Liturgy 1, #6

Describe three culturally specific models for (re)creating the cosmos consistent with the Core Order of Ritual. (minimum 100 words for each model)

All rituals within ADF include the (re)creation of the cosmos, which is a series of actions that create a sacred center by “creating the universe” through the lore of a particular hearth culture.  In the Celtic culture this was seen as the creation or alignment of the Three Realms in a horizontal axis, which is one of the more prominent methods within ADF.  These Three Realms were the Land, Sea, and Sky.  The land aligning with the Nature Spirits and often in tune with the Middlworld, the Sea aligning with the Ancestors and in tune with the Underworld, and the Sky aligning with the Shining Ones and in tune with the Upperworld.

Alternatively, the Germanic cultures hold a similar concept of  “Realms” but in greater number; nine instead of three Realms (The Druid’s Cosmos).  In comparison to the Celtic Cosmos of the Three Realms, the Norse have Asgardhr and Vanaheim, which were seen as an Upperworld (Sky Realm), Midgardhr was the MiddleWorld (Land Realm), and Helheim was the Underworld (Sea Realm).  Granted this is only 4 of the 9 available Realms, but these 4 more directly correlate with the Celtic Cosmology.

In addition to the similar “Realms”, the Germanic culture also has the original version of the World Tree, Yggrdasill, which was the center of the Worlds that connected them all together.

To throw an entirely different spin on the (re)creation of the Cosmos, the Greek’s had their own version of Three significant Realms that many of us learned about in grade school.  Mt. Olympus was the Realm of the Gods and could be equated with the Sky Realm (Upperworld) in Celtic Mythology and Asgardh or Vanaheim in Germanic cultures.  The land of humans was the Land Realm (Middle World) or Midgardhr (Germanic), and the Underworld was the realm of Hades in the Land of the Dead, equated as the Sea Realm (Underworld) or Helheim (Germanic).

(Word Count: 314)

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