Dedicant Path: Week 18 homework – “Personal Religion”

It’s been 16 weeks since my First Oath and now is a good time to revisit it and see how well I’ve been upholding that oath. One aspect of the oath that I believe I’ve done very well with is keeping the Pagan rites and ways through consistent observance of the High Days, as well as through my personal work in developing a relationship with the Kindreds. I need not look further than this journal to see that I’ve been hard at work. However, there are some aspects of the oath that I’d like to improve on. I’ve found that living a virtuous life, especially in modern times, can be quite difficult. While there are some virtues that I feel I’ve been adhering to, there are others that I’d like to work on integrating into my life more concretely. I realize that incorporating these virtues into my life is not only a challenging task, but a task that can take some time to do. However, I feel like I could be taking a more active role in living up to some these virtues. I lifted this oath straight from the DP manual and I’m still happy I did that. It encompasses everything I would have included in an oath had I written it myself and, at the time, I felt no need to fix what wasn’t broken. Looking at the oath now, it still accurately reflects my intentions and continues to be a solid reference point as I continue on the Druid’s Way.

When I first started my work on the DP I answered a set of questions provided by the WOTY guide. Looking back on the answers I provided, I can say with certainty that the answers I gave to these questions still hold true now that I’m several months into the work. The only thing that has changed is my idea of where this path will take me. In the beginning, I left the answer pretty open-ended, but now I have some ideas about where the path will go. I know now that I’d like to deepen my work within ADF by going beyond the DP into the GSP, with the goal to continue on to the Initiates Path. I also haven’t ruled out an interest in becoming clergy. In fact, I feel a strong pull towards that possibility. Seeing as I’d like to serve the Neo-Pagan and ADF community in a greater capacity, this would be a great way to do that. This is not an easy road by any means, and I realize that this is an ambitious track to take, but I feel like it has the potential to be incredibly fulfilling.

When I first started the DP, I knew immediately that I’d like to work with the Norse hearth culture. Since before joining ADF, the ways and deities of the Norse have always resonated with me in ways that no other culture did. In the beginning, the interest was cultivated when I began to do research into my family’s ancestors. I also had an affinity for trees and when I learned that the cosmological basis for Norse Paganism was Yggdrasil, the World Tree, that was all it took to cement my interest. The gods and goddesses of the Norse people were strong, inspirational, and the tales of their deeds captured my imagination. As the years went by, the more I learned about the Norse, the more I fell in love with their cosmology and deities. This has transferred beautifully to my religious work within ADF. I started off with a little bit of Norse influence in my ritual to begin with, gradually increasing it as time went on and as my knowledge grew. I have a little bit of interest in the Anglo-Saxon hearth culture as well, but I’m not sure if this will move beyond a scholarly interest in the difference and similarities with their Norse counterparts. If there’s one thing about the Norse hearth culture that I dislike it’s the prevalence and emphasis on gods of war. I’m not a fighter and I never have been, so it’s hard for me to relate with deities like Odin or Thor. Naturally, this leaves me more predisposed towards the Vanir. However, the ancient world was violent and fighting, especially in the hardy north, was just another fact of the life for the people who dwelt there. Perhaps with further study, I can reconcile these feelings and open the way for a better understanding of the battle-gods.

Currently, I have no Patron that has called to me yet and I’m okay with that. I have just started doing weekly devotionals and I’m hoping that will help me continue developing my relationship with the gods and goddesses. Perhaps from this a Patron will emerge, but we will see. Behind my home shrine I have a picture of both Odin and Freyja. The more I have read about them, the closer I feel to these two deities and there’s a possibility that my interest may catch their attention. For now, I am content with honoring the gods and goddesses of the entire Norse pantheon. I feel that having a Patron is a serious commitment, for it’s a deeper and more personal relationship between a human being and deity. It’s something that should be handled with care and it shouldn’t be rushed. I like the use of the word Patron because it is, by its very definition, someone who chooses, or is chosen, to be a protector, guardian, and/or supporter of a particular individual. Throughout mythology and history, we have seen numerous examples of this kind of relationship between a person and the gods. For me, it would be an honor to be chosen, protected and supported by a deity. If one of the purposes of my religion is to establish a meaningful connection to divinity, then I consider this an excellent way to do that.

Nature awareness (continued):

Wednesday evening I made my way to Silver Lake for my weekly exploration of nature awareness. It has been storming quite frequently the past few days which left its mark on the trees. Many limbs and branches were down, and even a few trees were snapped in half by the wind. Thankfully, the area of the park where I go to my spot was in relatively good shape. I made my way into the thicket, leaving my offering of cornmeal to Nerthus, the Earth Goddess, and olive oil to the land wights.

I started as I did last time by traveling the small trails around my spot. The ground was soft and muddy in some places from the rains. Horseflies buzzed around my head and I observed one that had landed on a leaf nearby. I have to admit, seeing a fly that large and that is known to sting makes me a bit uncomfortable. Thankfully, the ones I encountered didn’t give me much trouble. I observed the small green fruit that I noticed last week. They haven’t changed in size much, so I’ll continue to check on them to see what they become.

As I was traveling the trails, the sky began to darken. I checked my phone for a weather report and it looked like a storm was coming. Even the wind had picked up a little bit. Seeing as I had a little bit of time before the storm arrived, I went to my spot and sat, listening to the forest around me. It was hard to stay focused due to some personal issues that had cropped up shortly before arriving at the park, but I did my best to tune it out and take in the sounds of nature. The birds were singing, as usual, and the wind moved through the trees. A pleasant feeling came over me as I sat on the bench. It was a feeling of closeness and connection with not only the land around me but the spirits and creatures that resided there. It was a brief, and still a very general feeling, but it was certainly there. I took from this that my offerings had been accepted and it also meant that I am continuing to make progress in building a relationship with the land wights and the Earth Mother, not to mention getting to know the land.

I didn’t want to risk being caught out in the woods in the middle of a thunderstorm, so I opted not to do a basic trance meditation and left a little earlier than usual. I thanked the landspirits before departing.