The text of the Dedicant’s Oath Rite and a self-evaluation of the Dedicant’s performance of the rite. (500 word min.) (wc 554)
My Spring Equinox Ritual and My Dedicant Path Oath
I wrote up and performed my grove’s spring equinox ritual to Rhiannon and the Fair Folk. This is my write-up of the entire ritual with my Dedicant oath that I performed as my offering to the three kindred.
This is the link to my Spring Equinox ritual where I gave my dedicant oath.
When everyone was doing their personal offerings, I stepped up and gave my dedicant oath as follows below. My dedicant path oath ties into a special tattoo I got specifically to bind the oath to myself.
The Text of My Dedicant Path Oath as an Offering
By oak, by hazel, and by apple I state my dedication to the gods and goddesses, the ancestors, and the nature spirits. Through Awen, may I be inspired in the work I do with all three and for others.
By oak, by hazel, and by apple I give this offering to the shining ones: Cernunnos, Freyja, and Cerridwen, as well as the Irish, Norse, and Welsh pantheons. Grant me the Awen to connect with the gods and goddesses so I may better help others honor their chosen deities as needed as well as my own patrons, and do right by all of them.
By oak, by hazel, and by apple I give this offering to the mighty dead so that my actions and deeds may honor those who came before me. May Awen’s flowing spirit help me connect with the ancestors so I may learn from them and continue the paths and understanding they have followed.
By oak, by hazel, and by apple, I give this offering to the nature spirits as the seasons turn from spring to summer to fall and to winter. May Awen give me the patience to connect to and work with the spirits, the cycles of the natural world, as well as the supernatural worlds that surround us all so that I can in turn help our world.
By oak, by hazel, and by apple, May the three realms of the underworld, the middle world, and the upper world where the mighty dead, nature spirts, and shining ones dwell come through Awen in love, wisdom, and truth.
By oak, by hazel, and by apple, I dedicate myself to the dedicant path so I may be of service to the three kindreds.
And may Awen help guide me to do the best I can in my words, actions, and deeds.
Thoughts on My Dedicant Path Oath (wc 554)
My Awen tattoo and this dedicant oath is bound together. It is an Awen tattoo of an acorn and an oak branch, a hazelnut and a hazel branch, and an apple seed and an apple branch on the respective leaves of each tree where the leaves shift color from spring green to summer deep green to autumn’s yellow and reds.
My dedicant oath is tied into the tattoo and I feel the two work well together. Possibly because of it, I fell into the role of becoming a clergy member for a fledgling heathen group, through it my pledge to Cerridwen guided me to learn more about cauldrons which guided me to take a powerful class about the three cauldrons of the Cauldron of Poesy, and has guided me to take an Ogam class where Irish myth will also be woven into the teachings.
I originally read it back at the spring equinox ritual I performed for Rhiannon and the Fair Folk, but I also reread it at our Yule ritual where we made oaths in front of the gods. My oath in front of the gods was my dedicant oath one more time. I feel that it helped push me towards my goals of becoming ADF clergy which is the next step of my ADF path. It has helped inspire me to take a more active role and step up my interactions with my grove which led me to being asked to become the assistant senior druid.
Combining my dedicant oath with my understanding of hospitality (a friend of John Beckett’s taught a class on Celtic hospitality) which I’m always reminded of in rituals thanks to a multicolored necklace she made for everyone attending her class. I try to help out all those I know who work with or are curious with any pantheon in my ADF grove and the heathens by connecting people who are curious about certain gods with those who have seriously worked with said gods.
I feel that before I took the dedicant oath (with my Awen tattoo), I was more of an observer at rituals, participating because I wanted an experience with the gods. After taking the oath and working through my dedicant path work, I have learned a lot, know I still have a lot to learn, and am actually looking forward to making a bigger difference, not only in my grove and heathen group, but also in both my local pagan community as well as my online communities.
Since getting the tattoo, life threw a number of spiritual curveballs my way. The heathen group I was with split off from the original group and I ended up becoming a member of their clergy (my ADF experience made me one of the few who could help guide the spiritual aspects of the group) and a member of the board to help guide the secular aspects as well. As the assistant senior druid of the grove, I’ve taken a bigger role in helping people write rituals as well as written a few solo rituals for people to use. I’ve also taken my understanding of the ADF core order of ritual and my understanding of it and helped write analyses for the heathen group in explaining how a blót works and how to get the most out of it.