I’m often asked by solitary students if they can dedicate themselves because they can’t go through a traditional initiation. The answer of course is yes if they feel the time is right. The real question is how.

Like initiation, dedication is not something to be taken lightly. It’s not like choosing which breakfast cereal to have that morning! Dedicating yourself to the Divine is a serious commitment to your religion. Just as a nun or Islamic student dedicates themselves to their religious duty, so to do dedicants of Wicca. With a dedication, you are in effect promising that you will live your life according to Wiccan virtues, adhering to Wiccan laws, all the while committing to behaviours, values and practises that are sympathetic to the tenets of Wicca. You’re entering the Wiccan family and pledging you faith and future to the Gods and Goddesses. Probably a little more serious a decision than “is it Weetbix or Cocoa Pops this morning?”

So having spent a considerable time contemplating the significance and magnitude of the decision, once made the next action is to prepare and actually do it. The Seeker’s Guide to Learning Wicca which can be found either at Amazon or through the Oak and Mistletoe Bookshop details a dedication rite in full so I won’t repeat that here. Suffice to say however that there are some inclusions to a dedication right that enhance it and magnify its impact.

The first important thing is to make it personal to your own needs. So while you can use a published ritual such as that in the Seeker’s Guide or even in one of Scott Cunningham’s books, I’d encourage you to add or modify it with some words that mean something special to you and perhaps even some actions that make the rite your own. Perhaps you have a special tree in your back garden you’d like to do the ritual under, perhaps you grandmother taught you some Craft secrets and you want to wear the bracelet she gave you, perhaps you read some words by a poet which touched your heart so you sue those.

The second thing is to choose your timing. Even though you may now have decided that you’re ready, it can magnify the impact of the ritual significantly if you delay and work towards it. The anticipation, the planning, the preparing can all go a considerable way to elevating it’s purpose, to making it exciting and exhilarating. Good things come to those who wait my Mum used to say.

Choose a date that is significant to you. My own initiation was on a blue moon and for me that was very special. You might choose to do the ritual on your birthday, perhaps on Samhain, perhaps on the shortest day of the year, perhaps on a date with a significant number sequence like 09/09/09. Numerology is a fascinating divinatory process and esoteric practice in which different numbers have different vibrations. If you can use numerology to define your dedication rite, you may well be tuning into much more intense and meaningful energies that any other date might have missed.

If you want to begin the process of collecting your Wiccan tools and use those, now’s the time to do and your dedication might be the time to consecrate the tools as well. Doing both rites together can enable you to begin your Wiccan way of life with not just your commitment to the Gods and Goddesses but also a set of tools to help your practice thereafter.

If you have a friend or partner who is also Wiccan sympathetic, there’s no reason why you can’[t combine your dedication ritual into a double ceremony. This gives you the opportunity to prepare together (you can still both have separate rites but do them simultaneously) and the fellowship you share can significantly increase the value of your rituals later on. Sole rituals are wonderful but shared rituals are often much more powerful.

Finally, enjoy yourself! While your dedication is a serious commitment, it need not all be sombre. Make sure your ritual is fun and brings you joy. Inject it with some laughter, with some actions and words that make you happy and show you just how special you really are. Remember, this is a joyous occasion where you’re entering a wonderful new phase of your life. Make some great memories with your very special dedication ritual.

Smiles and blessings, Amethyst