There are exactly three cardinal promises which an adherent of the DNI may ever make:

1. to tell only what is (or was/is/will be) true (or what 'e will make true);
2. to distinguish only what is (or was/is/will be) relevant; and
3. to aim only at what is (or was/is/will be) (ultimately) neutral.

Hence, there are exactly three ultimate things 'e may ever swear to: (1) the truth, (2) inclusivity (or relevance) and (3) ananicity (or neutrality). As 'e shall eschew what is abusive, the neutral-inclusivist shall not swear or curse by vulgarizing expressions of false or supernatural belief or by being impertinent. And as 'e shall eschew honor-exism and personative exclusivism 'e shall not swear allegiance to a person or personified being representing an exclusivist institution. In a relationship between people who know each other an oath of loyalty which is nothing else than a solemn promise need not be exclusivistic, but even if it is not, such an oath will always be subject to the principles of the Norm; not only to the principle of truth but to the other three as well.

Some might consider concepts such as oath, swearing and solemn supernaturalistic or exclusivistic in themselves. Especially the term oath which is, among others, defined as solemn calling upon a god to witness the truth of what one says may be questionable (albeit, perhaps, not as questionable as vow). Should they be right, we must never 'swear any oath' and conscientiously decline to take one when asked to do so. Yet, such does not mean that we could not declare something by affirmation or make a 'solemn' promise; and if solemn is not acceptable, that we could not make an 'earnest' or 'serious' promise, this in itself being merely a question of terminology. However, in languages or countries where theists, for instance, prefer to use the terms oath and swearing, whereas nontheists traditionally already prefer to speak of "affirming" and "promising", it may be better that we stick to these 'promises' and leave the swearing to the other side.

Those who swear allegiance to a person, particularly a representative of a monarchical or other exclusivist system, put at least symbolically blind trust in being a liege of temporal or pseudo-eternal lordship. When they swear, they implicitly swear by serfdom and the primacy of the authoritative. It goes without saying that the DNI cannot approve of the perpetuation of these practises and of this symbolism (or rather antisymbolism if forced upon citizens or people who want to obtain citizenship). Yet, the DNI does allow declarations or promises, and serious or 'solemn' declarations or promises at that. The most solemn promise an adherent of the DNI will be able to make, then, is the promise of adherence itself.

Unlike allegiance, adherence is not a matter of being a liege or serf, but a matter of adhering to one's principles. And unlike allegiance, adherence is not a theocentrist or other authoritarian expression but typical of a normistic commitment. That is why a solemn promise of adherence can have a profound significance in a normistic context, certainly in the context of an anastomosis of adherents. If, and when, there are no objections against the use of the word oath, the anastomotic promise may be called "the Oath of Adherence". In any event it may also simply be called "the Promise of Adherence".

An Oath or Promise of Adherence is to consist of the three cardinal promises which an adherent of the DNI is allowed to make. It can be formulated in a restrictive and in a prescriptive way.

Variants of the restrictive version are:

I / We, [ name(s) ], (hereby) (solemnly/earnestly) promise / affirm that i/we will never (purposely) tell what is untrue (or what i/we will not make true), will never (purposely) distinguish what is irrelevant, and will never (purposely) advance what is (ultimately) unneutral

and

I / We, [ name(s) ], swear that ....

Variants of the prescriptive version are:

I / We, [ name(s) ], (hereby) (solemnly/earnestly) promise / swear to (purposely) tell only what is true (or what i/we will make true), to (purposely) distinguish only what is relevant, and to (purposely) aim only at what is (ultimately) neutral.

There is no obligation to raise one's right or to raise one's left hand when taking the Oath or Promise of Adherence. The most suitable corporal sign, so far as hands are concerned, is to clasp them together as shown in figure S.4.1.2.1. Since taking the Oath is a form of symbolism, there is not even an obligation for members of an anastomosis to make this solemn promise, whether to remain a member or to become one. Conversely, it is only anastomotic members or candidates who should be allowed to formally make the Promise in the presence of two or more of their fellow adherents, because the earnestness of it does only combine with the membership restrictions of an anastomosis. The symbolism of the Promise ought not to be contaminated by people who are ignorant of its meaning, for instance, or who also associate with the actions and symbolic practises of groups defying the Norm or violating its principles.

For reasons of truthfulness and interpretation a Promise of Adherence must be made in the language of the anastomosis concerned, and can solely be made by the promisor if 'e is sufficiently able to understand, and communicate in, that language. Before the Promise is made a person not making the Promise 'imself may start with the following words (which take into account that some people who are confined to bed or to a wheelchair, for instance, are unable to stand and walk, and that mute people are unable to speak):

(Dear) (sibling(s)) ([name(s)]), if you wish to make the Promise / take the Oath, please (step/move forward and) stand/sit/lie still.
Before proceeding you must realize that by making the Promise / taking the Oath you call upon your fellow adherents of the Ananorm to witness that you sincerely intend to refrain from what the Norm proscribes, or to do what the Norm prescribes. This solemn/earnest promise will symbolically put you under a special obligation to every member of our (speech) community.
It is thru us/me that you ask all siblings of the DNI to attest to the truth, relevance and neutrality of what you are going to say / write down.
In this position we/i will now give you the opportunity to make the Promise / take the Oath of Adherence (in the Language of this Anastomosis).

After this introduction the Promise proper can be made individually or collectively. To conclude, the Wheel of the Ananorm or any other adequate poem may be sung by those present at the ceremony.

(The figure of speech used in the Wheel is an ancient one. The word wheel derives from kyklos, meaning circle or wheel, which in turn derives from c(h)akra, also meaning wheel. In some systems of thought levels of consciousness were, or still are, depicted as wheels or 'chakras'. The effect is the more striking because telos in teleology, which means end or purpose, derives from cakra too. That is why it is also of great symbolic significance to call the DNI "a teleological doctrine". By doing so we further unify the past, present and future; and this without trying to roll back the wheel of history.)

THE   WHEEL   OF   THE   ANANORM
 
The wheel of the new Norm has been set in motion.
There is no way anymore to stem the anabasis.
It has already been set in motion --
the wheel of the Ananorm,
the wheel of the Ananorm.