Commitments

Initiation, the Land and Our Common Humanity

I have given my blood to the land many, many times. The land has given to me abundantly, but it has taken from me as well. So many times I have cut myself while working on the farm, the blood falling from my cut hand onto the soft earth of the garden. It happens so often that I always keep bandaids handy in my wallet. This time was different. This time I gave it on purpose, shedding drops on the Earth along with a prayer and a pledge to the powers of the Earth, and the land itself, to place myself at their service. I pledge I don’t take lightly.

At midnight, on the night before Halloween, while everyone in my house was asleep, I walked down the hill from my house to a large oak tree where I often leave offerings. This tree, in my personal practice, is the living image of the world tree, uniting the celestial realm with the Earth and the underworld.…