#self-dedication

O Mother Goddess, O Father God, Answers to all mysteries and yet mysteries unanswered; In this place of power I open myself to Your Essence. In this place and in this time I am changed; From henceforth I walk the Wiccan path. I dedicate myself to you, Mother Goddess and Father God.

I breathe your energies into my body, commingling blending, mixing them with mine, that I may see teh divine in nature, nature in the divine, and divinity within myself and all else. O Great Goddess, O Great God, Make me one with your essence Make me one with your essence Make me one with your essence.

In many Wiccan traditions, it is customary for someone to study for a year and a day prior to being formally initiated. In some cases, it is the standard length of time that must pass between degree levels, once the person is initiated into the group.

Although the year and the day rule for initiates is most commonly found in Wicca and NeoWicca, it occasionally appears in other Pagan paths as well.

Background and History

This time period is based upon a number of early European traditions.

In some feudal societies, if a serf ran away and was absent from his lord's holdings for a year and a day, he was automatically considered a free man. In Scotland, a couple who lived together as husband and wife for a year and a day were accorded all the privileges of marriage, whether or not they were formally wed (for more on this, read about Handfasting History). Even in the Wife of Bath's Tale, poet Geoffrey Chaucer gives his knight a year and a day to complete a quest.

The year-and-a-day rule is found in a number of cases of common law, both in the U.S. and in Europe. In the United States, notice of intention to file a medical malpractice lawsuit must be made within a year and a day of the alleged incident (this doesn’t mean the lawsuit itself has to be filed in that time frame, simply a notice of intent).

Edwidge Danticat of The New Yorker writes about the concept of the year and a day in Vodou, following the Haitian earthquake of January 2011.

She says, "In the Haitian Vodou tradition, it is believed by some that the souls of the newly dead slip into rivers and streams and remain there, under the water, for a year and a day. Then, lured by ritual prayer and song, the souls emerge from the water and the spirits are reborn... The year-and-a-day commemoration is seen, in families that believe in it and practice it, as a tremendous obligation, an honorable duty, in part because it assures a transcendental continuity of the kind that has kept us Haitians, no matter where we live, linked to our ancestors for generations."

Familiarizing Yourself with the Practice

For many Pagans and Wiccans, the year-and-a-day study period holds a special significance. If you've recently become part of a ​group, this time period is enough that you and the group's other members can get to know one another. It's also a time in which you can familiarize yourself with the concepts and principles of the group. If you're not part of an established tradition, using the year-and-a-day rule allows you to give your practice structure. Many solitaries choose to study for this time, prior to any sort of self-dedication ritual.

⋆ Self-dedication is a ritual performed by a solitary witch.

⋆ It’s a sacred moment, shared between the witch and their chosen deities.

⋆ The ritual is basically a “rite of passage” where you are taking a serious, spiritual commitment.

⋆ The ritual is performed when witches feel ready to commit to their spiritual path.

⋆ There is no right or wrong way to perform the ritual and no-one’s experience is the same.

Hello there!

Considering it doesn’t seem like you’re intending to follow any specific tradition, a self-dedication ritual is going to be very personal to you depending on what your practice is like, but I’ll try and give you some things to consider. Firstly, make sure you have a clear idea of what your intentions are for this ceremony. 

- are there any deities/spirits/etc. you will be involving in this ceremony? Will you give offerings?

- structure: do you cast a circle? Ground? Cenre? Call the elements? Light incense? Light candles?

- what will you say? Are there any texts you particularly relate to eg. the charge of the goddess, or any secular poetry? Could you write something ahead of the ritual to make clear your intentions and read it aloud? Or do you intend to do it extempore? Would you prefer silence? Organise some kind of music?

- actions: will you journal your thoughts/intentions? Meditate? Will you do anything practical like enchant a symbolic necklace, make a witches’ ladder or spell bottle to commemorate and encourage magical success or psychic abilities etc? Could you bless yourself with some kind of magical oil or water? Could you enchant your tools for use as a newly dedicated witch?

For what people generally do, I’d have a look at the self-dedication rituals on YouTube as that should give you some ideas. 

A rare self dedication post, an open letter to the man that i will love after this. there’s so much i ask of you but here is one. there are a lot of times where i don’t know which way is up i’ll spend days and months trying to figure out how to swim in a shallow water and stand up on the ocean ground and i will need your hands but don’t pull me out of the water, just be with me till i figure out how to move my limbs in the right way so that i dont drown be with me when i fail to learn how it is to catch my breath and i have to drown be with me when i drown. an open letter to the man that will love me after this. i have to apologize for a lot of things but here is one. i don’t know how to draw a rest exclamation like i don’t understand what it is to be calm my mind is a rattling old box and it makes so much angry noises it rattles even without you trying to shake it it rattles the most when i lie every night and try to sleep as much as it is when i’m in between of my sleeps i am sorry if it keeps you up at night i am sorry if it’s too loud at times i’m sorry if it tries to argue with you and call you at silly times it has been lonely for a while now and i wonder if it’s loud because it’s empty or heavy i’m sorry if my old empty box is heavy.

Doing a self-dedication ritual for wicca. This is what it’s going to consist of:

4 white tea light candles

bread and wine

Place the candles in cardinal direction and use this image as a key through ritual.

*Note: The East and West are flipped.

1. Take a deep breath and clear your mind and body of all negative energies. 

2. Cast a circle on the balcony.

Light the candle in the North and say:

Guardians of the North, Element Earth, I call thee,

Be present: join and bless this circle please.

Light the candle in the East and say:

Guardians of the East, Element Air, I call thee,

Be present: join and bless this circle please.

Light the candle in the South and say:

Guardians of the South, Element Fire, I call thee,

Be present: join and bless this circle please.

Light the candle in the West and say:

Guardians of the West, Element Water, I call thee,

Be present: join and bless this circle please.

Stand in the middle of the circle, hand stretched and finger pointing out to the edge of the circle. Spin 3x imagining white light entering in your crown and it traveling to the finger creating a waterfall of energy and protection.

“God and Goddess, Guardian Angels, and Spiritual Guides,

Please be present in this circle to provide

protection from unwanted entities,

only pure beings invited inwardly.

This circle, I cast, bless it and me,

If it harms none, So mote it be.”

Take a few moments to just breath and meditate in the circle and feel if the energy changes. 

3. Dedication 

When ready proceed by saying:

“God and Goddess, Guardian Angels, and Spiritual Guides,

I ask thee to help open my eyes.

I dedicate myself to you, the Craft, and ask you bless me

as I walk with you, and guide me on this journey.

I pledge to honour your power and knowledge,

asking to grow closer through my path I forage.

May all of me be blessed and all that I do,

as I keep the Craft and my heart true.

This dedication, I give to you, from me,

let my will be done, so mote it be.”

Take time to meditate in the circle and feel the energy change. 

4. Ale and Cake (Wine and Bread)

When ready, take some wine and say

“From the moon to the land,

from the land to the vine,

from the vine to the berry, 

from the berry to the wine.

I consecrate this drink in the name of the God and Goddess,

May their blessing shower upon me and keep my love flawless.

I give this wine to you, from me,

let my will be done, so mote it be.”

Drink some wine and pour some in the bowl. Take some bread and say

“From the sun to the land,

from the land to the stalk head,

from the head to the grain,

from the grain to this bread.

I consecrate this food in the name of the God and Goddess,

May their blessing shower upon me and keep my love flawless.

I give this bread to you, from me,

let my will be done, so mote it be.”

Eat some bread and drop some in the bowl. Meditate some more.

“God and Goddess, Guardian Angles, and Spiritual Guides,

Thank you, for this ceremony your presence presides.

Help me through the divine work I do,

and through all my choices, may they reflect you.

May my desires and wants be worked through thee,

As I will it, so mote it be.” 

5. Close the Circle

Face West and say the following before putting out the candle: 

“Guardians of the West, element of Water -  thank you.

For your participation in this ceremony and in all you do. 

Peace be with you and harm none on your way,

Angels of Water, thank you for your gifts this magickal day.

Go if you must, stay if you want,

Hail and farewell, before our avaunt”

Face South and say the following before putting out the candle:

“Guardians of the South, element of Fire -  thank you.

For your participation in this ceremony and in all you do.

Peace be with you and harm none on your way,

Angels of Fire, thank you for your gifts this magickal day.

Go if you must, stay if you want,

Hail and farewell, before our avaunt”

Face East and say the following before putting out the candle:

“Guardians of the East, element of Air -  thank you.

For your participation in this ceremony and in all you do.

Peace be with you and harm none on your way,

Angels of Air, thank you for your gifts this magickal day.

Go if you must, stay if you want,

Hail and farewell, before our avaunt”

Face North and say the following before putting out the candle:

“Guardians of the North, element of Earth -  thank you.

For your participation in this ceremony and in all you do.

Peace be with you and harm none on your way,

Angels of Earth, thank you for your gifts this magickal day.

Go if you must, stay if you want,

Hail and farewell, before our avaunt”

Face West and spin 3x counter clockwise while saying the following:

“This circle is open, but can never be broken,

Effect shall take place for the spoken and unspoken.

Merry meet, merry part, til merry meet again,

We are the people, the power, and the change, for now and then.

Thank you again for blessing this circle and me,