PaDeva Church and Seminary

A syncretic Ayahuasca based church that grew out of Wicca and a desire to return to Gnostic, European, Indigenous paganism.

Book of Light and Shadows

"Book of Shadows" is a traditional term for a pagan or Wiccan group's collection of ceremonial practices, beliefs, and traditions.

Rather than simply being a book of secrets and rituals, it is our intent to make the Book a source of hope and inspiration. That is why we have adjusted the traditional name to something more suited to PaDeva, hence, the Book of Light and Shadow. In South America, when native shamans brew Ayahuasca, it is a common reference for the plants mixed in with the B Caapi vine to be called "the light." Since Ayahuasca has brought light back into our practices, we felt this name was more appropriate and reflective of the balance we strive to achieve.

The Book is not a single time, it is our library. It is a collection of our works, our rituals and everything we are. It contains the works of great authors and thinkers, philosophers and scientists. It contains our art, our experiences, our ideas and hopes. It also contains our tenants, articles and codes.

Tenants of Faith

Our path is one of Experience. We believe the only true way to know the Divine is through your own experiences. All spiritual teachings are empty words and hopeful fantasies if one does not have the ability to experience them firsthand. Spiritual growth comes from study, from uestioning, from challenges and above all, experience. Spiritual growth comes not from dogma, but from the Divine State of Being, or Transcendental, Ecstatic, and Esoteric Experiences.

The Great Spirit is revealed to us as the God and Goddess. he Great Spirit reveals itself to each person such as they require for their own spiritual growth. For us, Spirit is expressed as the polarity of Nature. It is the light and shadow, the sun and moon, as a God and Goddess. They are the expression of the Divine that lives in and permeates all things. Some may experience them in a theistic way, as Mother and Father. Others experience only the presence of something greater than themselves. It is up to the individual to trust the Gods and the way in which they reveal themselves to the seeker. It is not the form in which we perceive them that is important, but it is the life we live in accordance with their teachings that define our spirituality.

Ayahuasca is the most Holy Sacrament given to mankind to commune directly with the presence of the Divine. Some of us are called to Know the Great Spirit, that which is greater than ourselves. Her chosen instruments are the Sacred Plants, none more so than those that allow us to brew the tea Ayahuasca. Without the Vine, we are not able to learn to fully stand in the presence of the Divine, however we may perceive that Eternal Existence. We have come to this path because we have thirsted for nothing less than a real, lasting, absolutely transforming relationship with Spirit. Without Ayahuasca, Enlightenment can take generations and lifetimes: this was never the intent of the Goddess.

Life does not end with death nor begin with our birth; life is timeless and eternal. There is an afterlife. It is something our physical brain and ego may experience only in a very basic way, but we know in our spirit it is a normal part of our existence. Our ego may gain only enough information and understanding about it to be secure that it is true: for most, anything else would interrupt and detract from living life in this world. We fear that this is a trap many religions have fallen into. We must know there is an afterlife, but we must not obsess about it - it profits us nothing.

Faith is a process and a responsibility that unfolds from knowing the Divine. There is no faith without personal knowledge of Spirit. Our greatest duty is to know and experience for ourselves the God and Goddess.

We must give to others in love and compassion: no greater power is given to mankind than this. Our greatest gift, greatest power and most awesome responsibility is the care for our fellow humans. This care extends beyond the boarders of mankind, but means responsibility for the Earth and all that live upon it.

Balance is our ability and gift through which we attain greater peace. When balance is kept within ourselves and our lives, we are empowered with freedom. We are able to act with greater wisdom, and we are better able to serve ourselves and others.

Enlightenment is our birthright. As surely as we are born, we are given the tools to achieve peace, balance and unity with the Gods who are eternally within and apart of us.

Initiation is a sacrament, our most powerful rite of passage. Initiation is an Oath, a ritual of passage through which one dedicates oneself to walk a spiritual life. It is an oath taken by both the Initiate and those who are Initiators to the purpose of Enlightenment, empowerment, and love.

The Sacerdotal Rites of PaDeva:

(Ordinances)

• Apprenticeship
• Initiation
• Taking of the Sacrament - PaDeva
• Ordination
• Eldership
• Handfasting (marriage)
• Death Rite
• Enshroudment (blessing of children)




When do we gather?

We meet during the waining and waxing moon, preferably during the Full and New Moon. We also meet 8 times a year to celebrate the 4 solar solstices and 4 traditional Pagan holidays. Classes are offered every weekend. When there is need for a specific working, healing or celebration requiring the church, it is opened.

How do we Practice?

Our practices range from a meeting of simple meditation and fellowship, to elaborate and formal rituals. The tools we use include meditation, Journeying, Hypnosis, Holotropic breathwork, drumming... What we do is influenced mostly by the person leading the group on the night of the meeting because their leadership and direction will come from the tools they are experienced with and which they are most able to allow others to be edified in the process. In ritual, we typically wear robes or other clothing reserved for ritual use. to signify that we are creating a sacred space.

>Everything else in the book, the rituals, the stories, and our traditions, are private. Why is simple: It protects the integrity of the works, but most of all, it is meaningless to those outside of the church. The point is that words are meaningless without the experience, without the Mysteries. Further words for the Public about God serves little purpose; It allow us to emphasize the need for something more...