Affirmation Sigil: I can overcome this.

[Image: A line drawn graphical sigil. Text sigil for firing "I can overcome this": cnVrMThS]

 

Dealing with all manner of situations and emotions means that sometimes you need to remind yourself that you can do this.  You are strong enough to handle what life is throwing at you, and you can overcome it.

With the way the political climate is right now, I know a lot of us are struggling, myself included.  The big, black dog of depression has a really easy path to sneak up on us and follow us around.  There are a lot of self-care options out there, and ways to combat the depression, anxiety, and generally triggered state that many of find ourselves in these days.  I’ve found that working magic alongside the other self-care things I’m doing is a good way to keep pushing through.

My favorite way to use sigils like this one, that are meant to be a reminder and a focus for the hard work of fighting depression, is to put it directly on my skin.  My favored method is using henna, since that takes time to prep and apply, thus focusing my intent, and then it stays on for at least a week, maybe more.  However, if you don’t have access to henna, it can certainly be applied with a pen or sharpie, as long as you focus your intent while drawing it on.

I hope others find this as helpful as I do.

[this post originally appeared on my Patreon.  Please head over there to support my work]

Breaking Away from the Earth Mother/Sky Father Binary

One of the things that has come up recently in discussion on various ADF forums is the the binary nature of Earth Mother and Sky Father.  Although not all groves or solitary practitioners include an invocation to the Sky Father, as only the Earth Mother is required in our core liturgy, the implicit binary is still present.  This dualistic Earth Mother/Sky Father present in ADF rituals can be quite off-putting, especially for our non-binary members.

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Teaching Ritual Performance

Teaching Ritual Performance was designed to assist students to instruct others in ritual performance. In this course students are required to journal their work directing several rituals. Students do not necessarily need to write the rituals, nor do they need to write all the parts for the rituals. In fact, students may find it more challenging to allow others to write the ritual and then simply teach others how to work with the text they are given or come up with on their own.  The primary goal of this course is for students to enhance their skills for directing group ritual performance.

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Pagan Theology 1

Pagan Theology 1 is a survey of concepts and issues in theology, including both western philosophical concepts and key themes in existing world polytheisms. This course begins by teaching the student about the common terms used in the theological work of most religions, and moves on to ask students to think about how the concepts represented by those terms can be applied to Our Druidry.

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Leadership Development 2

Leadership Development 2

Leadership Development 2 is designed to build upon the knowledge attained in Leadership Development 1. This course will assist students in examining theoretical knowledge and provide opportunities for application of this knowledge. The primary goal for this course is for students to increase their knowledge and skills for effective group leadership and public relations.

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ADF Election 2018 Questions

Rev. Jan Avende’s Responses – VAD Candidate

Hi y’all.  I’m running for Vice Arch Druid in the 2018 ADF Election this year.  Many folks have asked questions of the candidates, and I’ve answered all the ones I’ve seen below.  I also welcome more questions, and will update this post as necessary to address them.  Email me at rev.jan.avende at gmail.com, so your questions don’t get lost.

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Special Occasion Rituals

Special Occasion Rituals

This course was designed to expand a student’s knowledge and experiences for liturgical development beyond high day liturgy and specifically targets the development of liturgy for use in everyday life for a variety of different purposes.

The primary goal of this course is for students to enhance their skills for developing special occasion liturgy to meet the needs of individuals and groups occurring within every day life.

Course Objectives

  1. Students will identify, define and analyze several types of special occasion ritual and compare special occasion ritual to high day ritual.
  2. Students will increase their knowledge of creating ritual for diverse audiences.
  3. Students will utilize their knowledge and skills for liturgical writing to create special occasion rituals for a variety of different purposes.

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Liturgy Practicum 3: Large Group Practice

Liturgy Practicum 3 is designed to focus on large group practices, both within and outside of ADF. In order to pass this course, you will be required to lead a ritual at a festival, and this ritual must be large enough to pose some of the usual problems that large rites create.

Because part of ADF’s vision is to provide publically accessible worship, even to those who are not part of ADF, this course will require that you perform a ritual for a generally non-ADF-centric function as well. You may contact the Archdruid or Clergy Council Preceptor to help you arrange to lead a festival ritual if you are a Consecrated Priest. If you have completed this course in the LGSP, you may submit the same answers, if it falls in the time frame specified below:

Rituals completing the exit standards of this course may not be performed more than three years before the submission date of this course for grading. The Clergy Council Preceptor will require some form of verification that the ritual took place and included the requisite number of attendees.

The primary goal of this course is for students to provide worship opportunities to the community and develop experience running large group rituals.

Course Objectives

  1. Students will increase their awareness of how ritual elements, such as creating group mind, developing effective prayers utilizing techniques such as motion, dance, music etc., and the use of physical offerings enhance small group ritual.
  2. 2. Students will lead rituals both within ADF and outside of it, and will examine their own processes for ritual creation.

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