Lesson 17 - Self Dedication Usually, after a person has been studying Wicca long enough, and has a good feeling of having found their “home”, or “place of being”, a feeling of belonging, comfort and sense that this is the life-long journey that they want to embark upon they sometimes decide to dedicate themselves to the path, and make themselves “officially” wiccan. If they are studying alone the ceremony may be done alone. If they have been studying with friends, then you can create a ritual that includes them, and you all can dedicate yourselves at the same time. This specific ceremony that I‘m talking about here is the “Self Dedication Rite/Ritual”, and it is a celebration of the “rite of passage” of officially declaring to yourself and your deities that you are follow the path of Wicca. Many new wiccans get a bit anxious about being initiated but this is a much more serious step which should only be considered when the seeker has studied long enough (usually a year and day or more) with a group with whom they feel completely at ease and compatible with. Initiation is like a marriage between the student, the gods and the group who conducts the initiation (except in the cases of solitaires). This is intended to last a life time, it is not merely an acknowledgement of joining a group but also an opportunity for mysteries to be revealed to the student. Since you‘ve made it this far, and have done so well to this point, I‘m rewarding you with a self Dedication outline so that you can write your own dedication ritual and when you are ready you can dedicate yourself on your own, or you can wait and take this further. Preparation You may want to make tools, an altar cloth, a robe or other special items for your Self Dedication ritual. None of this is necessary but will add to special feel the experience. There may be parts of the ritual you want to memorize, but if this is difficult do not feel bad if you must write some or all of it down. We suggest that you write it by hand on nice paper rather than bringing a computer printed page into ritual. The way we achieve a feeling of being outside of time and space in ritual is by leaving those things which mark our ordinary, everyday existence. You may also want to choose a new name for yourself which you will use only in ritual. Do not feel pressured to pick one that will be perfect for you forever. People often change ―magical‖ or ―circle‖ names as they progress through their studies. Having a special name which you use only in ritual helps add to the special, magical feeling. Do not be tempted to use your magical name in your e-mail or on-line communications, nor should you use your on-line nick name as a magical name. Again, the idea is to leave behind the everyday world as you enter the special space of a magical circle. Purification This can include purifying and defining the space in which the ritual will take place, purifying yourself, and purifying the clothes, tools and other items which will be used in the ritual. Suggestions for spiritual cleansing and purifying can be found in any basic Wicca book. Do not over look physical cleaning though! Take a bath, polish your tools, sweep and dust the room (or, if working out doors pick up litter). The idea is you are making a fresh start in your life and also, you want to show the gods that you are serious. Introductions The main point of Self Dedication is to introduce yourself to the god(s) and goddess(s). At this point you do not have to have chosen a particular god and goddess to work with. You may not even be clear on who or what they are. What you will be declaring in your Self Dedication ritual is a desire to get to know them and to understand what you can do for them. You may also want to take this opportunity to introduce yourself to the elementals (Air, Fire, Water, Earth). Again, you do not need to have a full understanding of the nature of the elements at this point. You need only to have a desire to get to know them better. Promises At the very least a Self Dedication rite will include a promise to the god and goddess that you want to get to know them and that you want to understand what it fully means to be Wiccan, and that you will do your best to learn how to honor them and the Earth. Sometimes more specific promises are made during a Self Dedication ritual such as a vow to recycle, do volunteer work, read a certain number of books, meditate on a regular basis or anything else which seems appropriate to you. You may also want to made promises to each individual Element. Offerings Many rituals, including one of Self Dedication, will include an offering of food and drink which is shared between the gods and the participant(s) in the ritual. This is usually in the form of wine or juice and some type of cookie, bread or cake. Fruit or nuts are good alternatives. Sometimes milk or water are substituted for the wine or juice. Incense is also considered an offering to both the gods and the Element of Air. Those offerings or parts of offerings which are not consumed by you can be placed outside under a tree, buried in the ground or placed into a stream or the ocean. If circumstances make it impossible for you to place parts of your offerings outside you can offer them symbolically by holding them in your hands and declaring that you are offering them, and then consuming them yourself so that nothing is wasted. Journaling If you have not yet begun to keep a journal of journey into Wicca or have not yet begun a Book of Shadows, your Self Dedication ritual is a good time to begin this discipline. You may want to keep track of such things as when you do rituals, the books or other information which inspired you, what you did, the tools and incense you used and how you felt about what you did.
Posted on: Sun, 25 Jan 2015 01:00:54 +0000
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