ongoing conflicts,
and the martyrdoms of some pagans.)
Finally,
the authors document the resurgence of paganism dating back several
centuries. During the Renaissance, pagan deities began to appear in
art, in public places, and some landowners built authentic pagan
temples. The authors trace the renewed interest in and practice of
revived versions of the old polytheistic religions over the ensuing
centuries, up to the late 20th
century, when the book was published.
Summary:
A
History of Pagan Europe
is a very good introduction to what we know of the ancient pagan
cultures, how they grew and developed. The survey of various cultures
will give the newcomer some sense of what it would mean to adopt any
one of them as a hearth culture for personal practice, although they
also reveal the limitations of the source material available. That is
to say, we know a great deal about the pagan religion of Greece and
Rome, for example, but quite a bit less about the Celts, especially
first-hand.
The
book is written for a general audience, so no one should find it too
challenging. It includes a lengthy bibliography for readers who want
to delve deeper into specific topics or cultures, as most probably
will.
Ethnic
Studies
Gods
and Myths of Northern Europe
H.R.
Ellis-Davidson
"Gods
and Myths of Northern Europe," by H.R. Ellis-Davidson, recounts
the lore of the Nordic culture in great detail, providing the student
an accessible survey of what we know about the deities revered in
Iceland, Norway and other Scandinavian lands in pre-Christian times.
Apart
from the Romans and the Greeks, the Norse lore is probably the
best-preserved and most generous collection available of any
Indo-European culture. Between the Poetic and Prose Eddas and the
various sagas handed down, there is wealth of information about Odin,
Thor, Freyr, Freya, Balder, Heimdall and others.
However,
as Ellis-Davidson points out, this material doesn't come to us
unfiltered. It was committed to writing during the Christian era, by
Christian authors. Separating the authentic heathen lore from the
Christian glosses can be challenging. The opening chapters of the
book describe the sources, and then summarize the overarching themes
of the lore – the cosmology and creation, the relationships of the
Aesir, Vanir, Jotun, dwarves, elves and man, the binding of Fenrir,
the coming of Ragnarok and other major stories.
Turning
to the actual myths and gods, Ellis-Davidson devotes most of the book
to Odin and Thor, with Freyr, Freya, Heimdall, Loki and other figures
getting briefer surveys. Given the prominence of Odin and Thor is the
religious lives of the ancient heathens, this seems appropriate. She
examines Odin's role as warrior god, as cognate to the Roman Mercury,
and as a shaman. On the latter point, she describes Odin's journey to
the underworld on his eight-legged horse Sleipnir, as recounted in
the poem Baldrs
Draumar.
Sleipner also traveled to Hel – whether the rider was Odin or an
emissary is unclear – to try to reclaim the slain Baldr. Odin hung
on the World Tree to discover the runes, and has the power to send
out his spirit in animal form.
Thor
is presented as the powerful god of action, defender of Asgard, the
friend of man, adversary of the Jotuns and other powers that would
seek to do harm. With his iconic hammer, Mjollnir, Thor slays giants.
He is married to Sif (about whom little is known). Thor is associated
with the sky, and therefore, the weather, thunder in particular.
Thor
also was portrayed as a powerful adversary to Christ, and
Ellis-Davidson includes accounts of his appearing in a dream to a
recent convert, warning him to return to Thor or else be consigned to
rough seas and "never to be delivered from them." In
another incident, Thor stirs up a storm to shipwreck Christian
missionaries.
Turning
to the deities of fertility, drawn from the Vanir, Ellis-Davidson
details what is known of Freyr and Freyja, the twin son and daughter
of Njord. It was apparently customary for the image of gods of
abundance to be drawn through the land in a wagon, to be worshiped
and sacrificed to when they passed through. Ellis-Davidson recounts a
story that she says was probably intended to be comic, about the
servant of King Olaf impersonating Freyr and delighting the Swedes
because the god could suddenly eat and drink with the people.
Tacitus, meanwhile, recounts a practice in Denmark of a priest
pulling a wagon bearing the image of the goddess Nerthus through the
land.
Then
come longer sections on Freyr, the Earth Mother and Freyja and the
Vanir overall.
Ellis-Davidson
then turns to gods of the sea, the gods of the dead (Odin and Thor
make prominent return appearances here) and the "enigmatic gods"
about whom little is known from the lore or whose nature is unclear,
but who nevertheless appear to have been important figures in Norse
culture.
She
concludes the book with a chapter detailing the beginning and end of
the world (Ragnarok) as told in the myths, and an epilogue on the
passing of the gods in favor of Christianity.
Conclusions
I
found the book to be very helpful in understanding the northern myths
and the major figures, but I also have some concerns.
For
one, the book, published in 1964, appears to be outdated in some
ways. Ellis-Davidson takes as a given the thesis that the Aesir and
Vanir existed as separate pantheons for a time before warring and
being blended. However, it appears that this notion has become more
controversial in the light of continuing research.
For
example, Simek argues that the Vanir are almost never mentioned in
the oldest heathen poetry. The bulk of the information about them
comes from Snorri Sturleson's Prose
Edda,
which must be regarded cautiously when it departs from earlier lore
due to its late composition and Christian overlay.
Simek
writes:
I
believe that these are not Snorri's mistakes that we are dealing with
here, but rather his deliberate creation. As a literary name in
medieval [Old Norse] literature, we shall have to live with the
Vanir, because Snorri has made them immortal. As an element of
heathen Scandinavian religion however, we should accept the vanir
as
a rare collective term, but bury the Vanir as a family of gods. No
Viking Age heathen Scandinavian, apart from a handful of skalds
interested in arcane terminology, would have known what is meant by
vanir,
and even these would not have known which gods to ascribe to a group
of them called Vanir. (18)
In
a more practical vein, as an ADF member in search of a hearth
culture, Ellis-Davidson's work provides me a great deal of insight
but also makes me question whether it is the right hearth culture for
me. (Note: Since writing the first draft of this review, I have
settled into a mixed Saxon and Hellenic hearth culture by practice.)
I am put off by the number of these gods who seem to have demanded
human sacrifice and dubious about the vision of the afterlife. (Why
do we want to worship gods who are doomed to die at Ragnarok?)
Overall,
I can say I recommend this book but with reservations. In particular,
readers should be alerted to the issues Ellis-Davidson presents as
settled that subsequent scholarship has reopened.
Works
Cited
Simek,
Clifford, “The Vanir: An Obituary,” Retrospective
Methods Network Newsletter,
Dec. 2010, 10-19, Electronic,
http://www.helsinki.fi/folkloristiikka/English/RMN/RMN%20Newsletter%20DECEMBER%202010.pdf
Modern
Paganism
Drawing
Down the Moon
Margot
Adler
Margot
Adler's Drawing Down the Moon is widely considered a seminal work, a
comprehensive history of the emergence and growth of, as the subtitle
says, “Witches, Druids, Goddess-Worshippers and Other Pagans in
America.”
I
have mixed reactions to this book. On the one hand, it is
exhaustively researched and highly detailed, and surveys a broad
range of contemporary pagan groups and practices. On the other hand,
though, it may be a little too detailed – it's a long, sometimes
tedious, read.
My
primary criticisms pertain to editorial decisions. Adler devotes
inordinate amounts of space to relatively unimportant groups. Perhaps
this is an artifact of the original publication in 1979, but some
topics that seem like footnotes instead get whole chapters, while
some that warrant whole chapters are scarcely more than footnotes.
The
book starts with a lengthy history of Wicca. This takes up about half
of the book and while I appreciate its thoroughness, I am not Wiccan
and not sure I needed to read quite so much about it to understand
its place in the modern pagan revival.
If
I edited this book, I would have cut the interview with Sharon
Devlin, which occupies all of Chapter 6. Adler states upfront that
Devlin's views, especially on sexuality and drug use, are not typical
of the Wiccan community – so what is the value of devoting an
entire chapter to expounding on them? I would omit this chapter, or
move it to the end as an appendix. Adler does use some quotes from
the interview elsewhere in the book, where they make sense, in
context, as adding a different perspective to the topic at hand.
I
grant that the exhaustive treatment of Wicca makes DDM an
authoritative resource on Wicca – my criticism here is that it's
not of much interest to me, not that it lacks intrinsic value.
It
is when we finish that section and begin to read about other pagans
that the editorial decisions really become baffling. For example, the
section opens with a couple of pages on the Church of Aphrodite,
which is a sensible enough place to start if she's right that it was
the first neo-pagan reconstructionist group in America. But then she
segues into a lengthy section of Feraferia, which appears to be –
and to always have been – a tiny group, invented and maintained by
just one or two people. The equally idiosyncratic Sabaean Religious
Order gets ten pages.
Meanwhile,
ar n'Draiocht Fein gets just two pages, and much of that dwells on
controversies around Isaac Bonewits' confrontational nature rather
than ADF itself. But if we consider which neopagan groups are active
and influential today, do we think of the Sabaean Religious Order?
(To be fair though, the Druid revival in general gets a more
expansive treatment, as does the growth of Norse and Anglo-Saxon
heathenry.)
Perhaps
some of what I perceive as imbalance is an artifact of the book's
age; while I am using the 2006 revision, much of the 1979 original is
retained, including presumably the relative weight that various
groups get. Perhaps Feraferia seemed more likely to thrive in 1979.
On
the positive side, what Adler does cover she covers very well. Her
research is obviously meticulous, with a great deal of personal
experience and interviews augmenting any written documents she used.
She gives ample space to the relationship of pagan religion to the
wider culture, with particular attention to feminism and
environmentalism. Finally, there is an appendix which really serves
as a new final chapter on the changing attitudes among writers and
academics to pagan religion. In the time between the first edition
and 2006, a great deal changed about the way those disciplines
perceive pagan religion, and she charts the evolution in detail.
Summary:
People interested in understanding the emergence of pagan religion in
America, and Wicca in particular, can learn a lot from this book.
However, there are other books that do a better a job on specific
topics apart from Wicca – Isaac Bonewits' “Bonewits Essential
Guide to Druidism” and various titles by Philip Carr-Gomm and John
Michael Greer come to mind. Adler has unearthed a great deal of
useful information here, but it could be organized and presented much
better than it is, in a book about half as long.
Item
4: The Home Shrine
The
main shrine in our home is a cabinet that we bought specifically for
the purpose. It is made of wood, painted red to match the furniture
in the room, and sits under a window along one wall. On the top are:
A bell, a wooden pole (actually a Mexican hot-chocolate stirrer)
representing the world tree, a piece of granite with an oil lamp
built in for the fire, a stoneware bowl for the well with a silver
bracelet for purification, a drinking horn and stand, an incense
holder and a candle snuffer. We also have offering bowls available
when needed.
On
the shelves inside the cabinet are baskets containing incense and
other ritual items, and spiritual books that we are currently reading
or plan to soon. When we set this altar up, we held a ritual to
consecrate it and each of the items that are dedicated only to ritual
use. There is no deity image because we want it to be versatile. We
can add an image when we honor a specific deity, or leave them off to
do a more general working.
Another
table next to the altar holds seasonal decorations and we had also
used it to set things being used in a ritual that should not be
placed on the altar itself, such as matches or the pitcher we use to
fill the well. Recently we have made it an altar to the nature
spirits, so we are less likely to use it as a temporary resting
place.
There
are also three smaller shrines in the house. One is in our kitchen
and devoted specifically to Frige. This is my partner's patron, but
also a goddess whose favor I seek due to her role with Woden. It
holds a statue of the goddess, an oil candle, a chime and an offering
dish. A small shelf on the wall serves as my shrine to Hermes, using
an image of him on a block of wood, a tea light, offering bowl,
Mercury-head dime and incense holder. And a small plant stand is my
partner's altar to Juno, featuring an oil warmer, incense holder and
a peacock feather.
These
are fairly recent developments though. For a while our main altar was
the table – a repurposed TV stand – that we now consider the
nature spirits' shrine. During the time it was our main altar, it did
double duty – seasonal décor display plus ritual space – which
was certainly not ideal. After trying to make that work a few times
and never being satisfied with it, we made the investment to create
some dedicated ritual space.
We
are planning to add a shrine to the ancestors, with photographs, my
great-great-grandfather's pocket watch and other items.
Item
5: The Two Powers
Before
I started the Dedicant Path, I had been daily practicing the Sphere
of Protection as described by John Michael Greer in his Druid Magic
Handbook, and as taught in his order, the Ancient Order of Druids in
America. While I am not an AODA member, I considered them before
choosing ADF.
The
Sphere of Protection entails envisioning an elemental cross
channeling energy through the practitioner, then drawing (in the air
and the mind's eye) the symbol for each of the elements – earth,
air, fire, water and three forms of spirit – and finally, imagining
whirling spheres within spheres.
The
Two Powers seems like a much simpler, but similar, practice. In
working through it, mostly using the recorded narration that Ian
Corrigan did, I've come to feel the energies as real and, on my best
days, immediate presences.
In
my days doing the SOP, and in the early days of working on the Two
Powers, I considered it an exercise in creative visualization. But
then I read somewhere – and I can't now recall where – that the
ancients did not differentiate between "real" and
"imaginary" in quite the same way moderns do. In the
materialistic view of reality, where only the physical and tangible
is "real," the visualization of powers from above and below
is not real. It might be calming or helpful for mental focus, but it
is not real, not in the way that the computer keyboard on which I
type these words is real.
But
in the magical view, in the pre-materialism world view, the imagined
is real. The mind's eye is not something separate from the universe,
but part of it, and the energies we channel in the Two Powers
exercise are real magical energies – "the raw material of
magic."
After
reading about this, I began to practice the meditation with the
conviction that I was in fact drawing energy into myself, not just
using a set of visualizations to focus my thoughts. And as I have
done that, I've found that it becomes easier over time, and something
I can do more and more easily whenever I have a few free minutes,
without the narration and even without full quiet.
I
always emerge from the meditation with a feeling of being refreshed,
re-energized as it were. I try to do some form of it, at least a
brief one, fairly often, usually as part of my larger mental
discipline/devotional practice.
As
a grounding and centering exercise, the Two Powers is effective, but
probably not more so than many other techniques. But as a spiritual
practice to connect to the cosmos – the Kindred, the forces of
nature – it's become, with practice, an easy and immediate way to
spend a few minutes attuned to the universe.
Item
6: Mental Discipline
My
mental discipline journal spans a year, but it records a false start
before I managed an unbroken five-month period. I'm pleased to say,
though, that here, a little bit past the end of that five-month run,
I have found a practice that works and enriches me.
Today
I perform a regular devotional rite. I based it on the simple
devotional that begins on page 96 of the Dedicant's Manual, with
minor variations day to day. I perform it, on average four days out
of seven.
I
begin by chiming a bell three times and breathing to a four-count
(inhale four, hold four, exhale four, hold four) for a minute or two,
until I feel my heartbeat begin to slow and my mind quiet. I usually
do this first thing after rising in the morning, so my mind is
predisposed to remain calm. I typically use incense for the offering,
devoting a single stick to all the kindred. After the devotional is
finished I draw an omen for the day, often using a tarot deck, but
occasionally runes.
Earlier
on in my efforts to fulfill this requirement, I tried several
different things that that did not work well. Prior to ADF I had not
practiced any regular meditation. During my years as a Christian, my
prayer was generally fairly brief and specific, not contemplative,
and between then and now I did nothing to encourage mindfulness until
just a few months before joining, when I began a daily working of the
Sphere of Protection exercise from John Michael Greer's "Druid
Magic Handbook."
I
therefore approached the requirement as nearly a pure beginner. I
first tried in May 2012. I was already several months into my
Dedicant work at that time, and had not anticipated how difficult
this requirement was going to be for me.
I
started with simple counted breathing. For the first few days,
according to the journal I kept at the time, I did the counted
breathing for periods of four or five minutes. Then I added the Two
Powers meditation, using Ian Corrigan's narration downloaded from the
ADF website.
The
simple breathing exercise wasn't hard per se, but it was boring. I
was able to clear much of the mental noise but I had no ability to
estimate time, so I would break it after what seemed like a long
while and find that only three or four minutes had passed. The
narration helped me sustain it for ten minutes, giving me a point of
focus and something to actually do during the meditation time.
The
Two Powers is a simpler approach to what I had been doing with the
Sphere of Protection, visualizing currents of energy penetrating you
from the earth and sky. I found the visualization easy to maintain
and had no trouble maintaining mental focus while working through the
exercise, and I achieved some deep relaxation.
I
was still experimenting though, so I also tried a few other things. I
would use a fire – a candle, or on some occasions, outdoors using a
firepit – as a visual focus, letting my eyes go slightly unfocused
while gazing at the flames and working through bodily and mental
relaxation. I also tried music as a point of focus, finding lengthy
pieces with prominent rhythmic drumming.
Both
of these worked just fine on occasion, but as I tried to do them on a
frequent basis I found it harder to stay engaged for more than a
couple of minutes. I would either mind-drift to the point of
distraction or fall into a light sleep. I concluded from this that I
really need a point of mental attenuation in order to stay involved.
Guided imagery works well for me; so far, free-form does not.
This
whole period lasted a little more than two months, ending in July
2012.
After
that, I tried a couple of times to restart, following the same
general pattern, but could not make it click.
In
late November, I did get started again, using Corrigan's narration of
the Two Powers to work through that visualization several times a
week. While it is a basic grounding and centering, it is a technique
that does work to put me into a state of relaxation and mindfulness,
and since I had had a good result with it earlier, it seemed a
suitable point of re-entry.
At
Yule 2012. My partner decided to commit a year to honoring Frigga
with a nightly hearth ritual, but because she was temporarily
physically incapacitated at the time it fell to me to actually
fulfill it for the first couple of months. (I was also doing the
cooking then, so it all fit together.)
The
general flow of the ritual was based around dinner preparation. We
dedicated a tabletop in the kitchen, with a statue of the goddess, an
oil candle and an incense holder. As I carried it out, I would light
the candle and recite an invocation to Frigga, lighting incense in
offering, at the start of the dinner preparation. When the meal was
ready, I would place a serving of each food item into a dedicated
offering dish and offer it, again with a set reading. Then, at some
point after finishing dinner and before bed, there was a third
segment to formally close the hearth, with words of thanks to Frigga
and to the fire as it was extinguished.
This
process focused my mind on the act of preparing the meal. Each
evening I would gather any needed recipes and ingredients. Then,
before beginning to assemble things, I performed the first segment of
the ritual. As I cooked, I stayed focused on the value of this basic
hearth activity, preparing nourishment, and Frigga's role as a
goddess of the hearth and home. In making the offering, the focus
shifted to our relationship to the goddess and the reciprocal nature
of offerings. Closing out the hearth near to bedtime put a cap on the
activity of the day, marking a clear transition from waking time to
rest.
When
my partner's health returned, she took over the ritual – it had
been her vow, after all – but by then I was seeing the daily
devotional as a mental discipline practice I could maintain, so I
began to perform a morning rite for myself.
At
first I kept it more simple. I would simply do few complete breaths
and then slowly recite this devotional written by Teo Bishop:I
am one and we are many.
Fellowship,
in solitude.
Here
I stand to greet the sun
And
welcome in the morning light.
In
my mind and in my body,
I
hold space in solitude
For
all of those who walk alone.
May
they find comfort on this day.
And
may the day unfold in peace,
And
may this peace be born within,
And
may my heart be set ablaze,
That
I might shine into the world.
--------------
I
honor this fire.
The
fire of the gods.
The
gods of my heart.
The
gods of this land.
May
I come to know the mystery
Of
the divine in all its forms.
I
honor this water.
The
water of the ancestors.
Ancestors
of blood.
Ancestors
of spirit.
May
I understand the knowledge
Of
the wise and ancient ones.
I
honor this tree.
This
living body.
This
sacred plant,
With
roots and leaves.
May
I feel the spirits of nature,
And
be one with all the earth.
I
did this meditatively, envisioning the cosmos, the gods, the
ancestors, the connection of the tree. This was easy to maintain and
served to focus my attention for a few minutes each day, but after a
few weeks it began to feel perfunctory, which was when I changed to
the more elaborate devotional in the Dedicant's Manual.
Also,
for a while I was adding an offering to a specific deity (usually
Hermes, who introduced himself to me just recently, and to Woden on
Wednesdays), reciting a prayer to the god and lighting incense after
completing the cosmos-centered devotional. I later decided to
separate those two, to make the deity offering a separate ritual,
because they serve different purposes. (There are still some days
when I do blend them, but they are rare.)
Through
this process, I learned that I simply don't do unguided meditation
well. I have trouble banishing unwanted thoughts, and when I do
succeed at that, I get bored from the lack of thought, very quickly.
I need a sequence of events to follow. A guided meditation such as
the Two Powers works well, as does a devotional practice with actions
and spoken words interspersed with the visualization. The practice
I'm doing now is one I can see myself continuing for quite a while.
I
am interested in continuing to learn too, and still hopeful that I
can crack the code on deeper trance work. Some of my grove-mates
speak of "journeying" into the realm of the spirits and
make it sound as easy as driving to Starbucks, but I can't do it.
Yet.
Item
7: Nature
Awareness
My
interest in the Earth and nature is not a new thing. Some of my
earliest memories are of my fascination with the environment around
me. As a child, I was given a microscope and spent many happy hours
magnifying plants, animal fur, a scraping of my skin. I filled jars
with stagnant water and cultivated bacteria to observe. I read about
the ocean and the creatures that live in it. I learned about weather
and the atmospheric factors that lead to rain, wind or snow.
Over
the years, this interest has waxed and waned depending on what else
was going on in my life, but it's never gone away. And after I began
seriously considering a Druid path in 2008, it took on a spiritual
significance as well.
In
more recent times, the interest has manifested in practical ways. As
my partner and I have learned more and more about the impacts of
daily living, we have made several significant changes in our
lifestyle in an effort to walk more gently on the Earth.
Many
of those changes have to do with food – what we eat and where it
comes from.
Farm
fresh
Beginning
in 2011, we started shopping farmer's markets for our produce and
much of our meat. We have staked out three that take place in and
near Washington D.C., and during the season, we visit two of them
every Saturday. We just recently (early 2013) discovered a farm
nearby that sells pastured meats directly and are visiting them once
a month to stock up.
This
lightens our environmental footprint, if only a little, because the
produce hasn't been flown and shipped and trucked in from all over
the world. It's grown locally – the farthest that any of the
sellers travel is maybe 100 miles, most are closer and the
aforementioned farm requires no shipping distance at all.
We
have been impressed with the quality of the merchandise. It's tastier
than what comes from the supermarket. And most of the farmers are
conscientiously using sustainable growing techniques, avoiding
chemical pesticides and fertilizers and other factory-farming
shortcuts.
In
2012, we started trying to grow some of our own food. Our gardening
efforts have been unsuccessful so far, but we're learning. I am
hoping the garden this year will do better with the lessons learned
last year. We've also been composting food waste for the past couple
of years, keeping it out of landfills and returning it to
nutrient-rich soil.
Energy
conservation
Our
home uses heating oil for its furnace, which, as a petroleum product,
is not a clean or sustainable fuel. Unfortunately I can't change to
another system right now, but in 2011 I had several inches of
insulation added to my attic in order to help the house retain the
warmth longer and need the system running less. I also applied new
weatherstripping to the doors to help.
Because
the winters since then have been relatively mild, I can't say with
certainty whether it helps us need the furnace less or whether it was
just the warmer temperatures that did it, but I have needed less oil
than usual. I'll have a better gauge on the real effect of the
insulation after another cold one.
However,
we have had two summers with significant heat waves since then, and I
can say that we need less use of the air conditioning to keep the
house comfortable, even when the thermometer is in the triple digits
outside.
I
also arranged in 2011 to work from home 2-3 days a week, saving me a
40-mile round trip drive on those days when I don't go to the office.
That's allowing me to use about five gallons less gasoline each week
than I would commuting every day. Also, my office is near a Metro
stop (the Washington D.C. local rail system) that is under
construction. As soon as that line is up and running, I will see if I
can feasibly use it to commute, which would cut my mileage from 80 to
about 20 each week, to drive to and from the nearest Metro station.
All
of this sounds very pragmatic, but the spiritual aspect of it comes
in the recognition that Mother Earth is a living being, in a way, a
dynamic and ever-changing system that is affected by what the smaller
beings upon her surface do. We can't avoid creating some waste, but
we can take steps to reduce it.
Appreciation
Beyond
practical concerns, I have several “nature spots” that allow me
to spend time in connection with the land. Most immediately, I have a
reasonably large yard in an old, established neighborhood with tall
trees and a couple of small patches of uncleared woodland nearby.
Within a few minutes' drive are two parks, each with walking trails
through the woods, along the Potomac River. At least two or three
times a month I take a couple of hours to walk slowly through the
woods and down to the river's edge, where I spend some time in the
presence of land, water and sky.
Item
8: High Day Observances
Mabon
2011
I
attended the Mabon high rite at CedarLight Grove in Baltimore.
The
ritual took place outdoors, and the grove is based in a small house
in the middle of a residential neighborhood, so there were some
occasional distractions -- barking dogs, voices in neighboring yards
or the street -- but nothing that disrupted the flow of events. There
was a bonfire, a well permanently installed in the ground, and a
living ash tree, forming a triangle with the altar space inside the
triangle. The deities invoked for this rite were from the Gaulish
pantheon: Teutates, Nementona and Epona as the gatekeeper. I've been
studying some on the Irish and Welsh deities, but the Gaulish
pantheon is mostly unknown to me.
The ritual began with a responsive reading, followed by an opening prayer and honoring of the Earth, a statement of purpose and the formal establishing of the recreation of the cosmos. A chant for the group ended that opening section. Then a member stood to recite a bit of the lore of the season and another placed an offering well away from the group for the outsiders.
My companion and I noticed that mosquito activity went down remarkably after the outsiders were placated. The rest of the ritual unfolded according to the ADF core order of ritual, and everything went smoothly.
The theme of the ritual was thanksgiving -- for the bounty of the second harvest and, by extension, for jobs, homes and other blessings. A good number of people offered words of gratitude and offerings in appreciation.
That did bring up the one point of confusion for me as a newcomer. I had brought an offering of milk for Epona, and precisely when to offer it was unclear. People stepped up to the altar to place offerings during the invocation of Teutates, and then people came with individual offerings one at a time for the aforementioned offerings of praises. I put the milk there during the invocation, as that's what I saw others doing, and then I wasn't sure that had been the right time. But it was a simple matter of watching and learning -- I'll know better next time how to plan for offerings.
The woman who read the oracle was using her own system, with coins depicting kinds of horses (including unicorns.) The message she relayed to us was that this is a time to let go of things, to heal, and specifically to let go of ongoing conflicts with family members.
What impressed me the most about the rite was the structure and flow of the order. When you read the Core Order on the page, it's hard to envision it in reality. When you experience it, it becomes clear that it forms the structure of a serious religious service that is part of a living tradition.
The ritual began with a responsive reading, followed by an opening prayer and honoring of the Earth, a statement of purpose and the formal establishing of the recreation of the cosmos. A chant for the group ended that opening section. Then a member stood to recite a bit of the lore of the season and another placed an offering well away from the group for the outsiders.
My companion and I noticed that mosquito activity went down remarkably after the outsiders were placated. The rest of the ritual unfolded according to the ADF core order of ritual, and everything went smoothly.
The theme of the ritual was thanksgiving -- for the bounty of the second harvest and, by extension, for jobs, homes and other blessings. A good number of people offered words of gratitude and offerings in appreciation.
That did bring up the one point of confusion for me as a newcomer. I had brought an offering of milk for Epona, and precisely when to offer it was unclear. People stepped up to the altar to place offerings during the invocation of Teutates, and then people came with individual offerings one at a time for the aforementioned offerings of praises. I put the milk there during the invocation, as that's what I saw others doing, and then I wasn't sure that had been the right time. But it was a simple matter of watching and learning -- I'll know better next time how to plan for offerings.
The woman who read the oracle was using her own system, with coins depicting kinds of horses (including unicorns.) The message she relayed to us was that this is a time to let go of things, to heal, and specifically to let go of ongoing conflicts with family members.
What impressed me the most about the rite was the structure and flow of the order. When you read the Core Order on the page, it's hard to envision it in reality. When you experience it, it becomes clear that it forms the structure of a serious religious service that is part of a living tradition.
Samhain
2011
The
Samhain high rite at CedarLight Grove was powerful. It started
dynamically, with a procession accompanied by beating drums. We
invoked the Morrigan as gatekeeper, and I was struck by the degree of
devotion several of the Grove members expressed toward her during the
giving of praise. But even more affecting was how we honored the
ancestors.
Many
of the participants, including me, had written letters to some of our
ancestors. Over the course of the ritual those letters were collected
into a wicker basket that was finally given to the fire. The sense of
this hit home with me, and I can believe my grandparents – to whom
I had addressed in my letter – heard the words in the Otherworld.
After
this portion of the ritual and the omen, the Grove allowed several
hours for sitting vigil before the gates were to be closed and the
rite ended. We were unable to stay for the full duration.
The
omen itself was taken by smashing a pumpkin to the ground and reading
the "entrails" – entertaining, to be sure. The result was
a message that there are two paths for each individual to choose –
both good, but different. Either way, be ready to be like a snake ...
to "shed some skin, to be reborn."
Yule
2011
I
was surprised by my reaction the Yule rite at CedarLight Grove.
Before I joined ADF, I'd read some about Asatru, but I had not
pursued it. But we honored deities from the Norse pantheon, as is
appropriate for Yule, and I found it to be fulfilling. I didn't fully
realize it until talking to my partner on the drive home. She said
she had been more affected by and attracted to the Norse deities than
she would have expected. I began thinking about it and realized I had
been too.
As
is common at CedarLight, we held the ritual outdoors in the
sanctuary. The ritual featured the sacrifice of a goat made of straw,
and also a model Viking ship filled with paper circles on which the
participants had inscribed runes representing gratitude and prayers
for the coming year. I've just taken up homebrewing and sacrificed a
full bottle from my first batch – a stout – to the gods.
The
rite included an overnight vigil a sunrise service to welcome the sun
returning. We were unable to stay for that, having a dog to care for
at home, but we had our own sunrise observance on the morning after
the Solstice.
Imbolc
2012
I
attended the Imbolc high rite at CedarLight Grove in Baltimore. This
one was held indoors due to inclement weather, and it was crowded,
but the space was adequate.
The
ritual, honoring Brigid with Danu invoked as gatekeeper, was focused
on the purification of water. One participant offered as a sacrifice
to lead a stream clean-up, and other aspects of the rite emphasized
the well and the water it contains. In a departure from CedarLight's
more common practice, the passing of the waters of life was pure
water only, not the usual choice of water or something alcoholic.
The
seer used wax in water for scrying. The message had to do with
forgiving, courage and remembering the gods are near.
Unfortunately,
my experience at this ritual was not as good as past ones. I was not
feeling well and had a hard time keeping my focus on the proceedings.
(This is no fault of CederLight.) I look forward to attending next
year and being more engaged. [Note: I wasn't able to attend the next
year, 2013, as they decided to do it in the early morning; I live too
far away to have gotten there by 7 a.m.]
Ostara
2012
I
attended the Ostara high rite at CedarLight Grove in Baltimore. As
always, it was a formal rite following the ADF core order of ritual.
To
celebrate the return of Spring we honored Arianhrod and the nature
spirits, with Cerridwen being asked to serve as gatekeeper. The
offerings included several poems; one participant sang Damh the
Bard's “Lady of the Silver Wheel” a capella; and some offered
fine spirits and wines.
I
did not bring an offering this time. I have been pondering whether
there's an obligation to provide an offering as praise to deities
with whom I've had no interaction. This time, I chose to honor
Arianhrod and Cerridwen by my presence, but nothing more.
The
ritual itself was, as always, patterned on the Core Order and flowed
smoothly. I did not find it terribly inspiring, though, perhaps
because I've shifted my interest more to the Germanic/Nordic
pantheon. The deities of the British isles remain enigmatic to me,
and Arianhrod in particular is one I've never had much understanding
of. On the other hand, it might be because I made the conscious
decision to not make an offering. This bears more reflection.
The
omen was taken with the Arthurian Legend Deck, which I am not
familiar with. The thrust of the message was: People are not
listening to their intuition, or are in self-restraint. It is a time
of fear, people are playing it safe. The solution is to relearn to
fight for ourselves.
Beltaine
2012
The
Dagda was only meant to be the gatekeeper at Cedarlight Grove's
celebration of Beltane, but he ended up dominating the event. From
the rush of wind that came right as the gates were opened, to the
fire batons that wouldn't go out easily, to the snapped strap of one
woman's top as she danced in offering, he made his presence known.
The
deities of the occasion were Dagda's son Aengus Mac Oc and Aine. The
prayer was for the kindred to bless all our creative efforts in the
coming year, and the omen suggested that we may encounter
difficulties, but should remember that the gods are near. The gods
enthusiastically accepted our offerings, according to the seer. (She
was using a crystal ball to scry … I'm a little distrustful of that
because there's nothing objective to it, but nevertheless, that's
what it was.)
At
the end of the rite, we processed out between two fires, reflecting
the ancient Irish Beltane tradition of driving the animals between
two fires for purification.
The
Irish deities felt warm, mischievous and friendly. This came at a
good time for me, as I had been flagging in my studies and I left
with new affirmation and determination.
Midsummer
2012
Midsummer
was the first high rite I attended that was not done with the ADF
core order of ritual. Although I am not a member of the Ancient Order
of Druids in America, I am friends with one of its leaders, so I
attended their Centennial celebration in Pittsburgh and witnessed my
first AODA ritual.
In
keeping with AODA's roots in the Druid revival, and the revival's
emphasis on Welsh lore, the group referred to the day as Alban
Hefin.
The
ritual seemed
more like a lodge ceremony than a religious observance. Four
high-ranking Druids took positions at the compass points – Grand
Archdruid John Michael Greer in the north – and four others took up
the positions next to them to guard the quarters. The four key
participants all dressed in full regalia – white robes, sashes and
rope belts. Greer's sash and nemyss were purple with gold trim.
The
grove opening ceremony involved the Druids at each quarter in turn
carrying a representation of each element around the circle in
purification – but since we were in a hotel with strict rules,
unlit incense stood in for air and an electric tea light for fire.
Then the Druid at the West gate carried a sword to each quarter,
declaring peace in each quadrant through a call-and-response script.
Then another member performed the Sphere of Protection, a magic rite
described in Greer's “The Druid Magic Handbook,” intended to
invoke the positive energies of the seven key components of AODA's
cosmology – air, fire, water, earth, spirit below, spirit above and
spirit within – and banish the negative energies of the four
physical elements.
The
actual ritual was disappointing. There was a brief call-and-response
script and then silent meditation for about ten minutes. There was
little said about the actual season or its significance.
The
grove closing ceremony, held at the end of the day after a couple of
hours of informal talk, essentially reversed the opening, with each
Druid declaring the work of that quarter to be accomplished. The
opening, ritual and closing each culminated in the attendees intoning
the word “awen” (pronounced, for the purposes of intonation,
“ah-OO-en”) three times.
All
in all, it was interesting for me to witness, very different from ADF
and not anything I feel an interest in pursuing.
Lammas
2012
A
schedule conflict prevented us from attending the August ritual at
CedarLight Grove, so we wrote and performed our own at home – the
first one we had done ourselves.
We
adapted one from the ADF website, so that it would be suitable for
our Anglo-Saxon hearth. We ensured that it followed the ADF core
order but kept it fairly simple.
Our
offerings were: grain for Nerthus, the Earth Mother; home-brewed beer
and homemade banana bread for Hama, the gatekeeper; pipe tobacco for
the ancestors; grain and banana bread for the land wights; and banana
bread and beer for the Shining Ones. Then we added special offerings
and words for Frige, Woden and a petition of Ing to help us succeed
at gardening (as our first effort failed miserably.)
Our
omen was, we think, positive. We used the Anglo-Saxon futhorc runes.
In asking whether our offerings were accepted, we turned up Ing –
and since this was the first time we had specifically spoken to him
and it had come with a request, we took that to mean he wanted a bit
more.
Asking
what blessings the gods offer in returned, we turned Eolh –
elk-sedge, protection from outside dangers.
And
in asking what the gods wanted from us, we turned Yr – a reminder
to use our own skills and knowledge as well as asking their help.
Overall,
I much prefer the fellowship and sense of shared worship at the
Grove, but it was good to see how it works in a more solitary
setting. We honored the gods and deepened our connection to them that
much more.
Item
9: The Kindreds
ANCESTORS
The
word “ancestors” most immediately means the lines of people of
the past from whom a person is descended. Parents, grandparents,
great-grandparents, etc. It can less directly refer to other people
in the family tree: cousins, aunts and uncles.
But
our ancestors can also include people not in our actual bloodlines. A
pagan may count among their ancestors important figures from their
hearth cultures or a nation's history. In some cultures, such as the
Norse, the gods themselves may be seen as the original ancestors.
Our
ancestors matter because they are where we came from, and their life
choices affect who we are today, and even our very existence.
Honoring the dead was a significant aspect of ancient pagan practice.
The pouring of libations for the dead, or otherwise leaving offerings
for them at grave sites or other important locations was common. For
example, Bretons poured libations over the tombs of the dead (Jones
and Pennick 109), as did the Greeks (Burkert 194) and many other
ancient cultures. Today we leave flowers at graves, and in some
American subcultures, the pouring of libations continues even beyond
the neo-pagan world. (“A
History of 40s: Tipping”).
(I do not mention this last for humor but to show that honoring and
memorializing those gone before is a universal human practice.)
Specifically
in regard to ancestors, then – our bloodline through the past and
those figures who are our spiritual ancestors – we honor them in
part because they shaped us and in part because we believe their
spirits may still be with us, watching and guiding and interested in
communicating.
In
my personal practice within ADF, I have thought of my father, who
died in 1989, and maternal grandmother, who passed away in 1997, most
often as the ancestors I choose to honor. My relationship to my
father in life was strained, as he was a simple man and I was an
intelligent and, in his final years, college-educated person with no
small measure of arrogance. At the time he died, I was in a phase of
disdaining much that was important to him. My relationship with my
grandmother was similar and for many of the same reasons, although
she lived long enough to see me grow out of some of it.
I
also feel some connection to my great-great grandfather, who fought
in the Civil War. I have his pocket watch and some letters he wrote
to his wife and mother while he was away in the war.
At
Samhain 2011, our grove's high right included encouraging us to write
a letter to some chosen ancestors and then offer it to the fire. I
wrote to my grandmother and grandfather. As I grow in pagan practice,
my aim is to honor my ancestors regularly. We have plans to establish
an ancestors' shrine in our home within the next few weeks and then I
will begin regular devotional work there.
My
mother is still living, but I also seek to honor my ancestors by
showing her greater love and respect than I once did.
NATURE
SPIRITS
In
general, the nature spirits are those spiritual beings connected to
the land. They go by various names among the hearth cultures included
in ADF – wights, trolls, sprites, dryads, and so on. In Our Own
Druidry, the ADF Dedicant Manual, they are broadly referred to as
“Noble Spirits,” the spirits of wild places, and we are duly
cautioned to not assume that they are friendly (42-43).
The
ancient concept of divinity was closely tied to nature and, in
addition to the gods, natural features were seen as divine, often as
gods tied to place. In Homer's the Illiad, for example, Zeus summons
the gods to Olympus and they come, including the nymphs and the
rivers (Burkert 174).
In
the heathen cultures, the nature spirits are generally called “land
wights,” and are believed to occupy natural features such as
streams, forests and mountains. In the British isles, the “wee
folk,” more properly called the sidhe,
are ever-present, and belief in them persisted even after
Christianity replaced most of the older pagan folkways. In Rome, the
spirits of the natural features were the numina, from which the word
numinous derives. In Greece, nymphs could be found in streams and
forests.
Indeed,
every Indo-European culture had some belief in spirits of natural
places. These spirits were acknowledged and honored with offerings,
and people sought their favor. For many people, the spirits of nature
may have been a more important part of their spiritual practice than
the gods. As Winter writes, “A shepherd or farmer in ancient Greece
might have paid more regular cult to the nymphs than to the Olympians
because the nymphs impacted his daily life. They lived all around him
in the woods, in his pastures, they guarded the spring water his
goats drank, they lived in the same caves that gave him occasional
shelter” (71-72).
This
interaction with the spirits of the land – called land-wights in
the Norse and Germanic cultures – often survived long after other
pagan practice had been overtaken by Christianity. “Conversion
could forbid the names of the god/desses, but not stop folk from
putting out beer and porridge for the tomte [a type of wight that
protects a farmer's home and family] or making their offerings at
springs in secret” (Gundarsson Kindle Location 217)
I've
also noticed that many in ADF, and I am sympathetic to the view,
regard animals as nature spirits. Domesticated pets and the untamed
wild beasts alike, they see as embodiments of the spirits of the
natural world. I see no reason to dispute this view, although the
family dog and the unseen wight are not the same.
Relationships
today with the nature spirits are complex and, I think it is
reasonable to assume, often difficult to attain. Chisholm suggests
that modern life has deprived most of us of sensitivity to their
presence (21). Given that the predominant view in our culture is that
nature is simply material for us to use as we will in our own
endeavors, the nature spirits may rightly see us as more likely to be
invaders than allies. Perhaps we can dispel that individually by
speaking respectfully and making offerings when out in the wild
places, but it's easy to understand that they might view us with
suspicion even so.
In
property one owns or is frequently on, it may be more feasible to
encourage good relations with the spirits. Kind words and regular
offerings can go a long way toward building friendship. I have,
admittedly, not made a consistent effort to develop relationships
with the spirits of the land near me. There is a cherry tree in my
yard which I planted several years ago, and I have made occasional
offerings at its base for the spirits – grain usually, sometimes
other things. And I mention them along with the other kindred in my
regular devotional work. But I feel a need to become more consistent
in seeking their alliance.
DEITIES
The nature of the gods and goddesses is a complex
question. Various theories exist to explain what and why they are.
Some of the lore – written well into the Christianization of Europe
– suggests that the gods were originally humans, mythologized (or
actually transformed) into deities over time, a process called
euhemerization. Others suggest they are personifications of nature,
or archetypes of human personality traits.
Some of the Greek philosophers argued that there must be
a single Prime Mover from which all else emanates. Sallustius posited
that the gods exist in two broad categories: The hypercosmic gods,
which are unknowable, the purest of the emanations from the Source,
in particular nous and psyche -- in English, the Divine Mind and the
World Soul. The cosmic, or mundane, gods are those of the familiar
Greek pantheon, Zeus, Hera, etc. (Alexander 56-57). It is those
mundane gods with whom we can interact, the highest of the emanations
from the Prime Mover that are accessible to us.
I find some persuasive power in this argument, and I
also think that if the philosophers were correct where their own
pantheon is concerned, the logic surely applies in other cultures as
well. If everything emanates from a Source, then Odin, Lugh, et al
are of the same nature as Hermes and Artemis. This theology provides
a response to the monotheist who argues that the gods are only
intermediaries between us and the real God and thus not worth
bothering with.
In
his essay “Summoning The Gods,” Collin Cleary points out that any
attempt to explain the gods by reductionist argument – as
archetypes, as euhemerized humans, or whatever – is ultimately an
attempt to explain the gods away.
(3). That is, if we can explain the gods in some kind of a
rationalistic context, we can reduce them to a manageable, human
phenomenon and, ultimately, dismiss them altogether.
“All
of our efforts to explain what the gods 'really' are, or what our
ancestors 'really' experienced, are thoroughly modern. It is part of
the modern mindset to insist that everything can be explained, that
everything is penetrable and knowable. The gods show up for us,
however, in the brute facticity of existence itself—in our wonder
that this world, and all that is in it, exists and is the way that it
is. No 'explanation' of why something is the way that it is can
remove our wonder in the simple fact that it should be at all.”
(Cleary 13-14).
My
own relationship with the gods has been developing slowly. When I
first began my ADF work, I was trying to honor deities of the Irish
pantheon, but I felt little response. My thoughts were turned to the
north during the Yule ritual in 2011. My fiancee had the same
experience, feeling Frigga's energy powerfully, while I came to think
over the next several months that Odin had taken an interest in me.
Over the next several months of learning about them, we came feel
more affinity for the Anglo-Saxon hearth rather than Norse, but that
affinity grew stronger. Now we make offering to Frige almost daily,
and Woden from time to time. I also pray to Woden as I am inspired
to, not daily but several times a week.
And more recently, Hermes made himself known to me and now has a
small shrine in the house.
Works
Cited
Alexander,
Timothy Jay. The
Gods of Reason..N.P.,
Lulu Press, 2007. Print.
Ar
n'Draiocht Fein, Our
Own Druidry,
Tucson, Ariz., ADF Publishing, 2009. Print.
Burkert,
Walter. Greek
Religion.
Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Press, 1985. Print.
Chisholm,
James Allen. True
Hearth: A Practical Guide to Traditional Householding.
Smithville, Texas, Runa-Raven Press, 1993. Print.
Cleary,
Collin. Summoning
the Gods. San
Francisco: Counter-Currents Publishing Ltd., 2011. E-book
Gundarsson,
Kveldulf Hagan. The
Elder Troth: An Introductory Course of Study.
New Haven, Conn., The Troth, 1996. E-book.
“History
of 40s: Tipping,” 40ozMaltLiquor.com. N.P. N.D. Accessed May 4,
2013.
Jones,
Prudence & Pennick, Nigel. A
History of Pagan Europe.
London, Routledge,1995. Print.
Winter, Sarah Kate Istra.
Kharis: Hellenic Polytheism Explored. N.P. 2008,
Self-Published via CreateSpace. Print.
Item
10: Personal Practice
INTRODUCTION
When
I first joined ADF, in 2008, I had very little experience with
paganism. My girlfriend had been exploring it longer, and I was
intrigued enough by what she was discovering to want to learn more
about it. I sought a structured way to do that, and had an attraction
to Ireland, and eventually Ar n'Draiocht Fein came to my attention
and I joined.
It
didn't take that first time, though, and I let my membership lapse. I
briefly returned to the Christian church, but that served more to
remind me why I had left in the first place than anything, and I
bounced back out of that and continued reading on paganism now and
then while not having much spiritual practice at all.
Life
changes, though. My partner and I had been separated by a couple
hundred miles for several years, but then she moved in with me in my
home near Washington D.C., and joined ADF herself. I renewed my
membership at the same time and we attended Mabon 2011 at CedarLight
grove in Baltimore a few weeks later.
PART
ONE: THE GROVE
For
the first few months after renewing, my grove-centered practice
provided some consistency and the aid of more experienced hands,
while our home practice was somewhat unfocused and experimental. I do
not envy anyone trying to do this without the support of an active
grove. I have learned a lot about worship by taking part in the grove
rituals and talking to their leaders and other members that I am not
sure would have been anywhere near as clear had I been doing them on
my own using the Dedicant manual.
Since
Mabon 2011 we have attended every high rite at CedarLight Grove in
Baltimore with only a couple of exceptions. I take the high rites as
powerful times of communal worship. I always try to center and focus
on the energies of the kindred and the folk that are engendered
there. Whether or not I bring offerings depends on the circumstances.
My
home practice in those first few months was minimal (more on this
below), largely because I had not chosen a patron or even a hearth
culture. I felt some affinity with several, but no strong lock with
any of them. It was at the grove, at Yule, that I first became
intrigued by Odin, who would eventually become the first deity I can
describe as a patron – although I found I preferred the Anglo-Saxon
Woden, whom I take as a different aspect of the same being.
Although
it is an hour and half from home, CedarLight has become our ADF home
base.
PART
TWO: THE HOME
Today,
my home practice is near-daily. We have an altar in the kitchen which
we treat as our hearth, opening it with a brief prayer and
candle-lighting when we begin dinner preparation. When we are ready
for dinner, we offer Frigga a portion there, and then close it with
another prayer at the end of the evening.
We
also have an altar in our living room (more details are in my essay
about the home shrine) which we use for any high rites for which we
can't make it to CedarLight, and other personal prayers and rituals
as needed. We have smaller shrines to Juno and Hermes, and also an
outdoor area where we can build a bigger fire that we have used for
rituals occasionally.
Backing
up to the beginning, though, home practice was at first sporadic and
not well focused. We used Michael Dangler's “Breviary for Solitary
Cranes” as a guide for honoring Druid moons with ceremonies in our
back yard for a few months, but we eventually abandoned it. At
Samhain 2011, we had a dumb supper. We did set up a home shrine –
a more makeshift one than we have now – and for a while we had
devotional rituals every week or so, but they were just held in
general to the kindreds, and we were not consistent with them. It
moved in fits and starts with frequent declarations that we needed to
get serious about it.
Sometime
in the spring of 2012, that started to change. At Yule, we both had
experienced a feeling of interest from the Norse deities that were
honored at the Grove. My partner felt a quick affinity for Frigga.
And I felt an interest in/from Odin, but I didn't respond quickly...
in fact, I resisted for some time, both attracted to and a bit afraid
of the wanderer. But meanwhile, we read several books and had many
discussions, and have gravitated toward the Anglo-Saxon side of the
Germanic hearth.
Eventually,
I lowered my resistance to Odin. One Sunday in May, we were at our UU
church and I saw a large black bird in the trees behind the building.
Whether it was a raven or not (could have been a crow or even a black
vulture, I can't be sure) it was enough to put Woden into my
consciousness again. The next morning, I awoke early and held a brief
ritual at the home shrine, in which I offered Woden some olive oil
and asked for a confirming sign, if indeed he was trying to get my
attention. Less than an hour later, I saw another raven-like bird.
I
decided to take that as my confirmation and begin working under the
assumption that Woden was seeking to be in contact with me, and held
a small, solitary ritual to offer him ale and tell him I was
listening. That was on the night of May 17, 2012.
Since
then, home practice has been more consistent, and has become even
more so with the setting up of the shrines I described above. Now I
perform a daily devotional (or near-daily anyway) to honor all of the
kindred, which is also my main mental discipline practice. (See that
section for more detail.) I also make small offerings and prayers to
Hermes several days a week, and Woden on Wednesdays. Looking back to
those early uncertain days, I'm sometimes surprised at how far I've
come.
Item
11
The
Dedicant Oath
The
full dedicant oath rite that I wrote exceeds the word count for this
section considerably, so I am including just the oath itself here. I
will add the full rite as an appendix.
I
developed the rite using the template presented in Our Own Druidry,
but with a considerable amount of my own words. It follows the core
order of ritual, which comes naturally to me now.
The
oath itself was:
I
come, after a long time of seeking and study, to make an oath before
the spirits, the ancestors and the gods and goddesses. I come through
the door of new learning, to the fire of inspiration, to the well of
wisdom, to the gates between the worlds. Hear me, O powers, as I
offer up these sacrifices. I give you these gifts, I give you my oath
as an offering in your honor. O mighty, noble and shining ones, hear
me, I pray.
It
is my will to walk the pagan way. By the gods and by the dead and by
all the spirits. I swear to live by the virtues given by tradition,
to strive to act mindfully to do good in all I do.
I
swear to keep the feasts and observances of the Druid way, keeping
the wheel of the year. I swear to seek the truth of the elder ways,
to learn the lore and meaning of our ancestors' wisdom. I swear to
cultivate the habits of piety, contemplation, prayer and study.
These
things I swear by the well that flows in me, by the fire that shines
in me, by the tree that roots and crowns my soul.
Before
all the powers, I swear it. So be it!
Now let my voice arise on the
fire, let my voice resound in the well, let my words pass the
boundary to the spirits. Mighty, noble and shining ones, accept my
sacrifice and my oath!
I performed the ritual at home on
May 11, 2013 as the final piece of my dedicant work. I had planned to
do it on the back patio, with the outdoor fireplace so that I would
have a bigger fire. However, there were intermittent storms
throughout the day and into the evening that forced me to plan B.
So far in my personal practice,
Woden and Hermes have emerged as the deities whom I honor and seek
most often – my patrons – so I asked them to serve as bardic
inspiration and gatekeeper respectively, and also made special
offerings to each.
I had spent some time while
developing the ritual wrestling with some important questions about
this. First, was it appropriate to blend hearth cultures like that in
a full core-order ritual, and second, was it appropriate to ask the
deities to serve in those roles and also as the deities of the
occasion? I also briefly considered whether I should ask two
gatekeepers, one from each culture.
I eventually decided that it would
be better to not bring in deities I know less well to this important
rite. The other best choice for a gatekeeper on the Hellenic side
would be Hecate, with whom I've never interacted. Likewise, I don't
know other suitable Saxon or Greek bardic deities all that well, and
because of the intensely personal nature of his particular ritual, I
chose to limit it to those I know best. Only one gatekeeper seemed
necessary, though, because I reasoned that I was not blending hearths
so much as inviting my patrons to be part of this milestone.
My
fiancee Lynda took part in the ritual. She read the narration for the
Two Powers for me, and then took the omen, using the Mythic Tarot. We
asked each
of the kindred what they offer as I move forward. From the ancestors,
she drew the King of Wands, which she read as them reminding me that
I have the abilities to go far, that they, as my ancestors, already
gave me that. I need only confidence in that.
The nature spirits offered the
Hermit, an urging to spend more time alone in nature. They have a lot
to offer and teach, but I need to be out among them.
And the deities first asked for
more offerings via the five of pentacles. I gave more and the next
card was the six of pentacles, which she interpreted as the point
that they had made with the five – they have a lot to offer, but
the relationship is one of reciprocity, that I need to approach them
with due respect and offering when asking for things. They take this
oath as a stepping stone, a graduation of sorts from the basics. I
now need to cultivate my own giving, trusting them to take care of
reciprocating. I now no longer have the excuse of being one just
exploring new things.
Overall the ritual went very well.
I understand the core order now, and I think I wrote it to flow well
within the framework. I was careful to triple-check that I had all of
the materials I needed for offerings and the mechanics of the rite on
hand before starting, so nothing interrupted it once I began.
So my self-evaluation is that I
performed the ritual well, which I primarily credit to the
preparation I did. There were one or two momentary setbacks, such as
struggling to get an incense cone out of its bag, but they did not
disrupt the flow in any major way.
I spent a good bit of time in
writing and revising the words and the structure, and then a couple
of weeks in planning offerings, buying supplies and ensuring I had
everything I needed available before beginning. Ideally I would have
liked to be able to do it without a script, but otherwise it was a
good working.
Appendix: Dedicant Oath Full
Ritual
Beginning:
Bell. Circle the hallows three times
(Opening
Prayer)
The waters support and surround
me.
The land extends about me.
The sky stretches above me.
At the center burns a living flame.
Let me pray with a good fire.
And may my words be true.
The land extends about me.
The sky stretches above me.
At the center burns a living flame.
Let me pray with a good fire.
And may my words be true.
(Earth
Mother)
I
give thanks to the Earth,
the
Mother of all.
Giver
and sustainer of life.
(offering
of grain)
(Bardic
Inspiration)
Woden,
Allfather, walker of the worlds,
You
who inspire wise words and seek knowledge,
You
who took the mead of poetry, you who won the runes
Inspire
me, I pray, that my thoughts be wise
And
my words be sure. Inspire me, Woden, King of Oesgard,
That
I might honor the kindred well.
(Offering
of stout)
(Outsiders)
To
those powers here who might disrupt my work, I ask you to depart, and
give you this offering in thanks. Please accept it and leave this
work in peace. (Offering placed far away)
(Purification)
Purification
with khernips and incense
Meditation
and attunement
(two
powers, Lynda narrate)
Statement
of purpose
I
am here today, before the gods and these witnesses, to swear an oath
of dedication to the paths of old. Into this sacred grove I come, to
the time of all times and the place of all places, to approach the
gods, the spirits of the land and my ancestors, of blood and of
spirit.
Especially I bring offerings to
Woden, he who wanders through the realms ever seeking wisdom, and to
Hermes, the fleet-footed, quick-witted messenger. I ask them to bear
witness to my oath, and guide and ward my way. I also bring offerings
to specific ancestors and ask them to bear witness to my oath and to
remain present in my life.
As the ancient wise did before me,
so I seek to do now. Let every holy power hear me, and look kindly on
me as I make my oath.
(Recreate
cosmos)
I
honor this fire, the fire of the air, the fire of the shining ones.
I
honor this well, the water of the sea, the water of the ancestors.
I
honor this tree, the tree connecting the worlds, the tree of the
spirits of nature.
(Land,
sea and sky )
The
endless sky above me
The
boundless sea around me
The
solid ground beneath me,
I
stand in this holy place.
(Opening
the gate)
I
call upon Hermes, the fleet-footed messenger of the gods, to open the
gates between the worlds. Hermes, you guard the borders and
boundaries. Let this fire be open as a gate. Let this well be open as
a gate. Let this tree be open as a gate.
Let
the gates be open!
(Triad
offerings )
Ancestors
I call out to the mighty dead.
Hear me, I pray, O ancestors, my kindred. Ancestors of blood and
ancestors of spirit.
(Pour some ale on the Earth, in
the shaft or in the offering bowl)
I offer to you, mighty ones. To
the ancient tribes of this place, you whose bones lie in this land;
to my own blood-kin and heart-kin; to the elder wise, druids,
philosophers, bards, warriors and farmers of ancient days, to you I
give welcome at this sacred fire.
(Pour ale)
I offer to you, whose blood
courses in my veins, I ask you to hear my voice and witness my oath.
I pray you to guide my ways as I walk the path of wisdom and follow
where it leads. Mighty dead, accept my offering:
(pour ale)
Nature Spirits
I call out to the spirits of this
land and household. Hear me, I pray, O companions, my allies.
(Sprinkle some grain at the tree's
base)
I offer this to you, to the
spirits of root and branch, of stone and stream, of wind and rain,
and to those of fur and feather and scale. To all, I give welcome at
this sacred fire.
(Make offerings)
I ask you to hear my voice and
witness my oath. I pray that you will guide and protect me as I walk
the way of the earth in reverence. Spirits of the land, accept my
offering.
(Make offerings)
Deities
I call out to the shining ones.
Hear me, I pray, gods and goddesses. You who filled our forebears
with awe and wonder, and who are returning to the awareness of the
world.
(Make offering of oil or incense
to the fire)
I offer to you, shining ones. To
the wisest and mightiest; to the gods and goddesses; to those mighty
ones who watch over me and to those who may find me in times to come,
to you I give welcome at this sacred fire.
(Make offering)
I offer to you, eldest and
brightest. I ask you to hear my voice and witness my oath. I pray you
empower my ways as I seek your favor and aid, as I seek to give you
praise and thanks. Shining deities, accept my offering.
Druid
chant:
Gods and dead and spirits all
Hear my offering, hear my call
By fire and well and sacred tree
From land and sky, and from the sea
Now come, I pray you, to the grove
And bring your wisdom, strength and love.
Hear my offering, hear my call
By fire and well and sacred tree
From land and sky, and from the sea
Now come, I pray you, to the grove
And bring your wisdom, strength and love.
Pause
to meditate for a while on the presence of the host of spirits you
have called. Speak in your heart to whichever of them may present
themselves to you, and listen for their voices.
(Key
offerings)
Woden, the all-father, as I began
to walk this path, you were the first of the gods to come to me. You
offered me a taste of your wisdom, your gifts of eloquence and your
drive to learn. To you, on this day, I offer this whiskey in
gratitude.
Hermes, the fleet-footed,
quick-witted one. You introduced yourself just recently, bringing
your airy energy, easy laughter and charming wit. Hermes, messenger
of the gods and god of messengers, I offer to you, on this day, this
wine mixed with water, as is the tradition, and this frankincense, in
gratitude.
To the spirits of my ancestors,
especially my grandmother Margaret and my father, Elam, in life you
gave me love, shelter and the freedom to follow my own road. Today I
offer you this black coffee, in love and gratitude.
(The
Oath Sacrifice)
I come, after a long time of
seeking and study, to make an oath before the spirits, the ancestors
and the gods and goddesses. I come through the door of new learning,
to the fire of inspiration, to the well of wisdom, to the gates
between the worlds. Hear me, O powers, as I offer up these
sacrifices. I give you these gifts, I give you my oath as an offering
in your honor. O mighty, noble and shining ones, hear me, I pray.
It is my will to walk the pagan
way. By the gods and by the dead and by all the spirits. I swear to
live by the virtues given by tradition, to strive to act mindfully to
do good in all I do.
I swear to keep the feasts and
observances of the Druid way, keeping the wheel of the year. I swear
to seek the truth of the elder ways, to learn the lore and meaning of
our ancestors' wisdom. I swear to cultivate the habits of piety,
contemplation, prayer and study.
These things I swear by the well
that flows in me, by the fire that shines in me, by the tree that
roots and crowns my soul.
Before all the powers, I swear it.
So be it!
Now let my voice arise on the
fire, let my voice resound in the well, let my words pass the
boundary to the spirits. Mighty, noble and shining ones, accept my
sacrifice and my oath!
[13]
The Omen
The
omen is taken, asking what blessing the powers offer the dedicant in
return for her offering. If an elder is witnessing the rite the elder
might do this for the dedicant, but it is well if the dedicant has
the skill to do so herself.
Waters
of life
Ancient and mighty ones, I have
honored you. Now I pray you honor me in turn. I thirst for the waters
of wisdom, of bounty and rebirth, from the bosom of the Earth Mother.
I open my heart to the blessing of the great ones, and pray you
hallow these waters. Bless my spirit and my life with health, bounty
and wisdom as I drink the sacred waters. Behold the waters of life!
[15]
The Blessing
Slowly
and contemplatively, drink most of the blessing cup. As you sip renew
your center, and feel yourself drinking in the power of the gods and
spirits. Again, meditate for a time on the whole work: on the grove,
and the spirits and especially on your own Pagan path.
[16]
Closing
Hermes
and Woden, I thank you for witnessing this rite. I ask your continued
blessing and help as my path unfolds.
Other
shining ones, I thank you for being here. I will listen for your
voices.
Ancestors,
especially my father and grandmother, I thank you for being here. I
ask for your continued guidance and protection.
Spirits
of nature, wild ones, I thank you for being here. I ask you for your
continued vigilance of my home and land.
Earth
Mother, I thank you for sustaining life.
Hermes,
I ask you now to close the gates between the worlds. Let the fire be
but a fire. Let the well be but a well. Let the tree be but a tree.
Let the gates be closed!
(Chime bell to end rite)
No comments:
Post a Comment