Ritual FAQ -- Frequently Asked Questions
When do you hold ritual?
We are currently offering ritual at the Eight High Days of the ritual year. In ADF we follow the common "wheel of the year" format used by most Neo-pagan organizations. As time goes on we hope to include more rituals. Some ideas currently being discussed are rituals to celebrate secular occasions (the secular New Year, April fools, Fourth of July etc.) and eventually we would like to hold a monthly blessing rite as well, perhaps on the full moon.
To find out where and when our next ritual occurs please see our Upcoming Events page.
Where do you hold ritual?
Currently Silver Falls Grove does not own any property, which is a long term dream for the future. Currently we meet at one of the local MetroPark Shelters or at the local Unitarian Universalist Church.
Please see our Locations page for more details.
Who can come to ritual?
Anyone! Most Silver Falls events are free and open to the public. No one needs a special invitation or any type of initiation to join in our events. We only ask that all attendees are respectful and bring open minds and hearts to the process.
Is Silver Falls Grove a Wiccan organization?
The short answer is no, but we do have much in common with our Wiccan and Neowiccan brothers and sisters. As part of the neopagan family of religions we all look to the ancient past to inform our modern religious lives. Our rituals do take place in circles and much of the language, music, and song is common to both traditions. The primary differences in ritual are that we approach the Kindreds as individual entities (polytheism) as opposed to aspects of the Lord and Lady, and that we do not cast circles or call the quarters.
What do you do in ritual?
The most important aspect of our rituals is to make contact with and show piety to the Three Kindreds. These are spiritual beings consisting of the Ancestors, the Spirits of Nature, and the Deities. We do this through song and chant, ritual meditation, and the offering of sacrifice (in the form of gifts of song, poetry, seed, grain, libations etc. Blood sacrifice of any kind is strictly forbidden).
Part of our ritual philosophy is expressed by the proto-Indo-European word *ghosti- which refers to a person or being with which there is a guest-host relationship. We offer to the Kindreds and show them hospitality in the knowledge that they will in turn offer us blessings in our life. Each time we do so our connections to them grow stronger and deeper.
Who are the Deities you worship?
Silver Falls is Pan-Indo-European in structure. This means our rites may be Gaelic (Irish/Scottish Celtic), Welsh, Norse, Anglo-Saxon, Slavic, Roman, Hellenic (Greek), Gaulish (Continental Celtic), Iranian, or Vedic. For all of this, we are not truly eclectic. Our rites focus on one hearth culture at a time. For instance, if at Samhain our focus is Gaelic we will only call on Gaelic Deities and motifs and our omen will be read in Ogham (and ancient Irish lettering system) or in a hearth neutral system. If our Yule rite is Norse, we will only call on Norse Deities and rely on Nordic motifs. To mix cultures, we feel, would show disrespect towards the Deities and to the culture being honored.
What if I do not believe in the Deities being honored in a specific rite?
Most of us at Silver Falls and throughout ADF take on a primary hearth culture. For instance our Grove Organizers each have a culture they most strongly connect with. However in each ritual we perform we call on a more general form of the Kindreds where one should feel free to envision those Deities and spirits most important to them, of what ever religious tradition and culture, as being welcomed into the circle.
In addition ADF, like most neo-pagan religious traditions, prescribes no belief or creed that any attendee or member must follow. In theological terms we are an Orthprax faith (correct action, as opposed to Orthodox - correct teachings). This means that we put much more emphases on following the correct forms and less so on what individuals actually believe about the spirits being called. Some ADF members are true hard polytheists, some are monists, some pantheist, some identify as agnostic or even atheist. The understanding is that the practice of ritual can be a powerful and important part of our lives. Which, of course, is why we do it.
For further questions:
Please see www.adf.org or feel free to write to us a silverfallspg@gmail.com
We are currently offering ritual at the Eight High Days of the ritual year. In ADF we follow the common "wheel of the year" format used by most Neo-pagan organizations. As time goes on we hope to include more rituals. Some ideas currently being discussed are rituals to celebrate secular occasions (the secular New Year, April fools, Fourth of July etc.) and eventually we would like to hold a monthly blessing rite as well, perhaps on the full moon.
To find out where and when our next ritual occurs please see our Upcoming Events page.
Where do you hold ritual?
Currently Silver Falls Grove does not own any property, which is a long term dream for the future. Currently we meet at one of the local MetroPark Shelters or at the local Unitarian Universalist Church.
Please see our Locations page for more details.
Who can come to ritual?
Anyone! Most Silver Falls events are free and open to the public. No one needs a special invitation or any type of initiation to join in our events. We only ask that all attendees are respectful and bring open minds and hearts to the process.
Is Silver Falls Grove a Wiccan organization?
The short answer is no, but we do have much in common with our Wiccan and Neowiccan brothers and sisters. As part of the neopagan family of religions we all look to the ancient past to inform our modern religious lives. Our rituals do take place in circles and much of the language, music, and song is common to both traditions. The primary differences in ritual are that we approach the Kindreds as individual entities (polytheism) as opposed to aspects of the Lord and Lady, and that we do not cast circles or call the quarters.
What do you do in ritual?
The most important aspect of our rituals is to make contact with and show piety to the Three Kindreds. These are spiritual beings consisting of the Ancestors, the Spirits of Nature, and the Deities. We do this through song and chant, ritual meditation, and the offering of sacrifice (in the form of gifts of song, poetry, seed, grain, libations etc. Blood sacrifice of any kind is strictly forbidden).
Part of our ritual philosophy is expressed by the proto-Indo-European word *ghosti- which refers to a person or being with which there is a guest-host relationship. We offer to the Kindreds and show them hospitality in the knowledge that they will in turn offer us blessings in our life. Each time we do so our connections to them grow stronger and deeper.
Who are the Deities you worship?
Silver Falls is Pan-Indo-European in structure. This means our rites may be Gaelic (Irish/Scottish Celtic), Welsh, Norse, Anglo-Saxon, Slavic, Roman, Hellenic (Greek), Gaulish (Continental Celtic), Iranian, or Vedic. For all of this, we are not truly eclectic. Our rites focus on one hearth culture at a time. For instance, if at Samhain our focus is Gaelic we will only call on Gaelic Deities and motifs and our omen will be read in Ogham (and ancient Irish lettering system) or in a hearth neutral system. If our Yule rite is Norse, we will only call on Norse Deities and rely on Nordic motifs. To mix cultures, we feel, would show disrespect towards the Deities and to the culture being honored.
What if I do not believe in the Deities being honored in a specific rite?
Most of us at Silver Falls and throughout ADF take on a primary hearth culture. For instance our Grove Organizers each have a culture they most strongly connect with. However in each ritual we perform we call on a more general form of the Kindreds where one should feel free to envision those Deities and spirits most important to them, of what ever religious tradition and culture, as being welcomed into the circle.
In addition ADF, like most neo-pagan religious traditions, prescribes no belief or creed that any attendee or member must follow. In theological terms we are an Orthprax faith (correct action, as opposed to Orthodox - correct teachings). This means that we put much more emphases on following the correct forms and less so on what individuals actually believe about the spirits being called. Some ADF members are true hard polytheists, some are monists, some pantheist, some identify as agnostic or even atheist. The understanding is that the practice of ritual can be a powerful and important part of our lives. Which, of course, is why we do it.
For further questions:
Please see www.adf.org or feel free to write to us a silverfallspg@gmail.com
