By Fire Well and Tree

 Doubling up again.... A few years back, ADF started to develop the idea of "orders."  The idea of orders, I think, was to allow members to explore concepts in more depth. They have study programs, and have to have a clergy member to oversee them (for reasons I still don't fully understand or agree with, but there we are). Seamus and MJD developed the  Order of the Crane . (It may have been the first order approved, in keeping with the grove's ambition at the time. If not, it was second by not much.) One of the requirements of the order is devotional work with Garanus, after a journey to meet him.  I took this work up MAYBE last year, after like 20 years or so of working with Garanus in the grove context.  I've decided Sunday evenings are the day for it.  There's a "canned" devotional in the materials, and I've tried it but ... it doesn't quite "feel" right.  So I'ma do it my way :)  ** picture of garanus shrine** A child of the...

In case folks haven't figured it out, I'm doing my prayer-a-day in order of the ADF Core Order of Ritual.  I am now at the section of the Gatekeeper.  At my home shrine, I invite my spirit guides to be my gatekeepers.  For those not in ADF, the basic gist is this spirit works with you to open the gates between the worlds. Sometimes they act as warders and protectors, sometimes as guides, sometimes all the above, whichever. Photo by  Luna Sophie  from  Pexels I have three spirit guides.  I've loved snakes since I was a wee small child, and so that's an obvious choice.  When I was a baby-pagan I had a dream where an injured owl was on my back patio, and I helped it, then had a dream it came back.  Lastly, at a festival workshop on trancing and such, I unexpectedly came across a bear in the vision. I stopped looking for animal guides at that point; three is enough.  Many years later, I reason out that then I have one for each of the three r...