Liturgy Practicum 2: Small Group Practice

Requirement #1: Key concepts

Describe three differences between personal or domestic rituals and small-group rituals. (Minimum 150 words)

One difference between a personal ritual and small group ritual is the amount of magical ‘juice’ that you can manifest and have access to during that ritual. “Having more people present makes more mana available” (Bonewits 58). This means that you could theoretically do more powerful magical workings, or maybe have a deeper or more meaningful experience. However, a challenge to work through with this idea is that you also need to keep more than just you focused on the task at hand so the mana doesn’t dissipate. The ritual leader(s) will have to keep the whole group focused.

This leads to a second difference between personal and small group rituals: the need to develop a group mind. The effects of intra-group familiarity were discussed in Liturgy Practicum 1, and play strongly into a group’s ability to develop the well-established group mind that is necessary to focus the energy generated by increasing amounts of people. In creating a group mind, the chief liturgist or clergy leading the rite will ideally need to know the skill level of the participating congregation in terms of visualization, trance, and energy work (Bonewits 57). This will allow them to design a ritual that will keep everyone engaged as much of the time as possible, and modify the ritual on the fly if needed to accommodate unexpected reactions or circumstances.

This touches on a third difference between personal and small group ritual: the presence of clergy or other leadership. Bonewits’ touches briefly on the varying views of having clergy, but in general seems to agree with the idea that clergy are the specialists that have studied the arts of magic, liturgy, and other topics pertaining to religion. A group ritual of any size is likely to be aided by having a leader who is trusted by the group, and by a group that values a mix of leadership by hierarchy and consensus (Bonewits 50-3).

Explain the importance of a shared worldview or cosmology within group ritual, and what can be done to help foster that shared cosmology. (Minimum 200 words)

Having a shared worldview or cosmology in a group ritual is important because it helps to establish group mind by giving all ritual participants a starting point. One way we can work to ensure that our rituals have a common starting point is by providing a thorough pre-ritual briefing before beginning ritual work. This can address the common ritual structure that is central to ADF rites, and answer questions that a newcomer may have (Bonewits 59-60). Because ADF is orthopraxic, our shared ritual structure is a large piece of what ties us together, rather than a shared set of beliefs about how the cosmos or world works, though we do work from similar assumptions in our practice.

Having a shared cosmology also helps to ensure that a ritual carries meaning for all participants (Bonewits 59). When individuals share a common set of understandings or assumptions (not necessarily beliefs) about how the cosmos works, they are more likely to find the same sorts of experiences meaningful. Within ADF one way we work to have a shared cosmology by limiting our public practice to Indo-European cultures. We include all Indo-European cultures because there are many similarities between the cultures, including root language, community values, and myth cycles. This limiting of our cultural focus helps to foster a shared cosmology by allowing a common discourse between members who may worship following the practices of many different hearths. By limiting our focus within ADF we foster a point of connection between practitioners of various Indo-European hearths. It also fosters a common language that all ADF members can relate to, such as discussion of the Three Kindreds, the Earth Mother, and the Gatekeeper, and allows us to focus our study solely on Indo-European cultures so that we can draw deeply from a few sources, rather than shallowly from many. This limiting means we are able to keep a more solid identity of who we are, and that solid group identity is important to forming group mind, which is even more important because we offer public rituals (Dangler 7).

Explain how you can incorporate words, motion, dance, posture, music, and gesture in a public, small group ritual. How is including each one in small group ritual different from how they are included in individual or domestic ritual? (Minimum 50 words per item, and minimum 150 additional words for comparison)

Words:

Praying through words is often one of the most intuitive ways to pray in both private practice and in small group worship. When praying with a group one way that words are incorporated is commonly through the invitations that are spoken to each of the spirits in the core order of ritual. These spoken prayers are sometimes pre-written and performed either from a script or from memorization, or sometimes performed extemporaneously. Words can also be used in a group ritual specifically within set prayers that are common to the group. In Three Cranes Grove, we use Ceisiwr Serith’s prayer “To the Holy Ones” as a spoken group prayer following the attunement. We also pray through words when we engage in the call and response style liturgy that is common, particularly at the end of an evocation and during the Return Flow portion of a ritual (Serith A Book of Pagan Prayer 17-9).

Motion:

Praying through motion in ADF group ritual is most often done through the processional into the space, and the recessional out, as well as occasionally through the methods of treating with the Outdwellers and purifying the space. When the whole group enters or leaves a space, this is a method of prayer through motion, as they are declaring that space to be separate from the mundane. When the person treating with the Outdwellers walks a good distance away from the declared sacred space to make their offering, this is a method of prayer through motion. When one or several people circumambulate the declared sacred space asperging or wafting incense to purify the space, this is a method of prayer through motion (Serith A Book of Pagan Prayer 22-4).

Dance:

Praying through dance is a continuation of prayer through motion. Dance most often displays emotion, though it can also be used to attain an ecstatic state to open yourself more fully to the Spirits, or to raise energy for a specific magical working. In a group ritual, if the whole group is expected to dance, it becomes important for the dance to be accessible for all participants (or for another comparable role to be available) and for the dance to be choreographed enough that all can participate together without causing injury. This can be as complex as a structured unison or group folk dance, or as simple as ensuring that all have enough awareness to be moving in the same direction, or within a space that they won’t run into each other (Serith A Book of Pagan Prayer 24-5).

Posture:

Praying through posture often accompanies praying through words, since when speaking, you have to hold you body in someway. I think it becomes prayer through posture when you make the way you hold you body intentional. In small group ritual, developing a common posture to accompany certain prayers or ritual actions can be part of establishing and maintaining group mind and the energy level within a rite. For example, when honoring the Earth Mother, Three Cranes Grove has two common positions: kneel and touch the ground, or stand in ‘half orans’ with one hand palm down and parallel to the ground, and one hand up perpendicular to the ground, elbow bent and close to the body, palm facing away from the body. We also have adopted certain postures for calling to each of the Kindreds: when calling to the Ancestors we look and reach towards the ground, palms parallel to and facing the ground. When calling to the Nature Spirits we reach out to our sides, looking levelly across the earth, arms bent at the elbows and palms facing in towards the center flame. When we call to the Shining Ones we reach up and look towards the sky, arms extended and palms facing up. Additionally, when calling to the Gatekeeper or Being of the Occasion, we typically stand in a modified orans posture, with arms bent at the elbows, forearms perpendicular to the ground, and palms facing away from the body (Serith A Book of Pagan Prayer 19-22).

Music:

Praying through music can be done in small group ritual through the use of chants or songs that the group sings together. Music can also be used when played or sung by one or a few people to generate a mood for the group as a whole. I find music to be particularly useful in the context of barding for ritual in order to maintain the energy of the ritual. Music helps to maintain the focus and the group mind so that the energy generated doesn’t dissipate before it is used (Serith A Book of Pagan Prayer 25-7).

Gesture:

Praying through gesture falls somewhere between posture and motion. In ritual, we most often use gesture when we are making offerings or when we are changing our body posture from one thing to another. In group ritual gesture large, or over-exaggerated, gesture is useful in giving that motion meaning and ensuring that the Folk present see the ritual action as significant. In Three Cranes Grove, some common gestures that we use, in addition to switching between the postures described above, include raising an offering to about eye level before pouring it out, and the variety of gestures that are used when opening and closing the Gates (often spirals or traced Druid sigils) (Serith A Book of Pagan Prayer 27-8).

The difference between using each of these methods of prayer between private and group worship depends on which one it is. Words are often common between the two types of ritual, though in a private ritual one may be more inclined to not pray out loud, or to use more extemporaneous prayers. In a group ritual it is important that if prayers are going to be said as a group, that they are set. The use of bookends at the beginning and end of spoken prayers also becomes more useful. Motion, posture, and gesture can be used similarly in both types of rituals, however in a private ritual one wouldn’t be using those methods of prayer to establish or maintain group mind, but rather to focus their own mind to the task at head, and put themselves into a sacred headspace. Similarly, music, when used in a group ritual helps keep the energy and focus of the congregation engaged, but when used in a private ritual is more focused on the feelings that it evokes within the solitary practitioner. Similarly, when dance is used in a private ritual, it is based entirely on what the solitary practitioner needs, whether it is designed to be an offering or designed to create a certain mental state. Music and dance are also similar to words in that if they’re going to be used in a group ritual with multiple people participating in them, they need to be set, rather than extemporaneous.

Explain the strengths and weaknesses of marked and unmarked speech in prayer. Explain how each type of speech manifests in your personal practice, and provide a description of your performance of a prayer for each type of speech in public ritual, including the text of the prayers. (Minimum 200 words)

Marked and unmarked styles of speech lead to different styles of prayers, and different levels of formality when using those types of prayers. Unmarked speech is conversational, and more prose in nature. In prayers, this speech is best used for spirits with whom you have a preexisting relationship with, who you’re on good terms with, or who are close to people in general. Serith suggests that High Gods, such as Zeus, may not appreciate prayers in this style, deeming it too disrespectful to speak in this manner (Serith Pagan Ritual Prayer Book 2-5). I don’t necessarily agree with this, and think that it depends far more on the relationship you have with a particular spirit, rather than on their job description or where they reside. Perhaps my view also comes from a generational position, as I’ve been told time and again that Millennials are less formal than previous generations, particularly in interactions that used to demand more formality. On the other hand, my prayers typically use marked speech almost exclusively, even when extemporaneous.

Marked speech is more formal, ranging from elevated prose to poetic in nature. This is the type of prayer that was used most often in ancient times, or at least was written down most often, may use more archaic language, and is designed to be spoken rather than read. Prayers like this may not be best for off-the-cuff, extemporaneous prayers, because they typically require more drafting and knowledge of poetic form and other literary devices. They are excellent for more formal scenarios and high liturgy magical acts though, as they clearly sound different than regular patterned speech, which marks them as sacred (Serith Pagan Ritual Prayer Book 2-5).

I am far more likely to use marked speech in my personal practice. I think in large part this is because not only have I read a lot of translated primary source material, but I also have a degree in English and I teach writing. This means that understanding poetic form is more intuitive for me, and I have an internal vocabulary and set of phrases that live in my brain that I use when speaking and writing prayers. When I have watched rituals, I have noted that even the prayers that I have spoken off the cuff sound more like marked speech. I have a strong internal set of scripts and phrases that combine with my knowledge of literary devices that allows me to do this.

Another reason I think I use marked speech even in scenarios that may otherwise have been more informal is because much of my prayer is done first in writing. When I pray, or write prayers for others, I write so that I can send it to them for their use. This allows me more time to think about it before I speak it or share it. Here is a typical example of what a prayer written in a marked style of speech looks like for me. It is a prayer written for an ADF member as they were going into labor, performed at a Druid Moon rite, as well as sent to them so that they could use it themelves:

I call out to gentle Eileithyia!
Make your way swiftly to this mother and child
that labor may be eased and pains dampened.
Sweet Opener of Ways:
As new life springs forth, hold your torch high
that the path may be illuminated
so this shining child may join us here
in full health and full joy,
Bright-eyed as he shouts his arrival to the world!
Eileithyia, for your gentle and practiced protection and delivery,
I make this offering to you!

There have been a few times that I use unmarked speech, but they are rather rare comparatively speaking. I think most often I use unmarked speech in prayers that I haven’t formalized or finished drafting yet. A prayer that has unmarked speech in my practice is often an unfinished prayer, one that I haven’t used frequently or polished up yet. But, again, my brain tends to live in a more formalized style of writing and speaking when I am praying, so I don’t use much unmarked speech. It is one of the ways I differentiate my mundane speech from my sacred speech. I notice this especially about myself in watching the videos of our rituals, and noting that even when I am speaking off the cuff, my speech is patterned in a more formal style, using various literary devices and parallel structure. It is just where my brain tends to live. A rare exception is a call to Cerberus that I use sometimes around Samhain, and even it was written with the intention of being informal. It goes something like this:

Cerberus! Here boy! *whistles*
*wheedling voice* I’ve got a treat for you if you let me pass.
*offers dog treats*
Who’s a good boy?
You are! Here you go, Cerberus!
Let me go see your master.

Explain why it is important to include physical offerings in ritual. (Minimum 150 words)

Serith states in A Book of Pagan Prayer that “when we come before the gods, it is wise not to come empty handed” (7). This is absolutely true in my opinion. At the very least, we can come before the gods in prayer, and speak our devotion. Even better is to come with physical offerings. One reason that Serith gives explaining why physical offerings are important is because we are a religion that focused on right action, and that by giving material things, the gods remind us that the material, the here and now, is sacred too.

Another point that Serith makes is that by bringing physical offerings, and not just words or “energy”, sincerity is encouraged. We are more likely to be sincere in our praise when we are giving something of value. When we are taking something we value out of human use, it gives it more meaning (Serith A Book of Pagan Prayer 6-12).

Finally, I think the most important reason to give physical offerings to the spirits is because physical offerings encourage a reciprocal relationship. We talk a lot in ADF about *ghosti, and giving physical offerings is a way to maintain that reciprocal relationship. It encourages the idea of movable wealth and sharing the blessings between us and the Spirits. We give the best of what we have, what we are able to give, so that they might give to us the best of what they have in return. “Do ut des.” (Serith A Book of Pagan Prayer 6-12).

Requirement 1: Works Cited

Bonewits, Philip Emmons Isaac. Neopagan Rites: A Guide to Creating Public Rituals That Work. Woodbury, MN: Llewellyn Publications, 2007. Print.

Dangler, Michael J. “Commonly Asked Questions.” Grove Organizing Handbook. : Ár nDraíocht Féin: A Druid Fellowship., 2005. Print.

Serith, Ceisiwr. A Book of Pagan Prayer. Boston, MA: Weiser, 2002. Print.

Serith, Ceisiwr. A Pagan Ritual Prayer Book. York Beach, ME: Weiser, 2011. Print.

Requirement #2: Documenting domestic and small-group ritual practice

Keep and submit for review a journal covering a period of not less than six months and not more than a year that documents your active participation as a celebrant at six or more group rituals, including three observances of seasonal festivals. The text of individual prayers written by you should be provided as frequently as possible (at least one for each ritual). Include an essay for each rite that involves the analysis and commentary on the ritual’s structure, as well as a critical review of the performance of that rite.

3CG DIF Lughnassadh – Irish – Lugh (8/2/16)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0IJIB0mBC7E

Attendance: ~350

Analysis/Commentary/Performance:

This was our 5^th year doing the Lughnassadh rite at the Dublin Irish Festival alongside all the other Sunday morning church services. There are a lot of things we have polished up over those five years that have needed rethinking from our usual style since it’s in a different setup (we’re on stage), has a time constraint (1hr), and is for a huge congregation (typically between 300 and 400 people). This year’s ritual started off a bit rockier than normal, since some of our celebrants we’re running late. I ended up adding an additional song to the pre-ritual set to allow for that buffer time.

Some of the changes we’ve had to make to this particular ritual that are different from the normal for us are: not having a praise offering section due to the stage arrangement and the time constraint, having to restrict the number of people taking parts because only so many of us will fit on stage, having everyone wear white robes, and having everyone memorize their parts. Running ritual is pretty old hat at this point, and we have a very solid ritual team, especially for this rite. The ritual flowed just fine, and followed the Core Order of Ritual without any problems.

Things that I’d like to modify for next year include changing our altar set up so that it is easier to see some of the action that takes place closer to the ground, such as silvering the Well. I would also like to work on blocking more, so that we have a better idea of how parts flow from one person to the next with the use of the two different speaking mics. To a lesser extent, I think we could use some more work on big gestures that scale well to this large of an audience.

Significant Portions of the Liturgy I wrote: Call for Inspiration

The Children of the Earth call out to Oghma!
Sunny-faced one, your brilliant rays shine down upon us this morning.
We ask now that you alight upon us.
Lend your honeyed words to us.
As your silvered-chain travels from your tongue to our ears
Might we speak with the eloquence that you give us.
Oghma, Meet us at the boundaries,
Join us at our sacred fire, and be warmed at our hearth.
Guide us and aid us as we walk the Elder Ways.
Oghma, accept our offering!

Hermes Full Moon (8/28/15)

Attendance: 6

Analysis/Commentary/Performance:

I lead full moon rituals for my grove and others (I would generally classify these rites as semi-public). During them we honor the Three Kindreds in a Greek context, Selene, each individual’s Patron of Magic, and one of the Olympians based on which month it is. I choose who we’re honoring that month based on the Hellenion schedule of libations, and the focus of the moons is doing a more intense magical working or trance journey based on which of the Theoi we are honoring that month. These are rites that I have written the entire litugy for, and have slowly been giving more folks parts, and encouraging them to try them. I’ve fostered these moon rites to specifically be a learning, no-fail environment, where I’m able to encourage folks to try out parts they’ve not done before in a public rite, or want to practice before doing in a public rite.

In August we honor Hermes. For this rite, I told the story of Hermes stealing Apollo’s cattle and how he came out on top of that bargain thanks to his excellent communication skills. We did a working where I took the omens we had received into the waters and we each anointed our lips with the blessing of Hermes to give us added power in bargaining and communication. I am always surprised at the power of touch in ritual, and have been reading more about it, and how to consciously incorporate it within the bounds of a consent culture.

The flow of the ritual went well, even with having my 2 year old daughter ‘helping’ me with the whole rite. I did manage to forget my omen set for this ritual, but the other grove member who reads Greek Alphabet Oracle was there, so it was good practice for her to take the omen anyways.

Significant Portions of the Liturgy I wrote: I wrote the entire ritual for this. I’ve excerpted a couple of my favorite parts below:

Opening Statement/Prayer –

O, Makares, (Blessed Ones)
As the moon in its cycle is timeless,
Growing in power each month until it bursts with luminescence,
So we return each month at the time of the Full Moon
In the timeless act of worship
Echoing with our prayers and our offerings,
The moon’s glowing promise of power and magic.
This night, beneath the bright and shining moon,
We gather to do as our Ancestors did before us,
To reforge the sacred *ghosti bond in our worship,
And to mix our powers together to achieve great works.
Elthete (Come) Theoi (gods),
Bless us with your presence,
And partake of what we offer,
In reverence of you here in our Ekklisíasma (Congregation).

Gods of Dikhomenia –

*each person speaks of their Patron of Magic as they feel called*

To those Patrons of Magic,
whom we each work with to further our studies in these arts,
with whom we’ve developed special relationships,
You who walk alongside us and keep us safe as we walk the Elder Ways.
I pour out these libations to you as I sing your praises.
Patrons all, accept our offerings!

Selene, brilliant shining Titaness, your face,
full in power and brightness,
shines down with grace and an influx of magic and power.
You who have bathed in the sacred waters of mighty Okeanos,
you who shine, luminescent,
driving your long-maned horses at full speed across the sky.
Selene, splendid Queen of the Night,
your glowing amber orb makes this night like the noon of your all-seeing brother,
I pour out these libations to you as I sing your praises.
Selene, accept our offering!

3CG Anagantios Druid Moon – (2/13/16)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NX71jDbo2KI

Attendance: 32

Analysis/Commentary/Review of Performance:

This is a really unique ritual, and was my first year being able to take part in it. During the Anagantios Druid Moon, which is the Stay at Home Druid Moon, the priests of the Grove, rather than convening a ritual somewhere, in what is normally our worst month snow-weather wise, instead travel to the homes of each Grove member.

We begin the morning by collecting the Kildare flame from the Grove member who tends it, and then going to each house to do a house blessing and give the flame to the member and their family there. This year MJD and I were able to travel together for the whole day, rather than having to split up, since the moon fell on a Saturday, and many of our Grove members were off work and had more flexible schedules. We visited and blessed 17 homes, spent 11 hours driving, and traveled 200 miles.

Normally Michael has just done the house blessing and gift of the Kildare Flame, but since there were two of us, we wanted something for each of us to do. I figured since we were blessing with fire, we could also do something with water. So I wrote a Threshold blessing to pair with the Home blessing, where the thresholds of the home were anointed with waters from several holy wells. Another cool thing we did this year was have the members we visited take the omen for us throughout the day, with three different people throughout the day each pulling one symbol.

I did notice that I became more comfortable with the liturgy and process as we moved on throughout the day. The houses we blessed in the morning, I was still nervous on. But the houses later in the afternoon, I was pretty comfortable with.

Significant Portions of the Liturgy I wrote: Threshold Blessing

Waters drawn from the holy wells,
Flowing across the land to collect here,
And spread your blessing to the threshold of this home.
May your blessing keep this household safe.
May all who cross this threshold in welcome,
Be filled with the blessings of the Waters
As they enter in hospitality.

3CG Spring Equinox – Hellenic – Artemis & Hephaestos (3/20/16)

Attendance: 56

Analysis/Commentary/Review of Performance:

This ritual went exceptionally well, and the feedback has continued to be outstanding from attendees. This was an experiment in pairing two deities who wouldn’t normally be thought of as going together. I think it also helped that Artemis is a patron of mine, and Hephaestos is a patron of Traci’s. We don’t have this happen too often, where the DotO is a patron of someone leading the rite, and I hadn’t ever really thought much of it. I often feel awkward leading a ritual to one of patron’s in a public rite because it feels like sharing something exceedingly intimate with others. I’ve described it as “introducing your girlfriend to folks, when they didn’t even know you were bi.” All this aside though, I think one of the reasons this ritual went so well, felt like it had so much energy, and was so well received even by the non-Hellenes is because folks could feel and were able to benefit from the pre-existing relationship that Traci and I have and maintain. I think this is something worth considering when we do future rites.

The energy that Mike, Jeff, and I had during the DotO offering as we played (voice, drum, and guitar) was palpable and wonderful (31:50). Traci was the Druid in Charge (traffic cop) for this ritual, and I was the Priest in Charge. She did skip the Prayer of Sacrifice, but we rolled with it and I came back around to pick it up after the omen as a final gift of thanks. The working was fantastic, with Traci pounding hammer on anvil (brake drum) to raise energy for the blessing of tools and hands. The use of the anvil imagery and sound I think is a huge part of what contributed to the success of the Working. We’ve been asked if we can do this particular ritual again, so I think we can definitely say it went well.

Significant Portions of the Liturgy I wrote: Call to Artemis; Return Flow; Processional and Praise offering songs; Working (I’ve excerpted a couple of these below)

DotO – Artemis

Artemis, Chaste Maiden of the Hunt.
Delighting in arrows
You come down from the mountains,
Wind and rain flowing with you.
Following the tracks of the deer, as they run their path.
Protecting all new life that comes to us in this season.
Sweet Artemis, dancing and delighting with Cranes,
We call to you and offer you sweet amaranth.
Artemis, accept our offering!

Return Flow

Now, children of earth
Gifts have been given unto us as we have given unto the Kindreds.
We’ve been given a gift from Kindreds all,
A reminder to stay patient,
To wait for good things that will come to us.
See in your minds eye that bright light warm and ignite within you
Just as it ignites within these flames and within these waters.

And so, patience, we ignite in ourselves and in this flame
Brightening and warming these waters with this gift.

And then from Artemis we receive the blessing of her presence.
That she has come to give us her aid and her guidance
In this time of new growth and new life.
See that blessing ignite in yourself, ignite in this flame
And brighten and warm these waters.

And from Hephaestos, who gives us all,
Everything we desire and ask for,
He can forge, he can make, he can create.
Hephaestos, many skilled, can give us all these things and more.
So see that gift brighten in yourself, brighten in this flame
and brighten and warm in these waters

Children of earth, theses waters have been brightened in blessing,
have been warmed at the forge of Hephaestos,
have flown down from the mountains where Artemis dwells,
have come from across all the lands where all the Kindreds send us their aid
as we patiently wait for it, for it will come

So children of earth, here see in these waters those blessings grow
and speak with me: Shining Ones, give us the Waters!

All: Shining Ones, give us the Waters!

Flowing up from the deep, from the wells below
Shining Ones, give us the Waters!

All: Shining Ones, give us the Waters!

Flowing across the land, down from the skies
Shining Ones, give us the Waters!

All: Shining Ones, give us the Waters!

Brightened and warmed and blessed…
Behold, the Waters of Life!

All: Behold, the Waters of Life!

Children of earth is it your will to partake of these waters
and bring these blessings into yourselves.

All: It is!

*water is passed and quaffed*

3CG Beltaine – “Celtic” – Trooping Fairies (5/1/16)

Attendance: 59

Analysis/Commentary/Review of Performance:

This is a ritual style that MJD had wanted to experiment with: the premise is that because the fairies move from place to place at Beltane (and Samhain) and we wanted to try having a ritual with lots of movement. We set up a main altar in a central location, and three separate altars for each of the Kindreds circled around that main space. Then, as we invited each of the Kindreds to join us, all of the Folk who are able processed, making lots of joyful noise, to each of the specific altars. It made our ritual take a bit longer, but it worked really well. It kept everyone engaged, and kept the energy level high. Because we had taken into account accessibility issues, those in the congregation who are less mobile were still able to experience the rite without having to leave the main altar space. The working for this rite was also movement based. I wrote a Crane Dance that we used to generate energy to aid the fairies in moving to their new home, to encourage those beneficial ones to come into our lives, and to encourage those more troublesome one to leave us be.

The overall energy of this ritual was quite joyful. We had spent several weeks ahead of time advertising it as a kid-friendly ritual, and that meant we had probably somewhere around 20 children. Children give a special kind of chaotic and joyful energy to a ritual, and I was pleased that we were able to host them. I led a kids activity before the ritual making bell-branches that we would then use in the rite, and another Grove member made 20-30 sets of fairy wings that the kids and other folks could wear and then take home with them. Many families thanked us for providing a kid-friendly ritual, particularly at Beltane. Joe, our Senior Druid, really led the charge in making this ritual one of reverence and mirth with his attunement. He inspired laughter and fellowship with his words, and connected it beautifully to the fae.

One thing I wanted to try, that I had experienced with Rev. Sara Blackwelder at Trillium this past year, was opening the gates with sound. Specifically building a chord, and letting the final resolution of the top note of the chord as it was hit mark the opening of the gates. It worked okay, though there are definitely some things that could have gone better. The first was a location issue: the roof of the shelter we were in ate the sound and bounced it all over the place. This meant that during the whole ritual, I could barely hear myself, and that, combined with projecting so I could be heard, made it difficult to hit the 3^rd, 5^th, and octave of the building chord. The other difficulty could have possibly been taken care of by a better pre-ritual briefing on my part. I had picked out 3 people to hold each note in the chord for me, however, our regular congregation is too well-trained, and so when I hit a note and held it, they joined in and toned with me. This meant that the key note got lost, because when we tone, we don’t worry about what note each person is holding. I still thought it worked, however, if I decided to try it again, I’ll have to be more explicit about what I’m doing.

The Crane Dance is both fun and a challenge. This is the second time we’ve done it, and I learned a bit from last time. This biggest thing was I realized after the first attempt at this that I couldn’t lead the dance and work the magic at the same time. So, I had Mike B. teach and lead the dance, which was good leadership in ritual practice for him, and I led the working. It clocked in, all things told, at about 5 minutes in length, which was half the time it took the first time we did this in 2012. I think part of the reason it was shorter was because I didn’t have to get the dancing solid before beginning the magical work, I could just start right in on directing the energy being built, since Mike was taking care of the specifics of the dance.

Significant Portions of the Liturgy I wrote: Gatekeeper invocation & gate opening opening; new praise offering song; Crane Dance

Gatekeeper & Gates

Children of earth, we stand at the center of worlds:
Where the fire and the well and the tree
Mark this as our sacred space.

And now, once again, in your minds eye,
remember the feel of those fairy hills and mounds,
the sound of the tinkling bells that seem to exude
whenever they move and wherever they go.

Now see the mists rolling across those hills,
and stepping out from that mist is Garanus, the Crane.
He stands at the edge of a pool
one foot on the land, one foot in the waters,
eye cast to the heavens.

Garanus Crane is our gatekeeper and our guide.
He leads us along the path of magic.
He guards us where we go.
He aids us in our work.
So, Garanus Crane, Gatekeeper,
You who walk with us and fly with us,
Garanus, accept this offering!

All: Garanus, accept this offering!

And so we prepare to open the gates between the worlds.
Waters flowing across the land, welling up from the deep,
raining down from above.
(sung) Let the well open as a gate.

Fire burning bright in the earth and bright in the heavens,
Burning here at the center.
(sung) Let the fire open as a gate.

Tree rooted deep in the earth,
Crowned high in the heavens,
Marking the connected bridge between the worlds.
(sung) Let the tree open as a gate.

(sung) Let the gates be open.

Children of the Earth, the gates stand open.
We are here at the center of the realms
Let naught but truth be spoken here, and blessings given.

Gods, Dead, and Sidhe (3K praise offering song)

(chorus by Ian Corrigan, verses by Rev. Jan Avende)

Chorus:
Gods and Dead and Mighty Sidhe
Powers of Earth and Sky and Sea
By Fire, by Well, by Sacred Tree
Sacrifice we make to thee.

We gather in the Fire’s Light
To watch our Sacrifice burn bright
Praise we give you for your might
Gifts of magic, strength, and sight.

Chorus

Rooted deep into the ground
Stands the Tree upon the mound
The host of spirits dancing ’round
From here the Realms can all be found.

Chorus

Hear us spirits as we pray
All the Gods and Dead and Fey
Praise we make, we sing, we say
On this blessed first of May.

Crane Dance (a magical act, danced in the round)

8 count skip right, 8 count skip left
8 count flapping LinJin
8 count skip right, 8 count skip left
4 count switch places with partner
8 count skip right, 8 count skip left
4 count spin down to up counter clockwise
4 count spin up to down clockwise
8 count skip right, 8 count skip left
4 count switch places with partner
8 count skip right, 8 count skip left
16 count clapping LinJin
lather, rinse, repeat!

Gamonios Druid Moon (5/11/16)

Attendance: 9

Analysis/Commentary/Performance:

Druid Moons in our Grove follow a standard calendar year, rotating through 13 different rituals. There is one each month on the 6^th night after the new moon, with the 13^th being the intercalendary moon that happens about once every five years when there is a second 6^th night moon in a single month. The celebration for this month was for Gamonios, the “End of the Winter Month.” It is when we celebrate the coming of the warm days when the year is no longer in darkness, when the cold is finally bested by the light of the sun. At this Druid Moon we honored the shining Gaulish god, Belenos.

While we have a standard liturgy for each of these rites, they are not set entirely in stone, which allows me to add my own flavor and style to the rituals that MJD initially wrote. One of the things I did this year to make the ritual unique was light three fires instead of one. We had the Fire of Inspiration, the Fire of Fellowship, and the Fire of Sacrifice. All offerings throughout the rite were made into the Fire of Sacrifice.

When we got to the working, I divided up the 9 people in attendance into groups of three and gave each group a candle and a small cup of Everclear. As I called out to each fire in turn to fill us, I had one person hold the candle, one person light it, and the third make the offering to their fire. I thought this worked well, and the folk seemed to enjoy it. It gave them each something to do and be involved with (and let some of them get the experience of offering Everclear, which they hadn’t done before, and can be quite powerful). Our Druid Moons are much more intimate, and so each little thing that I can do to reinforce that feeling of intimacy, like making sure each person has something (maybe even more than one thing) to do in the rite, is important.

I took the omen for this ritual by fire scrying in the Fire of Sacrifice. It is a skill I’ve been slowly working on over the past year or so, and is a different method of taking an omen than our Grove normally sees. I find it full of good magical energy, and it makes me connect even moreso into that divinatory Seer state than normal.

Significant Portions of the Liturgy I wrote: I performed the ritual for this, with the standard working (though I modified the setup and words to fit my style, rather than MJDs). The omen was me.

Omen (fire scrying)

What is our Path: Fire dancing up and out from the Center. We are one and share our light with the those at the edges.

On what should the Grove focus until the next Moon: coal with a sheen, or coating, of smoke. When we smoor or bank the fire, we are able to tend it and carry it to others, to those in need.

On what should each individual focus until the next moon: breath of blue flame, not at the center, but at the edge of the fire. Search for the unexpected blessing and bring it to the Center, bring it to the Heart of the Fire.

Taken together, these might suggest: The Brightness of our well-tended Grove Fire of Sacrifice dances far and can reach into the darkness. We need to bring our own blessings to the Center, to the Grove. This will strengthen and unify us. As we then stand together we are able to bring our light to others who stand at the edge.

Write and lead at least one group High Day ritual. Submit both your script for that ritual and an evaluation of the ritual in terms of structure (how the ritual flowed) and function (what was accomplished). Include evaluations of the ritual from two other attendees (Include contact information for the attendees providing the evaluations. Their evaluations must be at least 125 words in length and include a description of what they thought went well and what improvements could be made, as well as whether or not they believe the ritual accomplished its purpose.)

I wrote and led an Avestan Summer Solstice Rite honoring Adrvi Sura Anahita, the Mother of Waters. In part because I felt bad writing every part of this ritual, rather than our typical format of letting folks write their own parts if they want to, and in part because I wanted to try to keep it under the suggested 20 people for this course (since none of our public High Days are under 40 people typically), I restricted attendance to grove members only, rather than making this a public rite. It worked out well, allowed me to experiment in a different culture than any of us have familiarity with, and allowed my Folk to feel more at ease in general. I ended up with 16 people in attendance (including latecomers), 11 of whom had parts.

Throughout the course of writing this, I did realize that I rarely write rituals in their entirety, and it is something I enjoy doing. I would like to compile more of our Grove rituals this way, so we have a better back-log of liturgy that we can share with others. I also found the writing the Attunement and the Return Flow are my least favorite parts (though they are some of my favorites to do in ritual), though in the case of this ritual, those two pieces, along with the ReCreation & Gatekeeper/Gate Opening, are the parts I’m the most proud of.

The Attunement I had been putting off writing, because I didn’t have any really good ideas for it, and I didn’t particularly want to fall back on one of my standard Two Powers exercises. But then I was reminded of the idea of Fire in Waters, and then the Orlando shootings happened, and then it occurred to me that this ritual was falling on the day of Pride. I thought about how the Fire in the Sky is often the Sun, and when you bring the Sun into the Waters, you get a rainbow, and that ties directly into Pride. So, I looked up the meanings of the colors on the original Pride flag, and worked from that for this Attunement.

The part about the Return Flow that I liked was how it flowed from the Omens smoothly. Because I had decided that the Omen would be taken via water scrying, that meant that the Blessings were literally going to be seen within the Waters. And so, in that transition between the two liturgical pieces I poured the Waters used for scrying into the Blessing Pitcher; I literally mixed the blessings that had been seen into the Waters we would be drinking.

I wrote all the parts for this rite except for two pieces of standard Grove Liturgy (noted in the script), and sent them out to people about a week ahead of time. I checked in with folks a few days later to see if anyone needed help with pronunciation or anything. A few of them double-checked with me before the rite started, but no one needed any significant help there. I prepared all the offerings for the rite, set up the altar, and took care of other pre-ritual necessities. During the pre-ritual briefing I went over how the ritual would flow, who we were honoring, and who the Avestan’s were. I also mentioned that verbal praise was very important to them, and taught everyone the phrase “for your brightness and your glory, I offer you a sacrifice” that they could use when making personal offerings. This worked fantastically. I love when everyone speaks before the fire when they offer, and it’s something that, as Cranes leading huge rites, we normally don’t get to do. So, having made this a Grove-only ritual (in order to keep attendance under 20 people (it clocked in at 16 people)), everyone got a chance to make personal, verbal, heartfelt offerings. I also made a point of giving as many people as I could a part of the ritual that they had never done before. Since I’d written all the parts, that took away some of the nervousness for them on that piece, and it gave them the chance to stretch their wings a bit (and me the chance to push them gently into trying out something new, that I knew they could handle, that they might not have been sure on yet).

The ritual flow went really well. I was nervous getting started because I’m not used to working with a script. But, I had practiced, and so barely needed to use it for me. Scripts are awkward though, doing strange things to your self-confidence, and it some ways it acted like a crutch on parts that I don’t typically need it for. We had videoed the rite, so watching it after and doing my own critique, I noticed myself looking down to check the script more often than I had actually needed to.

Leading a ritual, especially one that is just our small group, is pretty relaxed at this point. Most folks know what’s going on, and I had given them all parts to read, so they weren’t concerned with speaking off the cuff. I think that probably helped the ritual flow a lot. I purposefully didn’t give anyone the whole script before the rite, because I didn’t want them to be trying to read along to the whole thing. I wanted them to experience the ritual, and only have to worry about their own part.

The ritual itself was a simple rite of offering and praise celebrating the Summer Solstice and honoring Anahita, the Avestan Mother of Waters. We honored each of the Kindreds and then Anahita, and folks were given the chance to make praise offerings to both the Kindreds in general (or a specific spirit they have a relationship with), as well as to Anahita. This ritual served to strengthen our relationships with the Kindreds, as well as introduce nearly everyone to the Avestan hearth culture, and Anahita specifically. I got a lot of good feedback following the rite. Folks seemed to get fulfillment out of it, and the omens were good. So all in all, it went well.

Script for Avestan Summer Solstice Ritual, honoring Anahita, the Mother of Waters

Evaluations per Course Requirements for Liturgy Practicum 2, Requirement 2.2:

Include evaluations of the ritual from two other attendees (Include contact information for the attendees providing the evaluations. Their evaluations must be at least 125 words in length and include a description of what they thought went well and what improvements could be made, as well as whether or not they believe the ritual accomplished its purpose.)

Evaluation 1

(contact info removed for privacy)

Briefly describe the Ritual:

The ritual was the celebration of Summer Solstice. Anahita, the Mother of Water, was the Deity of occasion. Rev. Jan wrote the ritual and assigned parts to volunteers, using the ADF Core Order. She attempted to have many perform parts that they normally would not have or that have not had the opportunity to perform yet. There was no working outside of worship and praise. Everyone had the opportunity to give offerings to both the Anahita and their own personal deity. Indo-Iranian names were used during the rite.

I personally had the opportunity to make peace with the Outdwellers, not a part I normally call; however, fitting given my military service.

What did you think went well?:

Jan was very precise on instructions. There was active group participation within the rite and most people spoke loud and clear. Everyone gave offerings and people actually spoke their praise to the deities out loud; something that not everyone does. People stepped outside of their comfort zone and performed well.

What improvements could be made?:

As an evaluator, I would like to have had a copy of the written ritual prior to rite. This would have given me more time to formulate any questions concerning the rite.

Do you think the ritual accomplished it’s purpose? Explain:

Yes. The purpose was for Jan to write an entire ritual and assign those to parts to individuals who volunteered to be a part of her rite to meet the criteria for the Liturgy Practicum 2, Requirement 2.2. Part of her purpose was to get individuals involved in ritual and to speak out loud when giving offerings. Everyone who came did as she had encouraged in her instructions prior to the start of the ritual.

Evaluation 2

(contact info removed for privacy)

Briefly describe the Ritual:

The ritual was held in Three Cranes Grove’s usual nemeton, at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation East in Reynoldsburg, OH. Many of the attendees had assigned ritual parts, which Rev. Avende had previously sent out to their responsible parties. She had also prepared all the required offerings, which were noted in the ritual script.

I don’t believe any of the attendees were previously familiar with Avestan-style ritual; certainly there was no broad knowledge. Rev. Avende began with a briefly not only of the ritual as a whole, but also of the particularities of Avestan ritual. Specifically, she noted the customary tag to invocations and offering praises: “for you brightness and your glory, we offer you a sacrifice!” Rev. Avende’s script also delved into the particular cultural practices of the Avestans, naming particular mythological figures in the Recreation of the Cosmos, calling on the Kindred by their Avestan titles, etc.

What did you think went well?:

The culturally specific namings and invocation tags were particulary effective; much as a translator often leaves a bit of the ‘flavor’ of a source text while doing the bulk of the heavy-lifting for the understanding of the reader, Rev. Avende took historically attested forms and adapted them to the COoR while maintaining their cultural focus.

I was also impressed by the ritual’s response to the broader secular world. The summer solstice, in Columbus at least, aligned with our community’s celebration of Pride; in fact, I and others traveled directly from the Pride festival to the rite. I haven’t talked to her directly about this matter, but I suspect Rev. Avende specifically wrote subtle allusions to the secular cultural context into her script. The attunement played on Anahita’s life-giving waters that flow from the sun, and led us through contemplating the different prismatic colors of the rainbow formed in the mists of magic, which was a fairly clear connection to Gay Pride. In addition, there were repeated references throughout the script to diversity in all its forms. None of this felt in any way forced; it all would have been completely appropriate language at any time of year. But especially in the wake of the shootings in Orlando, it provided a welcome and meaningful space to honor the blessings of the Mother of Waters as she sustains us all, in our diverse array of selves.

What improvements could be made?:

I was very pleased to have the Avestan ‘flavor’ included in the rite, and usually Rev. Avende’s script did a fine job of smoothly interpreting the unfamiliar terminiology. There were a few points, however, when an unfamiliar term would go unremarked. I seem to remember, for example, (though I don’t have the full script in from of me), that the first occurrence of the Avestan term for ‘chaos’ didn’t have an immediate gloss. Similarly, my part (Recreating the Cosmos) included a number of mythological terms for the first plant, first animal, first man, which all seem to have etymologically-related names, but it wasn’t clear in the glossing whether the gloss was translation or explanation. Especially for linguistically minded people like me, that poses a danger of pulling me into my own headspace.

If it sounds like I’m nitpicking, it’s because I am: Rev. Avende’s ritual script was beautiful, and flowed smoothly; it made an unfamiliar hearth culture feel present and welcome. My quibbles above are to take it from excellent to superlative!

Do you think the ritual accomplished it’s purpose? Explain:

Indubitably. First, it assuredly marked the summer solstice: the DotO was absolutely aligned with the High Day, and Rev. Avende’s script tied her attributes back to the summer’s heat and life that we could feel and see all around us. Second, it also achieved the subtextual goals of building community and offering a space for attendees to celebrate the Kindreds and each other in all our great diversity — by welcoming difference, it bound us and the spirits more tightly in a web of care and community. It was one of the more powerful rites I’ve attended this year, and I’m quite glad to have been a part of it.

Evaluation 3

(contact info removed for privacy)

Purpose…

Our stated purpose for the rite was to celebrate the Summer Solstice, to honor the Kindreds, and to honor and give sacrifice to Ardvi Sura Anahita. The Folk did indeed bring honor and praise for the three Kindreds, as well as the Summer Solstice appropriate Deity of the Occasion Anahita, and received Blessings in return during this Avestan Rite. As a bonus, we learned about worship within a hearth culture that was new to nearly everyone who participated in this fully scripted celebration.

I very much enjoyed the ritual that began with offering to Atar, the Great Fire, with purification by washing our hands, and with an Outdwellers treaty. It was noted the Avenstans called to the Earth itself, not an Earth Mother, followed by calling to a deity of inspiration (Haoma) and the attunement. Recreating the cosmos and calling Beaver as the gate keeper continued the fire-in-the-waters theme, and then the gates were opened with well, fire, and tree imagery. General praise offerings by the Folk followed the Kindreds invitations, and offerings to Anahita were brought forth after evoking her. After the Prayer of Sacrifice (my part) came the unusual method of water scrying for taking an Omen. The Blessings were passed on to the Folk through drinking Hallowed Waters. The Spirits called upon were thanked, the gates were closed, Beaver, Haoma, and the Earth were thanked. The rite was ended.

Propitious…

There was excellent preparation for the rite, as evidenced by pre-arrangement of roles and tasks, discussion of the purpose and structure of the rite, and the availability of a full written version of the script (if we had not printed our part or had no electronic access). Jan provided effective coaching for the process and flow of the rite, as well as any parts assigned, before and during the rite. Jan adapted well to any difficulties that arose, handling changes that had to be made smoothly and gracefully.

There was also valuable assistance rendered as instruction on performance blocking, with personalized attention given to participants regarding specific questions. Jan exhibited a good understanding of individual Grove member’s aptitudes for liturgy, their current level of confidence with performance, and their willingness to stretch beyond that comfort level – and, encourage us to stretch she did! Everyone present participated in some way beyond just making personal offerings, even if it was only to use the suggested bookend phrase, “___ , for your brightness and your glory, I offer you a sacrifice,” which sounded very good and right as it was included in nearly every part spoken and in the praise offerings of so many of the Folk. It’s one of those things that quite beautifully knits a ritual together.

Along with fulfilling its ritual purpose, each part provided some information/education about the Avestan entity addressed and/or the way the Avestans might have approached their worship. I think this is one of the duties of those who lead our ritual celebrations – to teach us something of the peoples who have gone before and the deities they worshiped. Sometimes we do that in the pre-ritual briefing, sometimes through ritual storytelling strategically placed in a rite, or, as in this case, quite handily through the carefully worded liturgy itself. Even if I cannot connect with a ritual on any other level, if I come away with a new or different way to consider worship, I have “gained something in the work.”

Possibilities…

I love it when we try new things or take a new approach to things – like the water scrying for the Omen – though, it is inherently more difficult to connect with a method or approach used rarely or never before. The water scrying was completely appropriate to this rite, and this DotO, and I think it was a good call, even if it was uncomfortable as a participant to experience so much newness in one rite.

Offering to the Great Fire, Atar, and the washing of hands for each individual seemed to set the pace of this rite as somewhat slower and more word heavy than we might usually perform… though, again, both items (and all sections of the ritual) were completely appropriate to hearth culture/DotO, and were also a good call. There may or may not have been a goodly bit of wanting to get to the After-Feast in not wanting a ritual to drag on. To be fair, the lengthy liturgy was worth the information imparted.

Personal Favs…

Attunement – it seemed highly appropriate to a Summer Solstice Rite as it involved the Sun and the Waters showing how they combine to form a multitude of colors, and yet also coalesce into one unified white light… I was proud to do this Attunement at the Three Cranes Grove Summer Solstice Rite the next weekend on Sunday morning at the annual Community Festival (ComFest) in Columbus OH.

Bookends – it does indeed enhance the aesthetics of a ritual for many people to use similar formats during their parts, right down to repeating specific wording as in the case of this bookend phrase.

I am an Initiate. This is what I do.

It happens fairly often now, where someone asks what my personal practice looks like. Normally I respond in the general: well, here’s what I typically do each day or so. I describe my home hearth practice. And it occurs to me now, that I don’t often talk about what my practice as an Initiate looks like. Or what my practice as a Priest looks like. Or what the dove-tail looks like in my practice as an Initiate-Priest. And not only am I not talking about it, I realized with some of the current discussion going on about The Spirit of ADF, no one appears to have talked about it much.

When you apply for entrance into these programs, you’re asked to respond to things like “What does being an Initiate mean to you?”, “Why do you want to be an ADF Priest?”, and “What form do you think your vocation will take?” in your intention letters and vocational statements. You’re asked to talk about what these things are without having been there yet. And that is incredibly difficult. If you’d like to read mine, you can find them here: Initiate Intention Letter, Clergy Intention Letter, and Vocational Statement. It is interesting that my Initiate Intention Letter still rings true for me. Now having undergone the Ordeals and been tapped in to the Current, my Path was brightened and focused, but the root of it hasn’t wavered.

I know when I was an Initiate Candidate, I had no idea what Initiate Work looked like. And even with several ADF Grove Priests in my Grove, when I was working through our Clergy Training Program, I had no idea what the personal Work of a Priest looked like. Now, the obvious caveat here is that this experience will vary from initiate to initiate (especially) and priest to priest. That’s part of the beautiful diversity of our organization. But, we do have some commonalities, and I’d like to talk about them without getting into the Mystery of each specific Order.

So, as an Initiate, what do I do? I’d like to start by talking about my Initiate Oath. Each Initiate makes an Oath following third, and final Ordeal, that completes their initiation. It is book ended the same for each Initiate “I come from the Fire at the Center of Worlds… And with these tools I shall lead others to the Flame.” We each fill in the middle of that Oreo cookie with imagery regarding the tools we gained. Here is my full oath:

I come from the fire at the center of worlds,
Where the burning stars fall from the heavens to the seas.
Mists to open. Mists to bind.
Where the oak tree stands upon the mound.
Mists to open. Mists to bind.
Where the fire rages amongst the storm of lights and rain.
Mists to open. Mists to bind.
Where the stranger in the darkness stands as guide.
Mists to open. Mists to bind.
Where the heartbeat of the Mother ignites the fire within.
Mists to open. Mists to bind.
With these tools I shall lead others to the flame.

So, in the external work that I do, I am focusing on bringing others to the Flame. That is the guiding statement for almost all of my work as an Initiate. To me, this means that not only am I doing what I can to be a mentor to folks within our organization in general, wherever they may be on their path, but I am also specifically focusing on those who have expressed and interest in becoming Initiate’s themselves. I have focused heavily on making sure that the path to Initiation is accessible to all who wish to walk it. While it falls much more in the mundane realm of things, and not in the spirit worker realm, one of the things I did, that I think has had the most benefit thus far, is I fleshed out and built a fully structured syllabus and class that guides the beginning Candidate through all the required coursework and offers supplemental activities to make the work more enjoyable, more fulfilling, and ensure that the Candidate is as prepared as possible for the Three Ordeals they must undergo for Initiation.

“That’s great,” you say, “but what does being an Initiate in your actual spiritual practice look like? What do you do? What is an Initiate?”

I’m glad you asked! 😉 As an Initiate, I see myself as a Spirit Worker within an ADF context. This means, that first and foremost, I work with the Current. What is the Current you ask? Well, here is an article that describes it’s establishment: https://www.adf.org/articles/working/initiatory-current.html Notably, what is mentioned in the article is that at the culmination of a Candidate’s training, they will undergo a ritual of initiation that will tap them into a spiritual Current that unifies all ADF Initiates and that they would be able to use as the “juice” for their Work. Because it was also an ADF Unity Rite, all of ADF was also joined into this work. The Current is described as “flowing through ADF.”

I had just joined ADF when the Current was established, and was not there for that rite. I came after, so I can only speak to what I know about it from my own experience and what I’ve learned about it along the way from my own Initiation and from the spirit work that has followed. For me, the Current is the energy of the organization itself, and of the other Initiates who have been tapped in to this Current. It is a source of power for magic, divination, and trance journeying. It is a connection to other Initiates. Each Initiate sees it and works with it in a different way. For me it most closely resembles the Mists of Magic that flow in the liminal spaces between the worlds. It is referenced in my oath when I say “Mists to open. Mists to bind.” I weave the Mist of the Current into my magic. I let it flow through me when I do divination. It flows all about me and through me when I do trance work, and I use it as a tool to aid me in my journeys. The Current is an integral part of my practice as an Initiate.

So, in my regular practice, what do I do as an Initiate? I do Initiate-specific trance work, and make the attempt to do this a couple a times a week, though like most things, it ebbs and flows with what is going on in my life. Since beginning the Initiate Work, my delineation between trance, magic, and divination has blurred. They each tend to feed into the other. My trance work contains bits of magic and divination. When I do magic or divination, I am certainly in a trance state.

So, this Initiate trance work for me generally takes the form of me traveling out from my Inner Grove with my spirit allies, and doing other spirit work, which may or may not include magic or divination. Sometimes I go to places I know, sometimes I go to new places. I seek new spirits who desire to work with me, or who may be beneficial in my own work. If I am doing helping work, I may seek out a spirit who can help me with that. If I’m doing bardic work, I may seek out inspiration in the Otherworld.

I seek tools that will help me as I journey. Do I need a way to bring the light of the Fire with me wherever I go (literally and metaphorically)? Then I will seek that out. I seek advice from spirits I know. How should I approach this problem? What direction should I focus my creative efforts? I explore symbols and sigils in the Otherworld. One of the cool things I’ve done and have just started writing up is I have journeyed focused on each symbol within the Greek Alphabet Oracle, and deepened my connection to the symbol set, finding new and more nuanced meanings for interpretation. Each symbol has a location and vision in the Otherworld. I occasionally engage in tandem-trance, where I journey with other Initiates (whether we are physically present in the same space or not) and we exchange experiences and visions. This allows us to build our Otherworld maps, and find the places where they overlap. We can meet the spirits that another has met, and begin working with them independently.

Like most of the work I do as an ADF Druid in general, my goal with my trance work is to deepen my relationships with the Kindreds, and as an Initiate, it often becomes experimental. I use my experience, knowledge, and devotion to gather around me powers that help me further the deeper work of trance, magic, and divination. This in turn deepens my practice further and as I find things that work for me, I share that with others so that more can benefit from it. Sometimes this means introducing people to new spirits I’ve met. Sometimes it means sharing new ideas for divination with others. Trying them out in this world, rather than the Otherworld. Sometimes it’s writing a song, or prayer, or piece of poetry that will help others connect to Our Druidry in a way they hadn’t before.

All of this to me is leading others to the flame with the tools that I have gained as an Initiate. This post ended up longer than I anticipated, so I’ll post what I do as Clergy in a later one.

Let’s Talk Vocation: Mentoring

It shouldn’t really come as a surprise to anyone who knows me that part of my Vocation, part of my Call, is mentoring. That thread of passion has woven it’s way through many aspects of my life, from coaching to college organizations to my professional life in teaching and into my role as an Initiate and a Priest. Being a mentor can be a tough job, but it is immensely rewarding work for me. It is one of the things that drives me.

I want to be helpful to others, to aid them in their growth, and to give them the tools and skills they need to do the work they want to do. In a way, I want to put myself out of job, though I know that new people, new mentees, will continue to come along. But there is great joy and a sense of accomplishment, in seeing a mentee reach a point where you can step back because they no longer need you.

As mentors, we seek to help our mentees feel welcomed, valued, and part of their own learning process. We walk alongside them, providing support and insight, and encouraging reflection, risk-taking, and confidence in their growing skills. The mentorship relationship will grow and change with time, and that is a good thing. The way that relationship between mentor and mentee develops allows for learning to flow back and forth, and for a guided, yet organic, method of growth to occur.

When I mentor someone I talk with them. I prod them when they need it. I’m a sounding board. They are the team leader and I’m their point person, their support person. When they need something I can’t do, or I don’t know, I find them that resource, or that other person that does know something more, or even different than me, and I make that connection.

When you’re a mentor, you’re in it for the long game, and certainly not for any sense of immediate glory. You start with your mentee, where ever they may be along their path, and you walk with them. Within many organizations, there is this push as a mentor to get your mentee over the threshold of whatever it is that you’re mentoring them for. Whether you’re mentoring them as a prospective leader of your organization, as a student teacher, or as an aspiring priest. The push is to get them to that new position. To get them to and through that Rite of Passage.

But that isn’t enough. It isn’t good enough for the mentor to lead that person, their mentee, up to the threshold of this new position in their life, and then shove them over it. Especially when there may or may not be someone on the other side to catch them, and reintegrate them back into their organization, or society, or church as a person with this new role. When you go through a transition, a Rite of Passage, there is a state of liminality that occurs. And after the state of liminality there is a state of communitas, of being part of the community.

Part of the role of a mentor, and especially for me with how I view my role as an Initiate, is to walk with that person up to the threshold, through the liminal space and time with them, and be there for them on the other side as well, to help them adjust to their new role.

I’ve had some great mentors, especially as I’ve entered the ADF Priesthood. They’ve encouraged me and given me the opportunity to grow and learn and take chances. They’ve been there for me when I struggle, and cheered me one when I’ve succeeded. The best have also been the ones that walked with me at the beginning of my path, and have continued to walk with me at each successive step along the way. These mentors, they’ve helped me navigate these waters and come to grips with my Vocation, my Calling. They’ve become my peers.

So, what are some dispositions and qualities that good mentors have? What does being a good mentor look like? What does a good mentor do, especially internally? Here are some ideas:

Leaders are Always Growing

This is excerpted from my Leadership Development course, and refers to what I see as my own strengths and weaknesses as a leader, particularly as a leader within ADF.

When considering how I fit within the context of leadership in ADF, especially as it pertains to the organization as a whole and its members, I think I am strongest in Strategy, Shared Values, and Strengths/Skills. I have ideas how to keep moving us forward as a religion, and work to implement them, especially on a local level, with my peers. I identify strongly with ADFs Shared Values as stated in our Mission and Vision statements, and work to align my personal work with those shared values. I think the greatest strength of our church is our individual members. Everyone has something to bring to the table, and we can grow stronger as an organization by using these skills and making sure all feel like valued and contributing members.

I still have a lot I think I can improve on in Staff, Systems, and Style, as it relates to leadership. Because Staff refers to the people within an organization, and the general skill sets that they all have, I think that, although I am a people-person, this is someone that every one of us can continually improve on. I’ve been trying to make a point of making myself available to people who don’t have a local community. I spend time following and engaging in conversations with folks who I’m unfamiliar with, especially when they are seeking help, advice, or just other like-minded people practicing Druidry. I also do my best to make it to rituals at others groves, and to festivals, though I recognize that they are only a very small percentage of our membership, and so it must be coupled with distance communication with solitary and faraway members.

Because I believe our greatest strength as an organization is the people who are in it, I think it’s absolutely vital to continually get to know those people, and make sure that they have the opportunity to become familiar with me, and know that I’m someone they can reach out to at any point without fear of awkwardness or judgment. I love discussing Our Druidry with people, so I want continue to learn about the individuals of our membership: what their path is looking like, where they want to go, how to help them get there, what they’re carrying with them (skills, knowledge, burdens) on the journey. I’m an extrovert most of the time, but prefer in depth one on one conversations, so in order to improve this particular Leadership Skill I need to be cognizant of my inclination to want to continue long in depth conversations with people I know, and be able and willing to step outside that comfort zone and make myself available to others.

As far as improving Systems, I think there is a lot to be done as far as the organization itself is concerned to improve these, and I have ideas on how to help. I can improve this by continuing to follow my vocation and drive, and work on not sitting quietly, but instead taking a more active role in the changes that can and are happening. I see our study programs continuing to grow and evolve as we get more members, and more specialized knowledge. I see those study courses each having a rubric, both to help the student as they’re writing, and to help the reviewer as they are evaluating. Most of all, I see more active work happening as far as creation of useful materials for members, especially solitaries. The more practical and supplemental help we can provide for those walking the path of Our Druidry, like prayers, ritual scripts, meditations, tools, and other ideas, the better. The focus here is on contributing more towards improving the Systems that allow each individual member to more fully and accessibly experience Our Druidry.

Because I tend to be rather quiet (indirect and reserved) in many situations within ADF, in order to improve my leadership Style, what I need to work on most here is navigating when to flex that style. I need to work on flexing from indirect to direct so that my voice gets heard and taken seriously amongst all the other loud, forceful, and passionate voices. I also need to work on allowing my outgoing side to take precedence more often in non-in-person scenarios. It isn’t often a problem when I am with other people and conversing in-person. However, since due to the small and spread out nature of our organization, online and other distance communications are more regularly used, and in those situations I tend towards reserved. So working on being more outgoing when communicating over distance is another area of focused improvement for this.

What Makes a Good Leader in ADF?

This is excerpted from my Leadership Development course, which, as a whole, I found fascinating and useful in many different parts of my life.

When I think of leadership, the image that is in the forefront of my mind is the one where the leader is reaching down to pull others up the mountain. I think, above anything else, our job as leaders is ensure that we have a healthy community. There are many other things that go into it, of course, but you can’t be a leader of none. Leadership is service, especially in the context of an ADF Priest.

boss-leader-difference-climbing-a-mountain (“Boss Leader”)

Some of the qualities and skills that go into being a good leader are a strong focus on introspection and self-reflection, being aware of and knowledgeable about your community and members, and assuming positive intent.

When talking about introspection and self-reflection begin integral to leadership, there are many reasons why. When we work understand ourselves, we are able to not only engage in self-care, but are also better able to understand others. Self-reflection is important when dealing with potential burnout in yourself. You need to know when you’ve been pushing yourself too hard, and allow yourself a time out to kindle your own flame. You must keep your own flame bright, or you cannot show others it’s light.

You need self-reflection as well because you need to be aware that your words and your actions have weight, and you must be careful how you use that weight and influence. If others view you as a leader, then they are more likely to ascribe more weight to your words.

Introspection and self-reflection also allow you to continue to expand your worldview, and reach an understanding with multiple viewpoints. Be engaging in introspection, you can allow your views to continually change as needed to be adaptable to the situations at hand. You are better equipped to remain nonjudgmental in the face of adversity. You are more able to be as Teutates, the Gentle Gardener and Tender of the Tribe, and help new, innovative, and strong ideas to blossom and grow.

As a leader, you must be aware or your staff and their skill sets. This is a two-fold need for leaders. Not only does it allow you to know whom you can lean on for support, especially if you are pushing up against burnout, but it also means that you know the potential of the future. You will know who, and how, to build up and encourage those skilled individuals towards leadership.

Last, but certainly not least, it is important for leaders to assume positive intent, not nefarious motivations, in others. Oftentimes leaders are so passionate about their work that they get caught up in the details of the process, and can sometimes lose sight of the vision, of the bigger picture. It is vitally important for the health of the team and the larger community that the leader assumes we are all working towards the same bright vision, and though we may have different ideas on how to achieve it, each person is honestly doing their best.

Leadership Development 1

1) Define consensus and collaboration in your own words, give an example of how each can be applied in a grove setting, and explain which you prefer and why. (min. 250 words)

Consensus: noun

1) majority of opinion;

2) general agree or concord; harmony

collaboration: noun

1) the action of working with someone to produce or create something.

2) traitorous cooperation with an enemy.

Consensus is when, in a group setting, all the members of the group come together to make a decision on a specific issue, action, or situation. While consensus doesn’t have to be unanimous (though it can be) it is often the result of common thought and compromise. The connotation of consensus implies that while not everyone may agree on all points unequivocally, they are in general agreement with and can accept the decision. Consensus can be used in a grove setting where the group is brainstorming ideas for new projects, since that is a situation where ideas and issues can be brought up early on, so as to not interfere with the decision making process too much. We use consensus when we write the new stanza for our grove poem each year. Everyone can contribute new ideas, and then we mix them until everyone agrees. Poetry by committee is entertaining to the say the least, and somewhat exemplifies why I prefer collaboration to consensus. Consensus takes a long time, involves more compromise than is necessarily good, can be hung up by a single person who can’t or won’t agree to the compromises, an can leave less direct individuals feeling like their opinion and voice wasn’t heard.

Collaboration is when a small group comes together, often guided by a lead member, to create something or solve a problem that has arisen. It involves taking input from many sources and encouraging creativity and new ideas. It is most often goal driven, and the teams involved in collaboration may change based on what needs to be done. A grove can use collaboration when planning rituals. We often use the system of ritual teams, where we have a Druid-in-Charge (laity), a Priest-in-Charge, and 2-3 supporting ritual team members. This ritual team plans, writes, and assigns out parts for each of our high day rituals. I prefer collaboration to consensus because it allows a small group to come together to focus on tackling a specific project. There are less personalities involved, making the process smoother, and because the focus is more often on solving a problem, or entertaining multiple creative ideas in order to find a good outcome, rather than on finding something everyone can agree to, there is less hurt on a personal level.

2) Describe the following traits of leadership. Describe the types which best fit you. (minimum 100 words for each trait, and 100 words for the self-description)

There are Four Traits of leadership, with each trait divided into two opposing preferences. These preferences are expressed on a continuum, with most people falling somewhere between the two extremes.

Influencing

The Influencing Trait ranges from Indirect to Direct, and qualifies how you express thoughts, present ideas, and assert yourself. It has to do with communication. It is not a measure of how influential someone is, but refers how they prefer to go about influencing others. The Influencing Trait does not measure assertiveness, power, or self-confidence (Handley “Training” 17-8).

a) Direct – A direct style of influencing involves straightforward talk and body language. The direct individual is willing to debate ideas, is confident and self-assured, and tends to tell people what to do, rather than ask them. They are bold, and will say exactly what they mean without dancing around the topic. A direct individual is good at taking charge, especially in situations that need a clear direction or someone to take point on decision-making. They are good at getting issues out in the open, especially issues that other more indirect individuals may feel more hesitant abut broaching. They are good at encouraging frank discussion of issues, and encourage all participants to lay all their cards on the table. Direct individuals need to be conscious of how blunt they are being, as well as how much air time they are using. Are they allowing other more indirect individuals openings and opportunities to talk, engage in discussions, and be heard? (Handley “Training”26-34)

b) Indirect – An indirect style of influence involves more diplomacy than a direct style of influence. The indirect individual is more likely to be intimately aware of how their word choice, phrasing, and timing will effect their communication and ability to influence someone to their way of thinking. They are tactful, modest, and approachable people, often open to negotiation and hearing multiple sides of an issue before nudging the conversation in the direction they want to see it going. Indirect individuals use a supportive approach, guiding conversation so that others think ideas are theirs, and then supporting them in making that idea reality. They are likely to present their ideas in an unassuming, often Socratic, manner. They will ask for tasks to be done rather than telling people to do them. They are good at facilitating discussion and mediating conflicts. Indirect individuals need to be conscious of their unassuming nature and diplomacy to be sure they don’t drift into the realm of manipulation. They should also be aware that their gentle approach may be mistaken for a lack of confidence in their opinions, and sometimes not worthy of consideration because of that (Handley “Training”18-25).

Responding

The Responding Trait ranges from Reserved to Outgoing, and qualifies how you approach and respond to others, particularly groups. In other personality tests this is the same scale that measures introversion and extroversion. (Handley “Training” 35).

c) Reserved -A reserved style of responding describes an individual who prefers deep one-on-one discussions and prefers to have the time to thoroughly think out their responses to people before voicing an opinion. They tend to be quiet in large groups, but very engaged in small groups. They recharge from stress by taking time for themselves. In addition to their style of verbally communicating, they also tend to have reserved body language, minimized facial expressions, and use few gestures. This doesn’t mean they aren’t feeling emotions, but rather that they don’t tend to show those emotions publicly. Reserved individuals often do not share a lot about themselves, and may take a long time to build a trusting relationship with and get to know. One thing that is important to note is that the reserved trait is not the same as shyness or lack of self-esteem. A reserved individual just doesn’t talk when they don’t feel like talking, and tends to abhor small talk (Handley “Training” 35-42).

d) Outgoing – An outgoing style of responding describes an individual who on other personality scales is often referred to as “extroverted.” They tend to be talkative and enjoy group settings. When working through issues and problems, they are far more likely to talk out the issue, rather than think it over by themselves in order to clarify how they feel. They are more likely to verbally process information. They recharge from stress by finding like-minded people to be around, discuss their stresses with, and generally socialize and connect with people. Outgoing individuals are open and expressive, and the often use large gestures when communicating. They stay in contact with friends, family, and acquaintances easily and frequently, and are good at making others feel at ease around them (Handley “Training” 43-48).

Pacing

The Pacing Trait ranges from Urgent to Steady, and qualifies the speed at which you make decisions and take action. It has to do with how an individual goes about their tasks. It is not a measure of energy level, soundness of decision-making skills, or productivity. To judge those qualities it is more useful to look at how dedicated and motivated an individual is (Handley “Training” 49-50).

e) Urgent -An urgent style of pacing describes an individual who is able to make quick decision by considering only the most important information. Too many choices and alternative options don’t bog them down because they prioritize importance well. They are able to act quickly and easily adapt to change. Urgent individuals do well in leadership roles that have many short-term projects. They are good at jumping at opportunities as they arise and working with many projects at the same time. They can move an organization quickly towards a goal. Because they are quick to react, they do need to be aware of how their emotions and frustration effect their communication, as they are often described as having short fuses (Handley “Training” 50-56).

f) Steady -A steady style of pacing describes an individual who is persistent, deliberate, and loyal. They are not slow, but rather carefully consider as many options as possible before making a decision, and are not impulsive. They would rather be sure that all research has been done well, and are willing to wait for other options to open up, rather than jump to a hasty conclusion. Steady individual have an excellent long view, and are good at seeing the bigger picture and how cascading decisions may play out down the road. They do well with long-term projects that require careful research, and more easily overcome boredom associated with drawn out tasks. They have long fuses, and are slow to get emotional and frustrated about situations, but also often have long memories when they do reach a breaking point. They often appear easy going, calm, and amiable (Handley “Training” 57-64).

Organizing

The Organizing Trait ranges from Unstructured to Precise, and how you structure time, organize tasks, and handle details. It has a lot to do with task achievement and how details for completing those tasks are managed. It is not a measure of performance, results, or quality, which are better predicted by intelligence, experience, and motivation (Handley “Training” 65).

g) Unstructured – An unstructured style of organizing describes an individual who prefers flexibility, diving straight into projects and tasks, and is focused on the outcome rather than the process. They are good at coping with rapidly changing environments and are creative at finding new and different solutions to projects. They often will let little tasks pile up, but are good at taking care of emergency things right away. They are also good sources for creative thinking, and can function well in disorganized environments. They prefer to be given a task and then turned loose to solve it. As leaders, they trust their team to get the job done, and will just expect the results at the end. Unstructured individuals need to be aware when a task and process has been well researched and if it would be better to follow the set guidelines to save themselves trouble, or if something is new and different, and their approach will be a good opportunity to discover new ways to do things (Handley “Training” 65-72).

h) Precise -A precise style of organizing describes an individual who prefers to have a schedule and structure to how they manage time, tasks, and details. They are timely in their work and feedback, and seek to carefully schedule and plan. They have a method for each thing that needs to be done, and systems in place to make them more efficient in their work. Precise individuals see organization as a priority because it will allow everything else to flow smoothly. The seek order in their tasks and situations, and prefer predictability to change. They seek to improve systems and policies to benefit organizations as a whole (Handley “Training” 73-79).

Self-Description – I lean heavily toward being and steady and structured individual no matter what the situation is. Interestingly, in the professional world I tend towards being direct and reserved, but in my personal life I am the reverse of that, tending to be indirect and outgoing. These results are from taking the insight inventory for myself, and I certainly have a spectrum of traits. Within ADF I seem to be steady, structured, indirect, and then I flex pretty easily between reserved and outgoing as needed by the situation, though I am more frequently reserved in my leadership capacity within the organization (Handley “Interpretive”).

All of this together means that my strengths as a leader are my ability: to facilitate discussions without letting my personal thoughts and emotions get involved; to carefully phrase comments to present ideas in a non-conflicting manner; to do a lot of listening and let others talk more than me; to hold information confidential; to make others feel important and valued; to understand and empathize with the variety of factors that may be influencing peoples lives; to keep an open mind to alternative methods and solutions; to bring order and structure to disorganized or chaotic situations; and to see and establish ways to improve systems and policies that help make work flow more smoothly (Handley “Training” 2-5).

3) Define the seven primary skills of leadership.

These seven primary skills of leadership are based on the McKinsey 7S Model. They are divided into Hard and Soft skills. The hard skills are Strategy, Structure, and Systems, and are typically easier to define and management can directly influence them. The soft skills are Shared Values, Strengths/Skills, Style, and Staff, and are less tangible and more influenced by culture within the organization. The idea is that for an organization to perform well, these elements need to be aligned and will reinforce each other (Mind Tools).

Strategy – This is the plan to move the organization forward. In ADF it includes the plan to keep us a viable public neo-pagan religion, as far as how we provide training, run our business, and gain and retain our members.

Structure – This is the way the organization is structured on all levels; the hierarchy or who reports to whom.

Systems – These are the standard operating procedures for the organization. The things in place to keep tasks running smoothly.

Shared Values – These are the core values of the organization as seen in the work ethic and culture of the organization. Within ADF, this can be seen in our Vision and Mission Statement, as well as how various members interact with the subgroups and organization as a whole.

Strengths/Skills – These are the skills and competencies of each individual person within the organization. Within ADF, we have a huge variety of skilled individuals who all bring something to contribute to the table.

Style – This refers to the style of leadership within the organization. This varies within ADF depending on who the leader is in each specific role.

Staff – This refers to the people within the organization and the general skill sets they all have. For ADF, this can refer to each individual member and how their presence strengthens us as an organization.

a) Identify the three skills that you are strongest in.

I think I am strongest in Strategy, Shared Values, and Strengths/Skills. I have ideas how to keep moving us forward as a religion, and work to implement them, especially on a local level, with my peers. I identify strongly with ADFs Shared Values as stated in our Mission and Vision statements, and work to align my personal work with those shared values. I think the greatest strength of our church is our individual members. Everyone has something to bring to the table, and we can grow stronger as an organization by using these skills and making sure all feel like valued and contributing members.

b) Identify the three you are the weakest in and explain how you plan to improve these skills (min. 400 words describing improvement outlined in section “b” of this question)

I think I could use the most improvement in Staff, Systems, and Style.

Because Staff refers to the people within an organization, and the general skill sets that they all have, I think that, although I am a people-person, this is someone that every one of us can continually improve on. I’ve been trying to make a point of making myself available to people who don’t have a local community. I spend time following and engaging in conversations with folks who I’m unfamiliar with, especially when they are seeking help, advice, or just other like-minded people practicing Druidry. I also do my best to make it to rituals at others groves, and to festivals, though I recognize that they are only a very small percentage of our membership, and so it must be coupled with distance communication with solitary and faraway members.

4) Define the stages of burnout. Identify how you can utilize the strengths and skills of team members to avoid burnout in yourself and others. (minimum 200 words)

People who are involved in helping professions, like teaching, social work, medicine, and clergy work, face significantly higher risks for burnout. Often this is because they got into those fields of work because they are very passionate. However, the very fact that they care deeply, were ‘on fire’, puts them at greater risk for burnout (Hatfield).

Burnout is defined as “a debilitating psychological condition brought about by unrelieved work stress, resulting in:

Depleted energy and emotional exhaustion
Lowered resistance to illness
Increased depersonalization in interpersonal relationships
Increased dissatisfaction and pessimism
Increased absenteeism and work inefficiency” (Hatfield)

There are many different ways to divide up the stages of Burnout, however Hatfield and Gray, using the work of Veninga and Spradley, break burnout into the following five stages:

Stage 1: Honeymoon – The honeymoon stage is the baseline stage. This is where you have high job satisfaction, and even though there are stresses in the job, you develop coping strategies to manage them.

Stage 2: Balancing Act – In this stage you begin to notice that some days are better than others at your job, and how you’re dealing with the stresses varies day to day. There is a noticeable increase in job dissatisfaction, work inefficiency, fatigue and trouble sleeping, and engaging in various escapist activities.

Stage 3: Chronic Symptoms – In this stage, some of the same things that became noticeable in the Balancing Act Stage intensify, including chronic exhaustion, physical illness, and anger and/or depression.

Stage 4: Crisis – At this point, the symptoms from the previous two stages as they relate to your work life become critical and spread even further into all aspects of your life. The physical symptoms of burnout intensify or increase in number, you’re constantly obsessing over the frustrations with your job, you’re pessimistic and full of self-doubt, and you seek ways to just get out.

Stage 5: Enmeshment – In the enmeshment stage, the symptoms of severe burnout are so entangled in your life that you’re more likely to be diagnosed as having some other physical or mental ailment, than you are to be labeled as a burnout case (Hatfield).

Burnout is a serious problem in organizations, and especially in those organizations that are involved in the business of helping people. According to Maslach and Leiter, burnout occurs when there are mismatches between the nature of the job and the nature of the person doing the job (Maslach 9). Often the value of the worker, the human, comes far behind the value of the job itself, especially when money is involved. These mismatches happen when we feel overloaded, when we lack control over what we do, when we are not rewarded for our work, when we’re experiencing a breakdown in community, when we aren’t treated fairly, and when we’re dealing with conflicting values. Burnout is an erosion of the soul, as we lose value, dignity, spirit, and will, and the further it goes, the more difficult it is to recover from. People who are burned out become exhausted, cynical, and ineffective (Maslach 9-17).

Dealing with and preventing burnout is a team effort. Because burnout is a problem with the social environment of the job, there needs to be a shift in culture to help prevent and treat burnout. Burnout says a lot about the conditions that workers are in, and it is not the individual that needs to change, but rather the organization as a whole (Maslach 18-21). The steps to navigate the process often start with one person sharing their dissatisfaction and gathering a group together to work on coming up with ways to solve burnout factors. They then connect those proposed solutions to the organization as a whole and work to affect the related mismatches that are causing burnout. And, because things in the work keep changing, the outcome of this process remains a process, continuing to work towards reducing the burnout factors for those in the organization (Maslach 79-83).

If you are experiencing burnout, you can lean on your team members for support in dealing with the job stressors when you’re in the early stages of burnout, but in order to mitigate the underlying problem, and not just the symptoms, a team effort is needed. It can start with you as an individual, but will need to progress with the support of a team, and the organization as a whole, to continue to help manage the reasons burnout is occurring.

5) Using the information you have learned in this course, what do you feel makes a person an effective leader in ADF? (min. 200 words)

boss-leader-difference-climbing-a-mountain (“Boss Leader”)

Works Cited:

“Boss Leader Difference Climbing a Mountain.” StareCat.com. N.p., 24 Mar. 2015. Web. 31 Mar. 2016. <http://starecat.com/boss-leader-difference-climbing-a-mountain/>.

“collaboration.” Dictionary.com. Web. 26 Mar. 2016.

“consensus.” Dictionary.com. Web. 26 Mar. 2016.

Handley, Patrick, Ph.D. “Interpretive Guide.” Insight Inventory. Insight Institute, 2012. Web. 14 Mar. 2016. <http://www.insightinstitute.com/successcenter/manuals-guides/eInsight/ Participant-booklet-2012-V12.indd/index.html>.

Handley, Patrick, Ph.D. “Training Guide.” Insight Inventory. Insight Institute, 2012. Web. 14 Mar. 2016. <http://www.insightinstitute.com/successcenter/manuals-guides/Insight-Training-G-2012.indb/index.html#/18/>.

Hatfield, Tim, Ph.D., and Lee Gray, Ed.D. “Burnout.” Stress Management Website. Winona State University, 18 May 1998. Web. 29 Mar. 2016. <http://www.winona.edu/stress/ 9Burnout.HTML>.

Maslach, Christina, and Michael P. Leiter. The Truth about Burnout: How Organizations Cause Personal Stress and What to Do about It. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, 1997. Print.

Mind Tools Editorial Team. “The McKinsey 7-S Framework.” Mind Tools. Mind Tools Ltd., n.d. Web. 24 Mar. 2016. <https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newSTR_91.htm>.

Things No One Told You About Being a Priest

There are a lot of things about being a priest that aren’t in any of the training, and that you really only learn or experience once you’re on that path. This is an ever-evolving list of things that have surprised me, that I’ve learned and experienced, and that I’ve reflected on since becoming clergy. They’re not really organized in any particular order. Perhaps at some point I’ll organize them, or write more deeply about some of them. I have bolded a few of the more important ones, or at least the ones that I keep coming back to.

If you are thinking about the clergy path, or are already on it (at whatever point in your journey you may be), please, feel free to reach out to me. I know that I process best when I have conversations with others, and like talking about these issues. So, no need to feel shy about it. Reflecting like this is part of growing and learning.

Continue reading →

Using Indo-European Liturgical Language

1) Translate the following liturgical phrases into your Hearth Culture language:

Modern Greek – dictionary used noted in the Bibliography section

We are here to honor the Gods.
1. Είμαστε εδώ για να τιμήσει τους Θεούς – Eímaste edó gia na timísei tous Theoús
So Be It. (or a similar finalizing statement)
1. Let it be! – έστω – ésto
Ancestors, accept our offering!
1. Ancestors, accept this sacrifice! – πρόγονοί, αποδεχθεί αυτή θυσία – prógonoi, apodechtheí aftí thysía
Nature Spirits, accept our offering!
1. Spirits of Nature, accept this sacrifice! – πνεύματα της φύσης, αποδεχθεί αυτή θυσία – pnévmata tis fýsis, apodechtheí aftí thysía
Gods (Deities), accept our offering!
1. Gods, accept this sacrifice! – θεοι, αποδεχθεί αυτή θυσία – theoi, apodechtheí aftí thysía
Sacred Well, flow within us!
1. ιερή πηγάδι, ροή μέσα μας – ierí pigádi, roí mésa mas
Sacred Tree, grow within us!
1. Sacred tree, grow within us – ιερή δέντρονα, φτάσει σε ύψος μέσα μας – ierí déntro, na ftásei se ýpsos mésa mas
2. Sacred mountain, rise within us – ιερή βουνό, υψώνομαι μέσα μας – ierí vounó, ypsónomai mésa mas
Sacred Fire, burn within us!
1. ιερή φωτιά, καίγεται μέσα μας – ierí fotiá, kaígetai mésa mas
Let the Gates be open!
1. Let the way between/path be open! – προκαλούν οι διαδρομές για να ανοίξετε – prokaloún oi diadromés gia na anoíxete
Gods, give us the Waters!
1. θεοι, μας δίνουν την αγιασμός – theoi, mas dínoun tin agiasmós
Behold, the Waters of Life!
1. ιδού το αγιασμός της ζωής – idoú to agiasmós tis zoís
Ancestors, we thank you.
1. Ancestors, we thank you – πρόγονοί, εμείς σας ευχαριστούμε – prógonoi, emeís sas efcharistoúme
Nature Spirits, we thank you.
1. Spirits of Nature, we thank you – πνεύματα της φύσης, εμείς σας ευχαριστούμε – pnévmata tis fýsis, emeís sas efcharistoúme
Gods (Deities), we thank you.
1. Gods, we thank you – θεοι, εμείς σας ευχαριστούμε – theoi, emeís sas efcharistoúme
Let the Gates be closed!
1. Let the way between/path be closed! – προκαλούν οι διαδρομές για να κλείσει – prokaloún oi diadromés gia na kleísei

2) What do you consider to be the importance of using phrases in a hearth culture language other than Modern English (or your own native language) in ADF ritual? (Minimum 200 words)

Because all ADF rituals follow the same order of ritual, they often look very similar. This is important because it allows us a commonality of practice with ADF. However, the importance of using hearth culture language within an ADF ritual stems from the ability to add that hearth culture flavor to the ritual. This can allow the folk to connect more deeply to the spirits and hearth culture in general, however it can also cause confusion and disconnect from the ritual as a whole if the language becomes a barrier to understanding and engagement. The benefits of using your non-native language within a ritual I think largely depend on the size of the ritual and familiarity of the group.

In a large group ritual, I think hearth culture language should be kept to a minimum. It works best when it is short, and/or doesn’t carry important liturgical meaning. Simple phrases, like “so be it!” often work well. They are short, to the point, and often easy to repeat. However, longer phrases that are important to the liturgy, especially if the folk are expected to repeat them, can make it more difficult to connect. This is particularly true of folks who do not follow the hearth culture in question. If the folk don’t know what is being said, they will have a harder time focusing their intent and staying engaged with the ritual. The phrases within this course are often the ones that we use as call and response phrases in our grove. I wouldn’t want to use them in a large group ritual because those call and response phrases are an important part of our liturgical flow, and help bring the folk and their energy into the ritual. I think it’s important that they know what the phrases they’re saying mean. For instance, when connecting to the Fire, Well, and Tree, and we say “Sacred Tree, Grow within me!”, if the folk don’t know what that phrase means, they will not have the benefit of that guided and deepening connection. The trouble with using your non-native language in ritual can be seen historically as well with the Catholic Church, who had trouble with its congregants due in large part to a language barrier (Placher 186-7).

In a small group ritual, where all the participants are familiar with both the ritual structure, and the phrases being used, I think it can be a powerful tool. The use of hearth culture language can help the folk feel more deeply connected to a specific hearth culture. There is some intense power and group-mind building that can happen when all in the ritual know what is going on. I have felt this when I practiced with my Hellenic Demos, and the language came easily, we all knew what it meant, and it was tied to our own practice. I have also felt the power in it a little bit when I’ve attended a ritual put on my Grove of the Midnight Sun, and they’ve made calls in Old Norse. The difference there I think is that I didn’t have to repeat the phrases, and sometimes the phrases were translated into English for us following the Old Norse. I could feel the energy shift, though still felt a slight sense of disconnect from the ritual itself due to not understanding what had been said.

Bibliography

“English to Greek.” Word Reference. Web. 9 Mar. 2016.

“Google Translate.” Google Translate. Web. 11 Mar. 2016.

Negre, Xaiver. “Modern Greek Dictionary Online Translation.” Words and Wonders of the World. Lexilogos, 2002. Web. 11 Mar. 2016.

Placher, William C. Readings in the History of Christian Theology. Philadelphia, PA: Westminster, 1988. Google Books. Web. 11 Mar. 2016.

Sophistes, Apollonius. “Hellenic Magic Ritual.” Hellenic Magical Ritual. Biblioteca Arcana, 2000. Web. 7 Mar. 2016.

Sophistes, Apollonius, and Thexalon. “Ritual Phrases in Greek.” Oi Asproi Koukouvayies: White Owls Kin. Ár NDraíocht Féin: A Druid Fellowship, n.d. Web. 7 Mar. 2016.

The *ghosti of Our Own Druidry

Five Gifts

Reciprocity is an essential component to walking the path of Our Own Druidry. This is familiar to many of us in the context of ritual: we give gifts to the Spirits that we may build a relationship with them, and receive their gifts in turn. This relationship of reciprocity is also important in how we interact with each other and with our community as a whole. A healthy community is supported by the gifts of its folk so that it may then support each of those individuals. There are many ways to engage in this *ghosti relationship. Many ways to give, and many ways to receive. We can give the Gift of Prayer. We can give the Gift of Inspiration. We can give the Gift of Community. We can give the Gift of Wealth. We can give the Gift of Service. The more we strive to share these Gifts, the stronger our community will grow, and the more fulfilled we will be in Our Own Druidry.

The Gift of Prayer – Rta. We maintain right action and right relationship with the Gods and Spirits. It is important work to ensure that the proper sacrifices are made at the proper times. We write liturgy and lead rituals. We know the cycles and seasons, and we keep the High Days. We pray on behalf of those who need and request it. When we commune with the Kindreds and engage in a *ghosti relationship with them, we are giving the Gift of Prayer and upholding the Work and Vision of Ár nDraíocht Féin.

The Gift of Inspiration– Lead others to the flame. We give workshops and create teaching materials. We do community outreach and explain our beliefs to the curious. We welcome those seekers of the Old Ways into our path. When we ignite the fire within others that they may walk the path of Our Own Druidry, we are giving the Gift of Inspiration and brightening the Work and Vision of Ár nDraíocht Féin.

The Gift of Community – One fire. One hearth. Our community with each other is what makes us strong. We embody the spirit of Hospitality. We can give the gift of community by being present and thoughtful in our online pagan communities, by attending and participating in our local pagan communities, and by being a listening ear and a sounding board to others in our community. When we are consistently present in the lives of those practicing Our Own Druidry, we are giving the Gift of Community and being part of the Work and Vision of Ár nDraíocht Féin.

The Gift of Wealth – Wealth that is hoarded is not wealth at all. This is a common theme across our Indo-European Hearth Cultures. When we give of our wealth, our tangible resources, we are manifesting the essence of “movable wealth.” Do ut des. “I give so that you may give” means that as we give in support of our community, they in turn will be able to give in support of us. When we give of our monetary resources, we are giving the Gift of Wealth and supporting the Work and Vision of Ár nDraíocht Féin.

The Gift of Service– Everyone in ADF is an expert at something. Everyone has a talent or skill that can benefit others. Sharing our special knowledge and our time is something that everyone can do. There are many tasks in the work of Our Own Druidry that just require someone to donate their time, or their specific skill set, to see a task through. We help set-up and tear-down ritual space. We organize potlucks and take dishes home to wash. We schedule and attend meetings. We hold an office in a grove or subgroup. We review coursework. When we share our talents and our time, we are giving the Gift of Service and contributing to the Work and Vision of Ár nDraíocht Féin.

Five Gifts: Prayer, Inspiration, Community, Wealth, and Service. These are ways that we can give of ourselves to support the Work and Vision of Ár nDraíocht Féin. In sharing these things we will find that we are given great blessings in return as our community is strengthened, we are valued and supported, and the path of Our Own Druidry is brightened.

Theater for Ritual 1

1) Describe the origins of theatre and how it relates to ritual in at least one ancient Indo-European culture. (300 words minimum)

We don’t have too much direct evidence of early theater, but from what sources remain, mainly wall paintings and other artifacts, we can surmise that theater began as a way to relate events and stories that the culture considered important to preserve. The relation of stories and events was cyclical in ancient cultures, and as the actions of the storytellers, or ritualists, were carried out, so was the actual act within our world manifested. Thus, these ceremonies where experiences were related were also a way of making sure those experiences would happen, such with a hunting ritual echoing the desired outcome of the hunt. “These actions moved from habit, to tradition, and then on to ceremony and ritual.” Then, as ritual and theater became entwined, as the ceremonies and stories began to be valued for their entertainment, and as the rehearsal and repetition of the stories continued to grow, they moved more towards what we see as the basis for modern theater, as seen in Ancient Greece and other Indo-European cultures (Robinson).

Within Ancient Greece, theater, ritual, and myth were well entwined, and drama itself became a way to honor Dionysos, one of the Greek gods, particularly during Dionysia ta astika, the City Dionysia. During this festival one of the big things that would happen was a competition of various dramatic works. It should be noted that the temple for Dionysos in Athens was within the theater precinct, indicating a distinct overlap in the use of theater and ritual. The plays that were performed “were never secular entertainment but always taught piety, morality and moderation, and the comedies afforded the poet a chance to make political statements that might not otherwise have been tolerated” (M, Sean). Interestingly, this was a festival that foreigners, outsiders, were able to take part in, whereas many of the civic celebrations in Ancient Greece were reserved for citizens and their families. Civic religion in Ancient Greece was notably separated from household worship, but in the case of ritual, the civic festivals contained elements of theater so that they would be accessible to all citizens within the city. The ritual honoring Dionysos came first, and was only later that this became an event more focused on entertainment, and thus, theater. We see this in the festivals like Dionysian ta astika where the entertainment that grew out of them was informed by the rituals that were their foundation.

2) Explain “intentional movement” and why it is important in ritual. Include how movement can both aid and detract from the ritual experience. (100 words minimum)

Intentional movement in the context of ritual is when all movements, from small gestures to full body movement, are performed with intent and focus. This means that when you gesture in ritual you only do so if it’s necessary, and you make the movement complete, rather than half-attempted, or half-hearted. This lends confidence and authority to your speech and any magical actions you may be making, and helps the audience focus on your words and better direct their own energy to the task at hand. It can also help solidify the look of a ritual, and get all celebrant and ritualists in the same headspace, if all celebrants are making the same gestures and motions. For example, if you include a gesture when praying to the Shining Ones, such as raising your arms, raise them completely into position, and be willing and able to hold that position for the whole invocation. Don’t be surprised if many of the other celebrants and Folk copy your motions. Likewise, when you move in ritual, you should only move when necessary to get from point A to point B, such as to make an offering or take the Waters around to the Folk. When gesture and movement are not intentional, this has a number of effects, including making the ritual and ritualist look unpolished and unsure of themselves, as well as distracting the Folk gathered and thus disrupting the flow of energy in the ritual (Thomas “Well Trained Ritualist”).

3) Explain your understanding of the circles of concentration. (200 words minimum)

The Circles of Concentration, as Rev. Thomas describes, are about finding a focus in ritual in order to both lead and experience a better ritual in terms of energy and logistics. There are four circles that exist in a ritual with more than one or two people. The first circle encompasses the self. The focus on this level is all about your own awareness (where you are, what you’re saying, etc.), and being able to continue to act without giving in to the critic that is babbling away in the back of your mind about all the things you might be doing wrong. I would also say that the focus on the self in this first circle is important to maintain the self, especially in the face of doing intense trance or magical work, where the boundaries between what is you, and what is another may blur (Thomas “Circles of Concentration”).

The second circle encompasses not only the self, but also the other celebrants in the rite. The focus on this level is about staying aware of the other celebrants for logistical purposes, but also feeling connected to them on an energetic level so that you are able to work in harmony with each other. This harmony between all the celebrants leads to a more fulfilling rite both amongst themselves, and for the ritual attendees (Thomas “Circles of Concentration”).

Which brings us to the third circle, which encompasses not only the self and the other celebrants, but also the Folk. The focus on this level is about being attuned to the Folk. Can they hear? Can they see? Are they engaged? This is the circle that I often refer to as the “Bardic Lasso.” When I am acting in the role of Bard for a rite, it is not simply the person who brings the lyrics to pass out and leads the songs. The Bard is the person who is intimately aware of the energy level and engagement of the Folk, and helps to hold everyone together in the ritual, and bring the energy level up and down as needed throughout the rite (Thomas “Circles of Concentration”).

The fourth circle encompasses not only all the human players at a rite, but also the otherworldly participants, the spirits. The focus on this level is where the purpose of the rite often is: feeling a connection with the spirits. A strong fourth circle will allow the celebrant to effectively call to a spirit, and as they see the spirit approach, because they are still connected to the second and third circles, so too will the other celebrants and the Folk. This allows everyone present at the ritual to feel that connection (Thomas “Circles of Concentration”).

4) Describe the advantages and disadvantages of the three ritual configurations (proscenium, thrust, and round). Note how a ritualist can maximize the advantages and minimize the disadvantages of each configuration. Offer at least one type of ritual that would work best in each configuration. (100 words min. for each configuration)

The three types of ritual configurations are proscenium, thrust, and round. There are advantages and disadvantages to each configuration.

A proscenium configuration is where the audience is arranged in rows facing a (often raised) stage. This is the configuration that Three Cranes Grove uses in our Dublin Irish Festival Lughnassadh Rite, which typically draws between 300 and 400 people. Some advantages that make this the configuration that makes the most sense, particularly for this ritual, are that the majority of the audience has no problem seeing the celebrants, and since we are mic’ed, hearing us as well. Some disadvantages to this configuration are the possibility of being accidentally upstaged by another celebrant who is onstage as they move or fidget, as well as the distance from the celebrants to the audience lessening the energy flow between the two and a decrease in the interactiveness on the part of the audience. Another disadvantage that we’ve had to account for by having rehearsals is the stage size and amount of celebrants with speaking parts. When the stage is small, only so many people can be active celebrants in order to minimize time between parts. We also have to rehearse movement and blocking so that everyone knows where they should be, and how to get from Point A to Point B when they have to move (Thomas “Well Trained Ritualist”).

A thrust configuration is where three sides of the ritual space have audience members, and the altar typically takes up the fourth side, pushed slightly forward. This is the configuration we use for the vast majority of our public rituals in Three Cranes Grove. One advantage is that when a celebrant has to speak they can put their back either to the altar or to the fourth side, so that no audience members are behind them. We often stand in front of the altar for all speaking parts that don’t requiring working at the altar, such as taking the Omen or working the Return Flow. This could be a disadvantage, and does require awareness on the part of the speaking celebrant that they don’t turn to make an offering as they are still speaking because this turns their back to a portion of the audience while they are still talking, and thus those people can’t easily hear them. There is also the advantage to this configuration as it relates to energy flow and participation of the audience. The audience can feel a part of the action (Thomas “Well Trained Ritualist”).

A round configuration is where the action and speaking all happens within the center of a circle (or egg shape, as a lot of our “rounds” end up being). This is the configuration we use in a lot of the semi-public and private rituals, such as members-only Druid Moon rites, at Three Cranes Grove. When we set up this space it is most often outside, and the fire is at the center. If we have a more formal altar, it is either at the center near the fire or off to one side of the ritual space. Because this space has a lot of disadvantages as far as the audience being able to effectively hear or see what is going on, we rarely use it for larger rites, and try to stick to rite where all the audience members are intimately familiar with the ritual structure and often will all have some part that requires participation as well. The advantages we experience using this space is that each person is a part of the action, and in these smaller rites, folks can make personal offerings to the Kindreds from all sides of the fire without the awkwardness that often happens with folks waiting in line to approach the fire. I find this configuration is also extremely useful in magical work because the energy flow is so much better. The person who is leading the magical working stands at the center to direct (both the folk and the energy), making sure to turn their head and body as needed so all in the circle can see and hear (Thomas “Well Trained Ritualist”).

5) Choose a being of the occasion appropriate to a specific high day of your choosing and describe a theatrical method of conveying the mythology of that being to others during a public performance. (300 words minimum)

For Three Cranes Grove Spring Equinox Rite in 2015, we chose to honor the Vedic Gods, specifically Indra. Indra is a Thunder-God, and the being that won the Waters for the Folk in Vedic Lore. We get many spring thunderstorms in Central Ohio (along with the occasional tornado, derecho, and general rainy weather), and as such Indra seemed like a deity that many could find a connection with, even if they did not follow the Vedic Gods in particular. The story of Winning the Waters is one that is not only common across Indo-European cultures, but also essential to our understanding of the Waters of Life within ADF. This meant that the Folk were already familiar with the idea of these Blessed Waters being given to us by the Shining Ones, and that they could make connections of that winning of Waters to their own gods.

Because we’ve been working on incorporating children’s programming into every ritual, and because the Vedic mythology is not something that many in our community are familiar with (most leaning Celtic or Norse in their practice), this was an excellent opportunity to tell this story in a way that involved the children of our Grove as well as was easily understandable by all attendees. To this end I wrote a short play with three main parts, and a selection of other less involved or optional parts, to tell the story of Indra winning the Waters during the Return Flow section of the ritual. I kept the lexile (reading level) of the play low in order to help the children learn their lines and to make it easier for everyone to understand. I referred to the Rig Veda (1.32) when writing the text in order to pull lore-specific imagery in to the text. (I have included the text of the playlet below.)

The ritual was performed in the thrust configuration, and thus so was the play itself. The audience was arrayed in a general arch shape around the altar and the performers. This made it fairly easy for everyone to see and hear, though we did have to account for some rather strong winds, and make an extra effort to speak loudly and clearly. The part of Indra and Vrtra were played by two of our older children, and they rehearsed their lines beforehand, and were quite confident. I was the officiant for this ritual, and employed the Circle of Concentration in this role. It was imperative, particularly because not only was I telling the story, but I was also working the magic for the Return Flow. Thus, I was aware of myself in my speaking role, aware of the children performing alongside me, aware of the folk watching the ritual, and aware (very keenly) of Indra as the Waters were infused with the blessings we received. It took a lot of concentration and a lot of energy to be able to old all of that energy and focus together, but I also felt it worked extremely well for relating the mythology of Indra winning the Waters and performing the magic of the Return Flow.

“Indra Wins the Waters”

This playlet was written for the children’s programming for Three Cranes Grove 2015 Spring Equinox Ritual honoring Indra.

Lexile: 680L (late 3rd grade, early 4th grade reading level)

Cast:

OFFICIANT: The person who is doing the Return Flow portion of the Ritual

INDRA: The Vedic Storm God

VRTRA: The Dragon

CELEBRANTS: The folk at the ritual

STORM-BRINGERS: sounds of the storm (can be the same as the CELEBRANTS if needed)

Optional Cast:

DRAGONS: Vrtra’s family

SACRED COWS: to represent the Waters and Blessings

*following the Seer’s pronouncement of a positive Omen*

OFFICIANT: These are indeed good omens.

OFFICIANT: But you should know that until Indra won the Waters for us, we could not have received these blessings because Vrtra the Dragon hoarded them all for himself and his family.

OFFICIANT: Here is Vrtra now, and he is holding onto [omen], [omen], and [omen].

VRTRA: These gifts are mine! All mine!

OFFICIANT: But the people wanted the blessings too, and they knew only the mighty Indra could help them now. So they called out with one voice: “Indra, Give us the Waters!”

CELEBRANTS: Indra! Give us the Waters!

OFFICIANT: Listen: Do you hear him coming? Here comes Indra the Storm-Bringer!

*STORM-BRINGERS shake noisemakers as Indra enters the stage*

OFFICIANT: In the thundering clouds with his lightning bolt in hand, Indra demands:

INDRA: Vrtra! You have to share the blessings!

OFFICIANT: Vrtra roars mightily and retorts:

VRTRA: No! These gifts are mine! All mine!

OFFICIANT: And the people knew Vrtra was going to hold onto those gifts of [omen], [omen], and [omen] with all of his might. So they again called out: “Indra! Give us the Waters!”

CELEBRANTS: Indra! Give us the Waters!

OFFICIANT: And Indra heard their plea and prepared to do whatever was necessary to win the waters for the people. He again shouted to Vrtra:

INDRA: Vrtra! You have to share the blessings!

OFFICIANT: But Vrtra again roared his denial and shrieked:

VRTRA: No! These gifts are mine! All mine!

OFFICIANT: Indra grew angry that Vrtra wouldn’t share the blessings with everyone, and as his anger grew, so too did the sound of the storm.

*STORM-BRINGERS shake noisemakers*

OFFICIANT: The people knew now was the moment. Now was the time to give Indra all their support. And so they called out one final time: “Indra! Give us the Waters!”

CELEBRANTS: Indra! Give us the Waters!

OFFICIANT: The storm rumbled as Indra went into battle with the mighty Vrtra, his lightning bolt held high. With a flash he struck down Vrtra with his lightning bolt. The Dragon bellowed as he fell.

OFFICIANT: The waters, the blessings, the gifts were now free. The mighty Indra won them away from Vrtra the Dragon and brought them to us.

*INDRA brings Waters to OFFICIANT*

OFFICIANT: These Waters are infused with the blessings of [omen], [omen], and [omen]. “Behold! The Waters of Life!”

OFFICIANT: As these Waters are poured out for each of us, remember how they were won for us, and how we sing the praises of the Storm God who won them.

OFFICIANT: See how the gifts of [omen], [omen], and [omen] can flow into our lives. See how they can flow into our grove. See how they can flow into our community. See how you and the world can be renewed and rejuvenated by these Waters so courageously won and freely given.

OFFICIANT: Drink deep, Children of Earth, and be blessed!

6) Explain how you would prepare and deliver three of the following pieces for public performance, and include an audio or video clip of your performance of each. (50 words min. each explanation)

Audio for all 3 pieces: https://youtu.be/g1Wum-1ukZ4

a) Strong meter and strong rhythm: selection 1

Ye who love the haunts of Nature,

Love the sunshine of the meadow,

Love the shadow of the forest,

Love the wind among the branches,

And the rain-shower and the snow-storm,

And the rushing of great rivers

Through their palisades of pine-trees,

And the thunder in the mountains,

Whose innumerable echoes

Flap like eagles in their eyries;-

Listen to these wild traditions,

To this Song of Hiawatha!

When reading a text with strong meter and rhythm it is important to take note of the punctuation, and when delivering it, speak to the end of the punctuation, not just to the end of the line. You must plan beats and word emphasis. In this piece in particular, that means lines 6 to 7 and lines 9 to 10 should be read through without undue pause at the line break. It is also important to note where there are literary devices that are included for emphasis in the poem, for example, the parallel structure in lines 2, 3, and 4 with “Love the…” and the alliteration in lines 6, 7, and 10 with “rushing…rivers”, “palisades…pine”, and “eagles…eyries”.

c) Complex thought with complex meter: selection 3

Context: Hamlet has discovered that his uncle murdered his father to gain the throne. Hamlet is wracked with indecision about how to avenge his father and has gone into a deep depression, which stifles any action he might take. In this speech he has just seen a Player enact an emotional scene about the death of Hecuba, queen of Troy.

O, what a rogue and peasant slave am I!

Is it not monstrous that this player here,

But in a fiction, in a dream of passion,

Could force his soul so to his own conceit

That from her working all his visage wann’d,

Tears in his eyes, distraction in’s aspect,

A broken voice, and his whole function suiting

With forms to his conceit? and all for nothing! For Hecuba!

What’s Hecuba to him, or he to Hecuba,

That he should weep for her? What would he do,

Had he the motive and the cue for passion

That I have? He would drown the stage with tears

And cleave the general ear with horrid speech,

Make mad the guilty and appall the free,

Confound the ignorant, and amaze indeed

The very faculties of eyes and ears. Yet I,

A dull and muddy-mettled rascal, peak,

Like John-a-dreams, unpregnant of my cause,

And can say nothing;

Again, it is important to take note of the punctuation, and when delivering it, speak to the end of the punctuation, not just to the end of the line. Hamlet is speaking here in angst, not just in poetic meter. It is also important to know the emotion that is meant to be conveyed in the text and relate that in voice and tone, as well as words spoken. In this case, Hamlet in self-deprecating and indecisive, not sure what to do as he’s preoccupied still with his father’s death.

d) Prose: selection 4

But Skadi, daughter of giant Thiassi, took helmet and mail-coat and all weapons of war and went to Asgard to avenge her father. But the Aesir offered her atonement and compensation, the first item of which was that she was to choose herself a husband out of the Aesir and choose by the feet and see nothing else of them. Then she saw one person’s feet that were exceptionally beautiful and said:

“I choose that one; there can be little that is ugly about Baldr.” But it was Niord of Noatun.

It was also in her terms of settlement that the Aesir were to do something that she thought they would not be able to do, that was to make her laugh. Then Loki did as follows: he tied a cord round the beard of a certain nanny-goat and the other end round his testicles, and they drew each other back and forth and both squealed loudly. Then Loki let himself drop into Skadi’s lap, and she laughed. Then the atonement with her on the part of the Aesir was complete.

It is said that Odin, as compensation for her, did this: he took Thiassi’s eyes and threw them up into the sky and out of them made two stars.

In this one, it is again important to note what the emotion is in the story. In this case, there are points of the story that are humorous, and so knowing where that humor is, and acknowledging it with your facial expressions, is important in conveying it. I also had to check pronunciation on a few of the names in this one (Thiassi and Noatun), being unfamiliar with them. Generally, this means that I needed to work on speaking through them with confidence.

7) Write a statement of purpose for a rite of your choosing and one invitation for each of the Three Kindreds. Submit a video (of no more than ten minutes of total length) of your performance of all four pieces.

Hellenic Full Moon Rite Statement of Purpose: https://youtu.be/xXOxwc6NJko

O Makares, Blessed Ones,

I call out to you on this night of the full moon,

As it grows in power, ever luminescent.

We come to you each month

As the moon waxes and wanes

marking this time as sacred

and this place as sacred.

We come now to makes offerings

as our ancestors did before.

To reforge the sacred *ghosti bond.

Be welcome Theoi

and join us in our rite.

Ancestors: https://youtu.be/qgcf2vBUPoA

The Children of the Earth call out to the Ancestors!

Those of our blood and our bone,

Those of our heart and your hearth,

Those of our friends and our folk.

We call out to those Mighty Dead and Ancient Wise

Poets and Priests

Those who have walked this path before us

and have use the way

Ancestors, Mighty Dead,

Accept our offering.

Nature Spirits: https://youtu.be/t_C_BeAqk0E

The Children of the Earth call out to the Nature Spirits,

Those Beings who swim and crawl and wriggle and fly.

All the beings of the this Earth wherever they may come from.

Those who dwell in light and those who dwell in shadow,

Seen and unseen.

Natures Spirits:

Animal friends, Mineral friends,

Plant kin and Earth kin.

You who walk with us in all that we do

showing us the ways that we might honor the gods.

Nature Spirits, we honor you.

Shining Ones: https://youtu.be/t91JWEnaCPc

The Children of the Earth call out to the Shining Ones:

Bright and Mighty Theoi!

You who are the first children of the Mother,

Eldest and brightest.

You of craft-folk, you of grain,

you of hearth, you of sea, you of land.

Hunter, gatherers,

forge-tenders, grain guarders.

Gods and Goddesses all:

We call out to you as you share your wisdom and your love.

Shining Ones, accept our offering!

Works Cited

Griffith, Ralph T.H. Rig Veda. Sacred Texts, 1896. Web. 8 Jan. 2015. <http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/rigveda/>.

M, Sean. “Dionysia Ta Astika.” Temenos. Hellenion, 8 Nov. 2008. Web. 09 Nov. 2015. <https://sites.google.com/site/hellenionstemenos/Home/festivals/dionysia-ta-astika>.

Robinson, Scott R. “Origins of Theatre.” Origins of Theatre. Central Washington University, 2010. Web. 09 Nov. 2015. <http://www.cwu.edu/~robinsos/ppages/resources/Theatre_History/Theahis_1.html>.

Thomas, Kirk. “Concentration in Ritual.” Ár nDraíocht Féin: A Druid Fellowship. ADF, December 22, 2009. PDF file. 03 Jan. 2016. <https://www.adf.org/system/files/public/rituals/explanations/Concentration-In-Ritual.pdf>.

Thomas, Kirk. “The Well-Trained Ritualist” Ár nDraíocht Féin: A Druid Fellowship. ADF, November 19, 2009. PDF file. 03 Jan. 2016. <https://www.adf.org/system/files/public/rituals/explanations/Well-Trained-Ritualist.pdf>.

Liturgy Practicum 2: Small Group Practice

Requirement #1: Key concepts

Describe three differences between personal or domestic rituals and small-group rituals. (Minimum 150 words)

Explain the importance of a shared worldview or cosmology within group ritual, and what can be done to help foster that shared cosmology. (Minimum 200 words)

Words:

Motion:

Dance:

Posture:

Music:

Gesture:

Explain why it is important to include physical offerings in ritual. (Minimum 150 words)

Requirement 1: Works Cited

Requirement #2: Documenting domestic and small-group ritual practice

3CG DIF Lughnassadh – Irish – Lugh (8/2/16)

Hermes Full Moon (8/28/15)

3CG Anagantios Druid Moon – (2/13/16)

3CG Spring Equinox – Hellenic – Artemis & Hephaestos (3/20/16)

3CG Beltaine – “Celtic” – Trooping Fairies (5/1/16)

Gamonios Druid Moon (5/11/16)

Evaluations per Course Requirements for Liturgy Practicum 2, Requirement 2.2:

Evaluation 1

Evaluation 2

Leadership Development 1

Using Indo-European Liturgical Language

1) Translate the following liturgical phrases into your Hearth Culture language:

2) What do you consider to be the importance of using phrases in a hearth culture language other than Modern English (or your own native language) in ADF ritual? (Minimum 200 words)

Bibliography