To Make an Oath to a Spirit or Deity

This rite is for when a practitioner wishes to make an oath to a spirit or deity. Such oath may concern a task, a service, a devotion, a promise of conduct, or other intention. Be sure to have your oath firmly established before making it. Prepare your space with a candle; (optional) a lancet for drawing blood; a written or spoken oath; a token to serve as a physical reminder of your oath; and an offering.

Light the candle. Sit quietly until you feel ready to proceed. Then say:

In sooth, I come, with heart laid bare,

With steady hand and solemn care.

Spirit bright or shadowed flame,

I call you now—I speak your name.

Speak the spirit or deity's name here. If the name is not known, you may use a title such as “Watcher of the Wood,” “Lady of the Flame,” or “Father of Witches”.  Hold the oath token in your hand and say:

Bear witness now, by flesh and thread,

By waking will and honored dead,

I bind myself with words made fast—

This vow I make shall ever last.

Until fulfilled, or freed by grace,

Or severed tie shall end its place.

Speak your oath clearly. If written, read it aloud with care. Then, if you would life, prick your finger lightly with a sterile lancet and anoint the token with a single drop of blood. If blood is not appropriate, you can alternatively breathe on the token or anoint it with a bit of saliva. Say:

I seal this vow by blood and skin,

By fire without, by fire within.

By sky and root, by grave and gate,

This oath is sworn, this is my fate.

It holds until the task is done,

Or I be loosed, or bond undone.

Place the token upon your altar or on your working space. Let it rest there until the candle burns low. When the rite is done, say: 

The words are set, the path is drawn—

By dawn and dusk, by dusk and dawn.

O spirit, see me as I stand:

My vow is yours—by mine own hand.

Extinguish the flame and keep the token somewhere safe until the oath is fulfilled. Leave the offering as a closing symbol.