A Circle of Stones: Journeys and Meditations for Modern Celts - Erynn Rowan Laurie 1995

Creating Rituals
Rites of Devotion

Devotionals are ritual acts and meditations that are designed to focus your attention on a particular deity or group of deities. These rituals express connections between you and your Gods and Goddesses. They can also be done for Ancestors, as they often are in Shinto and other “ancestor worshipping” religions. Rituals of devotion to land spirits are common in folk religions like the Celtic “fairy faith.”

A devotional is not a ritual that asks for something. A ritual for prosperity is not a devotional rite, nor is a love spell or a protection spell. Instead, the rite places you firmly within a relationship between yourself and your deities. Ancestor devotions are done to reaffirm your link with friends, family and significant people who have gone to the House of Donn, as well as the unknown and unnamed ancients who walked Pagan paths before you, and to remind them that you are still thinking of them. Land spirit devotionals are often done to gain a better relationship with them, and to prevent any mischief they might be prone to cause.

Devotions to deities are performed to gain a better understanding of the deity, and the Gods and Goddesses will often share information with their devotees. Through the process of your rituals you will discover things that the deities are associated with, what they like, and also the things that displease them and which you should avoid. Researching and preparing a devotional ritual shows the deities that you are actively interested in interacting with them, and it may call their attention to you in a positive manner.

Reading and meditation are important before you begin to design your altar and your devotional rituals. Both are necessary and will give you the basics of symbolism for setting your altar, and the names and some of the titles by which your chosen deities should be addressed. Your work will reveal tales and material that can become the basis for the words of your devotional rites, as well as the conditions and situations in which each deity is most often encountered. A devotional can of course be done with no props other than your intent, particularly when very little is known about a deity. Using linking symbols, if they are available, is always helpful.

Preparation is no guarantee of instant success, but neither is sincerity alone. Time and effort are both important ingredients for your devotional work. The nature of spiritual work and development is slow and painstaking. Success will undoubtedly come, but you must reach for it and put your best effort into your workings. Always remember that what you get out of your devotional rituals will be dependent upon what you put into them. Your effort may be great, but your rewards will be greater.

Here is a sample devotional ritual for Danu. It is very simple in structure, but the amount of symbol and emotional involvement is rich and deep.

Devotional Rite for the Goddess Danu

Items needed:

dark green candle

incense burner

incense of cedar and fir

votive candles & holders

offerings of food and drink

image or symbol of Danu

ancestor and land spirit images or objects

objects to represent the three realms of land, sea and sky

Assemble the items for your rite in a convenient place. This may be at one of your altars where you live, or it might be somewhere outdoors. Either place is fine, but be sure you will be comfortable and that you will be in a place where you will feel safe and not be disturbed by anyone.

Address Manannán the Gatekeeper and ask his aid in crossing into the Otherworld. After you have done this, assemble your altar. It should be at a convenient height for standing, or if you prefer it lower, make it convenient for sitting either in a chair or on a cushion. Celtic deities prefer that people come before them with pride and in honor, so we do not usually kneel to them.

Place the image of Danu in the north, arranging the Three Realms with the sky in the north, sea in the southwest and land in the southeast. Put the incense burner and the dark green candle in front of Danu. Put small bowls for food and drink before her as well.

Ancestor images should, if possible, go in the southwest, near your sea objects. Place votive candles before them, along with little bowls for food and drink.

Land spirit images and items should go near your land objects, but can be placed anywhere you like so long as they aren't in the way. They also should have little bowls available for food and drink offerings. If you like, you can have votive candles for them, but it isn't necessary.

Prepare yourself for your contact with the Goddess by doing focused breathing meditations, or any other technique you like.

Begin by addressing the ancestors. Ask their attendance and thank them for coming. Put food and drink into the bowls in front of them and light the votive candles for them, meditating for a while on their presence. Ask their help in coming before the Goddess Danu, as they are closer to her than we are by already being in the Otherworld realms.

Address the land spirits next, offering them food and drink as well. Thank them for their support and their kindness to you, allowing you to prosper in their domains. Meditate here as well. You may wish to hold and look at your land spirit objects at this time - leaves, stones, nuts or dried berries, things that you have picked up during your rituals to honor them - turn them over in your hands to feel their texture, smell leaves and remember where you gathered them, let seeds or sand run between your fingers. Ask the land spirits to make your way clear as you call upon Danu.

Light the incense. Draw the double spiral gate in front of the image with your finger or with the incense. Call out to Danu, “A Dhanu, a Bhan-tiarna! A Dhanu, mo Bhandia!” (ah GAH-noo, ah VAN-tcheer-na, ah GAH-noo, mo VAN-jee-ah - note: if you prefer to address her name in Old Irish instead of modern, (or if the th sound is easier for you than the g sound), you could also say “ah THAH-noo” instead of “ah GAH-noo). Invoke her with your own words, with drumming, chanting poetry from the circle meditations, or singing until you begin to feel her presence. Don't rush this process. Enjoy the invocation as much as you enjoy the Goddess herself. Light the candle and give her food and drink offerings.

When she has come to you and you have made your offerings, take time to sing, dance, play music, write or recite praise poetry to her, or do other things that seem appropriate. Make noise, be joyful. Tell her you love her.

If you prefer quiet, you can meditate in her presence focusing on your image or symbol. Seek her moods, listen to her voice, walk with her through the forest, drink from her waters. Even if you perform an active and noisy devotional rite, spend some time in quiet contemplation before you close the ritual.

Spend as much time in the presence of Danu as you wish, or as she decides. Thank her for coming to you and for sharing her presence and her wisdom with you. Tell her that she may stay and inhabit your altar or return to her own realm as she pleases. Watch and feel to determine if she stays or leaves. If Danu has gone, you can put her candle out. If she has not, let it burn for several more hours and leave her food and drink offerings on the altar after you have ended the ritual. Seven day candles are generally safe in their glass containers and should not cause problems when left alone, so long as cats or other small creatures are not allowed to mess with them.

Thank the ancestors and land spirits. Tell them you will invite them to spend time with you again soon, and put out the votive candles.

Take the food and drink offerings outside when you are finished and pour them out or bury them somewhere where they won't be disturbed.

As you can see, this ritual is very easily modified to suit any deity, and similar rituals can be done for ancestors and land spirits as well. Being simple, it is suited to endless variations according to mood and purpose. It is suggested that you begin with rituals only for your personal deities until you have some familiarity with the ways that deity can manifest. Trying to work with too many deities all at once is distracting and will detract from your experiences. Being able to focus on a few deities will give you a greater depth of understanding and allow you to expand your knowledge and range of experience with time.

Remember that true spirituality doesn't mean you've joined the Deity of the Month Club. What it does mean is that you have devoted yourself to living with the Gods as a part of your life, and that you are seeking to understand and experience them in ways that you can integrate into your daily existence. Ritual is a valuable and powerful tool to achieve this goal. Consistency pays off in the gold and fire of wisdom.