| Homework: In your Dedicant Notebook, write down the aspects about the Old Ways that appeal to you most. If you have encountered any sort of powers that aid you (certain nature spirits, deities, or ancestors), write them down. If you have taken a magical name (certainly not required) that you use to approach the spirits, write that down. If you have settled on a specific hearth culture, write that down. If you have a dual path, write about how your other path interacts (or doesn’t) with Neo-Pagan Druidry. If you have a Patron (not everyone does), write about him or her (or them) and describe what you think they would like to see in your Oath. Consider how they want you to live your life, and how that reflects the virtues and commitments of Neo-Pagan Druidry. Finally, it is good to write down what “Neo-Pagan Druidry” is to you, in your own words. |
In the ADF Dedicant Path: Through the Wheel of the Year guidebook, it is said that “The Dedicant Oath is really the crowning achievement in the Dedicant Path. We’re discussing it now so that you have ample time to occasionally re-visit the idea before the time to take it arrives. The Dedicant Oath will be done at the end of our journey toward ADF Dedicant status, but it will be up to you to decide whether this Oath is the end of your journey, or the beginning of a new one.” If you are Wiccan, the “Dedicant Oath” is similar to the “Initiation”, while the “First Oath” is similar to the “Dedication” in Wicca. The ADF Dedicant Oath is a dedication to Neo-Pagan Druidry as our primary path, and is usually taken after “a year and a day”. In Wicca covens and Druidic groves, a year and a day is the minimum length of time you’re required to spend in one degree before moving onto the next level. That popular Pagan time frame is used in many other ceremonies, like the handfastings.
The aspects of the Old Days that appeal to me are the celebration of the seasons and the mid-points based on the Celtic and Norse festivals. Druidry is an effort to create Pagan ways that resemble those of the ancients Druids (also called Paleopagan Druids), and serve the needs of modern practitioners. During the beginning of my studies and practices, I’ve encountered fairies. They are invisible to direct sight, but I saw some of them (often a sparkle of golden light) in the corner of my eyes when it’s dark in my home. My cats can see them, and they’ll often coordinate their head movement to follow the fairies. I’m working with my matron goddess, The Morrígan, which pushes me forward to expand my capacity to fight in life when I’m struggling, and she makes me a very dedicated student in Paganism. Without her help, I would never have finished my 898 pages book on Celtic Wicca in one year.
“Celtic Wicca” is not the right name though, as Wicca is a Duotheistic religion, and my path is definitively a Polytheistic religion. I chosen that name because people tend to slightly understand what “Wicca” is, and I decided to use that common name to quickly describe my path to non-Pagan persons. The guidebook homework for this week also states the following: “If you have a dual path, write about how your other path interacts (or doesn’t) with Neo-Pagan Druidry.” My path would be named “Druidic Witchcraft” or “Druidcraft” as I follow the Celtic Ways with the three worlds (Sky, Land, Sea) but I also use the cardinal points of East, South, West, North and Center in my moon celebrations. But Pagan paths and labels can be very confusing! This is why I choose to simply write “Druidry” in the religion field of my personal Facebook page. Druidry is commonly polytheistic, it’s also very often Celtic, and these two points sums up the major beliefs and customs of my practices.
Druidry is often considered more a philosophy or a spiritual path, than a religion. To me, Druidry is not only a spiritual path, but also a religion and a way of life. It is a religion, because we connect with Deities. The Tuatha Dé Danann are my gods and my goddesses, and that fact is what make me know that my practice is a religion and not only a spiritual path. Druidry is also a spirituality of the mind, of the heart, and of the flesh. Through our mind we learn the Old Lore, and we master vision and art. Through the heart we understand our fellow beings, and connect with the Realms. Through the flesh we experience the joy of life, and do our will in the manifest world. Through study, meditation and trance we train the mind. Through virtue, meditation and attunement to the land, we open the heart. By knowing the land and celebrating ritual, we involve our bodies in our spiritual path.
I started my Dedicant Path in October 2015 and I’m now at my 18th week of study. To finish our Dedicant path program, we need to make our Dedicant Oath to confirm our commitment to the path of Druidry. I started my blog last week so I’m working hard to upload all my work here until Week 25 (where I am now). Today and tomorrow, I must stay home because my landowner needed to make some improvement to my apartment, so I’ll try to finish everything and finally be up-to-date with my Dedicant Path homeworks. We need to think about our Dedicant Oath, which is required at Week 48-49, by that time, I estimated it to be around September 12 and September 19. I’m sure I’ll be ready!
Morsoth's Druidcraft 