cbogs_dedicant

Thu, 29 Nov 2007 16:44:58 GMT

Greek Religion
Walter Burkert
Harvard: Cambridge, MA, 1985

Walter Burkert's survey of Greek religion from prehistory to the Classical era is widely regarded as the authoritative text on the matter, and this reputation is deserved. Spanning the eras between the Minoan civilization on Crete to the development of philosophical approaches to theology by the likes of Plato and Aristotle. Burkert focuses mainly on the public religion of the polis, the aspect of Greek religion that we know most about, as it was what writers wrote about; personal religion is mentioned where appropriate but the main thrust of the book is towards the official religion of the ancient Greek city-states. The topics he covers are highly applicable to Hellenic religion in an ADF context, though, giving the reader the ancient Greek viewpoint of many of our standard ADF practices: libations and other offerings, ritual and its function in a Hellenic context, seasonal festivals in a Greek model, and the roles of Ancestors/Heroes and Nature Spirits in Greek cosmology. His review of the Gods of the Greeks was extremely helpful to me; from the twelve Olympian deities to the minor ones, Burkert details the general mythology surrounding the deities and gives some idea of the role and sphere with which each is concerned. His treatment of Heracles and other heroes helped me understand where their veneration fit within both Greek piety and within Our Druidry; among the Ancestors I count both those from whom I descend by blood and those I consider "ancestors in spirit", and it is these spiritual forebears that most resemble the Hellenic conception of the mighty heroic dead.

My only complaint with the book is my perception that Burkert has a tendency towards a Darwinian model of religious development. This is an idea which does not sit well with me and which is out of fashion in the field of Religious Studies: the idea that societies begin their religious explorations with animism and evolve through polytheism toward monotheism is a triumphalistic view that sees "ethical monotheism" (read: Christianity or Judaism) as the pinnacle of religious thought. Burkert never explicitly claims that the Greeks were evolving in this way but it was implied strongly throughout the text. Despite the occasional "huh?" moment when encountering a statement that treated polytheism as an outdated aberration, this book was helpful and continues to be an excellent recommendation as an introduction to the Hellenic hearth culture.

Rite Recap: Samhain

Tue, 06 Nov 2007 02:14:27 GMT

Spiral Spirit Protogrove, 11/3/07
Location: Oldwick, NJ

I made the two-hour drive up into central Jersey for Spiral Spirit's Samhain, and it was well worth the effort! We gathered in the house of two of our members beforehand, and went over the rite for the benefit especially of several people who had never done ADF ritual before, and practiced the chants for the ritual, all of which were favorites of mine. We'd all brought a potluck dish to be shared during and after the ritual; we'd been encouraged to bring a food that was reminiscent of our ancestors -- a family dish, or something similar. I'd made Sheep Dip, which was my family's name for a spinach-laden dip served in a hollow bread bowl; this was a frequent feature at the potlucks and holiday dinners of my youth.

Once we were ready to start, we filed onto the back porch and then processed into the grove with "We Approach the Sacred Grove". West offered coffee to the Outsiders and then we spent a bit of time contemplating our coming-togetherness before the purification rite. I asperged everyone while another druid censed the participants. An Earth Mother offering was made then, barley and oats, while we chanted the "Earth Mother" chant.

Sarah, who was leading the ritual, said a few words about the festival and about Donn, the patron of the rite, and then we sang the Portal Song while offerings were made to the Fire, Well and Tree. West then opened the Gates, praying to Manannan Mac Lir as the Gatekeeper.

We invited the Kindreds in next with offerings: seeds for the Nature Spirits, shortbread and whiskey for the Ancestors, and oil for the Gods. Donn and the Ancestors got special invocations as well as extra offerings.

Once we'd finished establishing the Grove and making the requisite offerings, we stood silently for a bit and then filed into the house for the Dumb Supper, which is becoming established as a Spiral Spirit Samhain tradition. Without speaking, we each put a bit of the food we'd brought onto a platter for the Ancestors, and then the platter was offered silently to them at the head of the table in the dining room. After that we all dished out plates for ourselves and sat in the dining room with the Ancestors and ate our meal in silence. (Well, mostly silence; West had a CD of some sort of Celtic music interspersed with digeridoo music that accompanied the meal.)

It was a little weird not talking at first, but as the meal progressed it started to feel very significant. Memories of my relations and friends who were no longer around here kept coming to mind, and overall it was a very moving experience. At the end of the meal, West broke the silence with an Irish blessing, and we went back out to the grove to finish our rite.

Sarah offered the Ancestors' platter of food into the Fire so it could be consumed, and then other offerings were made to specific Ancestors. Once that was finished, the Omen was taken. The runes were used this time, and Cat read them:

Gebo was for Gift, which the Nature Spirits were giving us in return for our offerings, and also emphasized the reciprocal nature of our Druidry. Beorc is for new birth, new growth, the gift of the Gods, and the Ancestors' gift of Raidho symbolized journeying; Cat interpreted this as the Ancestors continuing on their way after our Samhain rite.

After such an auspicious omen, West passed the Waters of Life, a cup of whiskey and a cup of water. Once we thanked the Kindreds for their presence, and thanked the Earth mother, and closed the Gates, we stood together for a while and talked about the things we'd thought about and felt during the Dumb Supper. We then went back inside and socialized and ate more of the food, with a lot less silence.

Sat, 13 Oct 2007 05:10:57 GMT

Drawing Down the Moon: Witches, Druids, Goddess Worshippers, and Other Pagans in America
Margot Adler
Penguin, New York, 2006

I had read the 1986 revision of this classic work when I was new to Paganism; this book and Starhawk's The Spiral Dance were my first two purchases, and they were for me, like many newbies, an entree into a world I'd hoped existed but didn't realize was a reality. I even loaned that earlier edition to my mother in hopes that she'd take a second look at her preconceived notions about witchcraft and paganism; I don't think it worked but I felt that it was the most balanced view she was ever likely to get of the movement that I had joined.

This 2006 revision is a worthy successor to that book. Ms. Adler has expanded the book to include several branches of the Pagan family that were left out of the previous editions, especially the Heathen traditions that share so many features with Our Druidry. I'd estimate that about half the book is focused on Wicca and related traditions; this seems only fair as the majority of Pagans practice some form of Wicca. The other branches of Paganism get plenty of attention, though. As a result of our roots in the idiosyncratic Reformed Druids of North America, the account of ADF remains somewhat oddly placed along with other Druid movements in the "Religions of Paradox and Play" chapter along with the Discordians. This seemed rather strange in the 90's and seems even more like an oversight in the 21st century, as ADF has evolved into a religion that, while embracing play and paradox as valid gateways to religious experience, encompasses far more than just those two elements!

The addition of sections covering the emergence of Pagan Studies as an academic discipline, festival culture, and the evolution of the approaches taken to Paganism by scholars, writers and journalists were particularly interesting to me as a scholar embedded in non-Pagan Religious Studies. I have been planning the next phase of my education and have been considering expanding the scope of my studies from the development of Christianity to issues of nature-centered religions and their interfaces with modern American culture and government; Ms. Adler's overview of these approaches may prove a valuable springboard for future research.

Drawing Down the Moon has served its purpose for me twice now: the first time to orient me in the vast sea of Pagan traditions as a newcomer, and this time to re-orient me as I return from my absence to catch up with developments I missed during my Christian sojourn. It is a valuable volume and a worthy introduction to modern Pagan culture.

On the Autumn Equinox

Thu, 27 Sep 2007 16:07:26 GMT

As one of the cross-quarter festivals, the autumn equinox is one of the lesser festivals of the Pagan year – historically, it was not observed in the Celtic culture from which Paganism derived its eightfold festival calendar, but today it lends a symmetry to the cycle of festivals we celebrate.

As the dark half of the year progresses in the wake of the Summer Solstice, the hours of light diminish a little more each day. On this equinox, day and night again come nearest to equality before darkness begins to fill more than half of each day; we know that the sun will set sooner and sooner each evening, until at Yule we experience the longest night of the year.

This equinox is primarily celebrated as a harvest festival, the second of three and the one most focused on the harvest. We celebrate the bounty of the earth, remembering that we depend on its fecundity to stay us through the barren winter. Although in the U.S. our national harvest festival, the secular holiday of Thanksgiving, is celebrated between Samhain and Yule, in Britain the Fall Harvest is still usually celebrated in September or early October, timed to the full moon nearest the Equinox, called the "Harvest Moon." We thank the Kindreds for the blessings of fertility and health on the crops and in return we give them the gifts that sustain the lifegiving relationship we have with each other.

Rite recap: Autumn Equinox

Thu, 27 Sep 2007 03:06:26 GMT

Rite Recap: Solitary Autumn Equinox Rite, 9/23/07
Location: Home Shrine

I was out of town for Spiral Spirit's rite; I was camping, which seems like the ideal location for a druid to celebrate a ritual. I was seated in front of my campfire with a cup of water, an oak tree and some sacrifices, and I'd just gotten halfway through doing the Two Powers meditation when I was re-joined by one of my (Jewish, not druish) camping companions, who wanted company. So in the end I just waited until I got home and could rely on the privacy of my home shrine to observe the Equinox.

The ritual I used was the Simple Rite of Offering from the DP handbook, augmented with particular recognitions of the Festival. I poured an offering of whisky to the Outdwellers out the living room window before I went in to my shrine. For the Earth Mother invocation, I followed the form we'd used at Spiral Spirit's midsummer rite and offered old-world oats and new-world cornmeal with the RDNA Earth Mother prayer. Silver was given to the well, oil to the fire, and I asperged and smudged myself and the shrine before offering to Cernunnos as Gatekeeper. I opened the gates and began the offerings.

I used Talisker whisky, most of the last of the bottle that was given to us at our wedding (we don't drink whisky much; I'll need to buy another bottle of whisky just for my rites -- it adds an extra-punchy dimension of feeling to the words "the blessing flows and shines in me" after you swallow it at the blessing!) I offered to Belenos and Damona as primary patrons of the rite; as they are a solar/lunar pair it seemed fitting at the Equinox.

The omen was as follows:

Ancestors: hagalaz
Spirits: elhaz
Gods: wunjo

Hagalaz and elhaz are both protection runes; wunjo is harmony, joy and fellowship. Hagalaz and elhaz also share a certain aspect of harmony; hagalaz symbolizes harmony within oneself, and elhaz harmony with the Kindreds. With wunjo as harmony with one's fellow humans, this is a bright and welcome omen.

I made a final offering and sent as much gratitude and love through the gate as I could along with the offering, and then accepted the return flow and drank the whisky. It burned within me, all right. I then said my thanks to the Kindreds and the Gatekeeper, and closed the gates with his help. I thanked the Mother again and ended the rite.

I would like to find ways to make my solitary Festival rites more representative of the Festivals themselves; while I am hoping to more regularly be able to attend Grove rites there will doubtless be occasions when I have to observe them alone and it would be beneficial to be prepared with more ways to differentiate these rites from my standard devotions.

On Fertility

Sat, 15 Sep 2007 02:16:46 GMT

FERTILITY

Fertility is one of the things that most occupied the minds of the paleopagans: the fertility of the crops and of the livestock and of the wild flora and fauna held the power of life and death over our Ancestors. Today the vast majority of us in the developed world are divorced from the immediacy of the effects of fertility on our survival. The chops and steaks in the supermarket don’t bring to mind the piglets and calves that had to be bred and borne and birthed, nor do the ever-present vegetables in the produce aisle remind us of the delicate cycles of sun and rain and soil that, if thrown off-balance, can abandon fields to dirt and stomachs to an empty winter.

On a personal level, fertility becomes a virtue when it is put into the service of life. The pursuit of generative activities can be a way to increase the well-being of yourself and the people around you. These activities can include arts of all forms, increasing your personal fertility by exercising your creative impulses; gardening and other practices that work to increase the fertility of the land; and spiritual work, lending to what Earth-centered Christian theologian Matthew Fox calls the “greening of the soul”. A green and growing spirit resists the dryness of spiritual rigidity and the apathy that can be the result of living in a society largely disconnected from its roots, and this can only be a virtue.

On Moderation

Sat, 15 Sep 2007 02:15:58 GMT

MODERATION

Let a man hold the cup,
yet of the mead drink moderately,
speak sensibly or be silent.
As of a fault
no man will admonish thee,
if thou goest betimes to sleep.

–Hávamál 19

This tidbit of lore comes from the Hávamál, or the "Sayings of Hár", a part of the Eddas from the Norse tradition. Purported to be the words of Oðinn, the All-Father, much of Hávamál centers on themes of moderation, of discipline and restraint. A wise man, says Oðinn, knows when to eat and when to stop eating, when to drink and when to say "enough", when to speak and when it would be more prudent to listen and learn. All these things center on the ADF virtue of moderation.

Moderation is not self-denial; moderation does not demand that we forego the pleasures that this life affords. Moderation only requires that we not allow our partaking in these pleasures to turn to our detriment through excess. We've all experienced the results of having "too much of a good thing", be it a stomachache after a particularly lavish Thanksgiving dinner or a pounding headache the morning after a night of overindulgence. The virtue of moderation lies in the ability to discern the amount of indulgence that allows for pleasure without being detrimental to our health, prosperity or relationships with others.

On Hospitality

Thu, 26 Jul 2007 00:08:55 GMT

HOSPITALITY

Hospitality as an act of reciprocal giving is at the root of the sacrificial traditions of Our Druidry, making contemplation and an attempt to achieve a thorough understanding of this virtue essential to effective Druidic practice. Hospitality as practiced between ourselves and the Kindreds mirrors the hospitality we are probably more familiar with in our this-worldly lives.

Hosting a guest in your home is a disruption no matter how willing you are to have them stay. The fact that “host” and “guest” both come from the IE root *ghosti, with its encompassing meaning of “stranger,” points to a fact of hospitality: being a host or being hosted is a very intimate experience as we partake in aspects of each other’s lives that we ordinarily do not. For some of us this sort of intimacy can be quite uncomfortable. I admit that often, even when I agree that we can host someone, I do not manifest this virtue wholeheartedly but out of a sense of duty. Regardless of the degree to which I am feeling welcome, however, I try to strike that artful balance between solicitousness and a laissez-faire “leave them alone” approach. When staying at someone else’s home, it is likewise important to me to be a considerate and appreciative guest as at least partial repayment for that inconvenience. We have had many guests who were well-behaved, as well as a few who were disastrous enough to make me want never to put a friend through that!

The concept of reciprocity in these interactions is important: when our generosity is met with disrespect then the likelihood that a guest will be welcome to stay again is very low, and we can expect that if we’re not good guests we won’t be invited back. Not only this, but if a guest is being a mooch or otherwise not holding up his end of the *ghosti transaction we are less likely to give as generously of our goods and time as we would otherwise. Likewise with the Kindreds: we cannot expect their assistance and alliance if we do not hold up our end of the bargain at least as well as they do.

One aspect of most religions nowadays is the concept of charity; Christians and Muslims among many others are enjoined to practice charity of some sort by their faiths. In my experience Pagans do not often talk about charity as a religious duty; I believe part of this is the result of Paganism being the reconstitution of faiths from days when charity was not seen as a virtue separate from that of hospitality. In many of the cultures we look to, one would ideally not drop coins in the cup of a vagrant or transient—one would take him into one’s house and feed him and give him shelter as best as one could: charity and hospitality were one and the same. The realities of modern life prevent this from being a prudent course of action, but some do manifest this form of hospitality in other ways. I think particularly of two ladies from the Christian church I attended: Lee Ann Draud and her adopted teenage daughter Nikki. These women’s ministry took the form of organizing and running the University City Hospitality Coalition (there’s that word again) which Lee Ann has done since 1990, and which Nikki has done all her life. UCHC feeds the hungry at no charge—and with no religious obligations attached—six nights a week in the West Philadelphia area in various church halls, and the vast bulk of the work falls to these two women. This taking in of hungry people and maintaining them by feeding them well is a deep form of hospitality; for those of us who cannot do this sort of work, donating to similar worthy causes can be a way to increase hospitality towards the needy.

Trance work 7/23/07

Wed, 25 Jul 2007 13:24:44 GMT

I tried a little trance induction above and beyond the usual light state that I enter when I do the Two Powers meditation and prepare to start my devotions. I had gotten a copy of Michael Harner's drumming recording to help facilitate the trance and, as he suggests as an opening introduction to journeying, I chose a 15-minute track with a single drumbeat at about 220 bpm. After I make my offerings in my devotional rite I have reserved an optional time for meditation; usually I just spend a few moments reflecting on the rite or contemplating the Kindreds before I say my thanks and close the Gate. This time I put on my blindfold and headphones and started up the drumming on my iPod.

Harner uses the imagery of a passageway into the Earth as a gateway through which to enter the Otherworld (or the Lowerworld, as he terms it.) There is a lava tube cave near my hometown that I spelunked into with a group of kids when I was in Sunday School as an early teen; the entrance to that cave provided a familiar image to focus on when I started the trance. I developed the image until I could see the vegetation around the cave entrance (some clumps of long grass and a juniper tree in particular) and then started down into the opening. The path was rough lava at first, sloping down in a zig-zaggy sort of way with a few largish boulders to clamber over at first, but then it widened out a bit and became relatively smooth as I left the light of the outside behind. The path sloped down and curved a few times left and right as I descended; at one point I realized I had a flickering torch in my right hand as I proceeded. I'm not sure where I got it. I found a few primitive petroglyphs as I went further, mostly hand shapes, then I got to a sort of largish chamber with hand petroglyphs on it and five torches in holders on the walls with an extra holder to make six in all. I put the torch in that holder and proceeded out of the chamber into the dark. I hadn't gone very far from there when I realized I was becoming able to see a little more in the dimness, and I saw some light filtering through up ahead. The path started rising a bit and before long I could see daylight through the exit of the tunnel; the path zigged and zagged a bit like the entrance but soon I emerged into a forested area. The trees were deciduous and tall and slender. The canopy was high and moderately thick, sparse enough to see the sky in large pale shining patches through the fluttering leaves. The rocks surrounding the dark opening were mossy dark grey rock. A path led forward into the forest and down a path that curved to the left, so I set off down it. I stopped for a moment at a large stone standing to the left of the trail; it too was covered with moss and lichen and bore the smoothness of having been touched by hands many times before. I rested my hands on its surface too; it was cool to the touch. I stood there a minute and then moved on down the trail until I came to a place where a small path branched off to the left and down a slight incline. I walked down this little side path and found that it led to a circular clearing next to a small clear stream; the clearing had a heavy gravel floor and was bordered with medium-sized stones making it look somewhat like a large firepit. There was a stone bench off-center in the clearing and a small mortared rock pylon with a space on the top that was obviously designed for a fire, but it was empty. I sat down on the stone bench and looked at the stream; there were small pinkish trout-like fish swimming in it, maybe 8 inches long, and I saw a chipmunk scurry by. I sat there a few minutes looking at the trees and the sky and feeling the breeze, and then I got up and started heading back towards the cave, stopping again at the large standing stone. When I got back to the cave, I turned around and sat down on one of the large rocks next to the entrance, and I sat still to see what would happen. A few birds landed on rocks nearby and cocked their heads at me and a squirrel jumped up on another and sat looking at me. I got the feeling I was being watched so I slowly swiveled my view around to the left and saw a doe watching me from a few yards away. I was trying not to scare any of the animals off but I slowly bowed to acknowledge them. I then heard the callback signal, a rest followed by two sets of four slow beats, so I headed back into the cave. The drums were frenetic at this point so the journey out took a lot less time then the journey in; I still tracked all the way back, taking my torch from the chamber and heading up. As I started to see the light from the entrance my torch was blown out by the incoming breeze so I chucked it; I guess I still don't know where I got it from in the first place! I climbed up into the sunlight and took another look around until the drumming ended; I then closed my inner and outer
eyes and took off the blindfold, and slowly opened my eyes.

I could tell I was still in a slightly altered state so I finished my thanks and closed the Gate; as I closed the Gate I started to fully return to regular consciousness as is usually the case for me. Once I rang the bell to signal the end of my rite I sat for a few more minutes breathing deeply, centering and grounding to make sure I was all back.

I look forward to trying this again; with practice I want to see if I can enhance the experience by accessing even deeper trance states.

On Perseverance

Fri, 20 Jul 2007 19:03:38 GMT

Perseverance

Perseverance would seem to be the most obvious of virtues for the Dedicant. Embarking on any course of study almost guarantees that the student will have need of this virtue before the studies have been completed; it is easy to think of many other things that would be more fun than continuing to read, write and think about the subject at hand. I know this from recent personal experience; I was a latecomer to university study, beginning my undergraduate work in my late 20s and completing it only this past December, all while continuing my regular full-time employment. There were many days when I was eating lunch with my partner and complained to him: “I really don’t want to go to class tonight!” I nearly always did go, however, spending more than three months of the next four years in the classroom and close to that much hitting the books on my own – but in the end, it paid off with a degree and honors recognition. It would have been so easy and felt so good at any point in those four years to “take a break” and ultimately never get back to my studies, but I persevered and reached the goal I was aiming for.

The myths we tell display perseverance more dramatically and occasionally on an epic scale: Frigg, doggedly securing the oaths of every thing in the Worlds that could possibly harm her precious Balder, and Hermod riding through utter darkness for a full nine days to try to rescue Balder from Hel. In the Mabinogion, Pwyll steadfastly resists the temptation to have sex with Arawn’s beautiful wife for an entire year as he masquerades as Arawn in Annwfn, leading to the friendship of Arawn and a great increase in his prestige. In a myth closer to our own time, I remember a particularly moving episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation in which the hero Picard is tortured by the evil Cardassians – and he perseveres despite the torment to be rescued with his integrity intact, having endangered none of his people by giving up strategic information.

All these examples point to the importance of perseverance in our culture. By remaining steadfast and sticking to a course of action or a principle, each of these people reap benefit: Frigg’s son stayed safe until Loki found the one thing that she’d overlooked, Hermod reaches Hel and secures the possibility of escape for his brother, Pwyll becomes the Head of Annwfn, and Jean-Luc Picard escapes the Cardassians bowed but unbroken. Perseverance is a virtue because difficulties crop up nearly any time we attempt to do something of value, and without perseverance we would give up and never do worthy things, which would be a shameful waste of the opportunities and resources each of us is given. By manifesting this virtue with courage and integrity, we can make the most of these gifts and make our world a better place.

Thu, 19 Jul 2007 03:12:28 GMT

The Celtic Gauls: Gods, Rites and Sanctuaries
Jean Louis Brunaux
(tr. Daphne Nash)
B.A. Seaby Ltd., London, 1988
154 pp.

I decided to tackle this book despite the fact that it wasn’t on the recommended list and I hadn’t gotten permission from the Preceptor to include it; I plan to re-read and review Rees & Rees’ Celtic Heritage: Ancient tradition in Ireland and Wales which is on the approved list so that shouldn’t cause any difficulties. As the title implies, however, the Rees’ book focuses on insular Celtic traditions, and it’s the continental Celts that I’m intrigued by; a Celtic Reconstructionist website I was reading recommended this title by Jean Brunaux, a French researcher, and as my library had a copy and it looked like a quick read, I picked it up.

I’m glad I did. Brunaux examines what we can know of pre-conquest Gaulish religion through the remains they’ve left us: he focuses on the archaeological remains and supplements minimally with the accounts of the Roman historians in the course of their conquest of Gallia. As the Gaulish culture relied on oral tradition, we have no pre-conquest accounts from the Gauls’ point of view; Brunaux’ focus on archaeology, while it limits what we can know about their religious beliefs and practices, is sounder than relying on the say-so of the Roman writers, who approached their soon-to-be subjects with Roman eyes and minds. After acquainting the reader with the geopolitical worldview of the Gauls, Brunaux begins examining the elements which make up any religious system: the way they demarcated their sacred spaces, their conceptions of time, the way Gallic society manifested Dumezil’s tripartite functions, and of course the Celts’ rites, gods, and the priesthood that served them. Regarding sacrifices, Brunaux does not shy away from the historical reality of human sacrifice but places it in context in such a way that, while not detracting from the revulsion we rightly feel for these sacrifices today, minimalizes the sensationalism that sometimes creeps into even academic discussion of these practices.

The connections between many of the ritual practices that embody ADF orthopraxis and the Gaulish practices that Brunaux postulates from the evidence are quite clear. The offerings of the Gaulish Celts are echoed in many of our own offerings, for the same reasons now as then; thinking back to my experiences in the nemeton at Tredara, the offering shaft there is the equivalent to the pits found in sacred spaces across Gaul, with allowances for the realities of scale in a modern context. I believe one purpose of the Dedicant’s study of applicable hearth cultures is to find ways of integrating ADF practices and the practices of an historical Indo-European culture so that a personal hearth religion can develop that satisfies the needs of each practitioner. I found this book an excellent introduction to the beliefs and practices of the Celtic Gauls that allows for a great deal of such practical development.

Liturgical rewrite!

Wed, 18 Jul 2007 00:31:02 GMT

So now that I've spent a few weeks faithfully observing my shrine devotions every evening, I'd gotten a good idea of where the rough spots were -- what managed to catch my tongue every time I tried to say it, what just didn't sound like "me", whatever. I was using a very slightly customized version of the "simple devotional" rite from page 36 of the DP, which was itself a rewritten version of the devotion on page 33, which was what I was using back in '99 or so. I don't think the newer one existed yet back then, but I saw right away when I read it that it'd be a better fit for me. Both rituals have Ian Corrigan's liturgical fingerprints all over them, which is mostly a fantastic thing as he's a great liturgist. I found then and I find now that his workings sometimes don't mesh 100% with the way I work best, though, which can be compensated for in an occasional ritual but causes some disharmony when using a rite on a daily basis. Anyway, I decided to do a more thorough rewrite of the devotional for my nightly work. I decided to lengthen it slightly since it only takes a few minutes to perform already and another couple of minutes weren't going to be a burden; I wanted to extend a couple sections and include an opening and closing of the Gates -- partly just so I have an excuse to work more closely with Cernunnos and partly because I think that imagery works better for me in the establishment of sacred space. Here's the rite I came up with in the end, mostly cobbled out of pre-existing liturgical building blocks:

1: Three knells on a bell.

2: Nine silent breaths, centering.

3. Basic meditation. *optional*

4: Light the Fire, saying:
I light this fire to honor the Gods
I light this fire to remember the Dead
I light this fire to recognize the Spirits and to keep the Ways of Our Druidry.

5: Honor the Earth Mother:

Oh Earth Mother, we praise thee

That seed springeth,
That flower openeth,
That grass waveth...

We praise thee, for winds that whisper

Through the shining grass,
Through lively pine,
Through the mighty oak...

We praise thee, for all things.
Oh Earth Mother, thou who givest life.

6: Two Powers Attunement

7: Say:
The Fire, the Well, the Sacred Tree
Flow and flame and grow in me.
I span between the Earth and Sky
Rooted deep and crowned high.

8: Anoint self and shrine with the Three Worlds symbols. Say:
Let the Sea not rise, and all ill turn away! (asperge)
Let the Sky not fall, and all ill turn away! (sage or incense)
Let the Land hold firm, and all ill turn away! (touch stones)

The Order of the Worlds stands firm
Around me and within my soul:
I stand prepared to approach the Otherworld.

9: Open the Gates with an offering, saying:
Cernunnos, lord of the ways between,
Gatekeeper to the lands beyond,
Tamer of the Serpent of Chaos:
Accept this offering and join your magic with mine
to guard and ward the gate of this working.
Cernunnos, accept my sacrifice!

Now let this sacred center be the boundary of all worlds:
Let the Fire open the Gate
Let the Well open the Gate
Let the Tree hold fast the Way Between.
By the Keeper of Gates, and by my Will and Word, let the Gate be open!

10: Welcome the Kindreds:

Gods and goddesses, hear me:
Belenos and Damona, light of the Sun and glow of the Moon;
Sirona, sparkling goddess of the night stars;
Arduinna Boar-Rider, Artio Bear-Friend;
Lugus, good God, most-honored:
Gods and Goddesses all, be welcome at my fire!

Ancestors, mighty dead, beloved ones: be welcome at my fire!

Spirits of the land, Wild Ones, nindinawemaaganag: be welcome at my fire!

11: Make the Offerings. Say:

I offer my offerings
In the eye of the Mothers who bore me
In the eye of the Fathers who quickened me
In the eye of my Forebears both of blood and of spirit
In the light of the fire and the sight of the Powers do I make offering now:
Accept me, I pray, as your kin and ally
Mighty and beloved Dead
Wild Ones, Noble Spirits of the Lands
Eldest, Wisest, Shining Ones
Accept from me offering
That your power inspire and instruct me
That your power heal and sustain me
That your power preserve and defend me
Each shade and light
Each day and night
Each hour in blessing
This I ask, and give you due honor!

12: Meditate in silence on the whole construct of the rite.

13: Recite the Great Blessing:
I offer my thanks to the Mother of All.
I offer my thanks to the Gods, Dead and Spirits.
May the Three Sacred Kins
Bring joy to all beings, and renew the ancient wisdom.
To the Fire, Well and Tree I offer my thanks.
May Wisdom, Love and Power
Kindle in all beings, and renew the ancient wisdom.
To the Earth, Sea, and Sky I offer my thanks.
May the ancient wisdom be renewed,
And may all beings know peace, joy and happiness
A bounty of frith in all the worlds.
So be it!

14: Thank the Gatekeeper and close the gates:

Cernunnos, Lord of the Gates, I thank you for your aid.

Now let the fire be but flame,
Let the well be only water:
Let all be as it was before,
save for the magic I have made:
Let the gates be closed!

15. End the rite, saying:
To the Mother I again give thanks, for ever upholding my life and my work.

The fire, the well, the sacred tree
Flow and flame and grow in me!
Peace and blessings to all beings:
The rite is ended!

Sound three knells on the bell to signal the end of the rite.

Mon, 16 Jul 2007 03:13:05 GMT

OMG, I finally finished it.

In Search of the Indo-Europeans: Language, Archaeology and Myth
J.P. Mallory
Thames and Hudson Ltd.,London, 1989
288pp.

The Dedicant Program requires the student to read and review at least one book in the field of Indo-European Studies, and my choice for this study was J.P. Mallory’s In Search of the Indo-Europeans. Being in a hiatus between courses of university study, I wanted an academic title for my introduction to Indo-European (IE) studies if only to keep my mind limber until I begin my graduate studies in the spring. Mallory did not disappoint; this book is dense, providing a thorough survey of the state of Indo-European paleo-anthropology, archaeology, and to a lesser degree, historical linguistics—at least up to the print date of 1989. As academic research tends to do, the intervening eighteen years have likely seen some new theories advanced and some of the theories presented here altered significantly or made obsolete by archaeological discoveries; the political referents used in several of the discussions are obsolete as well, as this book was published during the first rumblings of the upheavals that would see the collapse of the Soviet Union and redraw the maps of the areas in question in a few short years.

Mallory begins by laying the groundwork for IE studies, clarifying that the Indo-Europeans in question are not a culture but a linguistic family; the inheritors of Indo-European languages may share mythic and ideological similarities but these are secondary to the linguistic provenance they share. He then spends two chapters examining the Indo-European people as we find them in historical periods and extrapolating backwards into late pre-history. Mallory divides these groups of people for the sake of discussion into two: those who lived in Asia (the Anatolians, Phrygians, Armenians, Indo-Aryans, Iranians and the easternmost group, the Tocharians, from modern-day northeast China) and those who lived in Europe (the Greeks, Thracians, Illyrians, Slavs, Balts, Germans, Celts, and the tribes that inhabited modern-day Italy.) This section of the book is most applicable for the purposes of the Dedicant Program as we know the most about them, having in many cases examples of their writing and thus possessing primary sources for their beliefs and ideologies, as well as the occasional secondary sources from writers examining other Indo-European cultures from within their own Roman or Greek cultures. Mallory provides samples of the languages of many of these people and points out clearly the correspondences between the various Indo-European families that allowed scholars to make the connection between them in the first place.

The fourth chapter is dedicated to an examination of what we can know about Proto-Indo-European (PIE) culture. Since they did not leave written records behind, all we have to go on other than material culture is what we can extrapolate from the linguistic evidence. When we find words that have a wide range of correlations in the various modern IE languages, we can assume that these words belonged to the PIE language rather than being words that coincidentally got assimilated into the various languages independently at a later date. Once we have derived a vocabulary of PIE, we can apply this information to determining what their culture may have been like: it is obvious that if the Proto-Indo-Europeans had a word for something, they knew about that thing. The data regarding what they knew (and didn’t know) about become very relevant to the last section of the book, which examines the various and contradictory theories advanced regarding the question of where in Eurasia the Proto-Indo-Europeans originated; a large part of the methodology used in this research is based on the existence or otherwise of various flora, fauna and geographic features for which they had terms and finding areas of Eurasia that include the things they knew about and exclude the things for which they didn’t pass down words.

Before Mallory examines the question of the homeland, however, he gives us a final short chapter particularly relevant to the ADF Dedicant. Headed “Indo-European Religion,” this chapter examines Georges Dumézil’s tripartite theory as well as some common themes that run through the religions descended from the Indo-European peoples including horse sacrifices and horse imagery, cattle stories, human (and other) sacrifice, recurring stories that recall a war between the priestly/ruling and warrior functions and the productive functions, and a common theme of dualism, often involving sacred twins (cf. Romulus and Remus of the Romans, and Mannus and Tuisto whom Tacitus says were the progenitors of the Germans) or paired deities (Norse Odin/Tyr, Vedic Varuna/Mitra) who each embody half of the first function’s ruling duties—one priestly and one concerned with political governance and judgment. The chapter ends with a discussion of the limited nature of comparative mythology in the pursuit of ancient IE knowledge, however; the short length of this chapter underlines the primacy of linguistic relation over cultural relation among IE peoples.

The final chapters are easily the most difficult to read and assimilate; Mallory sounds nearly apologetic near the end when he writes

Readers may feel that the author has betrayed them down an endless series of cul de sacs. Nevertheless, this is the current state of Indo-European origins and this seemed the best way to convey why the issue is by no means resolved. Ultimately, we have a remarkably unsatisfactory set of choices.

Indeed, the chapters regarding the theories regarding a location for the Indo-European homeland and the processes by which they expanded across Europe and into Asia from that homeland are filled with an embarrassment of competing theories and Mallory’s arguments against each of them. Ultimately, his tentative conclusion places the PIE people somewhere in the Pontic-Caspian steppe that lies on the north shores of the Black Sea from which they expanded over the millennia to become the dominant cultures of Europe and the Indian sub-continent.

This book was worth the reading effort; I feel that I have gained adequate elementary background knowledge of the peoples in question and a better understanding of what we mean when we say ADF is “based on the beliefs and practices of the ancient Indo-Europeans.” I leave this book better prepared to begin exploring the hearth cultures that arose out of the prehistoric PIE peoples with some sense of the fertile ground from which they sprung up.

Home Shrine

Sun, 15 Jul 2007 20:41:33 GMT

Here's my writeup of my home shrine, as it stands today:

When I made the decision to dive back in to the Pagan end of the pool, I was fortunate in that I’d kept most of my paraphernalia and had a good basis to work from when reconstructing my home shrine. I rarely leave my shrine alone for long and am always on the lookout for accoutrements to enrich my worship area. After I first set up my shrine I was missing some essentials, so I made a trip around the corner to the thrift shop we live near, and I found some perfect things to flesh out my altar.

Currently my shrine resides in our extra bedroom on my desk. This is not ideal, as I’d prefer to have the shrine in the main area of the house or in the bedroom, but I’m not willing to give up my incense use, and I don’t want to drive my partner either insane with aromas or force him back onto his asthma inhaler! The extra room has actually turned out to be quite convenient, though, since I can go in there and close the door and perform my devotions without fear of interruption. The chair provides a relatively comfortable seat for meditation and there is a window next to the chair; I love performing my devotions when it’s raining, hearing the patter of the rain outside and feeling the cool, rain-scented breezes come through the window!

My tree is actually a decorative tree-like plant of some sort; I think it’s “really most sincerely dead” but I water it occasionally just in case. It was in an ugly glass cube-pot when I got it but I repotted it in a large glazed urn from the thrift store and it’s now a beautiful representation of the World Tree! At the base of the tree I have placed some special stones: a volcanic stone from my Arizona homeland, a stone from the Church of All Worlds’ sacred land Annwfn, and a couple other stones I’ve collected over the years; I use them as representations of the Land. My well has been both a small cast-iron cauldron and a handmade blue ceramic bowl; the cauldron is symbolic but I can’t leave it filled because it is prone to rust, so I have replaced it with the bowl, which also has a spiral pattern in the bottom as a result of the way it’s constructed, which I find very suitable. My fire is a large votive candleholder with three tea lights on it; I want to make a more hearth-like construction to replace the holder but haven’t found the right materials yet.

In addition to these, I have an incense burner and a bowl of salt that can hold more sticks of incense if needed; a small bowl in which I place smoking sage leaves after using them to smudge myself and my shrine; a small footed bowl that actually makes a clear chime when struck; an offering bowl terracotta molded with a motif of oak leaves and acorns!) and a small wooden carving of a wolf that has long reminded me of the Nature Spirits. I want to obtain some more statues or other representations once my hearth culture s) have settled out and I have figured out who my Patrons are. I also want to increase the beauty of my space, which is currently quite utilitarian. I am currently using an altar cloth I embroidered many years ago with a tree, well and flame, but there are more ways I could beautify the shrine.

I have also been considering creating an Ancestor Shrine but haven't started collecting items for it yet; I will post about it when I create it. My partner also gifted me with a very small copper cauldron (below) which I plan to make the basis of a small traveling altar kit; this will come in handy especially this winter when we take our planned river cruise down the Rhine -- right through the ancient homeland of the Celts.

On Integrity

Sun, 15 Jul 2007 02:08:31 GMT

Integrity

The quality of integrity is one of the virtues that is extolled throughout mythology both ancient and modern. Somehow, though, it is the people who fail most at this virtue that we remember most: the liars, the cheaters, the despots, the quislings and the hypocrites tend to stick in the memory of the people far longer and with greater intensity of emotion than those who are upright, true, loyal and just. Perhaps this is indicative of the importance of integrity: those who lack it bring harm not only to themselves, but to everyone around them.

Integrity as defined by the Dedicant Program involves ways of interacting with others and with oneself that result in an enriching of both personal and interpersonal strength. It increases our personal growth and strength when we remain true to our deep feelings, when we heed the prodding of our conscience or bolster our self-confidence. It also increases our personal inner strength when we courageously examine these deep feelings and our conscience, especially if we find ourselves growing judgmental of ourselves and others, to examine the sources of these feelings and determine whether they are productive and constructive limits on behavior or whether they are restricting and destructive bonds that would be better excised from our habitual thoughts. This sort of self-awareness is especially important for those of us who were raised in moral/ethical systems that stressed ways of being that we as Pagans do not embrace; the ingrained and enculturated thought patterns of our childhood can wield great power even many years after we thought we had left them behind!

Only by being people who are loyal, truthful, fair and trustworthy, will we be able to form meaningful and respectful relationships with our fellow humans and the other Kindreds that make up our world. Everyone may remember the betrayers, the backstabbers and the niðingar, but no one wants to have anything to do with them either.

On Lughnassadh

Sat, 14 Jul 2007 21:44:57 GMT

Lugunassatis (Gaulish), or Lughnassadh (Irish), is one of the four greater festivals in the pagan year and one of the four great fire festivals of the Celtic year. Falling around the first of August in the commonest modern reckoning, this festival celebrates the first fruits of the harvest. Named for the god Lugos / Lugh, this festival is an excellent time to thank the Kindreds for the burgeoning crops and to give offerings to request that the later-ripening crops not be damaged by storms, blight, or any other ill.

Lugunassatis is also a traditional time for the ingathering of the Tribes. Because the myths hold that after Lugh’s foster-mother Tailtiu was killed in battle with the Fomorians, he began to hold annual games in honor of her, some modern Pagans hold races, challenges and games among the gathered people as part of their celebrations.

Shrine Rite 7/14

Sat, 14 Jul 2007 20:39:10 GMT

It's the new moon today so I performed a full shrine ritual this afternoon instead of my shorter devotion. I didn't try using the video to guide me this time, but I haven't memorized it all yet and I didn't feel comfortable enough yet with the new COoR to wing it. Fortunately I had a printed copy of the script from the website so I used that; it didn't go as smoothly as my devotions do, because I had to turn pages and stuff. (My devotion ritual I have partially memorized by now, but I have a laminated copy of the script taped to the shrine behind the tree so I can read it if I need to. I need to less and less these days.)

I used Talisker whiskey again for the main offering.. potent! I called Cernunnos for gatekeeper, on the theories expressed by Ceiswr Serith and Mary Jones that he is a liminal God and governs communications between humans and the Gods; calling on him as Gatekeeper worked just fine at Midsummer and I've long felt a connection with him.

The omen was:

The first was the Ancestors' gift, the second the Spirits', and the third the Gods'. Mannaz is "Man" but with a distinct sense of "mortal", likely indicating in this case that a right relationship with the ancestors will lead to being included among them after I die. Kenaz is "torch", knowledge and intellect and vision; I got the distinct impression that this gift was particularly closely linked with the third rune, Ingwaz. Ing is Frey's rune, the prime fertility rune. It occurred to the Hebraicist in me that this triad "M-K-NG" is the English word "making" sans vowels; the English word "to make" is derived via OE "maccian" from an old Germanic word and ultimately from a PIE root hypothesized to mean "to knead, work with the hands" (OED, make, v.¹.) Reading Kenaz and Ingwaz together indicates that the Kindreds are offering something like "creative juices" in the realms of study and creation. I accepted all this and drank the very strong whiskey, internalizing the return flow.