Writing Your Own Self-Dedication Ritual

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julietaw

Writing Your Own Self-Dedication Ritual

Post by julietaw »

I've been studying wicca for about 3ish years now. I would like to dedicate myself to this path, but I think it would be more personal if I wrote my dedication ritual myself. I have no clue what supplies I will need or anything like that. I've been reading as many dedication rituals as I can but I'm still clueless. Would you please share with me a little of your dedication ritual?
loona wynd
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Re: Trying to write my own self dedication ritual?

Post by loona wynd »

For supplies I used an oil to anoint my body in several places (head, heart, knees, feet, hands), a candle, a written statement of dedication, and my ritual blade, and an offering to share. I also had a necklace that signified my new role and my new path, so you may want to pick an object or something to carry with you or keep near you to represent this change. My normal ritual tools (salt and water, candles, and statues for the God and Goddess on the altar) are already present so I don't list them.

I would start by beginning the dedication ritual the same way you would begin any ritual. For me this would be setting up the altar (if not always up) and the creation of the sacred space. The creation of the altar and the creation of the sacred space for me tells my normal mind that something special is going on.

The creation of the sacred space is important. It is what establishes the place as safe and designated for the Gods and the spirits. This can be done with a circle casting, a smudging, quarter calls, or a combination of the three. I like to use a combination of the three when I do rituals and create a sacred space.

The next thing I would put into the ritual is a call to the Goddess and the God. This is where you would invoke or evoke them into the circle. This is where you can really formally call to the God and Goddess in the way that you understand them. There are several invocations for the Goddess and God already written so you could use one of those, but I think it might be best if you write it yourself based on your experiences and knowledge of the Goddess and the God.

Now we get to the meat of the ritual. This is where your actually going to preform the dedication. For myself this is where I took my statement of dedication. This statement was basically my oath and my promise to the God and Goddess that I would walk their path and I would do my best to honor them and walk their path. So here you would read your statement of dedication

Next I took the oil chosen and anointed the forehead. I dripped the oil into my hand, and with my index finger I drew a star on my forehead. Here I spoke about knowing their ways, knowing them, and knowing the powers in me. I asked for their wisdom and their guidance in the future.

I repeated the action with my chest(heart), knees, and feet hands. I spoke about love with the heart, the knees for bowing in prayer and sitting in meditation, and the feet for walking the actual path. The hands were about crafting magic and rituals, prayers, and directing energy to the universe.

Now that all of those parts have been anointed I declared aloud that I was Wiccan and a Witch. My body had been made sacred and powered by the Gods in those places. I was now their priestess. The body had been charged.

Next I took my ritual blade and held it to my chest. Here I pulled my love for the Gods from my heart and put it into the blade. I took the same oil and anointed the handle of the blade dedicating it to ritual use in their names. I repeated the process here for all of my ritual tools on the table. For the statues it was "may these statues represent you and may I think of you when I see them"

I then took out my item to represent my change in path. I wafted it through incenses, through the candle, dripped water on it, and sprinkled sea salt over it. It was christened in the elements. I then held it to the Gods and said what this necklace meant to me. I then wore it every day.

The last part of my dedication was an introduction to the elements as a newly made Wiccan and witch. I started with earth, than did air, fire, and ended with water. At each element I asked for their blessing and their powers to be with me.

I now poured an offering to the Gods. I thanked them for witnessing the rite and making me their servant and student. As I shared the drink with the Gods I now thought about my new life and focused on any changes I felt in myself now that I had did the rite. After a few moments of silence I got up to conclude the rite.

Now I thanked the Gods and told them that the rites was ended. I release the energy of the Gods and the elemental guardians back to the universe, take up the circle and ground. The ritual was now completed and I was now a witch and a Wiccan.


I hope this helps you. Good luck.
loona wynd
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Re: Trying to write my own self dedication ritual?

Post by loona wynd »

Naz.J wrote:loona wynd, your reply was very detailed and extremely helpful - thanks for sharing it with us. Just a quick question, can your ritual you outlined above be adapted if one wishes to dedicate one's self to a particular deity?
It can be. This is where in the call and in the statement of dedication you would specify who you were dedicating yourself to. I wrote that outline to be as general and generic as possible. I didn't include the deities or spirits I work with because I wanted people to be able to use it as an idea. I do rededication ceremonies once a year.
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SpiritTalker
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Re: Writing Your Own Self-Dedication Ritual

Post by SpiritTalker »

I think Loona Wynd's post is excellent.

Things dont always go as planned. Forgive me bcs I've told this elsewhere, but I'll never forget: I'd chosen noon on summer solstice for my dedication & taken the day off work. I'd prepared a woody blend of incense & wrote out my invocation text & loaded these & my fire-pot gear in a back-pack. I'd showered & wore my ritual tunic with an iron-on sun wheel design over my clothes, called my dog along & went out to a place in the woods he &' I'd scoped out in advance.

I didn't get a weather forecast. My dog & I hiked into the woods thru a thunderstorm, my soggy tunic slapping my knees. The rain soaked my carefully hand crafted incense & dissolved the ink of my ritual text. A sane person would've given up & gone home. But what's a little rain, eh? I'd cast a standard circle with my blade & ad-libbed - barefoot, drenched & at the butt-end of a piece of steel in a thunder storm. Exactly when I'd raised my blade skyward & called the Sky God of Thunder lightening struck an adjoining hill and thunder crashed :shock: I took it as a favorable sign - missed me - and feeling as if my plastered hair were standing on end i blessed my feeble fruit thanks offering. My dog sat quietly near by the whole time. We stopped at a drive-thru for burgers on the way home. Both the dog & I felt content with the outing. I couldn't stop grinning.

Nothing went as i'd planned. Everything went according to Nature's plan. :flyingwitch:

Check List

.Timing - Moon phase, special date, relevance to annual agricultural cycles? Day or night?
.Weather forecast
.Location - indoor site purification & setting, or outdoors site location, prep & travel to & from
.Is burning safe/permitted (if needed)?
.What gear is required to set up? Do you have it? How will you transport it to & from the site?
.What tools does your path use? If you have them, will you consecrate them at the same ceremony or Will you disregard tools for now?
.Will you ritually bathe ahead of time or on-site & Is water available?
.Will you work sky clad or wear a robe? Other garb? How will you prepare your ritual garb?
.How will you raise energy & open the rite?
.Will you cast a circle, call elemental quarters & invite deity or spirit assistance? Other format?
.What specifically will you dedicate to: a period of study, ex a year & a day? A way of life? To a traditional belief system? To specific deities (who?) and from which culture(s) & are they compatible?
.Do you want a formal speech written in advance or spontaneous, straight from the heart?
.Will you take a magical persona name?
.Will you include the Charge of the Goddess? The Wiccan Rede? Something specific to your path?
.Will you include ancestral lineage? Ex: "I (your name), child of (mother's name), child of (grandmother), child of (great-grandmother) do so swear..."
.Will you include a petition to a patron for assistance on your path?
.Will you charge/bless a commemorative pendant, ring or other talisman or memento?
.What will your ritual offering be? Cakes & Ale, fruit, grains, juice or water? Specific to a deity?
.Where will you leave the offering?
.How will you close the rite & ground the energy?
.Extinguish all flames & coals (if used). Pack up & exit the site leaving no sign of your actions.
.What will you do after the dedication rite to celebrate? Consider some options depending on your mood when you've concluded the rite.
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