Ranks and Degrees
- Dedication is a ceremony performed by Odysseans for those individuals who wish to confirm themselves to a Neopagan (not necessarily Odyssean) path, and to worship of the Old Gods.
- Neophyting is a "pre-degree" marking the candidate's commitment to a study of the tradition. Although not an Initiate of the tradition, a Neophyte student is oathbound. It is typically awarded after one to two years of study with a private teacher, which in turn takes place after completion of a year-long cycle of public classes.
- First Degree Initiation is the rite of ordination within the Odyssean tradition. A first degree initiate is a priest or priestess and a member of the tradition. Among Odysseans, this is only awarded with the consent of a council composed of members of the tradition's active priesthood. It typically takes three to five years of study after Neophyting. It indicates competency in the demands of public priesthood, including "leading ritual, teaching, counselling handling crises.".
- Second Degree Initiation represents an elevation to "High Priesthood". It is given to those who, in addition to work assigned, have been running a coven or student group successfully for at least a year and trained at least one student through to the first degree level. The time required for elevation to this degree is variable, and many first degree initiates do not actively pursue further training, but for those who do it generally takes five to ten years after initiation.
- Third Degree Initiation is rarely awarded, as it is only given to those people who have made a major contribution to the Neopagan community.
Read more about this topic: Odyssean Wicca
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“A sleeping man holds in a circle around him the thread of the hours, the order of years and of worlds. He consults them instinctively upon awaking and in one second reads in them the point of the earth that he occupies, the time past until his arousal; but their ranks can be mingled or broken.”
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