Liturgy 1

Why Do We Do Ritual?

In general, the purpose of ritual is to form a relationship and connect with the divine, so that we then get something back from the divine. In the case of ADF, this means forming a *ghosti relationship with the Three Kindreds. We are praising them and offering to them so that we might receive their blessings. In holding ritual, the participants are looking for help with a task, for a relationship with the divine, and/or building a community around shared beliefs or practices.

Holy Days

As Druids we acknowledge and honor the cycle of the seasons. This includes rites that correspond to both the lunar and solar cycles. The structure and predictability allows us to build community with those around us and also build a relationship with the Kindreds.

Rites of Passage

These are an important part of any religious tradition, being able to properly honor and mark those big moments in life: birth, death, coming of age, marriage, divorce, etc. These rituals invite the Kindreds to share in those important moments in our lives and often invite the community to take part as well.

Personal work

This can be in the form of simple devotional work, praise offerings, or offerings of thanks. Our personal work may invovle things like seeking the help of patrons or other allies, or to do trance or other magical work.

Who Does Ritual?

Anyone can participate in an ADF ritual to the extant that they are comfortable with. There are a variety of roles that people can take when they are participating in an ADF rite.

An ADF priest and several congregants stand and sit in a green and shaded grove, preparing for ritual to begin.
a casually dressed and tattooed person kneels down to make offerings to a large ritual fire

Congregant

The Congregant is the person who comes to attend the rite and connect with the spirits and the community. They are often invivted to make personal offerings of their won within the rite.

a bard dressed in a white robed edged with the greek key stands holding a guitar. they are on a stage surrounded by microphones and facing the audience

Bard

The Bard is the person who leads or performs a bardic art within a ritual. Most often we think of this as leading the ritual music, but someone may also take on the role of Bard when they tell a story, lead a playlet, or recite a hymn or other piece of poetry.

a priest stands above a fire making an offering. the fire is as tall as them, and eagerly receiving the offering

Priest

The Priest in a ritual can mean one of two things. This person can be an ADF Priest who is leading or overseeing a rite, but it could also be a member of the laity who is leading or taking on priestly roles in the rite (such as the Return Flow or Gate Opening).

A druid wearing a white robe and green stole pulls ogham staves out of their divination bag. a contemplative look is on their face as they gaze at them

Seer

The Seer is the person within a rite who takes the Omen. They are in charge of listening to the words of the Kindreds to hear what our blessings for the rite are.

in the late evening a druid makes an offering of alcohol to the fire, causing it to flare up as tall as they are

Sacrificer

Not all rites have a seperate Sacrficer, as this often become more neccesary in larger rites. The Sacrficer is the person who makes the offering to a spirit after they have been called, specifically when they were not the one to speak the invitation.

a druid dressed all in green is holding a stick covered in colored ribbons. They speak praise offerings over it.

Celebrant

The Celebrant is any person in ritual who has taken on the responibility of performing one of the 18 steps in the Core Order of Ritual. Most often these are the folks who speak invitations to the kindreds and other spirits.

In many of our rites people fill multiple roles when performing a ritual. For example, in most rites the Celebrant is also the Sacrificer for their own speaking part. The Priest may also take on any of these roles. However some roles, like Seer, may make sense to leave to one person who has no other parts. This is often because that role requires specific concentration within the rite.

Parts of an ADF Ritual

The ADF Core Order of Ritual is an 18 step liturgy. When performing a public ADF rite, the ritual must contain all 18 of these steps. These steps can also be visualized within 5 tiers to better aid in understanding the flow of ritual.

a decorated altar covered in various full offering bowls. a stag headed Well stands int he middle, with a carving of a crane in the foreground.

18 Steps to the Core Order

Charter Oak Grove, ADF has put together and excellent collection explaining the various parts of an ADF ritual.

There is also a great tutorial on each part of the Core Order of Ritual on the ADF website.

two priests stand across from each other in front of an altar lit by dozens of tea light candles. One reads from a small strip of paper while the other holds a taper candle to light another candle

5 Tiers of Ritual

Earrach of Pittsburgh has a different way of visualizing the Core Order of Ritual.

Ritual Parts: In Depth

Now that you've read the overview of the Core Order of Ritual, and understand how the steps are aligned, let's look in more depth at some of the beings we call and actions we take.

a priest stands with hands stretched out in front of them, as though pushing energy outward from their palms

ADF Ritual in Practice

There are many different ways that an ADF ritual can look when it is performed. Below is a sampling of resources to give you an idea of the extent of variations.

Video Resources for Rituals

A Simple Druid's Rite: The Lego Core Order of Ritual: watch as a little Lego MiniFig performs a simple blessing rite

The Core Order of Ritual in Under 2 Minutes: sometimes our order of ritual can feel long and complex. Watch Rev. Melissa Hill perform a short rite that includes all 18 steps in under 2 min

A Full Avestan Summer Solstice Rite: it's okay to work in an obscure hearth culture, and it's okay to use scripts in ritual

300+ Person Lughnasa Rite: while many ADF grove rites are typically for 10-50 people, sometimes the congregation is much bigger than that

ADF Unity Rite: at festivals we often perform a Unity Rite, meant to connect all of ADF together

Autumn Equinox for Solitaries: while many video rites are of Groves doing their High Day work, this rite is designed with Solitaries in mind, to be able to follow along with at home.

Clergy Council Spring Equinox Rite: many of the clergy come together virtually to put together a rite for the High Days. Each member does a part, and the videos are then spliced together to form a full rite. These rites are a great way to see variations on how each part can be done.

Solitaries SIG Midsummer Rite: similar to the Clergy Council virtual rituals, the solitaries of ADF have also come together to present video rites. These are more great examples of the varied ways each part in ritual can be performed.

Text Resources for Rituals

Sample Ritual Packet: put together by the Initiate Council, this packet highlights particular varitions in ritual scripts

Further Resources for Writing Liturgy

Crafting Rituals that Work

by Diane "Emerald" Bronowizc Egelhoff