Oath Rite Self-Evaluation

Oath Rite Self-Evaluation

The text of the Dedicant's Oath Rite and a self-evaluation of the Dedicant's performance of the rite. (500 word min.)

My oath rite was more than I ever expected it to be.  Shortly after Imbolc I began trying to put together my ritual, borrowing bits and pieces from random rituals, re-writing other bits, and writing some of my own.  It was originally going to be done as a part of my Yule ritual but something didn’t feel right.  After some meditation and a lot of thinking I decided it needed to be a done as a stand-alone rite.  Being located in Nebraska means that there are no other members nearby but I did not want to do this completely on my own.  There is a grove several hours away from me, but I had only ever met with them once and doing my oath rite with strangers didn’t seem like the right thing to do.  Instead I asked my partner to participate and he eagerly agreed.  His love and support is part of what made the DP possible for me so I was very grateful to have him at my side.  I did the ritual in the ADF COoR style in an attempt to further familiarize myself with it since I’m still not incredibly comfortable with ritual.  This was the first time I had ever completely re-written and led a ritual so having someone there was really nerve wracking while being comfortable at the same time.  For me, the energy was amazing and the actual oath was very emotional and moving.  I can’t lie and say, “it immediately changed me” no matter how much I wish I could.  I still have things I need to work through and I am definitely nowhere near perfect, but I think my Oath will help me to head that direction.  I will strive to uphold my oath.  I try to hold it in my heart and follow it the best I can, which I’m sure is harder sometimes than others. 

I think the most surprising part of the Oath Rite for me was my divination of the Omen.  Tarot is the method that I am definitely most comfortable wit, so my favorite deck was sitting on the table, prepped and ready for me to pull the omen.  However, when the time came using tarot didn’t feel quite right.  Instead I picked up an antique book I have on my alter which used to belong to my great-grandmother and then my grandmother.  I decided I was going to try to use bibliomancy instead of the “typical” methods.  It still didn’t feel quite right to me, so I handed the book to my best friend and had him read my omen for me instead.  He turned to a random page and picked a random paragraph to read.  The message came across as a statement of previously wandering somewhat lost on a path, but heading in the right general direction.  I took it as a positive sign.  I anointed my new necklace and put it on.  I drank the waters of life and felt the energy flowing and the blessings surrounding.  I suppose I could sum it up by saying that I feel my oath rite was very successful. 

(522 words)