Week Two:First Solo Ritual and First Oath

Last week I found some time to preform my first solo ritual and First Oath. Unfortunately, my oath was saved on my old laptop and I have since gotten a new one in that time so today I cannot add my oath to this post. I will post my First Oath in a separate post when I have access to it.

Doing my first oath was a very interesting experience. I choose to do a bit of research and flesh out the skeleton example in our text for my First Oath. It ended up being pretty wordy but I felt it was important. I will likely shorten it down so that I can repeat it on a more consistent basis and incorporate parts into my ritual itself.

It was very important to me to find a place outside to do this ritual. Luckily I live in an area that is near a wetland trail and I can reflect well in nature there. However, it is extremely challenging at the same time as it is a popular recreation trail and there is always foot traffic so my first oath would not be as private as I might like it to be.

I traveled a bit and walked off the path into an area near a little stream and it seemed like the right spot. Far enough away that I would be mostly unseen by foot traffic but I was still very distracted by other people so I will likely not go back to this spot.

I sat down and used a tree beside me as my World Tree, brought out a vessel for my well, and lit several candles and incense for the gods and goddesses. I also planted 3 beeswax candles into the earth to help warm it up a bit as seemed fitting for springtime.

As I began speaking out loud I felt the power of my words and truly felt aware of each of my senses and the spirits around me. It was surreal and very empowering. Having this stream trickling in front of me helped me block out anything else around me and travel to a place away from the city.

My offerings were:

Fragranced Oil and a silver spider charm to the Ancestors (Well).

A shiny marble, personally altered artistically for the enjoyment of the Nature Spirits (Tree)

Incense and my paper copy of my first oath to the Gods and Goddesses (Fire)

It felt extremely right after speaking my oath to burn it with the incense, in its own way sealing my oath.

I am still very new to divination and for my Kindred Omens I borrowed my husband's tarot deck. I am not trained with Tarot but I do believe in personal interpretation of Kindred Omens so here are the Kindred's Omens and my interpretations: 

Ancestors: King of Cups (The King of Cups represented by an emotional and sensitive king represents the Ancestors creating and sharing an emotional energy that is intended to assist me in calming my life experiences. I perceive this as the Ancestors helping me find emotionally intimate (not strictly academic!) balance with the past and reminding me to remain emotionally aware to deeper communication with them. This is something I truly need to do as the Ancestor Kindred is the one I have the hardest time connecting to. They want to connect, and they are inviting me to open up my sensitivity to them to strengthen our relationship)

Nature Spirits: 9 of Cups (This card is generally a happy "Wish come true" card. There are many ways I can interpret this card from the Nature Spirits but my personal perception is that they are as happy as I am to be developing stronger relationships with one another. It is a "wish come true" on both sides so to say and the Nature Spirits are rejoicing and sending me happiness. Considering the Nature Spirits are the Kindred that I connect most with it seems very fitting that the Wish, happy joyous future, Good Luck card should appear here. They receive my excitement and show me excitement in return. )

Gods and Goddesses: The Devil (This Card kinda shocked me at first as I am unfamiliar with tarot, but I think that was one of the very important messages the Gods were trying to send me. They certainly got my attention! I do feel that the Gods want me to question my fears, and keep an open mind to knowledge *especially as I had to do a LOT of research into this card instead of immediately seeing it as a bad omen*. I discovered this card dealt with self doubt and negativity (from other people or myself). I think the Gods and Goddesses really want me to self reflect on where my doubts are, what is holding me back, what I am afraid of when it comes to my Dedicant path. I think it might be a good thing to have received the Devil with my First Oath because it really is a sort of wake up call. I certainly have a lot of insecurities with this path but the Gods and Goddesses want me to be aware of them and work hard to understand and learn to move away from them.) 

After this ritual I feel much stronger about what I am doing and why I am doing it. It just feels right in my heart and although I would like to find a better spot to hold my outdoor rituals I am confident that I will only get stronger.