2024 Personal Practice Theme: Devotion

Hello, dear readers,

Reclaiming Tradition communities often work with an annual theme or story, around which to structure the work of the year in ritual, skill shares, and so on. Not everything has to fit the theme, but it's a way to help guide things and explore a certain area over a given time period. Years ago, I also began working with a personal intention for the year, based on ideas shared by T. Thorn Coyle, who wrote about choosing intentions rather than making new year "resolutions." I have done a yearly intention on and off for about eight years now -- about as long as I've been involved in Reclaiming.

Now I'm part of multiple Reclaiming communities, which will have different themes and intentions for 2024. But aside from all this, I have gotten a nudge from the Universe to have a personal theme. It is kind of also an intention, but it is a broader theme for my work of the year. And, it is a sneaky one for my indecisive and ADHD focus issues, because it is a theme that gets to change focus every few months!

The theme is...

Deepening Devotion to Deities

If you've been following all of my content that I've ever shared, anywhere, over the past few years (I really doubt most people fall into this category lol), then you might know that the topic of devotion has been a big question for me for a while.

Read on to hear more about the path that lead me here, and what I'm planning for this themed work. Maybe you want to do something similar, maybe not for the year, but in general at any point in your practice!

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My Devotional Journey

I have been working with deities in what I would call a "casual" way, for maybe ten years or so...? Notably, I did not work with any specific deities for the first several years of my practice. I would call upon "Goddess and God" in the general sense, but didn't have any relationships with particular deities for quite a while. It wasn't until years into my practice when I started to feel a little pull when reading about certain deities, noticing symbolism of theirs that was also already special to me, that I decided to actively form relationships with and call upon certain deities in rituals. I did some meditations to see which deities would show up to speak with me. I also sought some out due to my own initial interest. 

So as for that whole "did they choose you or you choose them?" topic, I'd say a bit of both happens in my experience, but in my case, I had at least heard of any deities who showed up for me.

In the past few years, since I'd been working with a handful of deities for a while, I started wondering, "What makes a devotional relationship? What is the difference between that and what I'm doing? What do devotees DO that makes it that level of relationship?" I even facilitated an optional offering at an online Witchcamp a couple years ago to discuss these questions, hoping to get some ideas from practitioners who consider themselves devotees. Instead, there was a group in much the same position as me, wondering about how to bring deity and spirit relationships to that level of devotion.

What does devotion mean to you?

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This Year

Then along came 2023. I was on the Ritual Arc Team for my regional Witchcamp again, for the second year in a row, and this year's camp theme was working with a specific deity myth. I don't want to go into detail here on what exactly that was (I may talk about it more in my Patreon), but I will say that it was one of the various "descent to the Underworld" myths, of which there are many in existence. So my year was focused on descent work, and deities related to that story line.

Working with a story in preparation for camp is an intensive experience. Camp itself is an intensive, sinking into the magic for one week in sacred space, away from the details of everyday life (mostly). Prepping to facilitate a big part of that magic takes months, so the team had months to familiarize ourselves with the story, the deities, the energy and the magic of it. It also provided a structured schedule and a goal for the timeline of it all, which is something that can help people like me, who tend to procrastinate if there is no specific length of time in which to do something! I knew I wanted to be at a certain place by the time we got to camp, and then moving through the week of camp itself had its own magical process for me.

Coming back from camp, I had a different understanding of what devotional work could, or might, or does look like (for me, at least). I wanted to apply the skills I had learned throughout that process to the deity and spirit relationships I already had before this year, especially since when I had to move at the beginning of 2023, I effectively left a lot of my regular practices behind, too. It was taking me forever to find my footing in my new situation. Relating to my godds from a different geographical location and environment was strange, because some of them feel very connected to certain environments for me.

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The Basic Plan for 2024

I am going to break up the year into seasons, with the solstices and equinoxes as the start of each. That means that actually, the first quarter of this adventure begins in less than a week, with the solstice! I live in the northern hemisphere, so December 21st, in the evening in my time zone (22nd in other time zones) begins the season of Winter for me. At the spring equinox I will begin working with the next deity, then summer solstice, and autumn equinox. So I will complete this theme actually at the winter solstice in one year's time, rather than it lining up exactly with the calendar years. I like that, because I like following natural cycles more than human-made calendars when possible.

I will not be telling you which deities I plan to work with in this post. I'm going to keep that mostly private, possibly reserving specifics only for Patreon. I like to give my supporters there some behind the scenes content that the general internet doesn't get to see! (I am also extremely private about this type of work, which may be something I work on this year, too. We'll see how it feels as I go.)

What I do want to share here is the basic idea of what I will be *doing* with each of the deities, based on some of what I realized works for me this year.

What will I do each quarter?

• read stories and myths associated with the Deity, including modern retellings that look at their story from different angles
• read basic information available online, as I have done before since these are deities I already have some relationship with, but will help me tune into their specific energy from a mind-space
• do a ritual at the start of each quarter (around the solstices and equinoxes) to formally and magically welcome them in as the main energy of the quarter. (I will continue to work with all my godds and spirit allies as needed throughout the year, but each quarter will have this more specific focus or leaning toward the one I'm deepening with that quarter)
• search for art created by others that depicts the Deity, and create some of my own. I will be looking to see how others see them, but also to note which depictions I do or don't like and resonate with, for my relationship with them.
• if I don't already have something, I will seek items (find second hand, in nature, or create) to represent them on my altars
• if I haven't already, I will be writing songs, chants, poems, and other such works for each of them. Again, since these are deities I have been working with, I already have this for some of them, and I want to make sure I do that for all of them. I may also create more for those who already have some, but we'll see what feels needed as I get there.
• spend time in meditation with them, connecting directly, asking questions if needed, doing divination, and getting a sense of what they may have for me to learn or do at the time
• determine some personal offerings for them, and offer them regularly throughout the quarter. These will also be things I can use as offerings for them moving into the future. For example, I have certain types of incense I offer to some of them now, or foods, liquids, and other things.

That covers the main things I already know at this time that I want to focus on! I want to spend time with them, learn more about them where they are my main deity focus during that time, create things for them and for me to use in connection with them, and so on. Other things may come up as time goes on. I don't exactly know yet; It's all part of the magic and mystery!

While I may choose to keep deity specifics to a more private venue such as Patreon, I would like to share about this general process throughout the year, at least. And who knows, if I receive a nudge to share something publicly, I will be listening to that guidance. It's all part of the process.

Thanks for reading!
I hope you all have a good end of calendar year season!

Blessings~
-C-