Today, many of us have the day off to celebrate one of the civil rights movement largest figures, Martin Luther King Jr.  In the years that he was alive, he helped bring the racism that was all around America, and specifically in the South, to the public's attention.  We have come a long way from how things were in his lifetime.  We are not done thought.

Next up in the COoR is the statement of purpose.  While this may seem like something extra that could be skipped over or going through quickly, one should consider it a bit more.

No, I'm not talking about remembering to give my felines milk even though they all do thoroughly enjoy drinking it.  I am talking about remembering the lessons we should have learned from Harvey Milk and the fight for LGBT rights in San Francisco that ultimately cost him his life.

Bardic inspiration is one of the more recent developments in ADF ritual.  It is not a required part, but it has become rather common as I have seen it as part of rituals all across the country.  What are we doing here besides calling on another being?

Honoring the Earth Mother is one of the parts of the ADF ritual format that makes it ADF as it being a discreet offset of ritual, and the treatment of her as a being, is not found in many places.  The other thing that is interesting about this part is that there is little, if any, evidence of her in abstract being worshiped by Indo-European people.  They would worship their local land and fertility beings, often female, but not an abstract idea of Earth Mother.  We can say similar for her counterpart, the Sky Father.

Continuing on the road through the Core Order of Ritual, today we'll talk about purification.

Purification can take place at many points through the ritual, and can take various forms.  The most common places are as part of the initiation of the ritual such as at the end of the procession, or after hallowing the hallows.  There are advantages and disadvantages to both.

How do we start our rituals?

According to the Core Order of ritual, we do the following:

As many of you know, I am a regular attendee of the Between the Worlds Mens Gathering (http://betweentheworlds.org).  I have been going since 2004 AND have missed only 2 years due to being over seas or major house issues.  This is usually my vacation for the year, but not this year.

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