Daily Practice and My Oath

An Dagda does not request much of me on a day to day basis. But honoring Him has never been about Him making demands. Honoring the Gods, for me, is not about what the demand of me, but what I give freely to them for their presence in my life.

Part of my work during my initiate year in CAYA coven was to explore different Gods based on the standard pagan elements and the cycle of the year. For my fire deity I chose to work with An Dagda, which basically amounted to him asking me what took me so long, but that is a story for another day.

I continued to work with him throughout the rest of the year, while also continuing to explore other deities and paths. When we came to the end of the year, and the earth deity work, he came to me and said "Well boy, I am also this. I want you to study this aspect of me" It threw me for a loop, I was supposed to be exploring a plethora of Gods and I kept coming back to Him, he fit all of these places in my life, places of strength and places of weakness. Reflecting back my strong points and challenging me to improve where I was weak, but also supporting me. I think there is an important lesson in this. Something we all know, but occasionally need to be reminded of, The Gods are far more than we can perceive, and are far more than what we conceive of them as.

One day I felt during the chaos that was the most of last year. I was standing on the rocks at the edge of the bay, it was a grey, cold day. I had hit a really low point in my ability to cope. In that moment, that moment on the edge of defeat, he came to me, he offered me support, and comfort. I stepped back from that edge and felt better than I had in far too long. That night I went home and wrote my oath. I bring him a gift and recite it to him at least once a week. I offer it up here for those who may wish to have a closer connection to An Dagda.