1. Describe how ADF's order of
ritual expresses the following concepts: "Serving the people";
"Reaffirming shared beliefs"; "Reestablishing the cosmic
order"; "Building enthusiasm". (Min. 500 words)
Serving the People
ADF’s ritual
experience is intended to not only worship the Kindreds, but to also serve the
people of the community. ADF defines
itself as “an international fellowship devoted to creating a public tradition
of Neopagan Druidry” (Ar nDraiocht Fein) , and this includes holding open,
public rituals. Holding rituals that are
open to the public allows ADF to be an organization that is both inclusive and
open, which is vastly different from many other modern Pagan traditions. Being
a publicly accessible organization allows people to see positive, honest, and
ethical activities, which is incredibly beneficial to the Pagan community in
general. By holding open, public rituals ADF is also helping to build a
community for people that may otherwise feel alone. It shows an active
spirituality and helps to fill a void that many people miss when they leave
behind a traditional church.
Within the actual
ritual itself, we also try to serve the people in the community in several different
steps. The “Statement of Purpose” helps
the participants to know what is going to be happening in the ritual, and helps
them to feel more comfortable because they know what to expect. The “Key Offerings” portion of our ritual “initiates
a gift-for-gift exchange which precipitates the Blessings” (Newberg, Step Eight: Key Offerings) . In this
section of the ritual, we allow participants to come forward and make their own
offerings, which allows them to feel more connected to the ritual, and to
personalize the experience to those members of the community.
The third section
of the COoR that is done as a service to the community is the Calling,
Hallowing, and Affirmation of the Blessings. This is the “return flow” section
of the ritual, and allows for to the participants to receive the blessings in
return for the offerings that have been made throughout the ritual. These blessings are beneficial to all of the
participants, and serve the community well.
Reaffirming Shared Beliefs
Reaffirming shared
beliefs is expressed in several different ways through the Core Order of
Ritual. The shared experiences starts at
the very beginning of the ritual. The
purification is meant to cleanse the participants of their personal issues and
biases and helps to unify them in their intentions for the ritual. This step alone helps to build a unified
experience for the members and help to put them into a ritual mindset.
The “Statement of
Purpose” is another step that tries to reaffirm the shared beliefs of the
people. This step of the COoR is intended to “express
the basic themes of the ritual, name the Gods and Spirits of the rite, and
declare your intent” (Ár nDraíocht Féin 78) by explaining
what the ritual will be devoted to, and exploring what the participants can
expect from the ritual. This step can
help to build unified understanding of the ritual’s purpose and reaffirm those
shared practices in that way as well.
Similar statements can be made about the hallowing and affirmations of
the blessing. Ultimately, the Core Order of Ritual itself is
intended to help reaffirm shared beliefs for all members of ADF. It is intended to be a practice that allows for
people to travel from Grove to Grove all across the world and still be able to
participate in the ritual because the format and experience is similar.
However, I do
believe that this should be reworded in some way because ADF is not an orthodox
religion and doesn’t have a shared dogma.
Instead of stating that the Core Order of Ritual reaffirms shared
beliefs, it would be more appropriate to say that the COoR is a reaffirmation
is of shared practice.
Reestablishing Cosmic Order
Re-establishing
cosmic order is a key portion of an ADF ritual.
Within the COoR, there is a step specifically dedicated to the ordering
of the cosmos, called “(Re)Creating the Cosmos.” In this section we see the establishment of
the Sacred Center and the acknowledgement of the Three Realms (Newberg, Step 5: (Re)Creating the Cosmos) . This portion of the ritual is dedicated to
balancing the cosmos and finding the Sacred Center to help establish the ritual
place and mindset. We can also see the
re-establishment of cosmic order in the Two Powers meditation, balancing the
upper and lower realms internally, and finding balance in that practice. This stage of things is “meant to orient the
ritual participants in relation to all other parts of their universe, and to
all the other beings in it” (Bonewits) .
Building Enthusiasm
Building
enthusiasm can be viewed from several different perspectives. For some people, the enthusiasm can be the
implementation of chants and drumming, to help energize the ritual. This could be a fantastic way to build both
enthusiasm and energy. However, I think
the Core Order of Ritual itself is built in a way that allows for the
progression of energy and enthusiasm, to the peak of the ritual at the Key
Offerings and Omen. The ADF Rite Graphic
Organizer (Emerald)
divides the ritual into 5 parts, or tiers, which gradually builds to a climax
before slowly returning to the mundane.
2. Create a prayer of praise,
offering, or thanksgiving to a deity modeled on a mythic, folkloric, or other
literary source of at least 75 words. Include a summary of what your sources
were and how you utilized them (summary at least 150 words).
Demeter
Harvest Prayer of Praise
Blessed Demeter,
Daughter of Cronus
and Rhea,
Goddess of grain,
fruits and bread,
Like a mother, you
give us the gift of life.
You who made fruit to
spring from the lands
So the rich land was
filled with leaves and flowers.
You who fill the
barns with foods through your joy.
Bounteous Demeter,
Thank you for the
blessings you have given mankind,
For teaching the art
of harvest, and that all must end.
For providing us the many foods that sustain
us.
Divine, delightful,
and lovely Goddess
For all these things
and more,
We thank you!
Source Utilization
To
write this poem, I utilized several different sources. I began by looking back at the Hellenic
Spring Equinox ritual my protogrove performed, which was dedicated to
Persephone and Demeter. This ritual was
one that we did to welcome Persephone back from the underworld, and to
celebrate with Demeter as her joy returns.
The prayer that I have written would have been used as a prayer after a
successful harvest season, possibly before Persephone once again returns to the
underworld and the world begins to grow cold once more.
After
I knew what I wanted to write about, I began looking at the mythology of
Demeter to find phases and descriptions that were fitting. I read the poems of Demeter written by
Ceisiwr Serith and found his description of her at the spring, asking for her
to “plant the seeds that will grow all summer until the harvest, when your full
power will be known” (Serith 159)
which guided me to want to honor the strength of the harvest, instead of focusing
on the loss of her daughter to the underworld once again. The writings of
Hesiod provided lines such as “Demeter richly crowned may love you and fill
your barn with food” (Hesiod, Works And Days) , while Plato
described her as “Demeter is e didousa meter, who gives food like a mother” (Plato) . I also looked at the Homeric hymns and the
way that Demeter is described in them.
After writing out the many different descriptions of the goddess, I
wrote out a rough draft of my poem using that imagery. After writing the first stanza, I realized
that the poem was shaped as a half circle. I tried to make the second stanza
similar in shape so the poem itself appears round, like the cycles of the year that
Demeter often represents.
3. Discuss a poem of at least
eight lines as to its use of poetic elements (as defined by Watkins): formulaic,
metrics, and stylistics. Pay particular attention to use of meter and phonetic
devices, such as rhyme and alliteration. (Minimum 100 words beyond the poem
itself)
Let Me Live Out My
Years by John G. Neihardt
Let me live out my
years in heat of blood!
Let me die drunken
with the dreamer's wine!
Let me not see this
soul-house built of mud
Go toppling to the
dusk—a vacant shrine.
Let me go quickly,
like a candle light
Snuffed out just at
the heyday of its glow.
Give me high noon—and
let it then be night!
Thus would I go.
And grant that when I
face the grisly Thing,
My song may trumpet
down the gray Perhaps.
Let me be as a
tune-swept fiddlestring
That feels the Master
Melody—and snaps!
Analysis
John G. Neihardt
writes the poem I have chosen to evaluate, called “Let Me Live Out My
Years.” He was the Nebraska state poet
laureate for fifty-two years (John G. Neihardt Foundation) , and
frequently wrote about life in the Great Plains and the people who lived
there. This poem speaks of a person
who hopes to avoid a long, drawn out death and instead to pass away quickly “Give
me high noon—and let it then be night!” (Untermeyer) .
Formulaic
Formulaic
is described as an examination and comparison “lexically and semantically
cognate or closely similar phrases in cognate languages” (Watkins 12) . This study
looks for phrases and formulas in poetry that occur in multiple languages and
cultures. One phrase that fits in these formulas was “imperishable flame” which
is not specifically stated in this poem, but is definitely brought to mind when
reading “like a candle light snuffed out just at the heyday of its glow” (Untermeyer) .
Metrics
Metrics
is “examining and comparing similar versification systems” (Watkins 12) . Essentially, this is a very technical way to
describe the rhythm of a poem. This poem uses an iambic pentameter as its
rhythmic device, which includes five pairings of long and short stressed
syllables. It is written in three
separate quatrains, which are groups of four lines.
Stylistics
Stylistics
“examine and compare all other linguistic devices figures, and other recurrent
phonological morphological and syntactic variables which may be in play in
verbal art” (Watkins 12) . These are phonetic devices, such as rhyme and
alliteration, and make up the poet’s unique style. This poem uses an ABAB rhyme scheme, with
alternating rhymes in every other line.
There are also frequent uses of alliteration, such as “die drunken with
the dreamer’s wine” to emphasize the meaning of certain lines.
4. Create a prayer suitable for
the main offering of a High Day rite which includes invocation of at least one
deity suitable to the occasion, description of the offering and its suitability
to the occasion, and the purpose of the offering, totaling at least 100 words.
Any stage directions necessary for performance of the offering should be
included.
(Light the hearth
flame)
“The flame is lit, to build our hearth and to welcome Hestia
to our rite.
“Hestia, glorious goddess of the
hearth,
You who we honor both first and
last.
You embody both hearth and home
And guide us with your warmth.
With your name, we ignite the
hearth fire.
Come forth and dwell in this space.
(Offer mead)
“We offer to you our mead, first bottle of the season, to
honor you first, before all others.”
“Hestia, gracious goddess of home
Goddess of the living flame
You who keep the hearth ablaze
And inspire us with your light.
With your name, we start our rite.
Come forth and dwell in this place.”
(Offer mead)
“Through you, may our hearts
warmed.
Through you, may our homes be
bright.
Through you, may all who join be
welcomed.
And through you may our intentions
be pure.
Hestia, magnificent goddess,
Come f orth and encounter this rite.”
Bibliography
Ár nDraíocht
Féin . Our Own Druidry. 2009. ADF Publishing. October 2014
<https://www.adf.org/system/files/members/training/dp/dedicant-manual.pdf>.
Ar nDraiocht Fein. ADF Home Page. October 2014
<https://www.adf.org/core/index.html>.
Bonewits, Isaac. Neopagan Rites: A Guide to Creating
Public Rituals that Work. Woodbury: Llewellyn Publishing, 2007.
Emerald. Appendix E: A Ritual Graphic Organizer.
October 2014
<https://www.adf.org/members/training/dedicant-path/articles/coortutorial/appendix-e.html>.
Hesiod. Homeric Hymns. 1914. October 2014
<http://www.theoi.com/Text/HomericHymns1.html>.
—. Works And Days. 1914. October 2014
<http://www.sacred-texts.com/cla/hesiod/works.htm>.
John G. Neihardt Foundation. Neihardt, The Man.
February 2011. October 2014
<http://www.neihardtcenter.org/The%20Man.html>.
Newberg, Brandon. Step 5: (Re)Creating the Cosmos.
October 2014
<https://www.adf.org/members/training/dedicant-path/articles/coortutorial/step-five.html>.
—. Step Eight: Key Offerings. October 2014
<https://www.adf.org/members/training/dedicant-path/articles/coortutorial/step-eight.html>.
Plato. Cratylus . October 2014
<http://classics.mit.edu/Plato/cratylus.html>.
Serith, Ceisiwr. A Book of Pagan Prayer. San
Francisco: Weiser Books, 2002.
Untermeyer, Louis, ed. Modern American Poetry: An
Introduction. Harcourt, Brace, and Howe, 1919.
Watkins, Calvert. How to Kill a Dragon: Aspects of
Indo-European Poetics. Oxford University Press, 1995.
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