Dedicant’s Path Through the Wheel of the YearWeek 3: The first High Holy Day : Dedicant’s Path Through the Wheel of the YearWeek 3: The first High Holy Day 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 Write your First Oath down in your Dedicant Notebook.
You will not be required to turn it in with the rest of your Dedicant materials, but you will find it very useful when you review your progress from time to time, and it will keep you focused on the Dedicant's path when it seems like nothing else will.
One Dedicant, Brandon, found it very useful to recite his First Oath each morning as part of his morning routine.
The recitation eventually became chanting, and after a month he noticed that he began to look at that oath from different perspectives.
As the chanting went on, the meaning became deeper and more open to him. You can read his experience in his own words here: http://www.adf.org/members/training/dp/articles/first-oathchant.html
You might try something like what Brandon did, and see if it helps you to more fully internalize the words and meaning of the oath, though this is not required.
Related to Requirement : Related to Requirement #2 – Meaning and Discussion of High Days
Required Reading : Required Reading Our Own Druidry, p. 62 - 74 (Hearth Cultures & High Days)
ADF Constitution, Article 4
The ADF Core Order of Ritual for High Days, http://www.adf.org/rituals/explanations/core-order.html
Suggested Reading : Suggested Reading Our Own Druidry, p. 51 - 75 (The Very Basics of Ritual); Appendix 1: Resources and Rituals for the Wheel of the Year in MJD’s book
Step by Step through a Druid Worship Ceremony, http://www.adf.org/rituals/explanations/stepbystep.html
The "Liturgy and Rituals" section of the ADF page, http://www.adf.org/rituals/
The Three Cranes Grove, ADF, outline of ritual (with example prayers), http://www.threecranes.org/liturgy/
Introduction : Introduction This High Holy Day is your first as an ADF Dedicant, so this lesson will be longer than the other seven High Day lessons.
The same will go for next week's lesson, which will be a recap of the rite you do for this holiday.
You can use your recent Lughnasadh rite for this as it is likely still fresh in your mind.
Introduction : Introduction We will talk about
why ADF celebrates the 8 Neo-Pagan High Holy Days,
what to do if your chosen hearth culture does not celebrate a specific Day,
urban vs. agrarian worldviews.
Criteria : Criteria Short essays on each of the eight ADF High Days including a discussion of the meaning of each feast (125 words min. each)
Inadequate
Word length inadequate
Plagiarism
Doesn't include all high days
Lack of objective, factual analysis of high days
Lacks discussion of common Neopagan traditions for one or more of the eight high days
Adequate
Word length adequate
Includes descriptions all eight high days
Covers common Neopagan (not necessarily a specific culture) traditions and lore associated with each of the eight high days
Excellent
Covers additional cultures
Innovation/creativity
Analysis of evolution of holidays over time
Includes Neopagan traditions along with hearth culture specific practices
The Calendar : The Calendar The ADF Constitution outlines the dates of the holidays in Article 4:
The High Days of the ADF calendar are the eight Neopagan High Days which are the solstices, equinoxes, and points equally between them. For legal purposes, these High Days occur on:
Cross-Quarter = November 1st
Solstice = December 21st
Cross-Quarter = February 1st
Equinox = March 21st
Cross-Quarter = May 1st
Solstice = June 21st
Cross-Quarter = August 1st
Equinox = September 21st
For ceremonial purposes, local congregations shall celebrate each of the eight High Days within one week prior to or after the aforementioned dates, or at some other time determined by Board-established policy.
The Calendar : The Calendar ADF celebrates the eight Neo-Pagan High Holy Days.
They are celebrated in ADF because we are a Neo-Pagan organization.
Not every Indo-European culture celebrated these festivals at the times that ADF and the wider Neo-Pagan community celebrates them
We are modern Neo-Pagans (not ancient pagans or reconstructionists), part of our identity relies on the fact that we keep these days holy.
The Calendar : The Calendar As you can tell, ADF is very generic about the names and dates, reflecting our IE heritage.
The eight High Days are outlined on pages 62 - 74 of Our Own Druidry.
They are broken down by hearth culture, so that there is information on most of the cultures you might be interested in.
Take the description and work to find a compatible feast in your hearth culture for that particular High Day.
Remember, too, that you do not need to do the same hearth culture for all of your rituals through your time as an ADF Dedicant: you can always change if something doesn’t fit right.
Agrarian Vs. Urban : Agrarian Vs. Urban A lot of the High Holy Days are obviously agrarian-based. This can cause some question to come up regarding their relevance.
Remember, though, that the great majority of Pagans themselves lived in cities (Rome is an excellent example).
Can you find the rhythms of nature in the city?
Look hard for them, and I'll bet you can find something fresh and new in your climate that corresponds with this season.
Core Order of Ritual : Core Order of Ritual When it comes time to write the ritual, you will need to refer back to the Core Order of Ritual (COoR). To that end, we have included the generic COoR here for your use.
The Core Order is designed to be fleshed out by the individual doing the work, which may sound a bit daunting.
Additionally, the First Oath ritual you did in Week 2 was likely a full Core Order of Ritual, so you can take that ritual and modify it to create a High Day ritual by adding a purpose statement about this High Day and honouring a deity specific to this High Day in the Key Offerings section.
Your mentor, of course is available for some help, but we urge you to seek out one of the culture-specific email lists to ask questions on.
Quite often, they will be of more help than your mentor can be.
Core Order of Ritual : Core Order of Ritual The Core Order of ADF Ritual for High Days
Initiating the Rite – May include:
Musical Signal
Opening Prayer
Processional
Establishing the Group Mind
Purification - This must take place prior to Opening the Gates
Honoring the Earth Mother
Statement of Purpose
(Re)Creating the Cosmos
Sacred Center must be established in a triadic Cosmos
The Three Worlds or Realms must be acknowledged
The Fire must be included
Sacred Center is most commonly represented as Fire, Well and Tree
Opening the Gate(s) - Must include a Gatekeeper
Inviting the Three Kindreds
Key Offerings - This will commonly include:
Invitation of Beings of the Occasion
Seasonal customs as appropriate
Praise Offerings
Prayer of Sacrifice
Omen
Calling (asking) for the Blessings
Hallowing the Blessing
Affirmation of the Blessing
Workings (if any)
Thanking the Beings
Closing the Gate(s)
Thanking the Earth Mother
Closing the Rite
Core Order of Ritual : Core Order of Ritual Items that ADF Rituals Do Not Include
Elemental Cross Symbolism (the 4 Elements)
Casting Circles in public ritual
Calling Watchtowers or Elemental Guardians
Calling the dualtheistic "Lord" and "Lady"
Acknowledgement of one divine being with power over all
Blood Sacrifices
Non-Indo-European mythic and deity motifs
Homework : Homework Now, in your Dedicant Notebook, reflect on this High Holy Day.
Consider how it is celebrated in your hearth culture, or across hearth cultures. Are there any myths that are celebrated in connection with this feast?
f so, what are they, and how do they fit in?
What does this holiday or time of year mean to you?
Do you look forward to it?
Are there secular aspects of the holiday that mean a lot to you, or perhaps holdovers or memories of your childhood that you cherish? How do you know when this day arrives?
Do you look at the calendar, or do you just know it has come?
If you have children (or wish to have children), what key traditions do you wish to pass down to them?
What, if anything, is spiritual or religious to you about this High Day or time of year, and how do you show that?
Are there any traditions that your Grove has for this High Day?
Finally, is there anything else about this holiday that you would like to add?
Homework : Homework There, you've just written your first essay on a High Holy Day, and you're only three weeks into your training!
You'll find that all of these essays go similarly.
If you have a local Grove that you attend, then you should already have a rite you can attend.
If you are solitary (and even if you do have a Grove, I still recommend), though, you will need to write and perform your own ritual for this
rite.
Because only four High Days are required to be done as ADF rituals, you don't need to be too concerned with exactly how to do an ADF rite
You should certainly have something written up, or else go to the ADF website and find a ritual that will fit your hearth culture and use that.
Neither your reviewer nor the Kindreds will expect you to be a skilled liturgist this early in the journey.
Make sure that you have a rite ready before you intend to do the ritual, though, because last minute ritual writing is never fun for anyone.
See Appendix 1 for more information on what the High Day is about, where we have provided a number of links to help you think about the High Days themselves (and included places to find some example rituals for you to work from