I've always admired and envied religions that have specific devotions for different times of the year or times of day. One of my favorite books is In This House of Brede, by Rumer Godden. This beautiful novel tells of the nuns of Brede Abbey in England, and of the rhythmic pulse of their spiritual practice, a steady heartbeat in their busy lives. Their days are counted not by clocks and worldly calendars, but by the sounding of bells that mark the hours of prayer, and by the natural turning of the seasons and their associated avocations.

Philippa remembered the prayer wheels that Japanese peasants sometimes set in streams, so that the prayers ran on as they worked; prayers that spun through the hours, days, months. "Brede years are like that... The year of prayer, of liturgy, revolving within the natural year."

One way I've been trying to stay connected to that spinning wheel of prayer is by spending time every morning and every night reading from the Celtic Devotional, by Caitlin Matthews. These little prayers, blessings and meditations make a gentle frame for the day, setting my foot on the right path as I begin my work, and comforting my heart as I prepare for sleep. It helps to have a framework that keeps returning us to awareness of spirit. Reading from a devotional is a simple act, with surprisingly deep rewards. There are many books published of daily meditations, prayers, affirmations, and so on. I have a little stack of them near my altar, and one night as I sat there pulling one out, then the next, then the next, it occurred to me that creating my own book of devotions would be in itself a deep act of devotion. So that's what I'm doing. And you can too.

Start by buying a blank book, or two, or four. While it is possible to find books with 365 pages, it is more likely that you will need more than one book to make a complete turn of the wheel of the year. You can make four seasonal books, to begin at either the solstices and equinoxes, or at the four holy days of the Celtic calendar (Halloween, Candlemas, Beltane and Lammas, to use their common names). Or use your own personal holy days to begin your devotional calendar. Your birthday may be a good beginning, or New Year's Day. My first book begins at autumn equinox, because that is my most powerful time of the year (and not too coincidentally, that's when I thought of this project!).

We are truly blessed in the variety of blank journals available now. I remember in the early '70s there was a fad for something called the Nothing Book, which was simply a small blank book, but it seemed like a revolutionary concept. Previously, the choice had been artists' sketchbooks or "Dear Diary" style books. Now blank journals come in a gorgeous array of sizes, papers, covers. Do you want lined or unlined sheets? A small thick book like an ancient breviary, or a leather-bound notebook stamped with a Celtic design? If you are or can find a bookbinder, perhaps you would like to have a special book made for you, using the gold-stamped cover of an antique book whose pages are crumbling and falling. Or maybe a shiny new spiral-bound journal with a flaming poppy by Georgia O'Keeffe on the cover expresses the fire within your soul. My own book for autumn is rather plain, a mottled pewter-colored cover flecked with metallic sparkles. I wanted to be able to find it by candlelight, yet I didn't want the cover to distract me from the contents.

And what are these contents? This is where each woman's devotional will be uniquely hers. Some people find comfort in repetition, doing the same devotions every day. I find myself growing inured to them, tuning out, going by rote, and so, for me, creating a new devotion every day keeps me alive to the sacred. What I am doing, and what you might want to try, is to create a new entry every day, even if it is brief. You don't need to write an entire liturgy. This is a devotional book that you will use and add to your entire life.

Begin by dating each of the pages at the top, just the month and day. I'm doing mine like Caitlin Matthews did hers: the left page is for morning, and the right page for night, so that each "spread" across the two pages is one day. You might want to leave pages for holy days that change dates, such as the solstices, Jewish holidays, Easter, and so on. You may want to leave pages for full moons and/or new moons. You could date the entire book with a lunar calendar instead of the standard solar year: 3rd day of the Birch Moon, etc. Make it easy to find your place, though, in case you skip a day or two in your practice. (You will, believe me.) Create a framework that suits your own devotional practices, or what you would like them to be. Within this loose framework, your imagination can take flight. There are as many ways to celebrate your devotions as there are seeking hearts and souls. Here are a few suggestions.

Begin with a reading, prayer or poem that inspires you and prepares you for your day. These don't have to be "religious" in nature. Any words that speak of spirit to you will do. The writings of Marge Piercy, Maya Angelou, Rumi, Annie Dillard, Thomas Merton, Sark, Madeleine L'Engle and E.B. White appear in my devotions, along with many others. Write these in by hand or paste in a photocopied or typed excerpt. Do the same for your evening devotions, with a special emphasis on protection and inspiration for sleep. Maybe a faery tale, a mystical poem by Yeats, an image to start you dreaming.

Invoke a guardian for the day. This can be an ancestor, a Goddess, a role model or soul teacher, a totem animal or tree or stone, a force of nature, an angel or deva, a saint or orisha. For me, these change with the seasons. For example, on a day deep into autumn, I might call upon the golden ripe energy of pumpkin to surround me with fruitfulness. Or I might ask the rainstorm to bless me with cleansing and clarity, or the Crone of the Crossroads to light my path. On the anniversary of Joseph Campbell's death, I ask that his enthusiasm and knowledge infuse me as well. This kind of choosing is the most fun for me. Looking through books of saints' days and "this day in history" books and Web sites can give you ideas.

Offer blessings and prayers for others. These can be specific, such as blessing a friend on her birthday, or more general, such as prayers for the homeless or those who are fearful. You can vary these every day, blessing as wide a spectrum of humanity as you can encompass in a year (it's a lot!). Leave a place in your devotions for things that will come up that particular day, such as, "I offer blessings tonight for my dear ones and those in need, especially......"

Give thanks. As Brother David Steindl-Rast writes, gratefulness is the heart of prayer. If you have time for no other devotions in the day, give thanks. Write in your devotional something for which you are grateful. Make it something you will likely always be grateful for, such as the beauty of the rising moon, the simple goodness of bread, the recognition of your talents by others. Think in terms of coming across that entry year after year and saying, yes, I am still grateful. Yes. Thank you.

Give yourself a challenge or a task. In many religious traditions, certain holy days and seasonal cycles bring with them an opportunity for spiritual growth through such activities as fasting, a day of silence, making specific offerings or giving up a sacrifice of some kind, making amends and atonement, stretching the mind in a new direction. For example, in the Benedictine order, during Lent each of the nuns are to read a book chosen for them, "to be read straight through, nothing missed." Perhaps there is a book you have always meant to read, or perhaps a wise friend or mentor can suggest one. Or maybe there will be days when you write a letter to someone you wish to thank or forgive. This too is part of spiritual practice.

Add suggestions for other resources. There will be days when you are feeling more inspired, and days when you will need that extra boost of inspiration. Make notes of books, videos, music, artwork and activities that fit the seasons and cycles of your devotional year. For example, in my book I have an entry on Halloween to listen to "Night on Bald Mountain." On November 7th, there is a suggestion to read the chapter in The Once and Future King where Lancelot tells of his quest for the Grail. These entries will be highly personal, for only you know what will speak of magic and spirit to you. Think what it will be like to read several years from now that January 12 is a good day to make gingersnaps and to celebrate the spice of life!

And that is how I hope you will create and use these precious devotionals. They will become companions on the journey, teachers and guides. The daily act of working with your devotional will pull you back to continual awareness of the steady pulse of the sacred. Your books will evolve and expand as the years go on, quotes added, pictures pasted in, moments of epiphany recorded and reread with each turning of the Wheel. Tears will stain their pages, if they are used well. Again, from In This House of Brede:

"We're not angels, but humans," said Dame Clare, "and human nature is made so that it needs variety. The Church is like a wise mother and has given us this great cycle of the liturgical year with its different words and colours. You'll see how you will learn to welcome the feast days and the saints' days as they come round, each with a different story and, as it were, a different aspect. They grow very dear..."

The Wise Mother has indeed spread a glorious feast of variety for us. And when you are holding the fruits of that feast in your hands, drawn forth from the heart of your own wisdom, you will see how deeply devoted you truly are.