I have been thinking lately about practice. Rigorous daily practice is central to Feri and other Traditions in which one aspires to Adepthood. My own practice has waned of late – I have moved into a friend’s apartment for a couple of weeks which affords very little space for an altar. Obviously an altar should not be essential to an effective daily practice, but for me it helps enormously. I need somewhere to focus my body. I need somewhere for my eyes to look at. I just need it! Anyway, I have attempted to do a modified version of practice in my bed (the only place where there’s any room – the floor is filled with boxes) and it just didn’t feel right. So, for now I’m resigned to not doing a formal daily practice but as long as I say some of the core prayers on a daily basis I think that’s ok…for now.
I have also been thinking that daily practice falls under the umbrella of what I have termed the worship cycle (apologies if anyone has coined this before me). The worship cycle (for me) puts formal worship into the following cycles: daily, weekly, monthly, yearly, and incarnationally. I will describe what I do, or aspire to do, for each of these cycles. I aspire to do these on a regular basis, but obviously I am still human. I don’t know who said it but I love the quote “the Goddess doesn’t want you to be perfect, but she still wants you to make the effort”.
Daily
For my morning practice I do:
1. Star Goddess candle and Star Goddess prayer
2. Grounding and gathering Feri fire in the belly
3. Short form casting of Circle
4. Prayer to the Ancestors
5. Prayer to the Fey
6. Prayer to the Spirits of Place
7. Acknowledging of Guardians
8. Prayer to the seasonal Gods of the Lemniscate
9. Prayer to the Twins
10. Opening statement of intention
11. Awakening of the body and souls
12. Ha Prayer
13. 3 soul affirmation
14. Sitting practice
15. Blessing pentacle
16. Thanking Beings and closing Circle
In the evening I will do some form of divination to clarify the lessons I have learned that day. I used to do a reading in the morning but I found that I was influenced more by the tarot, rather than using it for clarification.
Weekly
I have figured that each day comes under the auspices of one of the seven Guardians of Feri. Each day, after acknowledging the awesome power of the other Guardians I wear the cord for the day’s Guardian, make an offering to Them (if They want it…) and say some fom of prayer. They are as follows, with the astrological significance to show my reasoning:
Monday (Moon) – Water Maker
Tuesday (Mars) – Shining Flame
Wednesday (Mercury) – Star Finder
Thursday (Jupiter) – Black Mother
Friday (Venus) – Guardian of the Gate/Keeper of the Black Heart
Saturday (Saturn) – Fire in the Earth
Sunday (Sun) – Heaven Shiner
On a Monday evening I will also do a puja to Ganesh. I figure that he starts things and Monday is the start of my week so it is better to ask for his blessings on this day. I have wanted to start studying Santeria but I want to know who my ruling Orisha is before I begin. Since this won’t happen for a long time, neither will my Santeria practices. When they do start, I will also give due worship to Eleggua on Monday mornings.
Monthly
Quite simply, the three moon celebrations. New moon, full moon, and dark moon.
Yearly
The Sabbats, New Year’s Day rituals, Holy days that are dedicated to various Saints and Gods, and my birthday are all celebrated on an annual basis.
Incarnationally
Birth, marriage, death, intitation, croning etc….Things that generally only happen once in one’s lifetime (or as the situation dictates).
