Dedications and Degree Systems
Most initiatory forms of Witchcraft utilize a system containing three degrees, but not all do. If you are entering an established tradition, you’ll pretty much be stuck with how that tradition operates (that’s what makes it a tradition after all). But if you are creating initiation and elevation rites for your own coven, you can utilize or create whatever system you want. Certain traditions have a fivefold system, while others have just a single initiation. There’s no right or wrong, but only what works for the particular tradition and its adherents.
The Anderson Feri tradition (and its many offshoots) typically requires only one initiation. Those interested in becoming Feri initiates generally study for a period of years. I don’t think I’ve met a Feri initiate who wasn’t a student for at least three years, and for most initiates the process is much longer. Because there are no further elevations, when a person is initiated into Feri they are thought to be ready to run their own coven and train potential new initiates.
On the other side of the spectrum are traditions such as Blue Star Wicca, which have five different levels of rank. Blue Star Witches start their journey as dedicants, which signifies the student’s interest in the tradition and a level of dedication to it. Before being elevated to the first degree they can then reach neophyte status, a level that implies a high degree of familiarity with the tradition and its rituals. After obtaining the rank of neophyte, future elevations are to the traditional first, second, and third degrees.
Even covens whose traditions utilize the typical three-degree system will sometimes add a pre-first-degree step. Most initiation-only covens contain what is known as an outer court, which acts as an introductory setting to a tradition’s rituals that doesn’t break any secrecy oaths. Before admitting a student into an outer court, the coven might perform a public dedication ritual for that Witch or an adoption rite signifying that the coven has pledged to train that individual. Outer courts often function very much like initiatory covens, with a high level of love and trust among participants. A rite into such a fellowship, with the whispered promise of something else down the road, can have a profound effect on the dedicated Witch.
I’ve also known Witches who are completely comfortable in the outer court setting, with no desire to ever become a first degree. Such situations are rare, but they do show just how powerful an outer court can be. An adoption into such a group seems appropriate in such instances.
In some three-degree systems a fourth rank has been added. People who achieve this are usually referred to as Witch Queens (accompanying Witch Kings are rare to nonexistent). The title Witch Queen is most often reserved for a High Priestess who has had three or more third-degree High Priestesses hive off and form their own covens. There are many High Priestesses who actively bristle at titles such as Witch Queen, while others are only too happy to be referred to in such a manner. I think that for many High Priestesses Witch Queen ceremonies serve as “letting go” rites that make separation from a very much loved former student easier to bear.
The five-degree system utilized by the Blue Star tradition has the most steps or levels among popular Witchcraft traditions, but groups with even more levels are not out of the question. In the Scottish Rite of Freemasonry, there are thirty-three degrees in addition to the regular three degrees available to other rank-and-file Masons. Certainly there’s nothing stopping a Witch tradition from adopting such a system, though I have trouble imagining a coven coming up with thirty-three powerful elevation rites.
Common Degree Systems
in Modern Witchcraft
No Initiation: There’s nothing wrong with a tradition that requires no sort of initiation. For years my eclectic coven functioned quite comfortably with no initiation rites, and many of the other groups I’ve been a part of over the years have also lacked such things.
Advantages: With no initiation ritual, no one feels left out, and everyone in the coven is most likely on very even footing. For groups just starting out, the pressure of coming up with an effective initiation ritual can be a little overwhelming.
Disadvantages: It’s hard to establish a tradition that doesn’t have a clear beginning. Rites of passage are important mile markers for many Witches. Many Witches want to hear their peers actively acknowledge how they self-identify.
One Initiation: Formal induction into the tradition takes place over a period of years and sometimes even a decade. Anyone who receives an initiation is thought to be ready to train new students and begin their own coven.
Advantages: Slow training means that only the most dedicated get through to the other side. The initiator only has to write one initiation ritual (though it had better be good!). Many of the best Witches I know are from the Anderson Feri tradition, which speaks well of this system.
Disadvantages: Discourages some seekers due to the long wait time before being inducted into the tradition. (I’m sure some will see this as a positive.)
Initiation, One Elevation: Though I’m not familiar with any covens that utilize a system of one initiation and one elevation, there are many groups that come close to using this model. In some parts of the world the third degree is not routinely given, and second-degree Witches run covens, teach, and initiate new Witches. More than one level of rank means that Witches who use such systems have to show patience and dedication, which many believe are two hallmarks of the Craft.
Advantages: I don’t usually see a big difference between second- and third-degree Witches, so eliminating the middle step is in some ways a more honest accounting of where a Witch is. Everyone in the coven, minus its leaders at the top, are equal with one another. This structure eliminates a person receiving the third degree just to be privy to a couple of secrets when they have no desire to run a coven or teach the Craft.
Disadvantages: For Witches who want to lead ritual yet not teach, the elimination of a middle step could be seen as a stumbling block.
Three Degrees: This is the most popular system in Modern Witchcraft and was the first to be used. This is the structure utilized by most covens, though there are some groups that may also have an optional rite at the end or beginning for certain Witches.
Advantages: Because the three-degree system is the most common in Wiccan-Witchcraft circles, most Witches understand what each degree signifies. Lots of books have published rituals for the three degrees.
Disadvantages: Keeps away certain individuals who might like to participate in a tradition but are uncomfortable with oaths. People who have misconceptions about certain traditions are not given a space to get over their misunderstandings. (I know a few people who I think would make great Gardnerians, but I can’t share ritual with them and they are wary of traditions.) Many Witches would say that what I see as disadvantages are positive things.
Four or Five Degrees: Making an individual Witch’s dedication ritual a part of coven practice has a certain appeal and most likely affirms the individual Witch’s dedication to the Craft. Many groups and individuals already use a system with four or five levels, even if they don’t realize it. (My own self-dedication was a powerful prelude to my initiation into Gardnerian Wicca.)
Advantages: Systems with an extra degree at the beginning can bring people into a coven on a temporary or trial basis more easily. Sometimes the people we click with socially do not make good covenmates, something that can’t always be known until coven activity begins.
Disadvantages: Degrees have to be earned, even early ones such as dedicant or neophyte. An introductory level has the potential to be abused or overused. Many Witches don’t understand levels of rank before the first degree.
Lineage and Family
When discussing initiations and elevations, one word that comes up with frequency is lineage. An initiated Witch’s lineage is their Witch family tree. The initiates that one is descended from are a Witch’s upline. The initiates of a Witch (and eventually the initiates of an initiate) are a person’s downline. Most initiated Witches can trace their lineage back to the founder of their traditions and can easily recite every step along the way.
Though Modern Witchcraft has existed for at least seventy years, the uplines of most Witches are not usually all that long. Most Witches being initiated today are less than twelve steps away from the person who founded their tradition, and most fewer than that. As I write this book, two of Gardner’s original High Priestesses are still active in the Craft! 127 Anyone they initiated today would have an upline of only two people.
Many Witchcraft traditions are matrilineal, and when I’m asked about my lineage I trace it through my High Priestess, her High Priestess, etc., until I arrive at the source of the tradition. As a Gardnerian Witch, I can trace my lineage back to Gerald Gardner. Alexandrian Witches trace their lineage back to Alex Sanders, and Witches of the Cabot line trace their lineage back to Laurie Cabot.
Many Witches claim a family lineage, meaning that magick was practiced within the family and then passed down through the generations. Family traditions often lack the more formal initiations and elevations of other traditions but are no less meaningful because of it. The lineage of a family tradition might skip a generation or two as well; not everyone is cut out for the life of a Witch, even in a historically magickal family.
Because many of today’s Witchcraft traditions have initiates in the thousands and all over the world, it’s become more and more common to hear about extended Witchcraft tradition families. When I visit Europe or the United Kingdom, I always meet up with other initiates I’ve met online for drinks or dinner. Closer to home in the United States and Canada, I can’t go to a Pagan festival without running into another initiate. Becoming an initiate in a lineaged tradition is much like inheriting an entire second family, and one that’s usually bigger than the family you were born into.
Many traditions play well together too. Most Witches deeply respect the work that goes along with being a second- or third-degree Witch, and they apply that respect to traditions outside of their own. I’m not an Alexandrian or a Feri initiate, but I recognize what goes into the degrees conferred by those traditions. A tradition doesn’t have to be old to be respected either. There are lots of traditions that have emerged only in the last twenty years (or less) that are highly respected in nearly every Witchcraft circle. Most of us recognize that every tradition has to start somewhere!
Dedications
While an initiation requires at least one other Witch, anyone can dedicate themselves to the Craft, and it’s a ceremony most often done alone. My own dedication rite took place a year after I discovered Modern Witchcraft. It was the early 1990s and I was out camping with my then roommates and several thousand Deadheads (the traveling followers of the rock band the Grateful Dead). I decided that after a year of falling in love with Witchcraft it was time to dedicate myself to the practice. Because I found Wiccan-Witchcraft compatible with a lot of the idealism of the hippie movement, that field full of Deadheads felt like the right place for a dedication.
On a July night, just before the sun dipped down below the horizon, I slipped into a nearby cornfield, took off all my clothes, and told the Goddess and God that I wanted to live as a Witch. I spoke to the moon as the Goddess and the sun as the God, and then poured them both a small libation of wine and left them some cakes. Though I was only a few yards away from several thousand people, I felt like I was worlds away from those individuals and inhabiting a space that contained only myself and the gods (along with hundreds of ears of corn). There wasn’t much to my rite other than my small offerings and spoken words, but I felt different when I returned to camp. I felt as if I had made a choice, and that the deities and the Craft I loved had accepted that choice.
There’s no real way to determine when someone is ready (or not) for a dedication rite; it’s something we feel inside of ourselves. Many books and teachers suggest waiting for “a year and a day,” with that marker of time also sometimes being extended to initiation and elevation rites. A year and a day is certainly traditional, but sometimes the Craft feels so much like home that you don’t want to wait that long, and I don’t think it’s necessary anyway.
When your heart burns with passion for Witchcraft, magick, and the deities of modern Wicca, it’s probably time for a dedication rite. Simply being attracted to the Craft is not enough. After all, the word dedication includes “committed” in its definition.128 Dedications should not be done if the Craft is destined to be just a passing fancy or isn’t taken seriously. While most dedication rites are between an individual Witch and the powers they serve, disappointing yourself can be just as painful as letting down a coven or a group of friends.
A dedication rite is a declaration to yourself, your gods, and sometimes your community that you’ve chosen to identify as a Witch (or as a Witch of a certain variety). It doesn’t require any sort of elaborate buildup, and many of us who have done self-dedication rites have lacked the “essential” tools that most Witches have in their possession. The night I dedicated myself to the Craft, I had only myself and some small offerings, and that was more than enough.
It’s time for a dedication rite when there’s no question in your heart that you identify as a Witch, and Witchcraft has become something you love and respect. Part of that love and respect consists of identifying the earth as something sacred and worthy of our veneration and being comfortable with the gods of the Craft. A dedicated Witch knows that magick is real and accepts it as a part of their lives.
It’s probably NOT time for a dedication rite if you are uncomfortable with the gods and have yet to try to facilitate a relationship with them, you question the reality of magick, and you see yourself as having dominion over the earth instead of simply being a part of it. If you have reservations about the word Witch or Wicca, it’s probably best not to perform a dedication rite.
Dedication Ritual: “I Am a Witch”
Dedication rituals require little in the way of tools. All that’s really necessary is a burning desire to be a Witch, though this ritual adds a few extra things. This ritual can be performed anyplace and at any time of day, but I suggest starting at least in the evening, though after sunset is preferable. I also suggest doing it on a night of a full moon. Witches traditionally celebrate esbats (full moons), and the energy of the full moon lends itself to rituals that are about creation and giving, both essential elements of this ritual.
While this ritual can be done nearly anywhere, that anywhere should have a modicum of privacy. This is a time for just you, your Craft, and the gods. It’s not a good time for roommates or unsympathetic spouses or parents. Though most of my rituals these days take place indoors, I think the ideal space for a dedication ritual is outdoors. That outdoor setting doesn’t have to be a forest or a secluded seashore; your own backyard or favorite spot in a local park is fine and possibly preferable. Those types of spaces will already contain a lot of your own energy and will amplify the intention you put into the rite.
Because I believe that our relationships with the gods are helped by the practice of reciprocity, I’ve included an offering in this rite. My favorite offerings are generally wine and some sort of bread or small cake, but what’s most important about an offering is that it means something to you and the powers that are a part of your life. If you honor Hecate and she prefers apples, that’s what you should bring. If you despise wine and prefer beer, you should bring beer. For an offering to be valuable it should mean something to you and your gods.
This ritual also requires a couple of candles. They don’t have to be expensive or elaborate, and any sort of candle will work. If you want a long-lasting physical connection to your dedication ritual, I suggest long taper or pillar candles, but something as simple as a tealight is fine. What’s most important is that you are comfortable with whatever you are using.
I don’t think that solo dedication rituals require the creation of sacred space, but if you feel more comfortable operating in a circle and calling the quarters, by all means do so. You may want to burn some incense or light a candle for ambience, especially if you are indoors, but such things are not necessary.
Once you are comfortable, take a few moments to reflect on your surroundings. If you are outside, listen to the world around you. Take in all the insects, birds, and other creatures rustling around. Feel the breeze on your skin, and with your eyes closed, look up at the moon and try to sense its light. Connect with the world around you and feel and know that you are a part of it.
If you are indoors, open yourself up to the energies that are present with you. In my house I can often feel the energies of my ancestors, the deities I honor, my wife and cats, and all the energy we’ve created in our lives together. Let that energy wash over you, and absorb some of it into yourself if possible. Know that you are loved and cared for, and worthy of that love.
When you are all settled into your ritual space, think for a while about what being a Witch means to you and how you see Witchcraft changing your life. Most of us are never the same after embracing the word Witch, and it’s best to reflect on the ramifications of just what identifying as a Witch might mean. Some people lose relationships with friends and family over Witchcraft. Are you prepared for that? It’s possible to live in the broom closet, but in the age of social media it’s becoming harder and harder to keep secrets such as Witchcraft.
Despite the problems that might come with embracing life as a Witch, most of us who have done so have benefited from it. In your mind’s eye see yourself growing closer to the deities that are a part of your life, communicating with your ancestors and living in harmony with the earth. See the possibilities opening up before you that come with living a magickal life, and then feel that energy move from inside of yourself to outside. Revel in the tingle of magickal energy, and know that this is one aspect of a Witch’s power.
When you feel comfortable with your choice to be a Witch, take one of your candles, place it in a candleholder, and light it. (Be sure you are lighting your candle safely and that you aren’t in an area likely to start a fire.) As you light the candle, say:
Tonight I choose to live my life as a Witch. I choose to embrace the earth as my home and mother. I choose to embrace magick and create beneficial change for myself and the world around me. I am a Witch, and with love in my heart, I dedicate myself to this path. So mote it be!
Now take the second candle and prepare it as you did the first. When it’s set up, light it and say:
Of my own free will I dedicate myself to the Goddess and God and their mysteries. Great Lady, tonight I become a Witch in your service and will strive to ever walk with you. Horned One, Lord of the Forest, tonight I become a Witch in your service and promise to honor you side by side with your Lady. Tonight I dedicate myself to the path of the Witch and the gods who are a part of that path. So mote it be!
Before finishing up your ritual, take out any offerings you’ve brought and pour/place them upon the ground (or if indoors into a libation bowl to be taken outside later) while saying:
As a Witch, I know that the gods will ever share their bounty with me. As the gods share with me, I choose to also share with the gods. Lord and Lady, accept this humble offering that I may ever grow closer to you. So mote it be!
After this rite you may choose to stay outside for a little while reflecting on the commitments you’ve just made. When you are satisfied that the rite is done, extinguish the candles while saying Always with me as a reminder that the magick and the gods of a Witch are always around you. If you’ve cast a circle and called the quarters, let those energies go and leave the site of your ritual as you found it (or in better shape than before). The candles you take from this ritual can be lit anytime you feel disconnected from the Craft or need to be reminded of the energies that are a part of your life as a Witch.
Going Deeper: An Extra Rite with Blood
There are many Witches who are uncomfortable with blood magick, and for good reason. Blood should never be drawn unwillingly, and it must be treated with great care. Blood is the essence of who we are, and there’s the potential that someone could use our own blood against us or that we could receive, transmit, or contract a disease by improperly handling it. However, because of its great magickal potency, blood is a useful tool in ritual and can be used for a variety of magickal purposes.
For those interested in a dedication ritual with a little more gravity, I’ve included this little section as an add-on to the previous rite. It’s certainly not anything that’s required, and if you’re uncomfortable with using blood for magickal purposes, just skip over this section. Also, because dedication and initiation rituals share many of the same elements, this little bit can be added to such rites if you or your coven desire.
If you choose to work with blood, you’ll need a couple extra items: a lancet, an alcohol swab, and a bandage. Lancets are available at most drugstores and are guaranteed to be clean and sterile. If doing this ritual outside, make sure to keep your hands clean to ward off infection. If you choose to add this bit to your rite, I suggest slotting it in after lighting your dedication candles and before libations.
This rite requires only a few drops of blood and calls for pricking your finger. To do this somewhat easily, use your dominant hand to press below the tip of the index finger on your nondominant hand. With your dominant hand, prick the tip of that finger when you feel the blood pulsing in the tip. One good poke should do it, and when the blood begins to flow, stand up and say:
With this blood I dedicate my life to the Craft. I will walk the path of the Witch and strive to ever preserve my Craft, my gods, and those I love. In the presence of the moon, the land, my ancestors, and the Lord and Lady, I make this solemn vow. May my blood nourish the earth, and may I ever walk the path of the Wise. I am a Witch. So mote it be!
While speaking these words, squeeze your finger until at least three drops of blood touch the ground (one drop for the Lady, one drop for the Lord, and one for the Craft). I think this is best done standing up in order to observe the blood leaving your finger. If you are inside, let the blood drip into your libation bowl to be poured out upon the earth later. When you are satisfied with this offering of yourself, disinfect your finger and place a bandage over the cut.
If pouring libations of wine, water, or any other liquid after this ceremony, pour that liquid over the drops of your blood to make sure your blood isn’t taken or disturbed in any way. This should also help it sink into the earth much faster than it might on its own. Again, blood magick is not for everyone, and it’s certainly not for the squeamish, but it’s an effective addition to many rites if done safely and properly.
Dedication Ritual with a Group:
Knot and Cord Magick
Though most dedication rituals are done alone, they don’t have to be. A Witch just coming into the Craft may choose to publicly embrace Witchcraft, and wish to do so in front of a circle of their peers. When I was younger I facilitated a dedication ritual for my peers in the college student group we were all involved in. Years later when I became an advisor to that group, we had members who would periodically ask for help in putting together a public dedication ritual.
Public dedication rituals can also be used when taking a member into a Wiccan outer court or as a way to introduce a new Witch to a coven that doesn’t require an initiation. Sometimes people just want their friends to be a part of their first steps into Witchcraft, and that’s something that should always be celebrated. Many Witches also choose to do both public and private dedication rituals. (I’m always in favor of more rituals that draw us closer to our gods and our communities!)
This ritual utilizes knot and cord magick. Though not practiced with a great deal of frequency today, knots have been used in magickal practices for thousands of years. The Greeks and Egyptians utilized knots for love spells, the Romans believed that they could cause impotency, and sailors tied and untied them to control the winds.129 Knots are effective in magick because they store energy. When a Witch ties a knot and pours their intent into it, that knot becomes charged with magickal power.
Some Witches believe that the magick takes place when the knot is untied and the energy contained within it is then released out into the world. For this particular ritual we want the energy placed into each knot to stay in the cord so it can be utilized later by the dedicating Witch. The most effective cords for spells utilizing knots are ones made from natural fibers. Synthetic materials are okay if you’ve got no other option, but cords made of cotton or other natural fibers are easily acquired.
Some covens require the dedicating Witch (or the initiating Witch—this ritual can also be adapted and used in an initiation rite) to make their own cord. There’s certainly a great deal of power that comes from making one’s own cord, and the process of knitting is both therapeutic and meditative. However, making your own cord isn’t a requirement unless you are entering a tradition mandating such things.
Cords are utilized in many traditions as an indication of rank. Dedicants, along with first-, second-, and third-degree Witches, might all wear different colors of cords depending on where they are in their practice. Other groups might confer a cord just once and then ask that it be worn by members at most rituals. Cords look especially cool around a robe and are useful for hanging an athame on. There are even some skyclad covens where members wear cords. Even if you aren’t dedicating into a group that actively uses cords, a cord whose magick is dedicated to an individual can be a useful thing to have.
Everyone who participates in this rite will be asked to add a knot conferring some sort of energy and power into the dedicating Witch’s cord. I wrote this ritual for nine Witches (including the dedicant), but that number can be added to or subtracted from. If the dedicating Witch has made their own cord, they should give that to the ritual’s officiants before the rite begins.
Because this is a rite for a circle or coven, sacred space should be created by calling in the quarters and casting a magick circle. Whatever deities the circle or dedicant works with should be called in as well. Once all of the preliminaries are out of the way, the rite begins.
High Priestess: It is my understanding that there is someone in this circle who wishes to dedicate their life to the Craft and live as a Witch. Who among us is that person?
Dedicant: I am (Name), and I wish to be a Witch.
High Priestess: Welcome, (Name of dedicant). Step forward and stand here in front of our altar.
The dedicant stands in front of the altar and face to face with the High Priestess, who stands behind it.
High Priestess: The life of the Witch is not for the faint of heart. There will be some who fear you for joining the Craft, and there will be others who despise you for not being one of their own. There have been Witches who have lost family, friends, romantic partners, and much more for identifying with Witchcraft. Are you ready to accept such losses if they may happen?
Dedicant: Yes, I am.
High Priestess: Good, and now take solace in this, for anyone you may lose due to choosing Witchcraft, know that they will be replaced threefold by your brothers and sisters of the Craft and those who would be your chosen family. To live as a Witch is to live a magickal life, but with that magick comes a responsibility. Magick is not a trifle or a parlor trick; it is a reality in our lives. Do you dedicate yourself to living a magickal life, to using your power, gifts, and knowledge for good and never evil?
Dedicant: Yes, I do.
High Priestess: To be a Witch is to worship the Old Gods and honor our Lady and Lord who ever walk with us. Will you share your path with them and dedicate your life as a Witch to knowing their mysteries?
Dedicant: Yes, I will.
High Priestess: As you have accepted the Goddess, now know that she has accepted you. Drink this wine and know that she stands ever beside her children in the Craft.
The dedicant is handed a chalice of wine or other beverage and takes a drink.
High Priestess: Side by side with the Lady stands the God, the Horned One. His sacrifice is what ripens the grain and turns the seasons. Eat of his bounty and know that he too stands beside you.
The dedicant is given a small piece of bread or other food item to eat.
High Priestess: The gods are with you, and you are with them, and now you must proclaim that you will live as a Witch. Place your hands upon the pentacle and draw in the power that flows out from it. As you draw in the power, repeat after me. (Alternatively: As you draw in the power, open up your heart and let us know that you wish to dedicate yourself to the Craft.)
The High Priestess can slowly repeat this next part and have the dedicant repeat it back to her, or the dedicant can memorize it beforehand or simply say whatever they wish here.
Dedicant: Tonight I choose to live as a Witch and to dedicate myself to Witchcraft. May I grow strong in the knowledge of magick, the gods, the earth, and the mysteries. May my love for the Craft sustain and nourish me in times of trouble, and may I provide strength to those who might have need of it. I forsake nothing to take this journey, and I take it willingly. Tonight let it be known to the gods, my peers, and to the world that I, (Name), am a Witch!
High Priestess: And as a Witch, you shall never be alone unless it is by choice. (Picks up cord from altar.) And now may this cord serve forever as a reminder of this night and the powers that now walk beside you.
Everyone at the rite should tie a magickal knot into the cord, beginning with the High Priestess, though that can be changed as circumstances warrant. People should feel free to pour whatever magick they wish into the cord and their knot, or use one of the suggestions below. The knot should be pulled tight as the words So mote it be are said.
This knot is for the Great Lady. May you always walk with her love and her light. So mote it be!
This knot is for the Horned One. May you always be reminded of his sacrifice and know the joy of the wild spaces. So mote it be!
This knot is for your chosen family, those gathered here tonight already known to you, and those who are yet to come. So mote it be!
This knot is for your ancestors. May they guide you on your journey and always provide counsel when it is required. So mote it be!
This knot is for the Mighty Dead. May you know the wisdom of those in the Craft who came before you, and may their lessons always be heeded. So mote it be!
This knot is for the magick you will practice. May it always be strong, may it always be effective, and may you always know your true will. So mote it be!
This knot is for the earth and the turning of the wheel. May you always feel connected to the natural world and continue to receive its blessings. So mote it be!
This knot is for the Craft. May Witchcraft be a solace when you are hurting and a source of strength to overcome that hurt. So mote it be!
People may add more than one knot to the cord if they so desire, but everyone in attendance should add at least one.
High Priestess: (Name of dedicant) has now truly dedicated herself/himself to the Craft and the life of the Witch! With our blessings we present you with your cord. May it help you upon the path you now walk for as long as your love of the Craft survives. So mote it be!
Once the ritual is over, there should be feasting and celebrating to commemorate the new Witch dedicating their life to the Craft. Blessed be!