Week 9: The second High Holy Day: an explanation : Week 9: The second High Holy Day: an explanation Presented by:
Rev. Jessie “Medb” Olson
~
Based on Our Own Druidry and The ADF Dedicant Path Through the Wheel of the Year
Review : Review Homework Write about how your first week of meditation went.
A couple of sentences will work.
You might mention the breathing pattern you used, how long you did it, if anything happened, and any experiences you may have had.
Don't get any more personal than you're comfortable being, and only let write down what you're comfortable with.
Also, continue visiting the spot that helps keep you connected to Nature.
You might make notes in your Dedicant Notebook about what you see, or if there are animals that appear often or plants that strike you as intriguing or odd.
Review : Review What has been happening in the spot that helps keep you connected to Nature?
Have you noticed any changes?
What have you learned?
What has been your experience with the meditation efforts?
experiences
breath pattern
difficulties
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,
Optional Reading : Optional Reading Our Own Druidry, p. 51 - 75 (The Very Basics of Ritual);
Appendix 1: Resources and Rituals for the Wheel of the Year in this book;
Step by Step through a Druid Worship Ceremony,
The "Liturgy and Rituals" section of the ADF page,
The Three Cranes Grove, ADF, outline of ritual (with example prayers),
Introduction : Introduction Next week's lesson will not be a recap of the rite you do for this holiday. We will do that right after Samhain.
If your culture does not celebrate a specific feast, remember that most cultures had a festival or feast that would have been similar in intent and form, but it may have been celebrated at a different time of year.
Unfortunately, much of the work of discovering which festival might match up to which High Day must be left to the individual Dedicant.
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.
A lot of the High Holy Days are obviously agrarian-based. If the High Day feels “irrelevant,” seek out relevance.
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.
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)
Criteria : Criteria 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
Criteria : Criteria 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
Criteria : Criteria Excellent
Covers additional cultures
Innovation/creativity
Analysis of evolution of holidays over time
Includes Neopagan traditions along with hearth culture specific practices
Homework : Homework 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?
If 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 The ADF Dedicant Path Through the Wheel of the Year 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?
There, you've just written your second essay on a High Holy Day!
Homework : Homework 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, we 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, but 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.
We do not 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!)
Homework : Homework Also, continue visiting the spot that helps keep you connected to Nature.
You might make notes in your Dedicant Notebook about what you see, or if there are animals that appear often or plants that strike you as intriguing or odd.
Finally, write about your second week of meditation: experiences, breath pattern, difficulties. . . all these things are good to write down.