Nine Pagan Virtues

Ah yes, virtues. I have to tell you that simply reading through these a few times over the last several weeks has already had an impact.

Not that I was (am?) a thief or liar on a grand scale. I might have, for example, while regularly getting a coffee refill at my favorite gas station, only pay for it half the time because they charge so much ($1.50!). Stealing (yes, stealing) fifteen cents worth of coffee, not somebody’s car. We all do “little things” that cause us to twinge a bit every now and then, right?

Right?

Hm. Ok. Maybe it’s just me.

I’ll be coming back to these later to write a brief essay on each of the nine. For now, here is the list as taken from the publication Our Own Druidry by ADF Publishing (c)2009

• Wisdom: good judgment, the ability to perceive people and situations correctly, deliberate about and decide on the correct response.

• Piety: correct observance of ritual and social traditions; the maintenance of the agreements, both personal and societal, that we humans have with the Gods and Spirits. Keeping the Old Ways, through ceremony and duty.

• Vision: the ability broaden perspective have a greater understanding of our place/role in the cosmos, relating to the past, present and future.

• Courage: the ability to act appropriately in the face of adversity.

• Integrity: Honor; being true self others, involving oath-keeping, honesty, fairness, respect and self-confidence.

• Perseverance: Drive; the motivation to pursue goals even when that pursuit becomes difficult.

• Hospitality: Acting as both gracious host and appreciative guest, involving benevolence, friendliness, humor, and the honoring of a gift for a gift.

• Moderation: Cultivating appetites so that one is neither slave them nor driven to ill health (mental or physical) through excess or deficiency.

• Fertility: Bounty of mind, body and spirit involving creativity and industry, an appreciation of the physical and sensual, nurturing these qualities in others.

Nine Central Tenets of Druidic Ritual

by Rev. Michael J Dangler

In order to fully explain why we do the things we do, it’s important for us to look at the entire vision of the cosmos: what are the assumptions we make about ritual, and how do they play into the eventual development of a “core order” or an outline of what we plan to do?

I’ve worked through a set of nine central tenets of Druidic ritual: things that every ritual assumes to be true, so that the cosmos we (re)create in every ritual can stand on its own. These are:

1. Ghosti – The reciprocal guest-host relationship.
2. Rta – There is an order to the world, and we are part of it.
3. Hard Polytheism – There are many individual Powers.
4. Triple Cosmos – A cosmos in three parts.
5. Centered Ritual – Our actions occur at the center of all.
6. Fire – Druidry is a fire religion.
7. Communication – Not only can the Gods hear us, but they can respond.
8. World-Affirming – The physical is important and spiritually complete.
9. Power & Responsibility – What we do affects the cosmos.

Druidic ritual doesn’t follow a set of beliefs: we are not an orthodox (right belief) religion, but a religion that values orthopraxy (right practice). As a result, the above list should not be taken as a set of “things you must believe in” so much as a set of ritual assumptions that make Druidic ritual structures work. These nine things get at the very mechanics of Druidry and how Druids participate in the Cosmos through ritual.

Ghosti

Druidic ritual is centered around our understanding of hospitality in the Indo-European world. It rests on the idea of *ghos-ti-, which is a Proto-Indo-European word that exemplifies the idea of reciprocity and the guest-host relationship within an IE cosmos. What we do in ritual informs what we do in our mundane lives, as well, and we seek to exemplify this reciprocal ideal in all our relationships.

Hospitality has two sides: the good host and the gracious guest. A good host ensures that his guest is appropriately treated, and the gracious guest ensures the he does not overburden the host. Both guest and host are responsible for the maintenance of the relationship.

There is also the concept of “a gift for a gift,” where we seek to give to the Kindreds so that we may open a relationship in which they may reciprocate (not in the knowledge that they will reciprocate, but in the hope). Our interactions with the Kindreds are based on the idea that “the same hands that reach out to give also reach out to receive.”¹

A “gift for a gift” is not a one-to-one exchange, though. It is not “I bought you a $15 meal yesterday: today, you have to buy me $15 worth of food.” You would not participate in that relationship very long, and neither will the Kindreds. A ghosti relationship is more like having a friend with whom you have been to dinner so many times that neither one of you remembers whose turn it is to pick up the check. When the check arrives, you do not break out your tally sheets and calculators, seeking to determine who owes what and who paid for which meal last; instead, one person simply grabs the check and, should the other protest, the response is always, “Oh, I’ve got this one. You can get the next one.” In these cases, the relationship is more valuable than the check could possibly be, and the understanding is that the second person values the relationship just as much and would have done the exact same thing if he’d been a hair faster.

Our relationship with the Kindreds is one of reciprocity, much like the friends at the dinner table, or the guest and the host. This is an ancient feeling, and can be seen even in the Rgveda, where Agni (the fire) is described as drawing the folk together as a guest draws together the family that hosts him at their hearth.

Implicit in this relationship is the idea that we can form relationships with the Kindreds: the gods and goddesses, the spirits of nature, and the ancestors are all interested and willing to form these sorts of bonds. Because of this, we seek to form these bonds in any way we can: through offerings of praise which come from our deepest hearts, offerings of work we have toiled over with our hands, and thinking on them and turning to them when times become difficult.

We know that the Kindreds find joy in these relationships and wish to enter into them just as we do. To that end, we work hard to enliven this reciprocity with word and deed.

Rta

Rta is the order of all things. It comes from the Vedic word for the order of the cosmos: always fair, always impartial, and always just, unbending and always correct.

Translations of the word vary: rta can be translated as “Truth” or “Cosmic Order” or “Cosmic Law,” and each translation is correct in some cases and incorrect in others. The reason that we use rta instead of an English word is that there simply is no English word that can convey the meaning. There are cognates in other languages, such as orlog in Old Norse and asha in Indo-Iranian, or even the Proto-Indo-European reconstruction of *xartus could also be used. For the purposes here, though, we will use the Vedic rta.

In the Rgveda, rta is said to cause the dawn to be born, the cycles of the day and night to continue, the seasons to move, and the earth and heaven to be held apart. It is divinely guarded and the divine is bound by it as well.

In our rituals, we are seeking to do things properly by the rta. When we choose to do things by the rta, we are choosing to take the right actions in the cosmos. In many cases, we might look on this as following in the footsteps of the gods, emulating them or following their directives or examples. One could look upon this as a sort of clear alignment with the Three Kindreds and with the forces they represent in the cosmos. While in the Vedas this was marked by specific ritual actions at specific ritual times with no possibility for deviation, we’re much more fast and loose with our ritual structure.

Despite that, we still look to conform in some way to the order of the cosmos. The is one way we conform: it provides the first level of structure and order on this chaotic world. The COoR is an example of cosmos (re)creation as a whole. From a point where the ritual begins; through to the description of the cosmos; past the sacralization and population of that cosmos; and even in the blessings poured forth upon us by the Kindreds, we are engaging in an emulation of the rta and following the example given to us by the Kindreds.

We also conform to the rta by offering sacrifice. Sacrifice is a vital part of our cosmology, and participation in the process of offering sacrifice is clearly something that aligns us with the Kindreds. Often, we are following a formula given to us by the Kindreds in some way (occasionally through a trickster figure, such as Prometheus, or through emulation of the way the gods make sacrifice).

A third (though not final) way we conform to the rta is through maintaining the Wheel of the Year. By keeping the times of the year sacred, and in celebrating key events such as the return of the sun, the waning of summer, and smaller events like the phases of the moon, we help to maintain and continue their progression. In doing this, we are keeping the rta on its course, becoming agents of the cosmic order ourselves and ensuring its persistence.

Hard Polytheism

Hard polytheism means that we stick very strongly to polytheistic worldviews, interacting with the various powers and spirits throughout the cosmos as if they are individual entities with their own complex thoughts, desires, and motivations. Rather than thinking that the deities and spirits are “archetypes,” “reflections of a single all-pervading force,” or “energy pools,” we accept that the Powers are beings with their own agency and are entirely able to act on their own.

The Powers and Spirits we call on are also limited. Rather than thinking of them as omniscient (like Santa Claus) or omnipresent (like the Hindu Brahman), we think of them as limited in time and space, as well as in knowledge. This is clearly the way the ancients thought of their deities, and specific examples can be found in world mythologies: at the beginning of the Illiad, Poseidon is “away in Ethiopia,” which allows the Greek fleet to sail; and in the Rgveda, Varuna, guardian of the rta, requires spies to ensure that the Cosmic Order is kept by humans.

This ritual assumption also helps what we do make sense rationally. If the gods and spirits are just buckets of energy, why make sacrifice to them? If they are all facets of a single greater “truth,” why call on only one or two during the Key Offerings? If they have no agency or ability to think on their own, why ask them for anything? By making the assumption that the world is populated with individual beings, we are also free to make the assumption that these beings care for us, that they are willing to form relationships with us, and that we are dealing with divinity that is interested and invested in our well-being.

A vital note should be placed in this section: ADF and Druidry in general do not require that you have a specific belief about the gods and spirits. Rather, what we are discussing here is a set of ritual assumptions that make our rituals work. There are no rules about your belief: if you prefer Jung’s archetypes or the henotheistic “god beyond the gods” outlook on divinity, that’s great and wonderful. The issue comes down to practice: for our rituals to operate in the vision of the cosmos we have, hard polytheism is a central assumption.

Triple Cosmos

In Druidic ritual, the cosmos is divided in three parts. What these three parts are and who inhabits them is far less important than their actual number.

Often, we think about the world as Heavens, Midworld, and Underworld, but these are not the only options. They have become our most commonly used division, though, due primarily to the general western IE focus within ADF, and a lack of good resources for Celtic ritual.

In addition to a triple cosmos, we represent that triplicity with a triple center. As Druids, we most commonly represent our center with a fire (which supports and acts as a gate to the highest realm), a well (which springs from and acts as a gate to the lowest realm), and a tree, pillar, mountain, or other axis mundi (which serves as the center of the worlds and the path between them). More on the function of these symbols and the triple center will be said in the next section.

The three most common Indo-European divisions of the cosmos that can be used in ritual are these:

Underworld, Middleworld, Heavens

This is by far the most common cosmic picture we see in Indo-European cultures and religion, exemplified by the classical Greeks in particular. In this conception, the souls of the dead go to the Underworld, we stay in the Midrealm, and the Heavens are populated with the deities (and some heroic ancestors). This conception is particularly common among the Western Indo-Europeans, and the division (though not necessarily the same assignments of “who goes where”) is common throughout not only the Mediterranian tribes of Greeks and Romans, but also throughout the Northern tribes, where the world is clearly divided into heavens and underworlds, with Miðgard in the center.

Terrestrial, Atmospheric, Celestial

This division is found in the Vedas in particular, and describes a very different sort of cosmos than the previous division mentioned. In this cosmos, there is no underworld, but the face of the earth (considered to be disc-shaped) is the “lowest” of the worlds: even the sun, after completing his journey, does not go “under” the terrestrial disc to reappear in the morning, but rather goes dark and returns along the same path. Some gods, such as fire gods, sacred drinks, and rivers reside in the Terrestrial realm. The Atmospheric realm is the realm of the clouds, and certain deities (storm gods, water gods, and some fire gods) are said to reside here. The Celestial realm, beyond the clouds and the vault of stars includes many other gods and spirits that embody celestial phenomena (such as the sun or cosmic order), and also the ancestors.

Land, Sea, Sky

Found particularly in Celtic lands, this division has also become a sort of “horizontal axis” that divides the Midworld or the terrestrial realm to match with the “vertical axis” of Underworld, Midworld, and Heavens, despite the fact that this triplicity is clearly a cosmic division (particularly to the continental Celts, who swore by these forces), and there are better attested forms of horizontal axes in nearly every IE religion: the five provinces of Ireland, the four dwarves of direction in Norse, the four winds in the Mediterranean religions, and the seven points or places in Vedism.

Centered Ritual

There is a Zuni legend that when the Water Skate was given magical powers by the Sun Father, he stretched his four legs out upon the waters.

His front right leg stretched first to the northeast, the place of the summer solstice sunrise; his front left leg stretched next to the northwest, the place of the summer solstice sunset; his back left leg then stretched to the southwest, the place of the winter solstice sunset; his back right leg then stretched to the southeast, the place of the winter solstice sunrise.

Where his heart then rested marked the “Center Place,” the center of the land that is surrounded by the four seas and the heart of the Earth Mother. It is below this center, below the heart of the Water Skate which is the heart of the Earth Mother, that the village of Zuni was established.

At the center of the village, another center resides. This is on a permanent altar in the chief priest’s house, where a heart-shaped rock (known as “the heart of the world”) rests. Within this rock are arteries that reach toward the four solstice points.

These centers, it is easy to see, form a series of centers that are both atop each other in an obvious layering effect and also all the same in their overlay. None of these centers can exist without the others, and they seem to form around one another in ever tightening rings. Each center is itself, unique; each center is also all the other centers.

Eliade indicates that religion itself is an orienting force, one that gives us a focal point from which to make sense of the world. When we are in a profane state, one that is not sacred, we have no point of reference. It is only through the breakthrough of the sacred into the profane world, the hierophany, that orientation is possible. “The heirophany reveals an absolute fixed point, a center.”

It is the finding of this fixed point, this center, which allows us to make sense of the world. If religion is indeed about finding ways to orient ourselves, to place ourselves in relative location to everything else, then we must find those centers, even if we must create them. The creation of those centers is similar to founding the cosmos.

Centers themselves are different from the rest of the world. They are places that allow this orientation, an orientation that the profane world cannot provide. Many of us are familiar with the axis mundi, or the axis of the world from Eliade. These cosmic pillars can only exist, according to Eliade, at the center of the universe, and all things extend about it. It supports the sky and finds its roots deep within the earth, and its presence is not an ordering force, but a break, a rip in the fabric of the profane world that allows the sacred to pour into and destroy the homogeneity of space.²

The destruction of the homogenous space is made possible by openings to other worlds, allowing travel and communication between them. In the case of the Zuni, there are four upper worlds and four underworlds that the axis mundi allows access to. Time also begins at the center, and mythical time exists at the outskirts of their cosmos.³

In Druidic cosmology, we find that the center of the world has three parts: Well, Fire, and Sacred Tree. Often, we think of the Tree as the axis mundi, but it is not the only center in ritual. Indeed, all the hallows are a center, and they combine to form the center. The center is not complete with only the tree, for while the tree grows high and is rooted deep, it cannot devour our sacrifices as the fire can, nor can it carry our voices to the depths of the earth as the well can.

Instead, the center must make use of all parts of the hallows: Well, Fire, and Tree. Beyond that, though, there is also the center of the earth, the heart of the Earth Mother, upon whose breast we build our Fire, root our Tree, and sink our Well. We establish the center above her heart, above the center of the earth.

The Grove itself has a center, the place in the middle of those Grove members gathered that the energies and the focus of the ritual are centered. Within each other, we find our own orientation, our own center: there is no stronger center, no larger axis, no more powerful hierophany than that of a Grove standing together, orienting themselves to one another, and finding their place in the centers others can offer.

Most important, though, is another center that must not only be found, but that the ritual cannot happen without: the center of ourselves. Each of us, within our own heart, must find the center of our beings, the inner center that allows us to stand in the center, to be our own axis mundi. From us, all things radiate, and within ourselves we can discover a rift between the sacred and the profane.

If we cannot find the center of ourselves, if the hierophany of our hearts cannot be seen, then others cannot find it within us. If the Grove cannot orient itself by combining these centers, then it cannot find the center of the earth, the heartbeat of the Earth Mother. If we cannot orient ourselves to that center, then we cannot orient our hallows, and the Well, Fire, and Tree will not stand at the center of the worlds.

Centers are unlike any other thing in ritual: they are where we establish them. Yes, they can appear naturally, and there are places that a center is more likely to appear than others, but to truly do the work of magic, we need to learn to establish them, to place them atop one another, to blend them and to maintain their distinctions. We must find them in ourselves, either through meditation or ritual, and we must learn to use the point of reference created by our own center to orient ourselves to the other centers around us.

As Joseph Campbell said, “The center is everywhere; the circumference is nowhere.”

Fire

Of the three common gates in the Sacred Center, it is the Fire that is most important within Druid ritual and Druidic cosmology. It is clear that like the eastern Indo-European religions, our own has developed into a fire-cult.

This is a good thing, and sensible. Rituals can occur without wells, trees, portals, and shafts in the ground, but when we boil down the things that are vital to our religion, the one thing we cannot worship without is a representation of fire. Without fire, it is as if we are empty-handed when we invite the Spirits and Powers: we can offer them no way to warm themselves, we can offer nothing to them to satiate their hunger or slack their thirst, and we have no symbol to build a center around. Because of this, it is right to say a prayer to the fire any time one is kindled, and the kindling of a fire is a prayer in itself.

The fire also crosses the three divisions of the cosmos: kindled on the earth, the fire’s flames leap into the atmosphere, and the pillar of smoke created supports the celestial realm. The fire is connected intimately with the celestial waters, often said to be born from them.

Our Grove often quotes a partial verse from the Rgveda: “Let us pray with a good fire.” This phrase, from RV I.26.8, means many things to our Grove. It conjures images of not only a fire of piety within us, where we ignite that religious or spiritual fire, but also of the physical fire before us, to which we make offerings, giving a command to each: one that tells us how to behave in ritual, and one which tells the fire how to behave, as well. By “praying with a good fire,” we recognize both the fire within and the fire without, the piety of both our belief and our actions: we do not come before our gods empty-handed.

The fire is intimately connected to the sacrifice. Agni, the Vedic fire god, not only devours the sacrifice, but he calls the gods forth to sit upon the sacrificial grass, and he transfers the sacrifice to the rest of the host of gods and goddesses, who (it is said) cannot be exhilarated without him.

It is also no coincidence that of all the Vedic gods, Agni is the most closely connected to humans and the guest-host relationship. The continuous presence of fire in the households of our Indo-European ancestors speaks to why this is. Across the IE spectrum, fire is spoken of as a friend to humankind, called a good guest, and connected with the ancestors (who kindled fire before we did). There is no sacred thing that is more often invited into the lives of those who follow an IE religion in general, and Druidry in particular.

In Zoroastrian ritual, the two basic cult objects are still fire and water, both of which are offered to in the daily yasna ritual. This ritual seeks to purify the fire, called the son of the Lord of Wisdom and placed in the south of the ritual precinct, which is the place of goodness and bounty.

In many ways, the fire is the counterpart of the priest, a sort of example that our own priests must follow. By bringing the deities to the place of sacrifice, by transmitting the offering, and by knowing the ways of the sacrifice, the fire is the perfect priest.

Fires also play an integral part in ordering the cosmos (as does the priest in IE religions), and this can particularly be seen in the use of fire to make a place habitable and to bring it into the dominion of humans. When he first arrived in Iceland, Thorolf Mostrarskegg marked out his land and then took fire around the borders in order to claim the land as his own. There is no clearer way than kindling a fire to inform all the Powers and Spirits that we are here, and we are prepared to receive the Kindreds as our guests.

And so we say:

At our center burns a living flame.

Communication

Druidic ritual is based not only on the idea that the Kindreds are receptive to our voices, accepting of our gifts, and interested in a relationship with us; but also that they will speak back to us, offer us gifts in return, and continue that relationship with reciprocity. Most importantly, the Kindreds understand us when we communicate with them, and have given us ways to understand them when they communicate with us.

Each Druidic ritual calls out to ask the Powers questions about our relationship. These communications take many forms and use many different sorts of symbol sets: ogham, runes, oracle cards, augury, and tarot cards are just a few of the methods that might be used in our rituals.

What is often most important is not necessarily the type of symbol that is used, but an intimate familiarity with the symbols and a knowledge of these symbols that is shared with the Powers. Communication goes two ways: both sides of the conversation must understand not only the symbols used to communicate, but also how those symbols are interpreted by the other side. This means that it is up to us to choose a form appropriate to the Powers and appropriate to ourselves, and to study that form in enough depth that when the symbol is drawn or the bird flies from south to north, we know and understand the message as it is intended to be understood.

There are several methods of taking an omen in ritual, and the questions vary from Grove to Grove and even Druid to Druid. Most will ask three questions. Three Cranes Grove, ADF, uses this set:

1. Have our offerings been accepted?
2. What blessings do the Powers offer in return?
3. What further needs do the Powers have of us?

We have asked these questions because they seem to get us the most detailed answers we can possibly seek. We hear from the Powers not only whether the ritual went well, but what blessings we might receive in the cup and any further instruction they may have to give. It is because of the breadth of response that is possible that our Grove has stuck with this format.

Other Groves ask a different series of questions, which changes the focus of the ritual a bit:

1. What blessings do the Ancestors offer us?
2. What blessings do the Nature Spirits offer us?
3. What blessings do the Shining Ones offer us?

The above three questions start with the assumption that the Powers have accepted the sacrifices given, and will be offering blessings in return for the gifts.

Hemlock Vales Protogrove, ADF, has settled on a hybrid, in which four questions are asked of the Kindreds:

1. Have our offerings been accepted?
2. What blessings do the Ancestors offer us?
3. What blessings do the Nature Spirits offer us?
4. What blessings do the Shining Ones offer us?

This, of course, solves the issues with the alternate three questions listed above, and also dispenses with the “three question” format that is so popular (sometimes, it’s nice that things don’t always come in three’s).

For our Grove’s Druid Moon rituals, we ask a different set of three questions, ones designed to learn different things about our Grove:

1. What is our Path?
2. On what should the Grove focus until the next Druid Moon?
3. On what should each individual focus until the next Druid Moon?

The idea with these questions was to look at how we have done in the past, consider where we are going as a Grove in the future, and think about how we, as individuals, can do work in our own lives for the next month.

Remember, too, that negative responses should always be considered a very real possibility. Resist the urge to turn a negative omen into a positive one, and always go with your first instinct. For a very frightening omen, you might think about flipping coins. Nothing says “honesty” like increasing the odds for a negative omen!

This communication aspect of Druidic ritual is very much dependent on the tenet of “hard polytheism” discussed above. The individual Powers have the ability to communicate with us and express their opinions and enhance their relationships with us through a set of symbols we share. Also, this is another “ritual assumption” that is integral to how our rituals work. However you see divination (as communication with your own subconscious mind, as a way to tap into the akashic records, or any other of a number of theories), in our rituals divination is between ourselves and the Powers is very much a real communication with real beings, where we ask a question and we receive an answer.

World-Affirming

Druidic ritual, as mentioned above, is firmly rooted in the Earth Mother. It is concerned not with inner worlds or reaching a higher spiritual plane, but with perfecting this world in order to bring the spiritual into the physical. Our concern with the physical even extends to those around us: Druidry is about our entire community, whether that community is made up of other humans, plants, animals, or Spirits.

In a Druidic world view, each person, plant, animal, and spirit is important to the world order: each plays a part in our own rta and the cosmic order as a whole. When we make sacrifice at our fire, we are bound together with those who have made sacrifice before us, and those who will make sacrifice after us. Ritual is a community-building event between humans and the Kindreds.

The most basic way to communicate with the Kindreds is through prayer, but so closely allied to the idea of prayer is the offering that we cannot begin to discuss one without the other. Offering, of course, is the act of bringing gifts to the Kindreds in order to establish a *ghosti relationship. Bringing things that we value to the Kindreds, and knowing that they value these things as well (for they see fit to respond to our offerings with blessings) indicates that the physical is sacred, as well as the spiritual.

Part of why we make offerings is because there is no real division for Neo-Pagans between the physical and the spiritual; indeed, the best sacrifices are somehow “touched” by human hands (thus the use of worked silver over raw ore, cultivated plants over picked wildflowers, poetry crafted from divine inspiration over pure awen, and the historic use of domesticated over wild animals). This realm is the realm we are concerned with: the Earth Mother, the sacred center, and the Kindreds are all best described as an integral part of this physical world. As a result, the idea that physical offerings might not be welcome is foreign to our conception as Neo-Pagans. Indeed, the act of offering is indistinguishable from the act of prayer: every prayer is an offering, and every offering is a prayer.

Importantly, too, the physical space of ritual, including things brought into the space from outside, can be considered sacred. Much as a sacrifice should be somehow “man-made” to show our care and the importance of the task of creating the gift, the tools we bring and the sacred center we create are all clearly a part of the cosmos during ritual. While in some traditions, there is a clear line between what is “sacred” and what is “profane” even outside of ritual context (see, for instance, the prohibition against ever using an athame to cut anything physical in Wicca, in or out of ritual space), a ritual implement in Druidic ritual is not something that must always be kept in the realm of the sacred. In some harvest rites, a sickle is used to cut down a sheaf of wheat: this is not a symbolic harvest, but a physical act that is a small example of the harvest that is now ended.

Our rituals are not built on symbols, but rather on exemplifications. Rather than signify something in the cosmos, we recognize that each part of the sacred center is made up of the “stuff” of the cosmos. Just as a swatch of cloth does not symbolize the cloth, but is a piece of the cloth itself, our ritual items and tools are not symbols, but actual samples of cosmic realities. In our rituals, the Tree is not a symbol of the World Tree, but its wood is a part of the cosmic World Tree. The waters of the Well are not symbolic of the cosmic waters, but they are drawn from the cosmic Waters. The Fire at the center of our ritual is not a symbol of the cosmic Fire, but rather a spark that exemplifies the cosmic Fire.

The easiest way to think about this is to compare how we talk about the sacred center in ritual as opposed to how we talk about a country’s flag. When we speak of the well, we call it “eye and mouth of earth,” “cauldron of inspiration,” and ask it to “flow within us.” We do not speak of what it “represents” or what it is “like;” rather, we speak of what it is. When we speak about a country’s flag, we talk about what the colours mean and what the flag as a whole stands for.

Through praising things in the world, we also praise the spirits who inhabit this world and the beings that created it.

Power and Responsibility

As we stand at the center of the worlds, we have the ability to affect all things and all times. Here we stand at the foot of the World Tree, the Fire burning brightly and raising our words to the heavens, while the Well resounds with our voices and sinks them down to the world below. Everything in ritual is a piece of the cosmos, active and present in a way that we can affect it.

When we call out to the Kindreds, they come to our fire. They listen to our words, and they receive our sacrifices. As part of the worship bargain, they offer blessings to us in return. The Earth Mother, who we love and honour, is given sacrifice so that she will uphold us and keep us throughout the rite, as she does each day of our lives. We call upon old bargains and long relationships with various beings, including the Gatekeeper, who we trust to guide and ward us as we walk these Elder Ways. We affect the cosmos in mighty ways each time we enter ritual space.

It is important to note, however, that as we do these things, we also affect ourselves and our communities. We are a part of the cosmos, and a part of the world.

Because all things that we do affect the cosmos, it is important that we remember that we must be good hosts and good guests. Our courage to work magic in ritual must be tempered by the integrity to work the right magics. No matter what, standing in ritual is not about the individual doing the work, but about the relationships formed and strengthened by the work that is done. ADF teaches of Nine Pagan Virtues, and as we work ritual we must remain aware of them, for each affects the cosmos as well as the self.

The Nine Pagan Virtues are wisdom, piety, vision, courage, integrity, perseverance, hospitality, moderation, and fertility.

• Wisdom is the intersection of knowing what is right and making the decision to do that right thing. By understanding the patterns of the cosmos and choosing an action that is right with it, we have made proper use of the power that ritual provides for us.
• Piety is the intersection of belief and right action, with an emphasis on right action. Piety itself is the undertaking of an action that is right in the cosmos. It is observance and work in reciprocity with the beings who inhabit the worlds.
• Vision is the ability to see what is right in the cosmos, understanding the connections between things, and understanding where the connections lead.
• Courage is “doing what needs to be done,” especially in the face of fear. The thing that needs to be done is not always easy, nor is it always clear; however, vision and wisdom will help one decide on the correct course to take.
• Integrity is being “whole.” This means internally (eating right, exercising, and staying healthy), communally (participating in the world in a way that benefits others), and cosmically (maintaining agreements and relationships, keeping our word, and sacrificing). Only by being healthy can we do ritual; only by seeking to benefit others in ritual can we work ritual with meaning; and only through the act of sacrifice and keeping our word can we interact wholly with the Kindreds.
• Perseverance is meeting adversity and overcoming it. It is the manifestation of motivation, the end result of having the desire to do something right in the cosmos.
• Hospitality, as we have discussed, is a central virtue in ritual: it is the *ghosti- relationship, where we enter a joyful partnership with the Kindreds and offer them gift for gift, sacrifice for blessing, and they enter this relationship with equal joy.
• Moderation is the knowledge of limits and necessity, the striking of balance in our lives. It is joy in the ordinary and seeking the spiritual.
• Fertility is not just creative ideas, but creativity that is maintained. It does not exist in unfinished projects, but in the end result of the projects.

These Nine Pagan Virtues apply directly to what we do in ritual. They are vital to keep in our hearts and to be mindful of in our actions. It is not about us, but about things being right in the cosmos. It is about the rta. Let us do what is right with the power we have in ritual, for only then can we do what is right at all.

---

Notes

¹ — Ceisiwr Serith, A Book of Pagan Prayer

² — For further reading on Eliade’s theory of hierophany and centers, see The Sacred & the Profane: The Nature of Religion by Mircae Eliade. ISBN: 015679201X

³ — For the Water Skate myth and Zuni centers, see New Directions in American Archeoastronomy, edited by Anthony F. Aveni: Oxford, England: 1988. ISBN 0860545830. The article in question is “Directionality as a Conceptual Model for Zuni Expressive Behavior” by M. Jane Young.

The Standard ADF Liturgy (A full version)

by Ian Corrigan

Note: we also have a brief version, more suited to printing and using as a ritual cue sheet.

Procession Opening Prayers Grove Attunement Fire, Well, and Tree Purpose and Precedent Purification Opening the Gates Kindred Offerings Key Offerings Sacrifice and Omen The Blessings Work Closing

0: The Sacred Grove is arranged as described. The celebrants hallow the Grove; the Fire is lit, the Well is filled, the Tree is blessed.

Procession

With singing, arrive and circle the hallows deosil. The Druids complete the sigil, then give the opening prayers.

Opening Prayers

A: Earth Mother: All kneel and kiss the earth. The Chief speaks as the Sacrificer makes an offering of grain, bread or flour:

O beloved mother of all
From whose starry womb the green earth springs
You who are the bearer of all life
We pray you bless and uphold this rite.

All: Mother of all accept our offering!

B: Awen: The Bard invokes, saying:

Power of inspiration that attends us
Voice of the fire of wisdom,
voice of the well of inspiration
Come into our hearts’ shrine
O! Into our hearts’ shrine
Let us ken of every good or ill,
Guide our rite in the way of truth
I call you to place the clear heart in us
O power of inspiration in this holy place
O power of inspiration at this holy time
So be it!

Grove Attunment

The Druids lead a meditation intended to attune the company to the Earth and Sky powers and to join the company in spirit. This might conclude with an intoning or a proper chant or hymn.

Fire, Well And Tree

Druids or members of the grove make offerings to the Sacred Center. Silver is offered to the well, saying:

O sacred waters that flow and swirl beneath all being accept our offering! Let us know the elder depths within ourselves the source of all, the well of elder wisdom

Tobar naomh, ruith a steach mise!

All respond: Sacred well, flow within us!

An offering of oil is made to the Fire, saying:

O sacred fire that consumes and transforms
True and holy light of the shining ones
Accept our offering! O sacrificed and sacrificer
Let holy flame warm our spirits and our lives.

Teinne naomh, ls a steach mise!

All: Sacred fire, burn within us!

The Bile is censed and sprinkled, saying:

O sacred pillar, boundary of all worlds,
Stand at the center of the sky,
Stand at the center of the sea,
Stand at the center of the land on which we dwell.
Let us be deepened in your depths
Raised to your heights
Strengthened in your strength

Crann naomh, fas a steach mise!

All: Sacred tree, grow within us!

Purpose And Precedent

As proper to the work.

Purification

A: Outdwellers: An offering is made to the south of the Grove, saying:

Ancient dark ones, we make this offering to you.
You who dwell in the outer dark
You who stood against the gods
You twisted and misshapen
You cold of heart and dim of mind
Take this offering and trouble not our working.

Likewise we acknowledge in ourselves
Weakness and perversity
Hatred and spite
Cowardice and ignorance
We contemplate these ills and enemies
And for this sacred time
We set them aside!

B: Fire and Water: Druids draw water from the Well and light a censer from the Fire. They quickly cense and asperge the company, while the company intones or chants.

Opening The Gates

The sacrificer makes an offering to Manannan, saying:

A Manannan, a thiarna na geatai duinn, ta muid ag siul ar do bealach.

O Manannan, Lord of the Gates, Lord of Wisdom, open the ways for us. We walk in your holy ways, we walk the Sacred Road. Share your magic with us, ward us as we walk in safety. Manannan mac Lir, accept our sacrifice!

An offering of oil is given to the Fire. The Druid then conjures the Gates, making an opening triskel on the Fire and Well, saying:

Now, lord of ways, join your magic with mine and let the fire open as a gate, let the well open as a gate, let the tree be the crossroads of all worlds. Open as a road to our voices and to the spirits. Let the gates be open!

All: Let the gates be open!

Kindred Offerings

The druids make proper offerings to each of the kindreds, standing at the fire.

Ancestors

The children of the earth call out to the mighty dead. Hear us, our ancestors, our kindred.

Eistigi anois, a shinseara, a mhuintir

To all those whose bones lie in this land, whose hearts are tied to it, whose memory holds it; ancient tribes of this place, we offer you welcome.

To all of our grandmothers and grandfathers, our own beloved dead, blood-kin and heart-kin; ancient tribes of our blood, we offer you welcome.

To all those elder wise ones who guide their people, poets and seers, judges and magicians; wise women and men of ancient days, we offer you welcome. So, o mighty ones, we call to you as our kin, in the love of the all-mother, to join in our magic. Come to our fire, spirits; meet us at the boundary. Guide and ward us as we walk the elder ways. Ancestors, accept our sacrifice!

A shinseara, glac an h-iobairt seo muid!

(an offering of food and/or drink is made onto the ground or into a shaft)

Nature Spirits

The children of earth call out to the spirits of this land. Hear us, companions and teachers.

Eistigi anois, a sprideanna na haite seo.

To all our allies, kindreds of stone and stream, crystal and fertile soil, pools and every water; kins of the earth, we offer you welcome

To all our allies, kindreds of the growing green, herb and flower, shrub and mighty trees, root and stem and fruit. Green kins, we offer you welcome.

To all our allies, kindreds of fur and feather and scale, all who walk or fly or swim or crawl, we offer you welcome.

So, o noble ones, we call to you as our allies, in the joy of life upon earth, to join in our magic. Come to our fire, spirits; meet us at the boundary. Guide and ward us as we walk the elder ways. land-spirits, accept our sacrifice!

A sprideanna na talamh, glac an h-iobairt seo muid.

(an offering of herbs, flowers and/or trinkets is scattered around the nemeton’s edge or hung on the tree)

Deities

The children of earth call out to the shining ones. Hear us, eldest and brightest. eistgigi anois, a dheithe na seanamsiri.

To all the shining ones, first children of the mother, wisest and mightiest, loving and comforting; gods and goddesses, we offer you welcome.

To the gods and goddesses of this place, ancient and powerful, known to us or unknown; gods of this place, we offer you welcome.

To all the deities of those here gathered, you whom we worship, you who bless our lives; o patrons and matrons, we offer you welcome.

So, o shining ones, we call to you as our elders, in reverence and love, to join in our magic. Come to our fire, shining ones; meet us at the boundary. guide and ward us as we walk the elder ways. deities, accept our sacrifice!

A dheithe, glac an h-iobairt seo muid.

(an offering of scented oil is poured on the fire)

After all the offerings have been made, the druids recenter the company and lead an attunement to all the spirits that have been called, and a proper chant or hymn is sung to the three kindreds.

Key Offerings

Druid speaks, saying:

Failte! A dheithe, a seanara, a sprideanna! Welcome to the god/desses, the dead and the sidhe! To all of you who have gathered at our fire, we pray you join us in worshipping the patrons of this holy rite here in our sacred grove.

The druids now give the descriptive invocations of the patron powers of the rite. This is followed by any proper customs for the occasion, and by praise offerings. offerings are made, and a portion of each is held back for the final sacrifice.

Sacrifice and Omen

The druids prepare the final offerings and say:

So we have given of our love and our wealth to the lord and lady. Now let our voices arise on the fire, let our voices sound in the well let our words pass the boundary to the otherworlds. o lord, o lady, we give you our love, our respect, our devotion as we pray you…

Bhantiarna agus tiarna, glac an h-iobairt seo muid!

All: Lady and Lord, accept our sacrifice!

All are led to send their energy through the gates to the powers, meditating on the deities and the nobles. Then druid speaks:

Having prayed to the powers, let us open to them, asking what blessings they offer us in return.

Omen is taken as usual. The seer then interprets the omen, leading the company to contemplate the things they would ask of the powers, especially as suggested by the omen. Company recenters in preparation for the blessing.

The Blessing

A: The litany of the waters:

Druid speaks:

Ancient and mighty ones we have honored you. We pray you honor us in turn, for a gift calls for a gift. Hear your children…

All: Shining ones, give us the waters!

We thirst for the waters of wisdom, of bounty, of rebirth from the well of wisdom, from the spring of renewal, from the bosom of the earth mother. Hear us…

All: Shining ones, give us the waters!

We open our hearts to the great ones blessing. We stand in pride, honor and friendship with all the powers of the worlds. Hear and answer us now…

All: Shining ones, give us the waters!

B: Hallowing the waters:

Ale is poured into the horns and elevated. Druid speaks:

We draw blessing from the cauldron of blessing. We pour the ale of inspiration. Behold the holy cup of magic, the outpouring of blessing from the mighty ones. When we share the draught of the gods we drink in wisdom, love and strength to do as we will in the worlds, in service to the shining ones.

Eisdigh anois a tiarna, a bhantiarna; beannaich na h-uisci seo duinn! Hear us o lord, o lady; hallow these waters! We, your children, rejoice in your gift. Bless our spirits and our lives with love, magic and bounty as we drink these sacred waters.

Seo iad uisci na beatha!

All: Behold the waters of life!

The horns are passed and all drink as a proper hymn is sung.

Work

As needed.

Closing

When all is done, the druids lead a resettling, then begin to close the grove, saying:

The mighty ones have blessed us. With joy in our hearts let us carry the magic from our sacred grove into our lives and work.

Each time we offer to the powers they be come stronger and more aware of our needs and our worship.

So now as we prepare to depart let us give thanks to those who have aided us.

O (patron powers), go raibh maith agaibh!

All: We thank you!

O gods and goddesses of elder days, go raibh maith agaibh!

All: We thank you!

O spirits of this land, go raibh maith agaibh!

All: We thank you!

O ancestors, our kindred, go raibh maith agaibh!

All: We thank you!

To all those powers that have aided us, we say again…

Go raibh maith agaibh!

All: We thank you!

Druids renew the company’s centering once more, signaling the return to common awareness and ease of access to the centered state. Then any unused offerings, return flow, incense, water etc. is given to the earth, saying:

Mother of all, to you we return all we leave unused. Uphold us now in the world as you have in our rite.

Go raibh maith agaibh!

All: We thank you!

The druids go to the center, bearing the wand. They speak:

O gatekeeper, warder of the ways, for your presence and power, your guiding and guarding we say…

Go raibh maith agaibh!

All: We thank you!

Druid makes the closing sign over the hallows with the wand, saying:

Now by the keeper of gates and by our magic we end what we began.

Now let the fire be flame
Let the well be water;
Let all be as it was before.
Let the gates be closed!

All: Let the gates be closed!

Go now, children of the earth, in peace and blessings. the rite is ended!

The bard leads a proper chant as the company processes out of the Grove.

http://www.adf.org/rituals/explanations/liturgy.html

Standard Liturgical Outline

(Items in italics represent optional steps)

Preliminary Ritual Activity

• Briefing
• Individual Meditations & Prayers
• Lighting the Sacred Fire(s)
• Pouring the Sacred Waters
• Optional: Consecrating the Sacred Pole
• Optional: Consecrating the Altar & Tools

1st Phase
Starting the Rite and Establishing the Groupmind

Clearcut Beginning: Consecration of Time

• Musical Signal
• Opening Prayer

Consecration of Space & of Participants

• The Processional/Sigil Marking
• Purification(s) of Participants
• Optional: Purification(s) of Site
• Honoring the Earth-Mother

Centering, Grounding, & Merging

• The Grove Meditation
• Unity Chant/Song
• Specification of Ritual Purpose & Historical Precedent
• Naming Deity(ies) of the Occasion & Reasons for Choice

2nd Phase
Recreating the Cosmos and Preliminary Power Raising

Creating the Vertical Axis

• Planting the Cosmic Tree/Honoring the Sacred Pole
• Evoking the Gate Keeper/Defining the Ritual Center
• Evoking the Fire & Water Deities & Linking to Center

Gaining Assistance & Preventing Interferences

• Invoking the Bardic Deity(ies) or Spirit
• Acknowledgement of the Outsiders

Filling Out the Cosmic Picture by Invoking..

• Nature Spirits, Ancestors, Deities in Three Worlds or..
  Helpful Beings of each World/Realm or..
  Helpful Beings by Province/Function or..
  (Type and number will vary according to ethnic cosmologies.)
  (Possibly different invocations at each of five fires.)
• Settling and Focusing

3rd Phase
Major Sending of Power to Deity/ies of the Occasion

• Descriptive Invocation of Diety(ies) of the Occasion

Primary Power Raising

• Praise Offerings, Dance, Libations, etc.
• The Sacrifice
• Seeking the Omen of Return

4th Phase
Receiving and Using the Returned Power

Preparation for the Return

• Meditation upon Personal and Group Needs
• Induction of Receptivity
• Consecration Agreement

Reception of Power from Dieity(ies) of the Occasion

• Consecration and Sharing
• Acceptance of Individual Blessings
• Reinforcement of Group Bonding
• Optional: Spell Casting or Rite of Passage

5th Phase
Unwinding and Ending the Ceremony

• Thanking of Entities Invited, in Reverse Order
• Thanking the Gatekeeper & Closing the Gates
• Affirmation of Past/Future Continuity and Success
• Unmerging, Regrounding & Recentering – Meditation
• Draining off Excess Power – The Restoration

Clearcut Ending: Deconsecration of Time and Space

• Final Benediction
• Announcement of End
• Dissolving the Sigil
• Musical Signal

This is the standard outline that we would like everyone to use for public or semi-public ADF ceremonies, at least for the eight High Days, for reasons outlined in DP. If its too “High Church” for weekly or biweekly celebration, then shorter versions may be created, but you should send copies of your scripts to DP for sharing with the rest of the membership, along with the reasoning behind your changes.

Remember, an enormous amount of thought and effort has been spent to make this pattern esthetically pleasing, historically plausible, magically powerful, and spiritually satisfying. Please don’t casually throw pieces of it away without determining how you’re going to get the same effects, or inject portions of non-Druidic rituals (such as “casting a circle,” “drawing down the moon,” “invoking the Watchtowers,” etc.) that make no sense in terms of this liturgy’s structure, esthetics, polytheology, or goals. Also remember that the “positions” of the ritual leaders can be combined in several ways, depending upon the individuals and talents available.

Detailed instructions on how to prepare and perform this liturgy will be found in the ADF Liturgical Handbook.

A more filled-in version of the liturgy is also available.

http://www.adf.org/rituals/explanations/brief-lit.html

A Cosmological Pre-Ritual Briefing

http://www.adf.org/rituals/explanations/prerite-briefing-cosmos.html

by Kirk Thomas

For the benefit of those who are not familiar with what we do in ADF, let me quickly explain our cosmology and what we expect to achieve in our ritual.

We are a sacrificial religion, which means that we strive to create and maintain relationships with the spiritual powers around us. This includes the Gods, the Spirits of the land and the earth, and our Ancestors, those kin of blood and kin of heart dear to us, as well as the peoples who lived in this place before us.

When we use the word, ‘sacrifice’, we mean something very specific, which may not be what you think. The word ‘sacrifice’ comes from the Latin words ‘sacer’ and ‘facere’, which only mean ‘to make sacred’. The word ‘sacer’ means ‘to set apart’, so when we make sacrifice we are only setting things apart from our normal world that they might exist in sacred space and time. It doesn’t mean that we’re killing animals or people or anything like that.

There are three kinds of sacrifice in ADF ritual – reciprocity, the shared meal, and the mitigation of order with chaos. We can perform all three in our rituals, at various times.

The most common form we use is reciprocity – we give that we might receive. Now, this isn’t a quid pro quo so much as a relationship. You give love and support and, occasionally, gifts to your friends, and you expect the same love and support and occasional gifts in return. This is the normal way relationships work. And this is what we do with the Powers. We make offerings to Them, and later, we will ask for Their blessings in return.

We deflect any Outdwellers, which is what we call problem spirits who are not aligned with our ways, by giving them a drink or food. And since a gift calls for a gift in return, in the spirit of reciprocity, we trust that they will stay away. Some Groves make sacrifices to a guardian God or Spirit to protect the rite in addition to, or instead of, offering to the Outdwellers.

The second form of sacrifice, the ‘shared meal’, is when we offer something, like a loaf of bread, giving part of it as an offering to the Powers while the rest of the bread is shared among us all. The ‘mitigation of order with chaos’ is when we make our Praise Offerings. These slightly chaotic moments that we bring to our rituals help to keep us from becoming too rigid or formal.

But how do we get the attention of the Kindreds – the Gods, Nature Spirits and Ancestors?

In most religious ritual, whether we are aware of it or not, we re-create the origins of the universe, bringing ourselves into sacred space and time, that communication may be made easier.

First we re-establish the Three Worlds of the Heavens (the place of the Shining Ones), the Mid-World (where we live) and the Underworld (where our Ancestors dwell) by doing the Two Powers meditation, which brings the Underworld powers, the powers of chaos, and the Heaven or Sky Powers, the powers of order, into ourselves, that we might be like the World Tree and connect the Worlds. We call this re-creating the vertical axis.

Sometimes we also fill out this cosmic picture by re-establishing the Three Realms of Land, Sea and Sky (the three parts of the Mid-World), or by calling the 5 directions, or whatever. We call this the horizontal axis.

The place where the vertical axis of Heavens, Mid-World and Underworld intersects with the horizontal axis of Land, Sea and Sky is the place that we call “The Sacred Center” or the “Center of the Worlds”. And this place is where the veils between our world and the Otherworlds are thinnest. This sacred ‘place’ is where the universe was created, and it is all places and no place at the same time. But we re-create it here. We are also in sacred ‘time’, which is all time and no time, when the universe was created originally.

To help us connect with the Sacred Center, we consecrate and re-connect the Three Hallows in our rite. These physical objects are what we will use to pierce that veil between the Worlds, and we call them the three Gates. They are the Well (which connects to the Underworld and the powers of chaos), the Fire (which connects to the Heavens and the powers of order) and the Tree (which grows in our Midworld but connects us to the other Worlds).

When we open the Gates, we are sending out an open invitation to the Powers, an announcement, as it were, that we are here as a group and wish to commune with Them. We then make sacrifices to Them, which are offerings of food, drink, inspiration or precious objects, inviting Them into our rite with us. And when all sacrifices have been made, we ask for Their blessings to be given us in return.

So we are here to re-create the Sacred Center, make our sacrifices to the Kindreds, and ask them for their blessings and wisdom, forging and maintaining our relationships with Them all.

The ADF Outline of Worship: A Briefing for Newcomers

I’ve decided to put a few of ADF’s public articles here for easy reference.

An article by Ian Corrigan which can be found here:   http://www.adf.org/rituals/explanations/prerite-briefing.html

Bright blessings, and welcome! This pamphlet is an introduction to the structure and meaning of our Pagan worship. We hope that you find our work as uplifting and fulfilling as we do.

The Intention of Our Rite

Any Druidic ritual has as a primary intention the re-weaving of the links between human-kind, the natural world, and the God/desses and Spirits who support both. For thousands of years human culture lived in more or less intimate communion with the unseen worlds. Over the centuries of European culture these ties have been weakened, until our modern materialism is endangering the very air and water that sustains our life. We work to reconnect with the powers of Land, Sea and Sky, honoring the spirit that is in them as well as their physical realities.

As with any religious path we also seek blessings for ourselves, our families and communities. We open our hearts to the flow of divine blessing that comes from our God/desses. We seek also to awaken that same divine spark in our own souls, so that we can bless the world in return.

Ár nDraíocht Féin is a small part of the neoPagan movement, one of the fastest-growing currents in modern religion. From our beginnings we have been committed to serving the whole Pagan community. Druidic worship is open and inclusive. We welcome Pagans of every tradition and path, as well as those who want to learn more about Druidry or pagan ways in general. We ask only that you respect our ways; you can expect the same from us.

Principles of Druidic Worship

The outer form of our worship, like all ceremony, is made up of spoken prayers, invocations and statements combined with traditional actions. While we have reclaimed some of these from pre-Christian Europe we do not grant them the status of revelation or scripture. All ritual speech is made by humans to help turn our minds more effectively toward the Divine. Druidry teaches that beautiful speech, poetry or music pleases and influences the Powers, and so we fill our rites with these things to the best of our ability.

A central action of our rites is the giving of gifts to the Powers. This is commonly called sacrifice (Latin: to make sacred). We teach that the God/desses and Spirits are strengthened by our offerings, and show their gratitude by blessing the givers. In pagan ways humans are not mere dependents of even the greatest Deities. Rather they depend on our love and offerings as we depend on their blessing and aid.

While it is true that the ancients offered animal and even occasional human lives to the Powers, our modern Paganism rejects any offering that takes life or causes injury. We offer our God/desses flowers, food, drink, incense and scented oil, precious metals and gems, poetry and song, but never blood.

The soul-skills that bind Pagan worship together are the techniques of meditation and trance. By concentrating our minds on the symbols and words of the rite, by relaxing our bodies and letting go of our internal dialogue and by strongly visualising the rite’s energy flows and Deities we induce a state of mind that allows contact with Inner worlds.

In every Druidic rite there will be a series of spoken instructions intended to help induce this trance. Following these suggestions with an open mind will deepen your experience. Remember that all such guidance is just that; you are in control of your state of mind at all times. Yet it is through consenting to trance that you can know our Magic best.

These three principles – ritual, sacrifice and trance combine to produce the magic of Druidic worship.

The Outline of Druidic Rites

Part 1: Establishing the Grove

In ancient days Pagans gathered in places hallowed by tradition. Sometimes these were temple buildings. More often they were groves and glens in the deep forest, or high places. In our times we must usually recreate the holy atmosphere of the Sacred Groves by ritual and meditation.

The Procession: In some cases the presiding priest/ess will come out of the Grove and lead a procession of all the worshippers into the holy place. Usually this is accompanied by song. At other times the worshippers are sent to meditate alone then called to the Grove by horn, drum or song. When approaching the Grove one tradition is to circle the Center of the Grove three times in the sunwise direction. Honoring the Mother: The priest/ess usually gives a simple statement of beginning, followed by a prayer and offering to the Earth Mother who upholds our lives and rites. One common custom is to bend and kiss, or place a hand on, the earth to honor Her.

Opening Meditation: The priest/ess or a Grove member will lead a basic grounding and centering. This attunement helps us to connect our individual souls with the Two Powers. The Earth Current or Underworld Power carries the dark, mixed elements from which all forms arise. The Sky Current, or Starry Power is the ordering pattern that crystallizes forms out of the Underworld potential. Together these powers manifest the Middle World in which we live.

Following the Grove meditation the Priest/ess gives a statement of the intention and purpose of the rite and its precedent in the Ways of the ancients.

Affirming the World Order: Druidic ritual is anchored in the Sacred Center of the Grove. The Center is conceived as a meeting-place of the common world with the Otherworlds of the Spirits. We use one or more of the universal symbols of the Center – the Fire, the Well and the World-Tree. Fire connects us with the Sky, the Well with the Underworld and the Tree is the Boundary Between All Worlds, rooted deep and crowned high.

In this phase of the ritual the Order of the Worlds is acknowledged – first the vertical axis of Under- Mid- and Starry Worlds. The rite may then honor the three worlds of Land, Sea and Sky, or the Four Directions.

By affirming these symbols in our rite we acknowledge them in ourselves, making our own souls a temple in which the God/desses may dwell.

Opening the Gates: Meditation on the World Order is a valuable spiritual tool all by itself. The next part of the rite transforms the simple symbols of the Center into true Magical gates. First the priest/ess invokes the Deity that has charge of the Ways Between, in the pantheon of the rite. We offer to the Gatekeeper and ask their help in the work.

The symbols of the Sacred Center are then conjured to function as the Gates Between. Through these gates we send our love, worship and offerings to the powers and they, in turn, send blessing to us. As long as the Gates are open our thoughts and impulses can be heard clearly by the God/desses and Spirits.

Part 2: Offering to the Powers

Preliminary Offerings: There are two preliminary offerings usually made at this point.

First the Bard of the rite invokes the power of poetic inspiration to indwell both the priest/esses and worshippers. This may be either an offering to a specific Deity or a general attunement to sources of inspiration in the Self.

Next we offer to the spirits commonly called the Outdwellers. These are the Powers that can be inimical to mortals or oppose our own God/desses. We acknowledge their presence, asking them to leave our rites in peace. We also acknowledge the parts of ourselves that might, likewise, interfere with proper worship.

Three Kindred Offerings: In each of our rites we invoke and offer to the Spirits in three categories. We call these the Kindreds to reflect their family relationship with one another and with us. The Nature Spirits are those who ensoul soil and stone, water and wind, bird and beast. The Dead are our ancestors, both those of actual blood or those of our heart and affection. The God/desses are the eldest Children of the Mother, the Brightest, Wisest and Strongest. For each of these we speak an invocation and make a proper offering.

When these Triad Offerings are made the worshippers should meditate on and call to those Spirits that are closest to her. Her own Ancestors, her God/desses, her allies among the Nature Spirits are called to join us in honoring the Patron Powers of the rite.

Patron Offerings: Each of our rites is commonly dedicated to two or more of the God/desses. These are usually chosen either for their connection with the seasonal holiday being celebrated, for their ability in the area of the work being done or their special relationship with the mortal focus of the rite.

The Patrons of the rite are first invoked with expressive prose or poetry, sometimes accompanied by a visualized image of the Deities. A proper offering is made as the priest/ess invokes.

After the formal offerings there is usually a time when members of the company can make personal offerings. Usually these are ‘Praise Offerings’ – offerings of art – songs, poetry etc., though they may be thanks to the Powers for blessings received.

Final Sacrifice and Omen: After the Praise Offerings the priest/ess gives a final Prayer of Sacrifice and makes a large offering to the Fire. This is the moment when every worshipper sends her love and respect, her energy, through the Gates to the Patrons and Powers.

After the Sacrifice the priest/ess seeks an omen, doing a simple divination to determine what sort of blessing the Powers offer in return for our gifts.

Part 3: The Blessing

Opening to Blessing: The priest/ess leads a meditation combining the presence of the powers with the content of the Omen. We also meditate on our own needs, those of our loved ones, and our community.

At this time there is usually a litany in which the assembled company pray to be given the Blessing, in the form of the Waters of Life. In this moment your personal desires should be strongly imagined, held in the mind and heart, with harm to none and for the good of all.

The Waters of Life: The Blessing of the Powers is commonly given as a cup or horn of drink. There is always clear water or fruit juice and sometimes ale, wine or even whiskey (Gaelic: uisge na beatha, water of life). The priest/ess invokes the Blessing as water drawn from the Well of Potentials and held in the light of the Fire of Transformation. We contemplate again our needs, and the Omen as we drink the Blessing. We often sing an anthem or listen quietly during this most reverent moment.

Works: If there is any social or magical task to be accomplished it is done at this time. Healings, announcements of weddings, child blessings, workings for community good may occasionally be part of the rites.

Part 4: Thanks, and Closing

After all is done we give proper thanks to all the Powers. The priest/ess leads us in thanking the Patrons and the Kindreds. We thank the Gatekeeper and conjure the Gates to close. We renew our grounding, our connection with Earth and Sky, and center the energies of the rite in our souls. We allow any excess energy to flow away into the ground as we offer any remains of the rite to the Earth Mother.

The rite concludes with a blessing and we often sing a closing chant as we leave the Grove.

Some Conventions of Druidic Ritual

Our rites are open and inclusive. We do not close our circles, and you are free to come and go as you please during the rite. We ask only that you be respectfully quiet and attentive when within earshot of the ritual.

If you have a Praise Offering that you wish to perform, please see our Grove Bard before the rite. We ask that you not applaud the Praise Offerings, rather give the energy of your appreciation to the Patrons.

DP Lessons 4 and 7 – check

Alright, so I’ve been to my first High Day ritual. Prior to the ritual I read the explanation (DP Lesson 3 – partial) then afterward I wrote about the experience (DP Lesson 4 – check). I will, of course, rewrite the essay for the High Day recap later but it’s mostly done.

I will also return at a later date to write my essay about the meaning and discussion of Autumn Equinox. I want to have more time to study before I do that. So, for now, Lesson 3 will remain partially complete.

Lesson 5: Nature Awareness 1 and Lesson 6: I-E Studies are next on my radar. For Lesson 6 I haven’t decided between Comparative Mythology by Jaan Puhvel and A History of Pagan Europe by Nigel Pennick and Prudence Jones. I may read a bit of each before I settle on one.

As for Lesson 7, that’s done since I already made my home shrine. I have no doubt that it will evolve over time and I’ll try to remember to take photos now and then to share. Besides, I imagine it will be interesting to look back at that evolution years from now.

That’s my update for now. I’ll be back…  :)