On the magical front new things have been happening in ADF. People may remember that some years ago the Clergy Council began creating alliances with the Ancient Wise, a group of Sacred Dead who are willing to work with all of us as advisors in our efforts to bring back the ways of old. Many of our members have begun working with these Spirits since then.

Now, at Summerland Festival last August, Rev. Jeff Wyndham (better known as Ian Corrigan) and his wife, Rev. Sue Parker-Wyndham (Liafal) organized the beginnings of a new set of alliances for us all. In ritual, the Court of Brigit was invoked, and the lesser Spirit helpers of that Goddess who might be inclined to work with us were invited to show up and form alliances. Many of us present were approached by these new (to us) Spirits, and They have agreed to aid us in our works. This is exciting new stuff, and it’s also just the beginning.

This Spirit Arte is a new direction for ADF. While some of our members have been doing things like this for years (think of our various Spirit Allies – mine is a black jaguar, for instance), these are our first church-wide efforts made in a long time, if ever.

We in ADF love our liturgy and our scholarship. We also love our fellowship in Groves, at festivals, and on our e-lists. And we have long valued unverified personal gnosis (UPG) as a way to fill in the gaps in our scholarship and knowledge. But as an institution we have never really taken advantage of the many spiritual possibilities that UPG, backed up with scholarship, can bring to our spiritual selves. These efforts at the formation of Spirit alliances are a welcome new step that will enrich our lives.

Rev. Kirk Thomas
ADF Archdruid