The Busy Pagan

3 more posts, including this one, and I'll be current on the PBP  ^_^

I liked the questions that were presented with this topic suggestion and it gives me the opportunity to discuss a little about when I did my dedication to Brighid.

Dedication is usually the first step when someone embarks down the path of Paganism.  Or it might be the step that someone takes when they dedicate themselves to a particular Deity, such as I did.  Dedication, in any form, means that you are taking upon yourself the task of actively learning your path, whether you are working as a solitary or as a student in a coven.

Myself, I've always wanted the opportunity to learn under the instruction of a coven.  I've never really had the chance to, unfortunately, but that's another post for another time.

In a traditional coven, the time that a dedicant must spend as a student is a year and a day before they can be officially initiated as a member of the coven.  I'm not sure of the beliefs of other people, but to my mind there is a difference between dedication and initiation.

As I stated before, a dedication is done to symbolize one's commitment to take upon themselves the task of learning all they can about their chosen path, learning how to practice, etc.  Initiation is more a ceremony that recognizes that one has obtained and earned their right to take their place among a coven, whether it's because they finished their year and a day or that they've been able to show that they possess enough knowledge and skill elsewhere to be able to join the coven as an official member.

Now, where the question of initiation comes to light is where it concerns solitaries.  I've seen some argue quite vehemently that there's no such thing as self-initiation, that you can only be initiated if it's being done with a coven.

I, personally, do not agree with that viewpoint.  Initiation, much like dedication, is an important symbolic rite of passage.  Dedication shows the commitment to begin and progress along your path; initiation shows the commitment to keep progressing and finding things to learn even after you've passed the basics and it shows that you've earned the right, basically, to call yourself a full-on witch.

That's not exactly how I wanted to put it, but I'm not quite sure how else to word it.  I hope my choice of words doesn't offend anyone.

Whether someone is in a coven or is a solitary practitioner, if they've put the time and effort to learn and practice and grow, they have every right to go through their initiation.  For some, such as myself, it's not always possible to be involved in a coven or even a circle, so solitaries have just as much a right to perform a self-initiation to recognize and celebrate their achievements as a dedicant.  They've earned the right to obtain that initial degree status if it's something that's important to them.

Anyway, getting back to the real topic at hand:  A dedication is a beautiful ceremony.  Whether it's committing oneself to the Pagan path or dedicating oneself to a specific Deity, it's a poignant and beautiful rite of passage.  Committing oneself to the path of the Goddess is no small thing and it's no small task.  Unfortunately for myself, I've not been able to put as much into it as I would like, but I'm still determined that that will change.

I did my dedication to my matron Goddess, Brighid, close to a year ago.  It wasn't overly grandiose -- I didn't have many supplies to work with, but I know that didn't matter to Her.  Brighid isn't exactly a grandiose Goddess Herself and I think she appreciates people making do with what they have available.  What comes from the heart is what matters the most.  I lit candles to celebrate the Esbat (this was on the Flower Moon last year) dedicated myself to Brighid, expressing my love for Her, my promise to keep Her in my heart, and to try to keep growing in my spirituality so that I could better serve Her.  As I previously said, I haven't been able to do as much as I've wanted, but now that life is really starting to settle down into better stability, I think I'll be able to.  I know She hasn't held it against me.  Always, I've felt Her patience and love, ready to encourage my progress as soon as I take the step to begin again.

One thing I want to do to further myself is to enroll again in WitchSchool.com and to try to complete the lessons, both on the site and in the 1st Degree book I got from them to FINALLY!!!!! obtain my 1st Degree level.  I've read several books over the years and have a pretty decent knowledge base, but I know I still have much to learn before I could comfortably consider myself in the 1st Degree and I'm still quite awkward in my practice whenever I manage to do a ritual.  Admittedly, I still have a long way to go in keeping consistency and discipline.

So, those are my thoughts on dedications and initiations as well as where I stand in the overall scheme of things.  I apologize if I've repeated myself too much.