“How do I become a priest of the Morrígan?”
At this time, Irish polytheism does not have a method of achieving priesthood which is widely accepted by Irish polytheists in general. Priesthood tends to be defined by either an individual practitioner or an organization….but that doesn’t guarantee acceptance by the community or the gods that a person claims to serve.
This article will instead present some information that we feel is helpful for individual practitioners seeking priesthood.
Defining Priesthood
What makes someone a priest can vary not only between religious traditions but even within the same religious tradition. Terminology may also differ: differences in cultural context and historical development, to reflect different rankings of priesthood, or as a deliberate choice to avoid a word that’s also used by Christianity. There is no single definition of ‘priest.’
In anthropology, a priest is more generally classified as a ‘ritual specialist,’ a term which is intended to be as neutral and inclusive as possible. (‘Ritual specialist’ is also a replacement for the earlier use, and misuse, of ‘shaman.’ A shaman would be classified as a ritual specialist by anthropologists, but not all ritual specialists are shamans — or priests, for that matter!)
For this article, we’ll be using ‘priest’ to refer to a living person who acts as an intermediary between the seen and unseen worlds (that is, the world of shared physical reality + any existences which are spiritual and non-embodied by nature). But even that working definition is vague as to what a priest actually does or how a person becomes a priest.
What sets a priest apart from other types of ritual specialists, such as mediums or healers, will depend on the religion and the community. Not all healers are priests, just as not all priests are healers, but there’s often an overlap between the two. An extra element to our working definition, then, might be that a priest is a living human whose work as an intermediary is in the name of a god or spirit; that is, a priest derives a degree of authority and ‘permission’ for their work from a specific entity (or entities). For example, there’s a difference between a healer who receives support from the Morrígan in their work versus a priest whose work is driven by the Morrígan and is done in Her name.
There are many ways that one can be a priest. This depends on the religious tradition, the associated faith community and its needs, what the relevant gods and spirits ask for, and the priest’s personal preferences, experiences, training, resources, and skills. Some examples include:
Providing spiritual counseling for members of an associated faith community;
Providing magical or ritual services;
Caring for a sacred space (e.g. temple attendants) or for icons which embody a divinity;
Engaging in specific types of services which benefit the god or spirit lending their name to someone’s priest status, which may or may not include other living humans.
In Her Name: Morrígan Priesthood
To be clear: we don’t know what the historical, native Irish framework for priesthood looked like in any great detail. We can make educated guesses that ritual specialists would have come from the learned classes, probably the druids, but in regards to the rites they performed and why, with which spiritual entities, in what kind of daily routine or ritual calendar….we’ll never have a full picture. Archaeology leaves only traces of what, not why, and Irish literature was all written by Irish Christians in mostly later periods of time, not devotees of the native religion themselves at the time in which they were practicing their faith.
But even if we did have a more complete picture of historical native Irish religious priesthood, we would still need to make changes to accommodate our contemporary lifestyles, technologies, industries, political pressures, economic realities, and ethical frameworks. (Bear in mind that Iron Age and early medieval Ireland was deeply patriarchal, had strict social classes, and endorsed slavery.)
At this time, contemporary Irish polytheism does not have a defined framework for training, initiating, or recognizing priesthood which is universally accepted. Such frameworks are determined by individuals and/or specific organizations, and it depends on their associated faith community to decide whether or not to recognize their status as priest. However, based on our members’ experiences and from conversations we’ve had with community members over time, there do seem to be some commonly shared expectations when it comes to people serving as priests for the Morrígan:
Engaging in a regular personal practice involving discipline
Engaging in acts associated with social justice, advocacy, or some other form of support to a larger group of people
Maintaining a regular personal religious practice with the Morrígan / one of the other Morrígna / the collective as a whole
The specifics of what any of these look like in practice, however, run a whole spectrum of possibilities.
Elements of Priesthood
Some faiths have a clearly defined pathway for moving from laity to priesthood. Common elements of this process may include:
A period of focused study on learning the rites, customs, and stories of the faith;
Education on the expectations, responsibilities, and burdens which are unique to the role of ‘priest’ which are not shared by the role of ‘layperson’;
Training on how to perform the actions or services expected of the priest;
A method of spiritually confirming that a candidate for priesthood is accepted and approved by the relevant god(s);
A rite that marks the transition from laity to priesthood;
Acceptance from an associated faith community on the validity and authority of the new priest’s status, if the priest’s role involves interacting with a living human community in some capacity.
You might also see one or more of the following:
Oaths: formal, solemn agreements made between a living person and their god(s). They might come at the start or end of an initiatory process, or in between different stages of a process.
Initiation: a spiritual process in which a person undergoes some kind of internal transformation. The exact nature of this process varies between religious faiths; some describe as a spiritual death and rebirth, while others frame it as receiving a kind of spiritual ‘installation’ or ‘upgrade’ that gives someone a spiritual capacity that they lacked before. An initiation may or may not involve an oath at some point.
Spirit initiation: when an initiatory process is facilitated by spiritual entities without the involvement of a living human priest or human community.
Because contemporary Irish polytheism does not have a universally accepted framework for someone to move from laity to priesthood, you’ll see a fair bit of variety between individual practitioners and organizations on what this process looks like.
Becoming a Priest of the Morrígan
At this time, there are really only two methods of becoming a priest of the Morrígan:
Find a group or organization whose values you trust which offer training or education on becoming a priest, which is defined by the group itself rather than by the religion as a whole;
Develop a pathway towards priesthood on your own.
The one you choose will depend on your access to other pagans and polytheists with shared beliefs and values, resources, and personal preferences. Both approaches have their pros and cons.
Seeking Priesthood Through a Group
Pros:
Get a variety of perspectives
Access to more varied skillsets and experiences
Training process is (presumably) already set up, so you wouldn’t have create anything from scratch
Easier time building relationship with faith community members and with other spiritual service providers
Cons:
Not everyone has easy access to this kind of group, let alone a group with all the same values
Always a risk of ‘cults of personality’ — that is, that the group doesn’t have good strategies for managing interpersonal dynamics of power, personality, and conflict
Training process might not be responsive to your needs, resources, and limitations
Seeking Priesthood Privately
Pros:
Build your own process in direct communication with your own gods and spirits, making it personal to you and your relationship with your god(s)
Move at your own pace, means, style, and resources
Cons:
Not getting input from other perspectives
Not getting collective support for more spiritually or emotionally difficult phases of the process
More difficult to network with potential clients and with other spiritual service providers
The Coru’s Priesthood
The Coru has developed its own process for someone to work towards becoming a priest of the Morrígan. We call people on this path ‘dedicants.’ This process involves a combination of academic study, personal reflection, spiritual practice, and initiatory rites. It is self-paced, and it may take someone years to complete it.
“Can the Coru facilitate me becoming a priest of the Morrigan?”
We can only offer this option to people who are currently members. We also don’t have the authority to grant a universally accepted priesthood status to anyone.
“How can I join the Coru?”
Membership is typically by invitation, and it’s really based on just getting to know people well enough to see if our goals and values align and if we all like spending time together. There isn’t really a formal process towards membership.
“Can I have access to your priesthood curriculum and just work through it on my own?”
At this time, our curriculum is only available to current Coru members. This allows us to provide the collective support which we believe is rightfully due to the dedicants through a difficult process.
Food for Thought
How do you define a ‘priest’?
What kind of priest do you want to be? What responsibilities are attached to that role? What does the Morrígan have to say about you and priesthood?
What training, education, or experience do you need to conduct yourself both ethically and efficaciously as a priest?
How will you hold yourself accountable in your conduct as a priest to both the Morrígan and to any other entities you end up serving, including living humans?
Final Thoughts
Priesthood isn’t for everyone and that’s okay.
Historically, there have always been more laypeople than priests. Becoming a priest isn’t the end goal for every modern practitioner, nor should it be the default expectation! Being a priest is often difficult and can put demands on your time and effort in service that you wouldn’t otherwise have to do.
Being a priest doesn’t make anyone the better devotee.
You can be in service without taking on the role of a priest. There are many people with deep, profound relationships to their gods and spirits who have nothing to do with priesthood.
Don’t devalue the secular skillsets.
Being a skilled diviner or healer (or a published pagan author, for that matter) does not automatically mean that someone is a good fit for working with people who are experiencing spiritual or emotional difficulty. If your role as a priest involves working with people, especially people who are looking to you for guidance or support, you must make the effort to develop your peer counseling skills and your understanding of ‘trauma-informed care.’ Many secular organizations, especially nonprofits in social services or crisis services, offer this kind of training. House of Apples is a pagan-specific option.
This page is part of our virtual Morrigan Practices Group.
Curious about the MPG? Check out our events page for more info!
