Describe the physical items that exemplify the sacred center in ADF ritual, and how each constituent part reflects the vision of an ordered cosmos. (300 words min.)
The physical items that represent the sacred center are the well, the tree, and the fire. These three physical objects are representations of gateways to their respective realms of the Underworld, Middleworld, and Upperworld. In truth, they can also represent the land, sea, and sky in their own relative aspects, creating a woven interlink of world representation in various forms.
For example, the Well is where offerings of coin and silver are thrown to act as gifts to our Ancestors. The well roots run deep into the earth, into the underworld, where the waters of our Ancestors remain and flow within us. The Well also represents the sea, or waters of the earth. Ancient waters where the Ancient Ancestors of the land, our blood, and our mind dwell.
The Tree represents this world and all the creatures, including us that dwell here. It is the vertical link between the Underworld and the Upperworld, residing in the Middleworld. It is the land, it is the axle (I say axle as a pinnacle frame of the cosmos) that holds everything together and links everything for us to have access to and grow within us.
The Fire represents the Upperworld, the gateway that carries burnt offerings upwards to the heavens and to the Gods so that the fire may grow within us. It represents the sky, and is one of the main focal points in our ritual.
All three of these gateways are what make up the sacred center of our rituals. Combined the are like Captain Planet, they make up the proper order in which our worlds come together and our to network in which we want to connect to our Ancestors, the Nature Spirits, and the Shining Ones. The tree interlinks all the realms (and in the Norse, there are 9) to act as a network for delivery of our intent.
(Word Count: 310)
