Week 19: The Dedicant Oath: First Thoughts

Related to Requirement:
#11 – Dedicant Oath and Rite
Required Reading:

• Our Own Druidry, p. 129 – 130 (The Dedicant's Oath) 

Optional Reading:

• Rev. Michael J Dangler's Dedicant Oath
• Raven Mann's Dedicant Oath

I'm not real sure how I feel about this weeks assignment. Not because its hard, but because it seems to be aimed at folks who have a patron. I don't. My main concern about writing the oath is phrasing (oaths are a HUGE DEAL) and making sure I have room to move on from ADF if I feel the need in the future.

I'm rather crap at writing ritual/ liturgy. So the rite is going to take me a long time to write and I rather imagine that the oath itself will take me longer still. I should probably start it now, but the summer is always so busy. 

Things I know are going to be important:

9 noble virtues

Norse pantheon

ancestors

I have held to the Norse gods since before I fully knew paganism. And they were the first pantheon I turned to after leaving christianity behind. I'm sure part of this is having read Tolkien too young, however, this fits. The Norse were ok with strong women leading, fighting, loving. I may be pretty domestic, but I also love and lead.

There are a number of reasons to not pursue a more re-constructionist path, but mostly its because I have no use for racists or gender fundamentalists and refuse to be categorized with them. There are other neo-pagan groups that I might find my path leading to at some point. But it's not leading there right now and I'm ok with that. I have a good group here with a secure mix of group and solitary work.

I guess this is mostly turning into musings on why I'm doing ADF instead of reconstruction and why Norse. And the reasons for why ADF haven't changed. I'm utterly put off by the public vocal face of the reconstructionist movement and I'm pretty against killing things, even for ritual purposes (which gets into a whole other level of moral obligation that I've been struggling with for years). And, I don't see the need to be more hardcore about my religion than I am about anything else in my life. Also, the local recon group and I don't get on. Because I'm not hardcore enough.

Weeks 13-16 Gah. I'm so far behind!

Well, somehow, I went from being about half a week behind to being 4 weeks behind. Not sure how that happened, but it means I have a lot of catch up work to do this week.

Week 13: finish wisdom exercises and write essay-- DONE
week 14: altar changes and write up-- DONE
week 15: piety exercises and essay-- DONE
week 16: 3rd high holy day essay

So yeah. Lots of stuff to get to. And it's a busy week on top of all that: in addition to my normal social activities (Tuesday), the Grove is volunteering at the local soup kitchen on Thursday, we have ritual on Friday, and Earth Day and Druid Moon on Sunday. And somewhere in there, I need to watch my shows and a movie I've borrowed from a friend, bake things for ritual and druid moon, and sleep. I love being busy. It's great.

So yeah, expect updates this week. lots and lots of updates.

Week 13: Nine Virtues: Wisdom

Related to Requirement: #1 – Nine Virtues
Required Reading:

• Our Own Druidry, p. 15 (Virtue, Piety and Study); 
• Our Own Druidry, 85-90 (Lore and Essays) 

Suggested Reading:

• A Virtuous Life Nine Virtues study guide

But first, recap of last week since I didn't get anything up.

Some how I got ahead of the group, so I had a bye week last week. I used the time to create a set of rune staves and to spend lots of time outside (to the dismay of my sunburnt ears and nose). I also finally got the Beltane ritual written.

I'm really happy with how the rune staves turned out, even if this is just meant to be a temporary set until I can get better wood working skills. Also, I probably shouldn't have started them just before lunch as I was starving by the end since it took a good 2 hours. I'm not sure how true they read, but since I'm really bad at interpretation anyway, I think it'll probably be ok. I have switched from iPod divination to drawing a rune instead during my devotional. Its practice and that is needed.

Mom requested a new retaining wall and a trip to the zoo for her birthday. So I spent most of Friday and Saturday outside, working and walking. Walnuts hurt to have jammed into your knees and penguins and polar bears are pretty cool (pun not intended). Sunday was spent inside helping Grandma around the house, which was not really how I wanted to spend it... but it needed to be done and I was the one available. And it wasn't too bad this time: just moving heavy stuff she can't manage and some computer stuff.

Writing the ritual was more of a thing than I was expecting it to be. I'm not sure if I was just blocked or if I'm a horrible litergist. Or both. At any rate, after combing through... several... books, every non-shitty website I could find, and a couple shitty websites that at least weren't racist, I finally got enough information to write this. I really need to find reliable sources of information. I have more research and information on exactly how the pleating was done on viking apron dresses than I have on what the appropriate deities are for different holidays. I'm going to publish at least the parts of it that I wrote after Beltane so other folks have a bit of an easier time. At any rate, ritual is written and sent off for editing.

Bye Week therefore Housekeeping

It's a bye-week for Wheel of the Year, so updates on continuing projects/ assignments/ whatever.

Indo-European Book Review:

So I read the Myth of Matriarchal Prehistory.  I have feels, bad ones.  Not because I disagree with Eller, but because the Matriarchal prehistory folks fail basic feminist thought and logic.  I have never wished so badly that an argument was a strawman. And it's not like I'm well known for my grasp on feminist theory.

My initial review is going to be far too long.  Once I've gotten it written, edited, and privilege checked, i'll post it.  Then I'll edit it down  for DP stuff.  Or, more likely, I'll write an abstract and use that.  

At any rate, it'll be up in a couple weeks probably.  Right now, I'm still in search of sources that back me up on how racist the theory is (I've already got sources on how sexist/ anti-feminist it is).  I love JSTOR and having friends who are in academia who will allow me to abuse them for access to articles.  I've already started the blog post for it twice and it's just not there yet.  So it'll be there when it's ready.  Also, I apparently need to re-memorize MLA since I'm out of practice.  There's been at least one update come out since I stopped using MLA for everything.

Shrine Update:

Luna has been very good about staying off my altar so far.  She nearly burnt herself while I was meditating with a candle lit on it Saturday morning, but figured out that it was hot before she got too close.

I think I'm going to pick up an air plant terrarium to use as my tree.  It's not appropriate for my hearth culture at all, but sometimes hearth culture needs to take a back seat to "something I can keep alive and wont' poison my cat." I might pick up another cedar branch to use if I feel the need (the cedars in my back yard had a couple of branches die over the fall/ winter, so I can harvest those).  And, the more cedar in my wool filled house the better.

Apparently, I decided this week was going to be the week I started my rune set.  Not sure that's actually going to happen, but I'll contemplate it.

Nature Awareness:

My awareness of nature right now comes down to "it's freaking cold.  Frozen got it's EGOT, Elsa, can you please end the endless winter now?"  And making chili and potato soup.  I'm essentially just hiding in my den, and, for the most part, feel no shame in that.

Per the Weather Channel, we're supposed to warm up to the mid-fifties by next weekend.  If that's true, I'll go tramp around in the woods Thursday afternoon.  I really want to go camping, but that's just not going to happen right now.

At any rate, I really need to get the initial write up from week 5 written.  

Holy Days:

I think I need to go re-work the initial Imbolc paragraph back in week 3.  I'm not sure it hits the word count and it's certainly incomplete.

Our spring equinox ritual is going to be Slavic.  I know nothing about slavic cultures other than what I learned in a history course 8 years ago and that didn't focus much on folklore, mythology, or even the pre-christian religion.  I do have a book of Russian folk tales. I should probably pull that out and skim through it just so I have something resembling a base.

May 1/ Beltane is the Norse ritual that I'm creating.  Assuming we're focusing on the fertility aspects and not the German ancestor aspects, GateKeeper will be Heimdall on the Bifrost, DoO will probably be Frey.  I'll have to poke around some more to find the appropriate Earth Mother, nothing is sticking out at me as I thumb through my books. I'm also probably overthinking the ritual itself and need to NOT reinvent the wheel.

Library:

Not really strictly part of my DP stuff, but is happening in conjunction with, and has mental health implications.  I've started the great book purge. I know Goodreads has a scan function to add books to your library.  I need to experiment with it to see if I can get it to tag every book I scan in at a session with "Book Purge" or something similar.  It's that or type everything into a spreadsheet on Google so folks can lay claim to anything they find interesting. None of this can go live until after the divorce is finalized of course.  And I'll probably run most of them through a book buyback to see if i can get any money for them before putting them up for grabs. But expect that to be coming shortly.  There's likely to be lots of art history and books on Martin Luther.

My goal is to clear enough space off my bookshelves that I can have one bookcase (one of the short ones) dedicated to Pagan Library stuff in my bedroom.  This will also give me some more space to spread my altar out if I feel the need.  Which I don't right now but *shrug*.  It'd be nice to have the option.

Meditation:

This is... not going as well as I would like.  I'm trying to average 5 times a week (gives me a couple days to be tired or busy without fretting about it), but I'm at best, averaging 2-3 times a week.  I'm contemplating just not moving my body clock with daylight saving's time next weekend, but I'm not sure how that will work. But I do need to come up with something.  

Unless I decide to bypass meditation and just do a daily devotion.  Which is a possibility.  I don't know.  It's something to think about at least.  The devotionals will also serve to get me more familiar with CoOR. Or maybe daily devotionals and meditation.  That might bridge the gap I'm feeling.  

I think I'll try doing either a devotional or meditation every day this week and next and see which one fits in with my life better.  I'll either pick one or continue doing both throughout the year.  This also means that it's less awkward to excuse myself for 30 minutes when I have company.  I can wait until they leave and even if I'm too tired to meditate, I can at least do a devotional.  Perhaps this is where I should start contemplating prayer beads.

Week 6: first book started: I-E Studies

Week 6: first book started: I-E Studies
Related to Requirement: #3 – Book Reviews
Required Reading:

• Our Own Druidry, p. 19 - 20 13-14(Concerning the Reading of Books) 
• Our Own Druidry, Appendix B, p. xiii (writing a book review) 
• Start on one book from the list of IE titles at the ADF Website, A Recommended Reading List

All the books I'm reading were chosen by my ability to order them through work and thus, payroll deduct the cost.  Also, no shipping.  There are a few other books that I want to read, but they'll need to wait a bit.

For the I-E studies requirement, I'm reading The Myth of Matriarchal Prehistory.  Since I was unaware that this is a thing, this should be interesting.  I totally get the urge to assume a pre-Christian utopia... but that's just not borne out by the sagas and archaeological evidence.  There is some evidence that suggests that relationships were more egalitarian in some areas than they were after conversion, however, that is far from universal and not the same as equal (or even not a patriarchy.)

I need to locate my notes from a couple of classes.  For additional background and so I feel like I can properly talk about all this.  Because what's the point of having a history degree if you can't use it for stuff? And this and proving that I don't /really/ need to take the history class to be on cast at the local RenFaire are about all its good for!

At any rate, I guess I'm watching curling matches on tv tonight, as that lets me read and removes my laptop from being a distraction. 

UPDATE FROM WEEK 5:

I finally finished the readings from last week over my lunch break today.  I have not, however, spent any thing approaching enough time outside.

I accomplished next to nothing DP or Grove related over the weekend.  So I need to look up the appropriate Shining and Noble ones in Norse Mythology for the Maitag ritual this week.  And get my notebook organized again.

Starting a rune set will have to wait until after the olympics.  I have less than a week to knit 18 rows.  So... runes... week after next.  Which, conveniently enough, will be after I have my home altar set up to ADF standards and the same week that I officially start meditation.

Beltane Ritual Planning: Resources

This series of posts is mostly going to be for my own benefit.  Mostly a slightly more private place to stash links for writing the Maitag/ Walpurgisnacht ritual for May 1.

I realize that I'm over-thinking this and freaking out about what should be nothing.  But this is what I do.  So I'm just going to accept the whole type A personality thing about wanting plans and calendars, and ORGANIZATION.  I'm happier when things are organized, so... yeah.

• Existing ADF ritual for Maitag.  I understand the instinct to call upon gods in their native language (do gods have native languages?), but there's just too much German in this.  And it's set up for a Norse focused grove, not a pan-indo-european one.
• Solitary Fellowship Grove May 2013 ritual.  I'm not sure how useful this will be, but *shrug* i don't think it will be useless.  In fact, I'm pretty sure it will mostly be useful for my personal practice.  But more information is always better.

Heathenry festivals

• Asatru Alliance 
• Walburg: this is better known as Walpurgisnacht or May Eve. Walberg is a goddess of our folk combining some of the traits of Her better-known peers. Reflect on this day on Freya, Hel, and Frigga as the repository of the glorious dead, and you will have an idea of Wulburg?s nature. On this day pour a horn of mead upon the earth in memory of our heroes. 
• May Day: The first of May is a time of great celebration all across Europe, as the fields get greener and the flowers decorate the landscape with colorful confusion. Freya turns her kindly face to us after the night of Walburg. Celebrate the birth of Spring and the gifts of Freya on this day. 
• WizardRealm
• The festival of Walpurgis, a night both of revelry and darkness.  The nine nights of April 22 (interestingly enough, the modern festival of Earth Day) to April 30 are venerated as rememberance of the AllFather's self-sacrifice upon the World Tree Yggdrasil.  It was on the ninth night (April 30, Walpurgisnacht) that he beheld the Runes, grasped them, and ritually died for an instant.  At that moment, all the Light in the 9 worlds is extinguished, and utter Chaos reigns.  At the final stroke of midnight, the Light returns in dazzling brilliance, and the bale-fires are lit.  On Walpurgisnacht, the dead have full sway upon the earth; it is the ending night of the Wild Hunt.  May 1 is the festival of Thrimilci; the beginning of Summer.  Thrimilci is a festival of joy and fertility, much like Ostara; however, most of the Northern World is finally escaping from the snow at this time.
• Timeless Myths
• May Eve coincided with the later German Walpurgis' Night, because it marked the last day of winter. It is a German version of the Celtic Beltane's Eve (see Celtic Calendar). May Eve marked the last night that Odin hanged from Yggdrasill (the great cosmic Ash tree). Odin has a noose around his neck for nine nights, between April 22 and April 30, as a sacrifice to master the nine mighty rune spells. See Search For Wisdom. 
•  May Eve also marked the time when the spirit world roamed free on the earth's surface, while witchcraft and sorcery is the most potent at this time. After midnight, bonfires were lit to celebrate beginning of summer (May Day or May 1), which also marked the end of the Wild Hunt.
• According to Germanic and Scandinavian folklore, Walpurgis' Night marks the occasion of the witches' coven or revelry at Brocken on Harz mountains; one of the important sabbats in witches' calendar. The celebration was linked to Walpurgis or Walburga (AD 710-779), a Benedictine abbess and saint, whose feast day was held on February 25. She was sometimes confused with a pre-Christian fertility goddess named Waldborg, and also with Waluburg, a 2nd century Germanic seeress.

Food:
http://ribevikingecenter.dk/en/learn-more/food-solstice-feast.aspx
http://nvg.org.au/documents/other/vikingrecipes.pdf