

A couple months back, I petitioned both Wada and Sōl in their capacities as healing deities. I had been experiencing some health issues and required their luck and protection to see me through a slew of medical appointments that were coming my way. Instead of engaging in my typical hearth ritual, I opted to provide the aforementioned deities with an ex-voto.

So, what are vota?

Ex-voto is a term of Latin origin which translates roughly to “In accordance with a vow”[1]. In this particular ritual, the practitioner makes a solemn, promissory vow to give a public or private gift to a particular deity if certain parameters are met. If said parameters are met, the practitioner then proceeds to uphold their end of the vow and subsequently provides the deity with a return gift in the form of a dedicatory inscription, votive animal, painting, cult image, etc. Gianni Pizzagoni describes Catholic ex-vota thusly:

“The premise of the Catholic ex voto is the vow, the solemn promise supplicants make, in a moment of great hardship, to give public thanks to a particular Saint if he/she intervenes to avert disaster; the ex voto, in turn, is the concrete testimonial of that vow’s fulfillment, an object that stands as the material representation of the miracle itself. “[2][3]

As the Roman Empire and the use of Latin spread, a near standardization of dedicatory inscriptions began to occur, with the phrase Votum Solvit Libens Merito, or V.S.L.M. “He has fulfilled his vow, willingly, as it should,” showing up on throughout the Empire by the later Imperial era [4].

Vota were subdivided into three different types: Vota privata (those done for the benefit of the individual or household), vota publica (those done for the benefit of the Republic/Empire) and Military vota (done for the benefit of a particular campaign or battle) [5]. The most extreme form of military votum was called devotio and was when a general vowed to sacrifice his own life in exchange for victory.

A Votive Bull

For my particular votive, I opted to offer a black bull I had made out of clay. I chose a black bull because of the connections between black animals and chthonic deities (which I believe fits my conception of Wada) and the obvious importance of bulls as sacrificial animals throughout the ancient world.

I then had to come up with a satisfactory name for this ritual that would fit well into my current praxis. In the Old English corpus we’re provided with a few words which are synonymous with votum, with behāt [6]or gehāt [7] ‘promise, vow,’ appearing to be the most similar in terms of their usage. I then wrote a short, modern English inscription, which I recited when I presented the Gods with their gift.

“To Wada and Sōl, Wōdgār Inguing willingly and deservedly fulfilled his vow.”

Finally, after leaving the votive statuette on my wīgbed (altar) for a number of days, I took it outside and deposited it in the ground, offering it fully and permanently to the Gods.

[1] https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/ex-voto

[2] Pizzigoni, Gianni. Commentary. Ex-Voto: Dipinti di Fede: Mostra di Tavolette Votive Dal XV al XIX Secolo. Milano: Tipografia Davide Mazza.

[3] http://www.mariolinasalvatori.com/understanding-ex-votos/

[4] Fowler, Religious Experience

[5]Frances Hickson-Hahn, The Politics of Thanksgiving

[6] http://bosworth.ff.cuni.cz/003477

[7] http://bosworth.ff.cuni.cz/014609