Dedicating to a Deity
Dedicating to a Deity You've done a ton of research on various deities that interest you and you may even have found an unexpected connection with a deity you never thought about much but now that you feel that deep connection, you want to dedicate yourself to that deity, so what do you do? If you like, you can do a small dedication ceremony but think it out very carefully first. Ask yourself these kinds of questions: 1. How long do I want to be dedicated to this deity? - I generally recommend saying you'll dedicate yourself for a short period at first- say between 1-6 months. In this time, you will learn more about the deity- things you didn't find in books or on the internet and you can gauge much better if you're truly ready to make a more long term commitment, so to speak. Once the time range is up that you stated originally, you can do another dedication for another 1-6 months and so on; just never state you're dedicating your entire life time to this deity because if things don't work out, you may have to break that promise and you don't want to do that. I'm not saying something bad will befall you but no one likes to have a promise broken to them, I'm sure that includes deities. 2. What to offer? - With all the research you've done, I'm sure you know the types of offerings the deity likes so have a little bit of that for the ritual- nothing extravagant; something as small as a teaspoonful will do nicely. 3. What will I say? - I always say, speak from the heart; if you want to write a formal speech, go for it by all means but make sure it's coming straight from you, from your soul and you will do fine. Deities, I believe, respect nothing more on this earth than sincerity. 4. When should I perform the ritual? - This is truly up to you; say for instance, you're dedicating yourself to Hekate; then if so inclined, you could dedicate yourself during a new moon. If dedicating to Thoth for example, you could dedicate yourself when the moon is at a crescent because in many depictions, he has a crescent moon atop his head. Dedicate yourself when you feel completely ready for it- that is what is most important. These are a few questions to ask yourself, to get you started if you're confused on what to do next. Do what feels right and you rarely will go wrong and most of all, enjoy the experience. Forming a connection with a deity can be a life changing experience. Source: Mike Sexton