*Please note: certain portions of this course have been removed as it contains information that is shared only with ADF Clergy. Sorry!*
1. Describe your
discipline practice as an ADF Priest. Explain what you have learned from this
practice, describe how your connections with the Court of the Sky has grown and
changed over the time you have worked with them, and reflect on your journals
and omens over the period. (min. 600 words)
I completed the first circle of the
Clergy Training Program in February 2015, nearly two years ago as I write
this. The past two years have been
transformational and moving in a way that I never anticipated they could
be. As I have worked through the second
circle of the CTP and other study programs, my practice has changed and adapted
as I developed a deeper understanding of my own spirituality and how I wanted
my path to progress.
My practice currently involves
several small rituals that are practiced at different times of the week or
month. I have continued performing
monthly retreat days during the first week of every month, involving both a
full COoR rite and prayers throughout the day.
These rituals help me continue my relationship with the Earth Mother and
Gatekeeper, while also helping to remind myself of my goals and responsibilities
as ADF Clergy.
In addition to these monthly retreat days, I have continued to do other workings on a
weekly basis. Most recently, I have
rituals that I do four days a week, with other days set aside for the monthly
practices. The days may vary depending
on schedules and how life works out, but I try to adhere to my schedule so I
don’t fall away from the practices. Each
Sunday, I wake in the morning and have tea or coffee with my ancestors. This gives me the opportunity to further my
relationship with them and reconnect with those I have lost. My grandfather very recently passed away, so
this ritual is now quite painful but it has also become even more important to
my practice. On Wednesday evenings, I am
currently working with Demeter and the Meeting Demeter meditation for the
Demeter and Eleusinian Order to work through their study program. Building a relationship with Demeter and the
theoi associated with the Eleusinian Mysteries has been very interesting, and I
look forward to continuing that development beyond this submission.
Thursdays are reserved for
magical workings, including trance work, healing, or other magical work that I
feel is important at that time. Those rituals are the ones that vary the most
depending on where life is at that moment and what work I feel I need to be
doing. My final ritual of the week is on
Saturday where I have spent the past couple years working with a trance and
magical journey I have written to follow the story of the Odyssey. It has been transformative and challenging
work that has taken much longer than I anticipated, but I am quite proud of this
project. What I do feel necessary to say
though is that this is just my current practice and isn’t the same as what I
was doing two years ago, and my not be the same as what I am doing in six
months. Essentially, my practice is
continually changing and evolving as I learn more about my spirituality and the
world around me, but I feel that is important to me, both to have the
flexibility to grow, and to continue to keep the practice interesting and
involved.
Continuing to journal through
this process has been challenging, but vitally important in order to remember
everything. It allows me to go back to
failures to try to figure out where things went wrong, and to reflect on the
positive outcomes of other workings.
Looking back at these experiences helps me continue to form my path
going forward and helps me to improve my work.
It also helps me to remember small details or moments that may have
seemed insignificant at the time, but grew to hold a much more important
meaning. It has become a small glimpse
into my spiritual life, showing me both at my best and my worst, pleading for
aid and gushing with gratitude.
During the past two years, I have also taken the
opportunity to complete the Seers Guild Study Program 1st Circle, which
I feel definitely deepened my divinatory practice and helped me become much
more comfortable with my skills. For my
divination practices, I primarily work with the Greek Alphabet Oracle, dabbling
in other methods when it seems appropriate. My omens have definitely
varied over the past few years, giving me guidance and encouragement when
things are going well, and seeming to reprimand me when I’m not doing what I
need to be doing. Additionally, my
Oracle set seems to have developed its own unique sense of humor, telling me to
“Flee the storm” when doing ritual in the rain.
It seems to fit my own personality, so I really enjoy it. I can see through my writings that I have
grown more confident in my ability to use the Greek Alphabet Oracle in my personal
practice, as well as during my grove’s public rituals. This development
is incredibly useful on a practical level, allowing me to perform better
rituals and better serve my community.
It seems strange to say, but I have grown to love these little wooden
disks and have developed a very personal relationship with them. Not only do they fit the hearth that I am
most comfortable in, but the disks themselves were made for me by Rev. Jon Drum
as a gift at my ordination, so I feel an emotional attachment to them as well.
Ultimately, when I began on this journey in 2015, two years
seemed like a long time, and this journey seemed daunting and nearly impossible.
Today, I stand on the other side of it wondering where the last two years
have gone. Realistically, I know I still have so much to learn,
and I hope to continue growing and expanding my knowledge as I move forward. However, I know that all of my practices, my
hard work, and the relationships I have built have helped to reaffirm my path
and to establish a stronger sense of my own spirituality. I also think that they have allowed me to
develop into a better person who is now more comfortable and prepared to
continue doing the work of ADF Clergy.
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