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A Roman Dianic by I.A.A.Musa "Mihi nomen est Iulia Aenea Apollonia Musa, filia Cassandra Iana, neptis Barbara Suzana, proneptis Maria Louisa. Salvete Lares Familiares et Lares Loci, gratias agere per vigilia via nocte, salutatio. Salvete di Parentes, gratias agere per voi sapientia, prudentia et consilium, salutatio. Avete, deii meium parentum, vos is libis ommovendis bonas preces precor, uti sitis volentes propitii mihi domo familiaeque meae. Salvete. Ita est. " Every morning I rise and light incense at my Lararium under the mantle. Across it are statues of the Gods and hanging above it is a massive portrait of a wolf. First I recite my name and maternal lineage for a maternal lineage is never in question. Then I thank the protective spirits of my property for guarding my home and family during the night. Next I thank my ancestors for their wisdom, honour their good deeds and sound advice. And finally I make my offering to the Gods of my family who are Minerva, Diana and Apollo. Once that business has been conducted the other occupants of my house may eat, but the Lararium rite always comes first. Three times a month I do a special morning Lararium ritual where I honour the gods of the Roman people and thank them for protecting us as a society. On feriae (holidays) I shower and use special scrubs to polish my skin and clean my hair. Special attention is given to the hair because properly done hair is a sign to the celestial gods that all is well, dirty or dishevelled hair is an insult and considered very vulgar. After I've cleaned up and done my hair, I adorn a white dress that I save for this occasion and appropriate ritual jewellery called Fascinum. If its a feriae in honour of Iuno, I wear only my wedding bands. If its a sacred day of Diana I wear an engraved amulet of Diana Nemorensis. If its a day of Apollo I wear a necklace of amber and gold, for Minerva it is a brooch bearing her image, and so forth. Once completely dressed I make my way down to the Lararium and look at little else on my way there. At the ara I wash my hands and speak a prayer, "Haec aqua a corpore impuritas modo simile plumbo mutanda ad aurum, elluat. Purga mentem. Purga carnem. Purga animum." Then I begin a special ritual where I thank the deity being celebrated for the good fortunes I've received. I make a special offering of more than wine and incense, first I burn the mola salsa (salt cake) in a special dish, the salt makes the fire glow. Then I bless and burn a portion of the meat from the meal I will be preparing later. Thus insuring that the deity gets it as fresh and uncorrupted as I can make it. Once the offerings are finished I open the ara to the rest of the family who may place coins on it, throw salt and grain into the dish of fire, decorate it in flowers and make their own special prayers and thanks if they wish. All day offerings are continually made at the ara, each time a person leaves an offering they wash their hands and recite the cleansing prayer then they do their business. At the end of the day I close the ara, thanking the deity again and cleaning everything up. My friends tell me I would make a wonderful Sacerdos Diana, but I tell them I don't want that kind of responsibility. The quartered moon is the bow of Diana and on those dates of the quartered moon I make offerings to her and ask for her protection for my family. When I travel I always stop at the acriae by the roadside and leave a coin for the Lares Viales to ensure a safe trip. And I always kiss my hand in adoratio when I see the image of a deity or the ara of a lar. The odd thing is...I'm a Dianic Reconstructionist. But my religion appears nothing like that of contemporary Dianics. I don't have sabbats, I don't have a grove or a coven, and solitary is not a word one can use to describe a person in my religion. Though I am dedicated to Diana I have an obligation to celebrate the feriae of the other house gods (Minerva and Apollo) and state holidays. There are many curious facets of Roman Dianism, the focus for me is not necessarily on Dea Diana but the Religio as a whole of which Diana and I are a part. There are many things a lot of people don't know about traditional Diana worship and the culture she is properly honoured in. For instance abortion is considered a horrific thing, but today many Dianic institutions crusade for abortion rights. Then there is the sense of duty over a sense of spirituality, it doesn't matter in the Religio if you feel spiritual gratification or bonding with the divine in a ritual so long as it is performed and done correctly. Performing a ritual incorrectly causes a halt in the ceremony and the whole operation to be performed again. This includes stuttering, a flame going out, a car horn honking in the distance...all kinds of things. Perfection is the key in any ritual including the rites of Diana. Contrary to popular belief, Sacerdos Diana (priestesses) could and can be married. Many Sacerdos Diana came from married families, they bore children and continued their service to her. Physical purity is obtained by ritual bathing and the abstaining from sex and meat for three days prior to a ritual. The favoured girls of Diana are mostly considered to be of a child's age, between 7 and 14 years old. That is normally when a parent dedicates their daughters service to Diana and its an oath the girl usually keeps even after she comes of age, marries and has children. Men are also traditionally allowed to serve as Sacerdos Diana, as they did at the temple in Ephesus. Its true that some were castrati but that was normally because they were runaway slaves and it was stylish to castrate slaves at the time. Today all a man need do is take an oath of chastity. As a dedicant of Diana I write articles about her worship and the Religio Romana, produce art and honour her feriae. That is the service that is required of me. I hope this aids others in understanding the traditional role of the Goddess known as Diana. |