TEMPLE OF DIANA, INC. DIANIC ORDINATION

POLICIES AND INFORMATION  – approved 01/06/2026

ToD Spiritual Council 2026: Ruth, Cerridwyn, Hestia, Sandy, Nicki, Falcon

 

      The ritual of Dianic ordination performed by Temple of Diana provides a charge which empowers and nourishes the Priestess throughout her ministry.  She sources her spiritual foundation through her training with The Spiral Door Mystery School, or other Temple affiliated/approved sources for Dianic clergy training. The development of her Priestess specialty (aka: her ministry) is informed by this training that embodies the essential energetic context central to our tradition. This specific combination of Dianic education, the development of her ministry, and the sacred rite of Dianic ordination ensures that every one of Her Priestesses enters through the same doorway of service to the Goddess and Her women.

To become a Temple of Diana Priestess, a woman must be ordained by a Temple of Diana Priestess in our traditional Dianic ordination rite. This ordination rite originally appears in The Holy Book of Women’s Mysteries by Z Budapest and evolved into its present form by Ruth Rhiannon Barrett and other ToD Priestesses over the decades.

 

PROTOCOL FOR TOD ORDINATION (for a Priestess to hold ToD ministerial credentials and call herself a ToD Priestess)

A candidate must meet Temple of Diana criteria for ordination. The criteria is based on what Ruth Rhiannon Barrett’s guidelines developed while High Priestess and religious director of Circle of Aradia in Los Angeles and later for Temple of Diana, Inc. Consensus that ordination will take place with ToD affiliation and credentials must be reached between the candidate, her teacher(s), and ToD’s Spiritual Council that deals with ordination requests and guidance.

 

1. A woman asking for ToD ordination (candidate) must ask for a discussion with her ordaining ToD Priestess. This discussion includes why the candidate feels that she has met the requirements for ordination, what her path of service is and includes, feedback, mentoring, guidance, etc. from the ordaining Priestess as to what may still be required in order to support the candidate as an ordained Priestess. There is no time limit on how long it may take for the requirement(s) to be met.

 

    2. When the ordaining ToD Priestess and the candidate are in agreement, the candidate must write a letter to the ToD Spiritual Council with her intention to be ordained, by whom, and if she is asking for ToD ministerial credentials. Consensus must be reached by the Council for the candidate to be given ToD credentials, as she will represent the Temple as our clergy.

 

If the candidate is not asking for ToD credentials, the only agreement required is between the candidate and her ordaining Priestess. Notification by the ordaining Priestess to the Council is still required. The new Priestess may not identify herself as a ToD Priestess. There are legal limitations for not having a ministerial credential (below) or protections for female sovereign space.

 

If a candidate is ordained by one of our clergy, and not (yet) eligible to have a ToD credential at the time of her ordination, she can be mentored by her ordaining Priestess or other ToD clergy until the Council is in consensus that she is eligible for ToD credentials. No additional rite of ordination is necessary.

     The non-TOD ordination event invitation sent to the candidate’s guests must be explicit that the candidate is not receiving Temple of Diana ordination to prevent confusion.

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1. The candidate’s ordaining Priestess must also notify the Council that the candidate has asked for ordination and why she supports the candidate to be a ToD Priestess. Given that not all Priestesses serving on the Council may know the candidate, both the candidate and the ordaining Priestess must give details about their training, how long the candidate has been serving, her path of service, how much of her training and experience of service has been online vs. in-person, the location of the community(s) she serves, and what the candidate’s intentions are with her ministry. Notification can be via email to todspiritualcouncil@gmail.com, and may be followed up by a Zoom meeting after it’s been reviewed by the Council members.

 

     2. To receive ToD credentials, a candidate (or previously ordained priestess) must be vouched for by active  ToD Priestesses. The candidate must ask the Priestesses each to provide a written statement via email to todspiritualcouncil@gmail.com, documenting the skills they've observed the candidate exhibit. These can include interpersonal skills, magickal skills, ritual skills, leadership qualities, and so on. There should be a diversity of qualities described between all the statements so that the Council can know that the candidate has the breadth and depth of characteristics necessary to represent the Temple.  It is the responsibility of the candidate to develop relationships with a number of ToD Priestesses such that she is integrated into our sisterhood and we can comfortably vouch for her and her work.

 

We strongly recommend that the candidate attend DoDG in person, if possible, to enhance active participation as a teacher of workshops and if appropriate, facilitation of ritual. This also gives the candidate an opportunity to demonstrate her skills and network with the broader community. Cumulative experiences of the candidate at DoDG could help to build relationships, practice and exhibit skills, and generate agreement that the candidate is a good representative of the Temple and has the requisite ability to carry on the ToD Dianic tradition. If unable to attend DoDG, the responsibility would continue to fall on the candidate to exhibit her ability to teach, to work collaboratively with others, to build relationships with other priestesses, and to carry on the Dianic tradition as practiced by Temple of Diana groves.

 

1. Feedback from the Council may require more information, questions, and even more training in specific areas should that be needed for consensus to be met by the Council body. If everyone is in consensus or consensus is not blocked by a Council member, an ordination date may be set. Consensus allows a ToD Priestess to be included in the Temple records of our ordained clergy.

 

    2. Sometime prior to ordination, the candidate must be formally initiated into the Dianic tradition. Although self- initiation is acceptable, taking formal initiation with the support of other Priestesses ensures that the rite of initiation is able to be performed by all of our Dianic clergy, regardless of her type of Priestess specialty.

 

     3. The ordination ceremony may be by invitation only, or a public women-only event, at the discretion of the

         candidate. The ordination rite and after- celebration must be alcohol and drug free (see details included below).          

 

 

TEMPLE OF DIANA NATIONAL POLICIES:  Given to all ordained priestesses

 

• A Priestess must maintain membership and affiliation with Temple of Diana, Inc. and support its purpose, agree to an updated annual report of her contact information and brief summary of her work if we hold her credential. If a Temple of Diana credentialed Priestess is not practicing in her ministry for a period of 3-years, or has changed her ministry to something not in accord with Dianic tradition as defined by ToD; or if she does not maintain ToD membership annually; ToD may cease to hold her credential and will notify her in writing at her last known address.

• A Dianic priestess can ordain women as priestesses. However, she cannot give ToD ministerial credential without going through a ToD recognized path to ordination. The rite of Dianic initiation is required for all potential candidate prior to ordination in order for a Dianic priestess to be able to facilitate the rites of our religion.

 

• A Priestess can charge reasonable fees for classes offered to the public as long as our religion is not exploited. Donations only for religious services such as seasonal and lunar rituals, and rites of passage. No fees may be charged for rituals of initiation or ordination (other than donations to help pay for a rental facility or ritual supplies for the event).

 

• Women ordained through ToD may also hold credentials given by other Wiccan or Goddess Spirituality organizations.

 

WHAT CAN BE DONE WITH A MINISTERIAL CREDENTIAL

• Legally marry heterosexual couples and same-sex couples where allowed.

• Bury (officiate at funerals)

• Hospital visitations (as personal minister of the patient or immediate family)

• Spiritual counseling as permitted by state and local regulations and within one’s scope of competence.

• ToD credentials offer protection for women-only rites as a function of our 501c3 status.

 

WHAT IS EXPECTED FROM YOU AS A ToD PRIESTESS

• Personal commitment to the Goddess and the values of the Dianic tradition. Your Priestess work need not exclusively focus on working with Temple of Diana as a national Dianic temple, although a mutually supportive and professional attitude is expected from all ToD Priestesses since you represent ToD through your public and private spiritual work.

 

• To conduct yourself as a model at all times for ethical behavior in words and actions with your sister Priestesses, women in community, and in the world at large.

 

• To be free of self-destructive alcohol, drug or other addictive behaviors.

 

• To have a practice for self-care with a healthy balance of service and fitness in order to best serve.
   

• A willingness to enter into conflict resolution with difficult situations that may arise in community or with another Priestess. If there are unresolved conflicts between Priestesses, a Priestess will seek help from another impartial Priestess or her mentor to assist in the conflict being resolved. Understand that resolving conflicts calls for a willingness to resolve conflicts as part of a Priestess commitment, and not a guarantee that all conflicts can be resolved.
   

• Personal commitment to cultivate and regularly practice self-reflection habits as part of self-care and care of community relations (the impact of your actions or inactions in community).

• Ability and commitment to teach what you know or mentor other women who wish to learn your ministry. The Dianic tradition is a teaching tradition. Priestesses must be willing to teach and to perpetuate the rites of our Dianic tradition.

 

• To work your ministry in service to the Goddess and Her creations, and to be a tool for creating positive change in the world.

 

TEMPLE OF DIANA LONG-STANDING POLICIES

• ON SADO/MASOCHISM

Dianic tradition is committed to a feminist paradigm of true sexual liberation. We work to free ourselves and our world from the effects of patriarchal culture, which equates sexuality, sexual expression, and eroticism with sadism, masochism, dominance, and subordination. We will not support nor condone sexual practices which dehumanize, and whose purpose it is to cause pain, humiliation or suffering, whether consensual or not. Consistent with a feminist paradigm for an egalitarian, peaceful, and healed world where power shared means empowerment for all, we support nothing less than a revolution from within and without, both in the world and in the temple of the bedroom.

Temple of Diana will not knowingly initiate a practitioner of S/M.  Temple of Diana will not ordain a Priestess who practices S/M

 

• ON MALES OR TRANS-IDENTIFIED MALES IN YOUR CIRCLE OR CLASSES

Dianics support all people in finding their path to the Goddess; however, we do not recognize trans-identified males as women, and therefore males who self-define as women are excluded from participating in our tradition. Women’s Mysteries are foundational to our Dianic tradition and based in embodiment, not gender-identity. As women, we honor the ways that our lives are informed by our female bodies and our cellular memory. Even if a woman has had her womb removed later in life, her body of wisdom has been informed by her lived experiences of girlhood and womanhood. She will continue to work power from the cauldron of her womb-space all her life. Because Dianic tradition focuses on rites to heal women from the effects of personal and global oppression, we deal with growing up female in woman-hating cultures worldwide. The depth to which patriarchy has shaped and affected our lives as women cannot truly be understood unless one has experienced it from birth. In light of this basic value of our tradition, it is simply not appropriate for trans-identified individuals to attend our Temple of Diana classes, rituals, and events. Our tradition is not about males who identify as women and does not address nor include their unique experiences.

Many other Wiccan traditions do not share this fundamental requirement, and most of them welcome trans-identified persons as participants. Women who identify as male, would, by their own definition, exclude themselves from Dianic circles.

True intersexed individuals who have been raised female in our culture are accepted as female on a case-by-case basis.

A Priestess may participate in mixed circles of other traditions or interfaith events as desired or through spiritual service.

 

• ON TEACHING MAGICK TO MEN

Dianics recognize that women’s magick is a sacred trust; therefore, Dianics do not teach their Women’s Mysteries and magick to men. Our rites and magic practices are based in female embodiment which are sex-based. However, most Dianics are pleased to discuss the Goddess with interested men or to refer men to books or other traditions that will encourage their own journey to the Goddess and address their life experiences and issues.

Some women who practice in the female-only Dianic tradition also participate in different ritual practices or seasonal celebrations with their male partners, family, friends, or sons.

 

CRITERIA FOR LOSING YOUR CREDENTIAL

• Having a sexual relationship with someone who is your student or being mentored by you.

• Disrespecting the physical, emotional, and psychic boundaries of a student or congregant.

• Charging unreasonable fees for religious services or rites.

• Stealing from your organization.

• Intentionally seeking to cause harm (by words and actions) to a sister Priestess, student, or to Temple of Diana, Inc. and its Groves.

• Active addiction or other self-destructive behaviors causing harm to yourself and by extension the Temple of Diana, Inc. as an organization, your local community and congregants and refusing to take appropriate steps to enter recovery to become and remain sober.

If an ordained Priestess is struggling with any addictions but is willing to take steps toward recovery, her ministerial credentials with be placed on probation.

 

The Priestess will be expected to:

Enter a recovery program and/or rehabilitation facility

Work with a therapist to understand and heal the source of the self-destructive behavior

The Priestess is required to regularly report to her ordaining Priestess, or directly to ToD leadership. todspiritualcouncil@gmail.com

Reinstatement will be no sooner than a year-and-a-day of successful sobriety or longer as determined by ToD leadership.

During the probationary period the Priestess shall not:

• Perform marriages.

• Bury (officiate at funerals)

• Perform Hospital visitations (as personal minister of the patient or immediate family)

• Provide spiritual counseling

This probationary period is intended to provide full focus on self-facing, healing and rebuilding a solid foundation of wellness to truly allow the ordained Priestess to serve Goddess in an empowered and sustainable way.

 

IF YOU WISH TO RESCIND YOUR ORDINATION

If you wish to disaffiliate with Temple of Diana, you must rescind your ordination in writing and send to the ToD Board of Directors. It is not necessary to include an explanation.

If you change religions, you must immediately rescind your ordination as a ToD Dianic priestess in writing and send to the ToD Board of Directors.

 

YEARLY CONTACT LETTER AND REPORT

Include any updates as to where you live, mailing address/contact information, website, email address.

Example for Priestess report: “This year I ….” Include any information she chooses to share about her Priestess work or Priestess activities. contact@templeofdiana.org

 

GUIDELINES FOR ORDINATION PLANNING

• Ordainee pays for any facility rental.

• Ordainee purchases any feasting paper goods and utensils

• Ordainee arranges in advance for a cleanup group, aside from the ritual facilitators, who are willing to stay until it is done.

• Ordainee may invite as many women as the facility can comfortably accommodate.

• Ordainee includes ‘for women only’ in her invitation to avoid any embarrassing situations at the door. Include a reminder that the ordination rite and any after-ordination celebration are alcohol and drug free.