Dedicant’s Path Through the Wheel of the YearWeek 34: Personal Religion : Dedicant’s Path Through the Wheel of the YearWeek 34: Personal Religion Presented by
Rev. Jessie “Medb” Olson
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Based on Our Own Druidry and The ADF Dedicant Path Through the Wheel of the Year
Review : Review How are you doing with your book?
Are you:
Visiting your nature spot?
Working on building mental discipline?
Using and working in your home shrine?
Related to Requirement : Related to Requirement #10 – Personal Religion;
#9 – Relationships to Kindred
Required Reading : Required Reading Our Own Druidry, p. 19 (The Hearth Oath)
Our Own Druidry, p. 123 – 128 (Personalizing Your Paganism)
Our Own Druidry, p. xv – xvi (Appendix 1: Adapting the DP to Specific Ethnic Paths)
Optional Reading : Optional Reading Our Own Druidry, p. 62 – 74 (Hearth Cultures and High Days)
Our Own Druidry, p. xvii – xxvii (Using the DP for Grove Building);
Reintroducing Solitary Work into Your Life by Rev. Michael JDangler
Ratri" by Adhitin Ratrija vedic/ ratri.html>
"The Case for Choosing a Pantheon" by Ian Corrigan
“Dual Trad Daily Devotionals" by Tanrinia,
Introduction : Introduction Most often, people become interested in a specific culture, and then interested in ADF, and they might start by looking at their hearth culture.
This isn’t always the case.
It's personal choice. It's your religion.
You will do with it as you please, and you might just take your time getting there.
Discussion : Discussion Once upon a time, there was a Patron Oath requirement in the old Dedicant Path.
It was removed in the 2003 revisions because a one-year study program was not enough time for someone to find and build a relationship with a Patron.
Discussion : Discussion We know that each person is individual and will find a Patron at their own rate.
Some people are hit full in the face with a Patron within minutes of deciding that they have become Pagan, while others are Pagan for years (even decades!) before finding any trace of a Patron.
Sometimes, a Patron will not be around for someone's entire life, but will show up and fade away quickly.
Discussion : Discussion The relationship between the human and the Patron is not one of parity.
While the relationship is still reciprocal, it is far more giving on the side of the Patron.
The Patron has things that we cannot hope to obtain ourselves (generally, “blessings”), and we know this.
Rather than attempt a purely 1:1 relationship on gifts, the Patron is there to provide us with what we need, generally asking only what we are able to provide in return.
It is a benevolent relationship, and the power (not always a deity, but usually) is giving of his/her own good will to you.
Discussion : Discussion This does not make the relationship one of taketaketake, but rather of giving what cannot be obtained any other way, and asking for something of lesser value in return.
These are special relationships built on love and on charity, and should never be taken for granted.
Discussion : Discussion ADF is all about Indo-European culture, deities, and ritual, but that doesn't mean that we require our members to be the same.
If you want to worship non-IE deities and pantheons (such as Hindu, Egyptian, Tibetan, or Native American powers), that's up to you, and ADF will never ask you to give up those personal beliefs.
Discussion : Discussion On the other hand, public rites that are billed as "ADF Rituals" do need to be IE in focus, though other aspects might be added in (for instance, honouring the Native Americans whose bones lie in the land, who made this land sacred before we arrived, would be appropriate).
Discussion : Discussion While your main practice should be within the confines of IE religion, we know that you may have ties to other cultural/ religious groups, or even to patrons who are not of the Indo-European family.
Feel free to elaborate on those aspects in your essays on personal religion: if they are important to you, they are important to us.
Discussion : Discussion In your Dedicant Notebook, write a bit about what interests you in various hearth cultures.
If you're already settled on a hearth culture, skip to the next paragraph.
What sort of things are you looking for in a culture?
Do you have an ancestral tie to a certain culture, or is this even important to you?
Are there myths that you find a commonality with?
Are there cultural aspects that you particularly like?
When the topic of cultures comes up, do certain ones stand out to you?
In week 40, we will choose a book on a specific culture for you to read.
Remember that when you choose that book, you are not tied to that culture for worship, or to use as a hearth culture.
Consider it exploration.
Discussion : Discussion To make matters more complicated, often in IE societies there is more than one set of Gods.
This is most noticeable in Norse, where you have the Vanir and the Aesir.
Does one set of gods speak out more to you than the other?
What can you find out about them?
Do you find an affinity to the attributes of a set of gods?
Discussion : Discussion Now, let's get really complicated and talk about Patrons. If you're really gung-ho about Patronage, though, you'll want to start by looking into the myths and symbols that appeal to you.
Do certain things show up over and over again?
Are there aspects of your personal life that you need help with?
Are there deities who intrigue you, amuse you, or frighten you?
Is there a Goddess who affects a large part of your life?
If you're answering with the same deity over and over, you might just have a Patron.
If not, give it time.
And always examine the relationship carefully!
Discussion : Discussion Now, what happens if you're drawn to two different pantheons?
Or, worse, to a Patron who isn't in the pantheon you chose?
Have no fear: it's remarkably common in ADF.
Each person deals with it in their own way, so a lot of it is up to you to work out.
You can, though, ask around and find people who have more than one hearth culture and find out how they deal with it.
That might help the most.
Discussion : Discussion Of course, your personal religion might be so eclectic that no single God, Goddess, or pantheon will ever be able to call you "theirs".
You may belong to all the Gods and Goddesses, all the pantheons, and all the hearth cultures.
Discussion : Discussion This is, of course, too much for most people to do in one sitting.
You might just write down as many answers as you can now, and return to this later.
Answering these questions, though, will be very helpful in trying to work through your Dedicant Oath, so bookmark the page!
Homework : Homework Don’t forget to:
Continue reading your book
Continue visiting your nature spot.
Continue working on building mental discipline.
Continue using and working in your home shrine.