When Rituals Aren't Needed

So yesterday I was having one of those days. Well mainly because my brother his getting is body ready for getting up early in the morning as he now has a job. Thank you Fortuna! Well I didn't have anything to offer the gods in the form of food. It's getting a bit rough the last couple of days before the third. So I decided to just pray.

Prayer is a great substitution for ritual. It's personal and private. It still helps us connect to the divine and it tells the gods that your grateful for the little things that you have been blessed with. Rituals are not always needed. Just getting up and doing things is a ritual in itself. Little things really help as far as your connection to the gods.

Personally Roman religion, for me, isn't about the rituals. It's about connecting yourself to your ancestors, trying to understand how your ancestors believed, and trying to bring a bit of that into your own life. The Roman altar does help, along with rituals, but prayer is the most powerful form of devotion that we have. It puts us on the ground level of who we are and it makes us humble.

Relying on the divine for that spiritual connection is so important in our daily lives. Removing the divine is wrong and turns you into a god yourself.  And we don't need those kinds of people around. Have a great day and a great month to come.

Why I Chose to Be a Roman Revivalist

Yesterday was the last Roman holiday of the month of May and I was setting and thinking about rituals that groups have that they won't share, or rituals that they have created themselves and use. This has led me to the belief that the only way that Roman Paganism can survive is if there is a revival of the religion. And I'm not talking about bringing it into the realm of the occult or what Wicca does, but a revival of rituals that bring the gods into the here and now.

A couple of months ago I discovered a term called Roman Revivalist. It means reviving the Roman religion and having modern rituals that can be used. I believe this to be so important to the continuing of the religion. We need to have our own rituals and we need books out there that are written by those that practice the religion. And I'm not talking about what Nova Roma does, but rituals that anyone can follow.

Now I will agree that some rituals will be long, but some will be short. The revival of the religion has come and it will take brave souls to see it finally enter the 21st century.

Ambarualia (May 2015)

So it's time for another Roman holiday. This one I'm getting from the Nova Roma site as I've been a member of them for two years. Enjoy and have a great remainder of your week.

The Ambarvalia is the ritual purification of the fields, and as such it is connected with such agricultural deities as Ceres, Bacchus, Mars, et cetera. It is the "beating of the bounds", when the boundaries between fields were purified by a procession of sacrificial animals, the suovetaurilia. It was both a public and a private rite, and the private rite is described by Cato:

A procession of a pig, sheep, and ox are led around the land, and the following words spoken:

"That with the good help of the Gods success may crown our work, I bid you Manius, to take care to purify my farm, my land, my ground with this suovetaurilia, in whatever part you think best for them to be driven or carried around."

Wine is sacrificed to Janus (always called upon first to open the lines of communication between men and the Gods) and Jupiter. The celebrant continues:

"Father Mars I pray and beseech you that you may be propitious and well disposed to me, our home, and household, for which cause I have ordered the offering of pig, sheep, and ox to be led 'round my field, my land, and my farm, that you might prevent, ward off, and avert diseases, visible and invisible; barrenness and waste; accident and bad water; that you would permit the crop and fruit of the earth, the vines and shrubs to grow great and prosper, that you would preserve the shepherds and their flocks in safety and give prosperity and health to me and our house and household. To this intent, to the intent of purifying my farm, my land, my ground, and of making an expiation, deign to accept the offering of these suckling victims."

Both the animals and spelt cakes are then sacrificed to Mars. (In the modern practice, store-bought pork, mutton, and beef are deemed to be acceptable substitutes for live animals, and may in fact be omitted altogether in favor of merely sacrificing the grain-cakes.) If the sacrifice has gone well (i.e., no unfavorable omens are seen), the area within the boundaries set by the procession of the sacrificial animals is deemed to have been purified. If ill omens are seen, the sacrifice must be repeated with the words

"Inasmuch as you were not pleased by the offering of that pig (or sheep, or ox, or cake), I make atonement with this pig (or sheep, or ox, or cake)."

The rites of purification are now complete, and a general celebration to Mars, Bacchus, and Ceres commences. No ill-omened words may be spoken, and no work is to be done by man or animal. A general feast is then held.

Back Again

I know that it's been many months since I was on. And I'm sorry about not being on as much as I wanted to. So being back blogging means being back practicing. I took a break from practice because I was getting confused by what I was reading. There was really no ritual that I could do that I would even understand. And not understanding something isn't a good thing.

I finally found a ritual that I could do and so I'm going to do a ritual tonight. I really need to get back to doing these rituals, or spend time, everyday. That's how you develop your spiritual life and how you connect to the divine. I hope that you all come back and give me positive feedback. Thanks.