Stephanie Woodfield - Dedicant, Devotee, Priest: A Pagan Guide to Divine Relationships

introduction

The Path of Devotion

It is dark in the small building we are using as a temple. There are altars with lit candles and twinkling lights, statues, and bowls full of offerings lining one wall of the room. Chalk symbols are drawn on the floor near the entranceways and on the building itself. Some are small, and you might not even notice what they are if you didnt know what to look for. Our temple is warded, and the presence of the gods has been invited in. There is a comfortable feeling of connectedness that I bask in as I stand here in the dark.

I make my offerings; I say the words I have been using to trigger trance for the last nine months as we have prepared for this work as a group. I pull the veil over my head, and I let the divine fill me. I am still there somewhere, floating as if in a dream. But I dont know what I say to those who enter this space. I am vaguely aware of touching someones hand, their face. I think a friend of mine has come to speak to the oracle, but I am not sure. What I am the most aware of is the presence of the divine. Holding that vastness within me, blending it with my own energies, yet still keeping a clear and solid sense of self. The me that is me is consumed completely with holding that presence and doing things like breathing, things gods dont always remember one needs to do. The temple guardian leads people into the space. She checks to make sure that the vessel, the me that is speaking with the voice of the gods, doesnt fall over. That I am safe, that the energy of the temple and its wards remain intact.

When I come out of trance, I think about how I have felt when I was the one coming to seek answers from the oracle. When I was in the shoes of those who have come seeking, rather than like tonight being the vessel of the gods. Both sides of the experience are profound. I think about how vital it is that we speak to our gods. That we hear their voices. That we learn how to hear them and be heard. So much of our spirituality is about communion with the gods. It is about speaking with the gods to gain connection, wisdom, purpose, and counsel. The last nine months of oracular work for this gathering have been all about just that. The many hours we have taken as a group to create the space of this temple to invite the presence of our gods, and all the protections and steps we have taken to make that process meaningful and smooth. But trance and ritual arent the only times we commune with the gods, at least they shouldnt be.

Talking to the gods isnt easy. Its something I have been learning to do from my very earliest years in Paganism. The path changed over time. One does not become a priest all at once after all. It began with devotion to the many gods I honor. Then slowly it changed shape into a relationship of deep dedication and service. Even how I served and honored the gods changed over time, just as my understanding of them changed. Walking this path has changed me at the very core . It is not something that happens overnight. It takes a lot of work, but the rewards are invaluable, because I cant imagine being Pagan and not having that connection to the divine. It is, and Im sure will remain, the most crucial and impactful part of my spiritual journey and work.

From my very first introduction to magic and Paganism, my personal practices have always been very centered on connecting and building deep relationships with the gods and other spirits. Yet while the gods were my focus, admittedly I found it difficult to find the connection I wanted. I found Witchcraft in my early teens. I practiced with various groups, then became solitary for many years to forge my own path with the gods. I had several very profound experiences with deity, but no one could really navigate me through those experiences. Their expertise and practices were focused on magic, rather than deity.