Liturgy 1 Rubric

Either a “pass” or “advanced pass” on each question will result in the submission being marked approved in the SP Tracker and/or the question being marked correct in Google Classrooms. Any work that does not meet all the requirements for “pass” will be returned for revision with comments from the reviewer for the student to improve their answer. All questions must at least meet the “pass” requirements in order for the course to be approved.

To receive an “advanced pass” the work shown must also meet all the requirements for a “pass.” The “advanced pass” column in this rubric is designed to give you some ideas of what to look for should you be interested in pursuing that particular topic in more depth, and you do not need to meet every bullet point in that column to receive an “advanced pass.” Please note that not all questions will necessarily have an “advanced pass” option, and that it is never mandatory to explore the “advanced pass” topics.

Research & Application

1. Demonstrate your understanding of at least two of the various purposes of ritual and how they work in solitary and/or group practice.

Pass

Acceptable Purposes (needs at least 2):

    • Reconnect with divine
    • Receive blessing
    • Building Relationships
    • Empowerment
    • Piety
    • Bringing Balance
    • Seasonal Celebrations
    • Magical Work
    • Expiation

Includes Descriptions for both Solitary & Group Practices

Advanced Pass

  • Includes discussion of how student has personally experienced these purposes.

2. What are at least three roles that someone might have in a group ritual, and how might those jobs be better or worse suited to being performed by the same person?

Pass

Roles (needs at least 3):

    • Officiating Druid/Celebrant
    • Bard
    • Seer
    • Sacrificer
    • Clergy
    • Congregant
    • Warrior

Description of how each of those roles may interact with each other when performed by the same person

Advanced Pass

  • Includes discussion of how the student has personally experienced serving in multiple roles
  • Provides advice on how to manage roles that may be difficult to perform together

3. Demonstrate your understanding of Recreating the Cosmos in ritual, and what it would look like in at least two different hearth cultures.

Pass

Understanding Options:

  • Create a point from which mana can be sent and received
  • Establishing sacred center/space

Cultures (needs 2 variants):

  • Hellenic
    • Navel of world
    • 3 realms - upper (olympus), lower (hades), middle
    • Vertical Axis
  • Celtic
    • Under/Otherworld & Heavens
    • Horizontal Axis
    • Land, Sea, Sky
  • Norse
    • 9 Realms
  • Vedic
    • 3 Sacred Fires

Advanced Pass

  • Includes discussion of how the student has personally experimented with different methods of ReCreating the Cosmos

4. Demonstrate your understanding of the purpose and function of the Gatekeeper in ADF ritual.

Pass

Functions:

  • Open & close gates with us
  • Being able to traverse between realms
  • warders/guardians of the way
  • Messenger deities
  • Psychopomps
  • Strengthen & guide our magic

Advanced Pass

  • Provides some examples of Gatekeeper deities and how they fit the mold of a Gatekeeper deity.
  • Discuss the non-IE roots of the Gatekeeper

5. Demonstrate your understanding of the purpose of Opening and Closing the Gates in ritual, and what it would look like in at least two different hearth cultures.

Pass

Understanding:

  • Opening pathways to other realms
  • Create a way for kindreds to join us.
  • Create sacred center
  • Hospitality

Cultures:

  • Norse
    • Ygdrassil connecting all realms from Well of Wyrd to Rainbow Bridge
  • Celtic
    • Hallows through the Mists
  • Hellenic
    • Omphalos
    • Earth to Starry Heaven pillar/mountain

Advanced Pass

  • Includes discussion of what the student has experienced, visualized, or felt on a magic/energetic level when Opening & Closing the Gates in ritual.
  • Explains how the Gates are Opened & Closed using the Fire/Well/Tree

6. Demonstrate your understanding of the Fire, Well and Tree in ADF liturgy and how this could be modified for at least two different hearth cultures where Fire, Well, and Tree are not all culturally significant.

Pass

Fire:

  • Upper Realm
  • Connection to Shining Ones
  • Cultures:
    • Roman - Focus - sacred fire
    • Vedic - Three Sacred Fires (domestic/ritual/solar or sacrifice/protection/purification) instead of Fire, Well, Tree.

Well:

  • Lower Realm
  • Connection to Ancestors
  • Cultures:
    • Roman - Mundus - offering shaft in ground
    • Irish Celtic - mention of the various sacred wells (Connla’s well)

Tree:

  • Connection to MidRealm - All Worlds
  • Cultures:
    • Greek - replace with Omphalos or Mountain
    • Roman - Portus - doorway between the worlds

Advanced Pass

  • Explains the connection between the Fire/Well/Tree and the establishment of sacred space

7. Demonstrate your understanding of why ADF focuses on the sacred center and what do we do ritually for protection.

Pass

Understanding:

  • Place in all the realms - all time & space represented
  • Point of power to access Cosmos
  • Bring order & balance

Protection:

  • Gatekeeper to guard
  • Offerings to Outdwellers
  • Purification

Advanced Pass

  • Shows an understanding of the permeable nature of the boundary around our sacred space

8. Demonstrate your understanding of what it means to be purified in ADF ritual and why or why not purification is important.

Pass

Understanding:

  • To make pure
  • Set aside worries & stress
  • Promote mindset

Strong argument for/against importance

Advanced Pass

  • Discusses the significance of purification in ancient cultures
  • Discusses the use of water and fire

9. Demonstrate your understanding of the Outdwellers in ADF liturgy, as well as at least two variations on interacting with them.

Pass

Understanding:

  • Beings that don’t belong or aren’t wanted.
  • Hostile, chaotic forces

Interaction (needs at least 2):

  • Leave offering outside of ritual space
  • Use of Gatekeeper Guardian
  • Use of a ritual Warrior
  • Bribery

Advanced Pass

  • Includes how internal turmoil can be addressed as an Outdweller

10. Demonstrate your understanding of the Earth Mother, and at least two different variations on how she could be honored.

Pass

Understanding:

  • First & last
  • Home & life
  • Ground beneath us
  • Mother of all

How to honor (needs at least 2):

  • kneel/place hands on ground
  • Flower planting
  • Park clean-up
  • Generic or culture specific invocation
  • Giving Her all that is unused at end of rite

Advanced Pass

  • Includes discussion of how ADF’s Earth Mother concept grew out of RDNA
  • Includes discussion of ways the Earth Mother could appear as a “River Mother”
  • Gives examples of Earth Mother figures that are hearth culture specific

11. Demonstrate your understanding of the Attunement and connecting to the Two Powers in ritual.

Pass

  • Clearing mind to focus
  • Connect to polarity
  • Group mind
  • Ground & center

Advanced Pass

  • Explains a variation on the traditional Two Powers

12. Demonstrate your understanding of each of the Three Kindreds and why ADF includes them in rituals. What are at least two variations that could be used to invite the Three Kindreds into a ritual?

Pass

Ancestors:

  • Specific faces of people
  • Those who pass before us.
  • Blood relatives or those you have a spiritual connection with
  • Cultural heroes

Nature Spirits:

  • Natural things around us, trees, ripple in water
  • Archetypical spirits of natural world
  • Supernatural creatures of nature

Shining Ones:

  • Ephemeral
  • Deities, gods/goddesses/godden
  • Cultural specific names for the pantheon (theoi, aesir, etc)

Explains why all three are called in COoR

Advanced Pass

  • Gives examples of variations on how to call the kindreds (such as alternate groupings)

13. What are at least two ways to choose who the Being of the Occasion is for a ritual, and how do you decide what to give them as an offering?

Pass

Who to Honor (needs at least 2):

  • Cultural focus
  • Focus on Being’s domain matching up with goals of the rite (skill focus)
  • Seasonal focus
  • Personal devotional relationship

What to Give:

  • Look at lore
  • Research & knowledge
  • UPG

Advanced Pass

  • Gives an example of how student personally honored and offered to a BotO using UPG or extrapolation from the lore

14. Demonstrate your understanding of Sacrifice, and its purpose in ADF Liturgy.

Pass

  • Sacrifices are gifts to the kindreds
  • reciprocal/ghosti relationship

Advanced Pass

  • Includes a discussion of the different types of sacrifice (Rev. Thomas)

15. Demonstrate your understanding of the Omen, and its purpose in ADF Liturgy.

Pass

  • Allow Kindred to communicate with us
  • Gives examples of common questions that may be asked during the Omen

Advanced Pass

  • Discusses briefly different methods of divination commonly used in ritual
  • Discusses self-care that the seer may need to engage in following the Omen

16. Demonstrate your understanding of how the Call, Hallow, and Affirm parts of ADF ritual (steps 11-13 of the COoR) are distinct, and how they all work together to form what we commonly call the “Return Flow” or “The Litany.”

Pass

Understanding:

  • Call - asking for blessing
  • Hallow - Infused with blessings
  • Affirm - acknowledge acceptance of the blessings/drink waters

How they work together as the “Return Flow:”

  • A gift calls for a gift
  • Reciprocal to the first half of the rite

Advanced Pass

  • Includes brief discussion of the “Winning of the Waters” myth and relates it to the Calling for the Waters
  • Explains how knowledge gained during the Omen directly ties to the Hallowing of the Waters
  • Provides argument as to whether the blessing comes from the Shining Ones or from all the Kindreds

17. Choose three of the Nine Pagan Virtues and explain how they manifest in ADF ritual.

Pass

  • Vision:
    • Using the Waters/Blessing to further our work in the world
    • Establishing Sacred Space and seeing our place in the Cosmos
  • Wisdom:
    • Taking & Reflecting on the Omen
  • Piety:
    • Holding ritual is a pious act
    • Maintaining practice
  • Perseverance:
    • Maintenance of a regular ritual practice
    • Holding rituals on culturally specific dates despite difficulties
  • Courage:
    • Face kindreds and offer ourselves
    • Treating with outdwellers
  • Integrity:
    • Rebuilding & reinforcement of relationships
    • Reaffirm cosmic order
    • oath-taking
  • Moderation:
    • Giving as you are able (no more, no less)
  • Hospitality:
    • Gift for a gift
    • Invite kindred
    • reciprocity/ghosti
  • Fertility:
    • Manifestation of inspiration
    • Creating something where there was nothing before
    • Building relationships & other participants
    • Abundance of gifts during Return Flow

Advanced Pass

  • Includes personally identified virtues (such as those named in student’s DP) and an explanation of how they manifest

Practicum

18. Compose a full Core Order of Ritual and say where each piece came from if you did not personally write it.

Pass

  • audio/video/script provided for full COoR
  • no required steps are missing
  • Includes appropriate credit for parts not their own

Advanced Pass

  • Entirety of rite composed by the student