Self Dedication Rite
Wicca: A Guide For The Solitary Practitioner by Scott Cunningham

Prepare yourself by drawing a bath of warm water. Add a tablespoon or so of salt and a few drops of a scented oil such as sandalwood. If you have no bath, use a shower. Fill a washcloth with salt, add a few drops of essential oil, and rub your body. If you're performing this ritual at the sea or river, bathe there if you so desire. As you bathe, prepare for the coming rite. Open your consciousness to higher levels of awareness. Deep breathe. Cleanse your mind as well as your body.

After bathing, dry and dress for the journey. Go to a place in the wild where you feel safe. It should be a comfortable spot where you won't be disturbed by others, an area where the powers of the Earth and the elements are evident. It may be a mountain top, a desert canyon or cave, perhaps a dense forest, a rocky outcropping over the sea, a quiet island in the center of a lake. Even a lonely part of a park or garden can be used. Draw on your imagination to find the place.

You need take nothing with you but a vial of richly scented oil. Sandalwood, frankincense, cinnamon, or any other scent is fine. When you arrive at the place of dedication, remove your shoes and sit quietly for a few moments. Calm your heart if you've exerted yourself during your travel. Breathe deeply to return to normal, and keep your mind free of cluttered thoughts. Open yourself to the natural energies around you. When you're calm, rise and pivot slowly on one foot, surveying the land around you. You're seeking the ideal spot. Don't try to find it; open your awareness to the place. When you've discovered it (and you'll know when), sit, kneel or lie flat on your back. Place the oil on the Earth beside you. Don't stand- contact the Earth.

Continue deep breathing. Feel the energies around you. Call the Goddess and God in any words you like, or use the following invocation. Memorize these words before the rite so that they'll spill effortlessly from you, or improvise:

O Mother Goddess,
O Father God,
Answers to all mysteries and yet mysteries unanswered;
In this place of power I open myself
to Your Essence.
In this place and in this time I am changed;
From henceforth I walk the Wiccan path.
I dedicate myself to you, Mother Goddess and Father God.
(rest for a moment, silent, still. Then continue:)
I breathe your energies into my body, co-mingling, blending,
mixing them with mine,
that I may see the divine in nature,
nature in the divine,
and divinity within myself and all else.
O Great Goddess,
O Great God,
Make me one with your essence
Make me one with your essence
Make me one with your essence.

You may feel bursting with power and energy, or calm and at peace. Your mind might be in a whirl. The Earth beneath you may throb and undulate with energy. Wild animals, attracted by the psychic occurence, might grace you with their presence.

Whatever occurs, know that you have opened yourself and that the Goddess and God have heard you. You should feel different inside, at peace or simply powerful.

After the invocation, wet a finger with the oil and mark these two symbols somewhere on your body. It doesn't matter where; you can do this on your chest, forehead, arms, legs, anywhere. As you anoint, visualize these symbols sinking into millions of tiny points of light.

The formal dedication is ended. Thank the Goddess and God for their attention. Sit and meditate before leaving the place of dedication. Once home, celebrate in a special way.

Self Initiation by David Sands, (c) 1997

1. Set up your temporary alter and quarter points. The quarters can be stones or candles but stones have the advantage of not blowing out if there is a breeze.
2. Cast your circle of protection.
3. Undress - remove all jewelry, watches etc and put into a bag. with your purse and other items that are easily lost.
4. Consecrate the circle.
5. Summon the guardians with these words, and don't forget to pause to visualize the element concerned and to think upon the significance of that element for your self dedication:

"Guardians of the North, sacred spirit of Earth. Into the stillness of your cold dark womb shall you accept my death, the death of my former self. I bid you hail and welcome.
Guardians of the East, sacred spirit of air. As the sun rises in the east so shall you guide my rebirth into my new life as a Witch. I bid you hail and welcome.
Guardians of the South, sacred spirit of Fire. You shall be my protector as I go forth from here along my new path. I bid you hail and welcome.
Guardians of the West, sacred spirit of Water. Cleanse my spirit and keep it ever pure from now and into the future."

6. Now for your symbolic death:
Lie on the floor on your back. You can lie with your head to the altar (North) if you wish to be close to the Goddess or to the East if the principle of rebirth is more important to you. Recite again those same words:

"I am entering the stillness before creation
I am entering the ground of the Goddess
May my body be still
May my mind be peaceful
May my heart be ready"

7. Now be at peace; feel the peace of the Goddess flow into you. Feel yourself merge with the cold Earth beneath you. Chant this slowly and quietly:

Hecate, Cerridwin,
Dark Mother take me in
Hecate, Cerridwin,
Let me be reborn."


Keep chanting until you feel yourself melting into the Goddess.

8. When you feel the time is right get up slowly and begin to walk round the circle chanting the Goddess chant:

"We all come from the Goddess,
And to Her we shall return,
Like a drop of rain,
Flowing to the ocean."

Walk gradually faster and chant faster round and round the circle. Faster and faster until you get dizzy. Don't stop even then. After a while you'll get tired but you must not stop. Go on the same time again until you drop exhausted on the floor. Why? because chanting and dancing raise power.

9. Lay again on your back as you regain your breath. As soon as you have your breath back stand in front of the altar and anoint yourself thus: Dip a finger in the oil and mark a cross : 1. on the left breast (male or female), 2. on the right breast, 3. Just above the pubic hair. This is the sigil of the first degree, the downward pointing triangle. Say "I anoint myself priest/ess of the old religion, and I take the name (speak your magical name quietly)."

Then say:
'I, (real name), in the presence of the forces of Universe and the Divine, do of my own free will and mind most solemnly swear that I will ever abide by the religion and science of the Craft of the Wise. 'I shall neither harm my fellow humans with the secrets that I learn nor shall I flaunt my beliefs or powers before them. 'From this day on I shall be reborn as (magickal name) and shall honor, respect and cherish this oath I have taken.'

10. Kneel up in front of the altar. Pour a little wine into the goblet and place it at the front of the altar. Now take your Athame and holding it with both hands, pointing down and arms outstretched plunge the blade into the wine. Say:

"As the cup is to the female so the blade is to the male." "And so conjoined bring blessedness"

11. Now say to yourself:

"I am reborn. I am a Witch. I am a Priest/ess."
Rise to your feet and say as loud as is safe bearing in mind that sound carries: "I AM A WITCH!"

12. Now consecrate the wine and cakes as you have already learned. Take some wine and eat a cake. Close the circle and ask the quarters if they would like to be dismissed (never treat them like servants), remember to thank them. Get dressed and eat and drink some more and remember to keep some back for the libation which you make on the very site of your self initiation before you leave.