To Dedicate

 If my calculations are correct, and the client works properly, you are reading this while I am out in the woods with 4 dedicants to Primali. It occurred to me that I may not have described what dedication means to us, so while I am baking out at the Lake, I'll tell you about us. 

Us? You say. Yes, us. The process is all about us, and it walks the path I've tread, hopefully with enough wiggle room that everyone can find their own way. My path hasn't been easy...generally because I'm terribly stubborn and the Universe has to kick me in the head, but still. 

I think perhaps there is some confusion about some of the terminology I use, but I assure you it is all intentional. As we build a set of words, a lexicon of our own, we have to intentionally choose what we use and how. 

A Student is not a position of subordinance. It is a title. We use the word Primali and Student of Primali in the same way you would use Christian or Muslim and Follower of Islam or Disciple of Christ. I am a Paladin and I am still a Student. Any who follow Primali are Students, no matter what. It is a title worn as an agreement with the Universe - to learn, to grow, and to explore. To never stop finding new things, to foster curiosity and creativity in yourself and others, and to teach when asked. It is the humility of knowing you do not know everything and that it would be boring if you did. Post-doctorate students are still students, as well - do not think that you have not mastered a skill just because you are a Student. 

This does not make those who take this title my Students, either. We will learn and teach each other. We will keep this new path breathing and alive together, because I am a Student as well.

As a side note, Priest is a gender neutral term in Primali. We do not have Priestesses - the mind interacts with the Universe on a level beyond social identifiers, and so Priest is an encapsulating term. 

When you decide to dedicate, it is the beginning of a new journey into Primali. It means that you believe in our Ideals and Aspirations as methods of living life. It means that you accept the concept that all faiths live, breathe, and die with their civilizations and that each one is a living reflection of something more fundamental that you seek. It means you have heard the Forces and that you are ready to walk a primitive path in a modern age and not deny parts of yourself any longer. 

Primali is Deistic Omnism. It believes that all faiths reflect the same energy but also that the gods and goddesses that come from those reflections are very real.

Primali is Pagan Satanism (said with good humor). It believes that the things that came before the gods that have been traditionally hated and feared are simply the previous generation and common to all, worthy of our respect and not overtly aggressive to our existence.

Primali is Scientific Faith. It embraces our discoveries as natural extensions of our curiosity, and the more we explore and understand the Universe, the deeper we transcend into our faith. Science and Faith are not only not mutually exclusive, they are completely inextricable.

Primali is Primitive Modernity. It believes that the natural self is good and right, but it must be seen through the lens of learning and growth. In a world that constantly suppresses the natural self and yet appeals to it, Primali find ways that are healthy to express and cultivate their natural selves.

Lastly, Primali is Pluralistic. It believes that not everyone will be Primali. There will be Christians and Jews and Muslims and Hindus and Pagans of all paths and Jainists and Sikhs and Atheists and Agnostics and none of these things conflict for us. They are all just people trying to make sense of a Universe that they belong to, are part of, and yet could never fully understand. This is our picture of the sky. Primali, the Primal Forces, our Cycle, and the Wandering that comes After is how we see the world. And if it's how you see it as well, I might see you in the woods for a Dedication Night soon too.