Self-dedication

A renewable promise to a practice. Not an initiation, not a marriage to a tradition that did not consent to marry you.

Initiation is something a community does, with its own standards and its own right to say no. Self-dedication is something you do: you dedicate your attention to a practice for a stated time. Confusing the two produces people who announce degrees they were never given. Do not do that.

Before the rite

Write the promise in one sentence. Example: “For one year I will keep a weekly devotion and I will not aim magic at another person’s will.”
Include an end date. Perpetual vows made in a rush are how shame gets a uniform.
Have water, a light, and the paper. A witness is optional and must be asked.

The rite

1Open the room. Cast a circle only if you want one.
2Read the promise aloud. If a sentence feels false, cross it out now. The crossing-out is part of the rite.
3Put a drop of water on the paper, or on your wrist if the paper should stay legible.
4Say the words below.
5Name the first small act you will do within seven days.
6Close: flame out, paper stored somewhere private. If you hide it, tell yourself where. Lost vows rot into anxiety.

I dedicate myself to this practice for the time I named. I do not promote myself. I do not bind anyone else. I may renew this, revise it, or lay it down at the end of the term, in writing, on purpose.

Laying it down

At the end date, reread the paper. Renew, revise, or release. Release is a success if the promise no longer fits. Burn the paper only if you can do it safely and legally, or tear it up and recycle it. Tell no one you were expelled from a tradition that never enrolled you.