I don’t profess to be an expert in American Sign Language - I was born into a hearing family, attended hearing schools, and was raised oral for the first 18 years of my life. I didn’t begin to learn sign language until I was around 16, and that was Signed English as used in a Deaf Pre-School where I worked as a volunteer Teacher’s Aide. I didn’t start using ASL until I entered Gallaudet College in 1976.
Today, a little over 30 years later, I can hold my own in an ASL conversation, but I’m nowhere near native - and I often drool when I see some of these strong ASL users signing away…wishing that I had their level of skill.
I have to confess - trying to sign some of the Pagan invocations, prayers, chants, blessings, etc. that we use during our rituals can be a major challenge for me! I know this is going to sound terribly audist (and please, I don’t want to get into a debate of such)…but sometimes if I am the only Deaf person there, I don’t bother with trying to sign and simply vocalize instead.
This is not to say that I never sign during rituals - I do! Naturally I will sign if there are other Deaf individuals present, and I do sometimes sign even if there isn’t. I sometimes will do non-verbal invocations that use more gesture than actual formal signs…so that others can still understand what I am saying even if they don’t know sign language themselves. These are often well received by other participants in the ritual, who find that such invocations somehow have a more “spiritual” quality to them.
Yes, there have been times when my hearing Pagan colleagues will beg me to please use sign language during a ritual…”because it looks so pretty!” While I understand where they are coming from and realize such a statement is meant to be a compliment, at the same time this request irks me a bit. One does not use ASL simply because “it looks pretty”…ASL is the language of the Deaf Community, and should be respected as such.
Anyway…
below is my attempt to translate one of the Blessings that I often use into ASL. I don’t know how good of an effort I made at explaining the ASL in an understandable context - I simply tried to use English explanations for the signs one would use, without trying to describe the signs themselves (that would be tricky!)
If I was an expert in vlogging, I would try to video myself signing this Blessing, and put it up on this site. But…one step at a time, my friends. I’m still learning the ins and outs of blogging itself, then maybe I’ll advance up into the wonderful world of vlogging.
In the meantime, enjoy…and please feel free to give me any feedback, suggestions, corrections, etc. I’d love to know how YOU would sign this Blessing!
~ Ocean
The Green Italic is the ASL/English gloss; the Purple Bold is the English version
now-day begin journey continue
You begin the first day of the rest of your Journey
path decide travel-travel
traveling down the Path that you have chosen
meet-meet-meet people travel-travel themselves
Along the way you shall meet others traveling on their own Journeys
never-mind path-path-path unity
and you shall be bound together as a family, regardless of the Path you choose
road travel many
Many will be the roads you take
sleep dream many
And many the dreams you have.
look-up-at moon many
Countless the moons you may watch,
summer experience many
And countless the summers that may pass.
honest myself always
If to thine own self you remain true,
day happy yes
Happy will be many of your days.
breath happy (breath-blow) include-self life
May the keepers of the sacred winds whisper joy into your life.
fire-burn passion-body excite wisdom
May the sacred fires kindle your passion and excitement for the Craft.
analyze love water soul (cup flow-over)
May you explore the mysteries of the cup of Love, and discover the reflection of love in your own soul.
earth plant (roots grow down) (plant grow up) home share
May you plant strong roots in the earth to grow old, and share a happy home with your loved ones.
God-woman God-man bless (hold close to heart) now (from here forward)
And may the Lady and the Lord bless you and keep you, for all the days of your life.
Happen!
So Mote It Be.
This sculpture shows the sign for "connect"...and that is what Deaf Pagan Crossroads is all about - making connections. Connections between Deafhood and Paganism, connections between the Deaf Community and the Hearing Community, connections between myself as the writer and you as the reader. I hope you will take the time to read my various posts, some of which are listed below. Welcome to the Crossroads, and I hope you make some connections here!
i dont understand this is translated from sign language??????????its a nice prayer but its just written in english, i see no sign that its translated from.
This doesn’t show the signs themselves, Birch…it shows the SYNTAX that ASL uses to convey English concepts.
The purple is the actual English that the prayer is written in…the green is the way it would be expressed in ASL (my translation anyway), using the signs that are shown written in English.
The problem I see you having Birch, is a common problem that many hearing people have with learning sign language - the difficulty in understanding that ASL is in fact a language, and not just a communication method. As a language, it has its own grammar and syntax, which differs from English. When you show up for an ASL class, you have put English aside and recognize you are studying another language - the same way you would be if you were taking a class in Spanish or French or Latin or whatever.
When a Deaf person uses ASL, they are NOT signing in English, using English word order. They are signing in another language, which has its own rules.
As an example - in English you would say “have you finished eating yet?” In ASL, you would sign it “eat finish you?” This is the Deaf way of saying that English sentence.
Of course, it would be easier if I could videotape this so that a person could actually SEE how the prayer would be signed - ASL is a visual language after all.
But the point is…even if I was able to videotape myself signing this blessing…I would not be signing it word for word the way it is written in English. I could do that…but then I would be signing Signed English, and not ASL.
I would suggest to Birch and to others who are having similar difficulties that you go back and read the poem again. Remember, the green italics is the SAME SENTENCE as the purple print underneath it. Compare how the English sentence is translated into ASL.
For example - look at the first sentence. In purple you see the English which says “You begin the first day of the rest of your Journey.” Above it, you see how it would be translated into ASL grammar, in which the words signed would be “now day begin journey continue.”
See the difference? That’s the difference between ASL and English - they don’t convey the concept in the same way. ASL isn’t just “broken English” but is a language of its own.
Hope this helps! Don’t be afraid to ask questions…this is a good one, and hopefully it will help other hearing people who visit this site and are trying to learn more about the Deaf Community to understand not only us, but our language as well!
Thanks for asking!
Interesting experience I had. I participated in a sweatlodge. I was fortunate to have an interpreter in tehre with me. it was about 20 women, packed tight. The woman, a native american, was the keeper of the sweatlodge, and she led a ceremony. It was really cool. First, I taught her how to say “may our ancestors honor us” (They have a specific native american phrase - but I forgot what it is).. They use it often, in place of what “amen” and “The lord be with you” would be in a Catholic ceremony.
Then afer we entered the lodge, she was willing to light a small candle, and put it right near my interpreter so deaf women could see (ther was four of us). It had the most amazing effect!!! In a dark lodge, with smoke and fire, incense, along with the placement of the candle, it had a very striking effect. As the interpreter signed, the shadows showed on the roof beyond her, and the interpreter being a very beautiful woman who was talented, gave it an even more etheral feeling. All the women, hearing and deaf were absolutely fascinated and could not take their eyes off her.
it was a very spiritual experience I will never forget!
What a wonderful experience that sweat lodge must have been!
I too have participated in a couple of sweat lodge experiences (one group I was involved with refers to them as “Earth Saunas”), but I was not fortunate to have an interpreter present. The group was very nice - they did try using a flashlight so I could try and read their lips, but this proved to be rather challenging, so I told them to just turn the light off and let me be…not to worry about me, that I was enjoying my own private experience in the sweat lodge. Yes…I missed out on what the leader and the others were saying, but at the same time it gave me the opportunity to do some intensive meditation and go inside myself.
But your experience certainly sounds like it was beautiful and indeed very spiritual, and perhaps some day I will have a similar opportunity.
Thanks for sharing!
(And to others…if you haven’t participated in a Sweat Lodge Ceremony, I highly encourage it - it’s a wonderful experience!)
I never realized about ASL being “not English”. Very interesting… even though it is a lot like translating to any language, the word order is different… cool.
Very helpful! Merry Meet would maybe be “happy meet”? I’ve heard of Blessed be, being the bless sign pulled into a fingerspelled “be”. Sound about right? That came from a hearing person, but it “looks pretty”
If you were following Ray Buckland’s “Big Blue Book” you could just fingerspell SMIB for So Mote It Be.
I tend to use Signed English more than ASL as I didn’t begin learning ASL until I was 35 (I’m 40 now) and, well, 35 years of speaking kinda structures your thoughts to that level - something that I was slowly overcoming while learning ASL. Unfortunately, I no longer have anyone here with whom I may sign and I am losing my understanding of signing with each passing month
When I first began, one of the things that I learned was that the sentence-structuring of ASL is more akin to the Japanese language than that of English - something that really reinforced in me that this was not direct interpretation, but a language of its own.
Just as an aside, do you know of any DVDs/videos that I could purchase to begin re-learning ASL? I don’t want to lose this!!! I was just reaching the conversational level when I moved away from my friends back in Pennsylvania. Now, I can only sign to my dog. Sadly, she’s not much of a conversationalist and she doesn’t know how to sign back!
There are many good books, CDs, DVDs and videos on sign language, and particularly ASL. One possible resource for such is Harris Communications, which is owned by a Deaf friend of mine - Bob Harris. Their website can be found at http://www.harriscomm.com Check out the “Books and Multimedia” section, and look under Sign Language…you’ll find many resources there. I am hesitant to recommend any specific DVDs/Videos because I honestly don’t know which ones would be best. There have been many new products coming out on the market, and I haven’t kept up to date with all of them. Perhaps others will read this and make their own recommendations. I will ask around on your behalf.
I encourage anyone interested in learning sign language to take a class. You really can’t learn ASL from books or DVDs…you need a skilled teacher who can truly instruct you in all the different aspects of this language - the grammar and syntax; the use of facial expression and body language; the handshapes, movements, and direction; etc. All of these play an important role in American Sign Language, and in order to truly understand it, you need to understand all of these aspects.
To find out more about possible classes or other opportunities for learning/using ASL in your area, I would encourage you to contact your state Commission for the Deaf, state Association for the Deaf, state Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf, or similar organization. You can also contact local universities, community colleges, technical colleges, and the like…some of them may be offering classes.
For those seeking opportunities to keep up with their practice and skill, while nothing is better than actual live interaction with the Deaf Community and ASL users, another option is to go on-line and check out the growing number of Deaf Vloggers out there who are posting videos where they express themselves using ASL. While you may find it difficult to understand everything they are saying, just stick with it - don’t expect to comprehend it all…use it as an opportunity to see ASL in use. Watch for signs you do recognize. Study the way they use facial expression and body language. Examine the syntax of ASL and how the signs are “put together” to express concepts.
There are a number of different vlog sites that can be good for this purpose, and I have some of them listed under Deaf Blogs. Check them out. You can find more vloggers on the list at DeafRead.com
Best of luck, and don’t be afraid to ask if I can be of further assistance!
Thing is, people say other languages “sound pretty” (and sometimes they say they sound guttural or ugly). It may sound patronising that people say signing “looks pretty” but it’s better than saying it looks ugly. Personally I think everyone should be taught to sign from birth, as a matter of course. Anyway it’s interesting to see the translation of this blessing - thanks!
Ocean… remember the “sweat lodge” at the Ecumenicon? Half naked people cramped into a small tent with the terp? She was brave and we had fun
D’
LOL!
Ohhhhh yes, I remember that experience quite well! I thought the terp was a great sport about it all, and let’s face it - it WAS hot in that tent/lodge!
A lesson for all interpreter wanna-bes…if you are ever asked to interpret for a sweat lodge ceremony, be prepared to shed various items of clothing…
Ocean… Me have tear-eye read post ASL gloss prayer beautiful awesome
I am a hearing woman. I am currently studying American Sign Language in Virginia. I am also studying the History and Culture of the Deaf Community. I must say, I felt as though I was watching hands as I read through. I could see it so clearly in my mind’s eye that I felt tears of happiness, joy, and wonder at the beauty of presenting something so close to my heart in a visual format.
HONEST SELF ALWAYS If I see you at a meet anywhere, I shall join you in sign to the best of my ability.
As for you not signing at “hearing” meets… poo on that! Be proud; be you!
Blessed be.
Tanya
Wow, it’s absolutely beautiful. Maybe I’ll try sign that in Vlog myself to see if it come out right, then I’d let you know. I can make some modification on ASL to make it looks more movement of poetry.
If ever happen to have sweat lodge coming up soon. Please let me know so my wife and I would love to be in the actual sweat lodge.
Ocean I LOVE your site! I’m an ASL student and am preparing to study midwifery. I plan to continue my ASL to the point that I can use it to care for birthing women in the deaf community without having to have an interpreter for everything!
I have one question, though… is there a sign (other than fingerspelling) for pagan? All I can find in dictionaries are xtian signs.
You know, you can fingerspell faster and faster till the point come when you “miss” letters. At that point it won’t be fingerspelling but actually a sign. Because if Deaf people just spell a word long enough, it will end up having a sign that look like fingerspelling but is actually not so. The same idea applies to J-B, meaning “job”. It used to be a fingerspelled word but it is a sign. You get what I mean?
I am answering this type of questions for Ocean since she is moving and can not answer for herself till she is settled down. Hope it helps :).
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