Don't Know Much About History... *sigh*

So, in my continuing efforts to seek out community of local elders, in the hopes of making their acquaintance and better vetting myself to them and them to me, I attended another “Wicca 101” class.  This one was to be a discussion of the History of Wicca, from the UK to the US.  Seemed pretty innocuous, and even the most unenthused historian of the early days of the Craft as we know it should be able to rattle off the basics. 

Given that this class was a two-hour long event, I had hopes for something more than a rudimentary Google or Wikipedia regurgitation but wasn’t sure how in-depth the teachers would be about early development pre-Gardner. 

Likely most folks would just start with ol’ Gerald, ol’ Alex and the Farrars, completely skipping over the bits about the insular pellars and cunning folk across the isle.  If they bothered to scratch beyond this surface, I would be lucky to get a small nod to Sybil Leek, Robert Cochrane, and Cecil Williamson.  In my mind, I was going to mentally award bonus points if they got all of Gardner’s high priestesses who have published various autobiographies, or if they cited the origins of how the Lexie’s came into being or explained who Rex Nemorensis was.

As for the stateside part, I was expecting to hear about the early days and the obvious ones like the Frosts, the Bucklands, Herman Slater, Lady Rhea and Eddie Buscynski, Laurie Cabot, Selena Fox , Scott Cunningham, the Zells and Starhawk.  I was also rather hoping that it would lead to discussions about the specifics of how the Craft arrived and developed in Colorado, Denver in particular.

As it turned out, they’d started the discussion by saying that they knew this topic was dry and boring  *sidenote:  It doesn't bode well if the teachers start off by saying even they don't like the topic at hand...a topic which, mind you...I had to pay cash money to listen to them present*  and that there had been a glitch in the class announcement and so the turnout was going to be very small:  just myself and one other attendee.

Now that said, I must preface by saying that I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect from the presenters, a wife-husband pair of elders who ran, by all accounts, a long-standing eclectic-style coven in Denver metro.  Prior to running their own group, each had studied with various pagan paths in the area and spoke with some experience of their individual studies leading to their current positions as teachers of Wicca.  

That they are older and probably close to my own age, I suppose that is what led me to expect that they would treat this subject matter with some degree of respect, maybe interjecting their own life-experiential anecdotes about how they’d tracked down this Craft history through the lens of their own 'coming into the Craft' stories during the 70s, 80s and 90s.

Because they, unlike the younger generations today that either find out about paganism from being brought up with it or have it so easily accessed with the internet-driven, pagan bookstores in every town age, folks of my generation had to do some hard-won investigation to get to the Craft.

Hell, speaking for myself, I actually ENJOYED hunting down real info.  I LIKED sleuthing out the backstories of how the Craft came to be and how it developed along the way.  Going from bibliography to bibliography was considered FUN and I've amassed a really healthy library over the decades. 

I don't know...I guess I had assumed if they, like me, had been into the Craft during the early years of the 70s onward and had a similar struggle to actually SEEK info and people to train with...that they'd likewise honor that hard-won info.

But back to my story here, and not to be a total snarky bitch, but it was my own fault for having such expectations. 

I swear that I went into this class with the mindset that this HP and HPS who are purported to be active and respected teachers in the area, that they would treat the subject matter with due sincerity and thoughtfulness…ESPECIALLY BECAUSE THEY, AS TEACHERS,  ARE PRESENTING SUBJECT MATTER TO NEWER, LESS EXPERIENCED FOLKS AND DOING SO FROM ALLEGEDLY A PERSPECTIVE OF “HIGHER LEARNING”.  AS SUCH, THERE IS AN EXPECTATION AND ASSUMPTION THAT THEY ARE QUALIFIED TO TEACH IT.

Well, that is where I got all disappointed, gentle readers.  

Ok, I get it.  I understand that it is unlikely that every person giving a public class like this is going to get every miniscule detail spot-on like they’re giving the material as a doctoral thesis.  And I’ll tell you that I did not go into this endeavor with a sourpuss face and an itch to jump the instructors’ collective shit for every little misrepresented thing. 

I did go in humbly, and without acting like a bloody know-it-all.  I'm used to the 'traddie bias' that eclectic folks assume I espouse or that they defensively ascribe to me, as if I'm already looking down on them.  SO NOT THE CASE.  

However, as the presentation unfolded and these leaders/elders/ teachers were starting to interject their own opinions and misinformation as facts, I did start to feel twitchy and, frankly, insulted by the tone of much of their dialog.

For example, more than once Gerald was referred to as a daft old fellow who was apparently taken in by some drama troupe people who were having great fun pulling his leg with their made-up witchery.    Wait...huh?

He was presented as an intellectual spiritual seeker, yes, but also "obviously" a bit of a lecher who liked to traffic with young naked ladies and who, because of his British schooling, had developed a penchant for BDSM due to their infamously disciplinary use of caning.   Oh no, not this yarn again...  I guess we are ignoring the historic precedent of scourges in meditation?  Heck, even the early Catholic mystics did that...and they weren't naughty British schoolboys, were they?

My fellow student and I were also informed that Dorothy Clutterbuck was an imaginary character that Gerald made up (much like Alex Sanders’ granny-on-the-kitchen-floor story) to fortify his version of the Craft in historical basis.  Actually, didn't Doreen Valiente track her down, along with the elusive 'Dafo' and discuss this in one of her autobiographies?  Didn't Phillip Heselton go into all of this in his two volumes about Gardner, and include photos and corroborating evidence for the pre-existence of the nuclear 'coven' that was comprised of some of the actor's troupe, but also a few other high-born folks that had nothing to do with either the theatre or the Rosicrucians?

And then there was a brief side-bar about The Laws being made up solely so he could kick-out poor Doreen since naked, she was no longer a looker post-menopause.  This one does have a kernel of truth, but for different reasons.  It wasn't an aesthetic issue with Doreen. As she herself states in her autobiographies, her falling out with Gerald started with both his penchant for publicity-seeking without candor and also his issue with Doreen continuing to pursue other variants of Craft (i.e., her stint with 1734/Roebuck, independent study with local pellars, etc.) and her desire and vision to take Gardner's "skeleton" of the Craft in a different direction than what he had in mind.  The appearance in The Laws in the BoS in Doreen's time and later did coincide with Gardner creating a loophole that he used to explain her exit from his coven.  She left of her own accord, not because Gardner forced her out for being 'past her prime.' 

Oh, and Gardner channeled the whole thing.  He meditated and wrote his BoS, which was later rewritten by Doreen Valiente to add poetry.   Um, nope.  There is evidence now that he was initiated into "something" and he, along with his successive high priestesses, added to this very basic framework from many, many sources.  In fact, the whole mysticism and theosophy and ceremonial magic movements were really exploding at this time in the UK and a good deal of "cross-pollination" was taking place.  The differing factions were very free with sharing amongst their peerage.  Read about the gatherings held at Aquarian Bookstore in London during this time period sometime...

*heavy sigh*

 This then discourse leaped jarringly ahead to the Craft being brought to the US by “Ray….Ray…um, I forget his name…uh, Ray…”  Here I couldn’t contain myself and answered aloud that they were trying to recall Raymond and Rosemary Buckland

To continue…and this is my paraphrase not verbatim:  “Ah yes, Ray, who then moved it from New York to California sometime around 1970 and brought the Gardnerian version of the Craft to the US.  That’s when Starhawk, who was a feminist, latched onto it and because of the women’s political movement dropped the God and kept only the Goddess.  She published The Charge…which she thought she’d channeled herself until it came to light that she’d somewhat plagiarized Doreen’s work….poor Starhawk must have read it someplace and forgotten that it wasn’t her own inspired creation.  I mean heck, by then the whole Gardnerian BoS had been published anyway and who wants to kowtow to a hierarchy of people running things upline from you, holding out and holding over…”  Um, what the bloody hell?!!?!  There's so much wrong, so much anachronistic here that it was all I could do not to lose my ever-loving shit.

Here.  Right here.  This is where I had to raise my hand to politely confess that I was having some difficulty in what was being said and that I heartily must disagree.

First, I explained that the perspectives I was going to present as counter-testimony are coming from the viewpoint of being a traditionalist and a duly-trained, vet-accessible Gardnerian.  I calmly said that I had a problem with the illusory comments about who Gerald was, what his motivations for adopting ritual nudity, binding and scourging may be and that being a traditionalist, particularly a Gard, entails a lot more than the flippant presentation of history being given here. 

When the teachers’ eyes widened a little, I retreated a bit to explain that while I understood that many, many folks studying or getting into the Craft today have a far wider range of introduction to the path than I, or surely the teachers themselves, had back in the day…it does these new seekers and eclectic practitioners a great disservice to make light of the progenitors of Wicca and to discredit the idea of traditional training.

Admittedly, I too started out as an eclectic student who read a lot and test-drove different things before finding a traditional teacher…and I fully attest that I was lousy at being an eclectic because I felt that I couldn’t dive deeply enough into such a wide breadth of practice, pantheon, trial-and-error style learning that comes with it.  I simply did not flourish in that method and really did desire more structure. 

I wanted the master-journeyman-apprentice style method of parceled-out, experiential, revelatory study.  I craved the ‘safety net’ of knowing that I was being trained by someone who had successfully completed the same learning program before me and had been able to grok things the way I was being given the opportunity to grok them.

Ugh, here we with history repeating itself.  Once again, me the token traddie, am having to defend the traditionalist views against the eclectic folks ---the same folks who decry WE are so judgmental, but yet they are the first to toss these bon mots of bullshit like: 

·       Traditionalists don’t have any modern or progressive components to their pathwork: they are stuck in the rut of repetition of rituals and verbatim celebrations.
    And you'd KNOW this how?  Since you're not privy to what a lineaged, British Tradition does, you are merely speculating and guessing...and you're absolutely wrong.  You have a birthday every year, right?  And at your party, folks gather to sing "Happy Birthday" and you have cake with candles, yes?  So are you saying every birthday party is identical and boring because you and the actual date of your birth are constants?  Duh.

·       Traditionalists have historically been stingy with their knowledge and have been (or still are) withholding info that should be made public to anybody who wants it.
    I've discussed this faulty logic before in my blogs, so I won't launch into full-rant here.  But suffice it to say, we have very specific reasons for keeping things oathbound and parceled out to those coming up in the training system; it is because the experience is supposed to be a controlled experiment which is purposefully designed to be relevatory.

·       Traditionalist oaths are only used to keep power-over those who aren’t yet trained as they have been trained.  The degree system is a form of one-upmanship
     See above.  Not to say there aren't individuals with egos prone to "high priestess syndrome" in our ranks, just as in the ranks of any group.  But in the main, that is not the case because our system has built-in safeguards and checks & balances for individuals who exhibit such behavior. That's also why it takes YEARS of study to be afforded the right to carry the tradition and be allowed to pass it to others as a teacher.  It is a very humbling and ego-breaking task to stay the entire course to become a third-degree member.

·       That the older traditions like Gardnerian and Alexandrian are for people into BDSM and nudity for some sexual or titillation purpose.  Participating in such things, even willingly, denotes more power-over mentality and subservience
    Ok, so you won't get a full answer from me here because I personally believe that the majority of the explanation and discussion should be relegated to the individual teacher-student dialogue leading up to tradition-specific initiation.  But it is worth noting that the energetic, endorphin-laden experience of being bound and/or scourged (very mildly) creates a unique and powerful mind-altering situation for the recipient.  Again, this is done for the bind-ee and the scourge-ee's benefit, NOT for the benefit of the person wielding the whip.  The other component is the trust-interaction between the parties involved.  That, yes, is similar to the emotional exchange in BDSM play, however here we are also combining and associating it with a spiritual component.

·       That having a lineage means having a stodgy hierarchy of people who all get to tell you, newbie, what to do and that you have to do it if you want to be in their club. 
    Um, so I guess you could then assume that such an ego-trip happens with college professors?  With sensei of the dojo where your kid learns karate?  With every position where one is a trainee at a new job or skill and at the mercy of the trainer?  Again, if you haven't participated in actually going through a traditional training system, all you're doing with this kind of blanket statement is showing that you're wholly ignorant of the subject and making an assumption.  The hierarchy is actually in place both to vouchsafe for the quality of training a teacher has and offer accountability to peers if someone goes AWOL with what their doing with the traditional materials they'd been granted permission to carry forward and share.

·       That there’s no place for gay or GLBT people to play in the proverbial traddie reindeer games because ol’ Gerald was homophobic and everything has to be boy-girl-boy-girl 
    This is the talking point that has some credence, but also is a bit misleading because, speaking only about my Gardnerian background, has to do with energetic polarities and those aren't necessarily analogous with one's self-determined gender.  For one, we do have GBLT folks in traditional groups these days and I myself have a few people in my own upline that are.  GBLT folks that chose to train and practice as Gardnerians have no problems working with the polarities as we are trained to do.  What the biggest hang-up is that when Gardner first began with his development of the Craft as he understood it, he came from a time and societal background that didn't acknowledge or accept people of gender fluidity or of non-heterosexual preference.  You have to consider the cultural and societal lens of everything back then, and take that into context.  As our version of the Craft deals with the creation, life-giving cycles in nature....back in the 40s, 50s, and into the 60s....you saw that nature needed a male and a female to component to conceive a viable life form.  While we've since learned that creation and sustaining life in some select parts of the plant and animal kingdom do not need this gender-specific coming together to procreate, it is still the case in the vast majority of circumstance in this model of human propagation.  However, the act of creation isn't limited to just birthing babies.  It also includes creating art, creating experiences, too.  Those types of creativity don't necessarily need the XX & XY to tango.  Yet, for the basic purposes of what is energetically done in circle, the human propagation model is the easiest for most people to default to in a group-mind, combining of the individual personal energies into the egregore of a whole coven's collective experience.  As I understand it, Gardnerians who are GBLT's are ok with being gender-defined within time-space of the circle as whatever their naked bodies display (outies or innies) because it is a literal, physical characteristic exhibited to others in their nudity.  What they self-assign as their gender outside of circle (regardless of the "parts" they may or may not have) or whomever they choose to make love with outside circle is up to them to determine.

·       That if you participate in a traditional coven, they make you give up your relationships to other gods in order to only work with those they tell you to work with.
     Nope, false.  While in circle with your traditional coven and while working with the traditions materials, you work with the designated deities relative to the tradition.  You get to know Them very well and develop a relationship to Them through the lens of experiencing practices together as a group all concentrating on and cultivating the same group-family relationship to Them.  This is because the training system and practices were developed to work specifically with Them  ---  Outside of coven work though, you are perfectly welcomed and encourage to explore other relationships with various deities and pantheons. 

·       Etc.

What frosts my cookie most…is that these are TEACHERS/ELDERS who are promoting these ideas. 

Whether these ideas are borne of misunderstandings & second-hand hearsay, lack of real information or lazy scholarship on their part or just plain personal opinions with a side of ignorance…TEACHERS should be better, know better, than to spout off crap like this.

I mean if you are in a role of elder, teacher or leader, you have a responsibility to present facts to those students and seekers who look up to you.  You may give them stories and anecdotes about your own direct and personal experiences alongside the facts, but you shouldn’t deliberately mislead folks into thinking your opinions and suspicions are facts. 

Consider that your opinions came to you from life lessons and experiences which are solely yours.  Why would you rob someone else of discovery and the chance to draw their own conclusions?  How dare you steal that learning opportunity by tainting it ahead of time?  Just so irresponsible.

Ok, now that I’ve vented, let me wrap this up by saying that I don’t necessarily thing that the teachers at this event were hard-pressed and trying to be lop-sided in their presentation.  I think they were being more conversational and perhaps ‘coffee klatch’ in their approach because there had just been the other student and myself in attendance.  I have hopes that if they’d had a full classroom, the presentation would have perhaps been more on-point and factual than gossipy/conspiratorial.

 That is my hope.

And furthermore, I hope that should they give a similar class in the future, they might consider how vitally important their role as presenter is to the open and eager mind who looks up to them.  It is no easy thing to teach.  It is no easy thing to take on that mantle of responsibility, whether in an open forum or within the confines of their own private coven.

Because in that too, there is lineage:  that which they teach will get passed forward when their student accepts and adopts the ideas as their own….and may carry that onward to their own students one day.  Let's hope it is the truth and not hearsay.

Deja Broom: Considering coven-style practice?

Considering coven-style practice?  One might first ask you --- what is it you are looking for in a coven?

• Are you wanting to train in a specific tradition?
• Are you seeking mentorship with more active or advanced practitioners?
• Are you simply looking for others to socialize with who share similar spiritual interests?
• Are you desperate to get help with some problems, both magical and mundane that you feel are out of your present level of experience or aptitude? 
• Are you trying to find validation for your current knowledge base, hoping to share what you know with others or just bursting at the seams to not feel like you're the only one in the world where you live?

There are as many reasons to work in a group as there are to be solitary, and both ways offer benefits and drawbacks. What is really telling is discovering your motivation for whichever way your path takes you at any given time in your life. Be honest. Be authentic.

If it is camaraderie and social acceptance you're after, then try attending local Pagans Night Out gatherings, meet-ups, or occult topic book discussions in your area ----and know that the "in your area" part might not necessarily mean in your backyard....you may have to commute a bit to find one.  In fact, I highly recommend expanding your search to visit as many as possible within an hour's drive...if only to get exposure to a wider bunch of groups and individual personalities so you can compare and contrast to find our more about what suits your needs.

If it is study advancement you're leaning toward, try checking out some pagan-friendly bookstores in your vicinity. Many have bulletin boards that speak of class offerings, open circles and festival events. Also try looking up your local chapter of the Covenant of the Goddess or peruse the local group and individual listings on Witch Vox to see if anyone may be hosting any events you can attend.
"Fortune favors the bold!" as they say, so don't shy away from getting out there and introducing yourself at these opportunities.  But beware that the oft-quoted adage "When the student is ready, the teacher will appear" may not necessarily apply...many covens --particularly traditionalist ones--- do not advertise when they are open to new students. Instead they may work through a referral system via their present members, so you just never know if someone you bump into at one of these pagan-friendly meet-ups or classes may turn out to be a great networking buddy who can later help you in your search for a group. 
Thus your getting out there to "show face" has the dual advantage of allowing you to meet with folks who could potentially offer you exposure to particular pathwork that would not otherwise be offered to the greater pagan populace.  The personality fit, the "personal chemistry" match has to be there before some groups will even acknowledge that they would consider you for candidacy in the training curriculum of their closed, private group.

Most of all, know that a true coven is more than a bunch of random folks who get together for circle every month and on occasional holidays.  They are close-knit family of sorts, and you cannot just petulantly stand on their doorstep and demand to be adopted.  There has to be a time of getting acquainted with you and you with them. Covens aren't generally looking for any warm body to fill out their membership numbers....they're looking for a "good fit" for their established group.

Consider your seeking time more like an interview for a prospective dream job. Not every candidate belongs to every niche, but you can greatly increase your opportunities if you spend your solo time perfecting your rudimentary skills on a personal level and diligently searching for what you need.

Probability will work in your favor (what's that little thing about 'sympathetic magic' again? *grin*) and your chances are greater that you'll soon find the perfect home to call your own the more often you put your intentions out into the universe.

Good luck in your search!

DEJA BROOM: On Being a Skeptical Witch

"DEJA BROOM" denotes a blog repost from my old site.  Feel free to read anew, or refresh your memory to re-live the ranty goodness.  Otherwise, feel free to skip ahead to more modern mayhem

I'm not saying this tale is the end-all, be-all, but I can tell you it is a frequent enough refrain that it leaves a trail marked with breadcrumbs that folks who have been a part of the pagan scene for more than 10 years can attest to the truth it belies.

Everyone who first comes into the Craft starts out with such puppy-dog enthusiasm and excitement for all of it. The idyllic concepts of gods who are accessible to us, the understanding that magic is both real and attainable, the real and deep interconnectedness with ALL THAT IS! How empowering! How full of delight and love and joy!

This state of exuberance, like everything is all Midsummer Nights' Dream, generally lasts for the first months or a few years. Gradually, as one participates in "pagan community" to some degree, there is a space of deflation, disenchantment that comes along.

Of finding out that things aren't all happy-sunshine and hearts and flowers between the participants. That there are egos which grandstand and merchants who take advantage of those who think the trappings of faith are imbued in the latest fancy-schmancy tools and accoutrements. There are charlatans and liars and idiot savants and average, patient folks who want to put their efforts towards creating something worthwhile and meaningful.

There is an awakening that no matter how positive and lofty and ethereal our initial spiritual goals, we still have the real-time human element to deal with.

We still have to operate in a mundane sphere while we juggle our awareness of the Otherworld and Underworld. Our religion does not segregate and cloister us away from our day-to-day world, but instead challenges us to find the mystical inherent in it despite all the muckety muck muck of running a household, paying bills, going to a job for 40+ hours per week and paying our taxes to a government we may or may not fully trust to do what is in our best interest.

Like that old gem about how young lovers cannot truly sustain themselves by living only on love for each other....they have to eat, sleep, move, better their surroundings, survive.....so too must the modern witch get over the lofty and pipe-dream idea that there is a way to circumvent life in order to be some fairytale caricature of our spiritual endeavors.

We do not have the luxury of living in a sequestered commune, set apart from the human thrall, only dispensing our wisdom and power when approached like some divine intercedant like the Pope, the Dalai Lama or one of a hundred historic guru-figures. We are practical sorts who are given to do what needs to be done, in the moment, in the dirt, in the messiest and fully-alive parts of our lives. In pain, in terror, in ecstasy and in fully blown desire.

Ours is not the path of wishing for beautiful hippie-resonating notions of universal peace and unconditional love....nor is it about fears of Mayan calendars forewarning the apocalypse. Ours is the path of struggling to balance the individual, personal moments of life and death and love in our lives and letting those be exalted expressions of our path, everyday. Every. Day.

The cynic in me, the jaded person who once wanted all those glittering and wondrous childhood dalliances to be true when I "took up the pointy hat" is now happy to be a practicing skeptic AND a practicing witch. When I dropped those expectations of BS, I came to know from experience that there is beauty and strength, power and compassion, honor and humility and all those illuminating aspects right here, right now, exposed and visible in my life, if only I take the time to breathe and seek them in the moments apparent and around me.

My wish, if I dared to notice it, has already come to pass. I just have to uncover it, a bit at a time, and take it into my heart. And I love watching others wake up to this. Rather than being saddened by their dreams for witchery being broken and found to be rippled by too much wishful thinking and not enough reality....most of them learn that there is enough here to feed them. To give them a new sort of hope and outlook.

I've heard this saying ---and if you know the author, please tell me!!--- and find it speaks exactly of this moment: "Many people are drawn to the Craft for what it isn't. Those who stay in the Craft appreciate what it is."

DEJA BROOM: The Myth of Self-Initiation

"DEJA BROOM" denotes a blog repost from my old site.  Feel free to read anew, or refresh your memory to re-live the ranty goodness.  Otherwise, feel free to skip ahead to more modern mayhem!


Call me a stickler for semantics here, but "self-initiation" is an oxymoron, a misnomer.

You can perform a DEDICATION ceremony by yourself, which would be to acknowledge to the Gods your desire to align yourself to the path or to become a self-acknowledged priest of a certain deity or deities.

However, an INITIATION refers to the beginning an endeavor with others, being taken into the fold of an existing brotherhood or sect and to be adopted by those who are already members. That, obviously, takes other people...it is, by its very nature, not a solo act.

That said, a Dedicant may well be just as proper as any Initiate for the tasks of witchery, but a dedicant would most likely be an eclectic practitioner, one who follows his or her own course of study. Whereas an initiate would be beholden to the methods and practices of the group/tradition/brotherhood to which he or she has now joined.*

Just as one cannot bestow knighthood on ones self....but one may yet be and act in accordance of chivalry just as virtuously as any knight. It all depends upon the style of road you wish to travel.

If you prefer eclecticism, then dedication is probably the best way to go. If dedication satisfies you in what you hope to accomplish in your eclectic practices, then own it and let it stand. Nobody can make you doubt who and what you are. No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.

If however, you want to espouse what a particular traditional path does, then you must seek out a mentor of that tradition who will agree to sponsor and train you as one of their own. You have to participate in that path by immersing yourself in it. They have an established and prescribed method of training, a unique orthopraxy and a given set of materials ---- and materials is not limited to just written, but also oral and demonstrative lore. Logic therefore dictates that it is impossible to initiate yourself because you cannot already know those materials if you are an outsider. You cannot bring yourself into something which you are not already a part of.

It is a chicken or egg sort of thing really.

But eclectic folks tend to get all upset about this "dedication is different from initiation" idea.

If they'd actually stop with the immediate screaming jump to defensive stance, and instead just shut up and actually listen to or read what non-eclectic folks have to say instead of assuming things we didn't, they would see that we are in agreement with them about not needing to be in a coven to be a witch --- that one may indeed dedicate one's self to the Gods and become a perfectly respectable, valid, witch.

What is important here is that someone who dedicates is just as legit as someone who has been initiated. They are just two different ways, two separate means to achieve roughly the same goals of communing with deity.

*And for the record, if your family is already practicing together in a family-held witchcraft tradition and you've been participating in family rites since you were knee-high to a grasshopper, then initiation, per se, is not required. You are already part-and-parcel with your family and thus it would be redundant to seek out "adoption into the brotherhood" to sanctify what already exists. You're sort of a built-in Initiate.

Blessings from the smiling, yet oft Salmon-bruised

This enumerated list has been born of my own experiences as a seeker, and eventual initiate, of British Traditional Wicca. Having done many a tango, waltz and mosh-pit dance with the Salmon of Knowledge while seeking BTW, I hereby bequeath these bits o' personal wisdom to fellow seekers as they carefully navigate the BTW learning curve toward finding a suitable coven to study with. Enjoy!

1. Be not afraid to ask questions…but also be not afraid to let go of your preconceived notions about how such questions should be answered! There is a Salmonic proportion to this method of learning by which the sooner you open yourself up to simply listening rather than debating or defending your every comment, the sooner you will find yourself moving into Properly Prepared Personhood.

2. "It is better to keep silent and be thought a fool than to speak up and remove all doubt." As a seeker about to voice his/her opinions about the origins of the Wica, the definitions or practices of British Traditional Witchcraft or just how "traditionalists are fuddy-duddies about there being any oathbound anything because it is all in books by now anyway," may I direct you to deeper contemplation of the inherent Salmonic wisdom in this old amorphism. Pontificating about things with which you do not have direct affiliation or knowledge about can only lead to multiple fish-slaps (emailed or otherwise) from those who do practice and espouse these matters.

3. Direct, experiential learning is a far greater teacher than book-learning or distance learning via computer. While books may offer food for though regarding their author's thoughts, perceptions and personal adventures, those who are destined to be of the Wica come to know that there is no such thing as an arm-chair witch. Furthermore, many websites accessible to the internet masses contain author opinions, misconceptions, biases and sometimes downright falsehoods. As a seeker, it is well-nigh impossible for you to be absolutely certain that what you are reading is fact, fiction or somewhere between. The simple truth is you will learn more by `walking your talk' than by reciting rote passages from any text or by following a spell like a recipe. And in BTW parlance, that experience and exposure to Wica and its Mysteries is only taught by someone who was properly trained in a particular path. Books can surely supplement this training, but they are certainly not a substitution for it.

4. You cannot demand respect from others, but you are certainly able to earn it. Boasting about who or what you know will gain you neither access to oathbound material nor endear you to others. What will speak volumes in your behalf is clear, insightful commentary and questioning, coupled with a healthy consideration for others. Knowing when to apply "honor and humility, mirth and reverence" at the appropriate times also helps.

5. The word `Wica' (or `Wicca') as used among BTW folks is not a generic umbrella term; it holds a very precise, specific meaning in BTW parlance. Seekers should beaware that initiates of BTW do not subscribe to the idea that `Wicca is whatever you want to make it.' We feel that this word has been misused in popular culture of late to become a catch-all phrase, when in fact the original meaning relates to a very specific system of beliefs, practices and teachings carried on by a verifiable lineage of people. Be aware that as a seeker, you will have to remain mindful and judicious in your word usage in this way and not assume the one used by pop culture.

6. Seekers should be aware that there are many traditions considered to be BTW, not only the Alexandrians and Gardnerians. Now this one can be a bit of a sticky-wicket as to which traditions are aligned under the BTW umbrella, but when in doubt, ask! The general rule of thumb is that the tradition must have roots of traceable lineage which reach back to the New Forest area of England.

7. Lineage is important to BTW folks, not to lord it over others, but as a means to identify the origins of a claimant's particular knowledge base and practices. BTW folks do not think that people who practice eclectic witchcraft are lesser, only that what they do and what BTW's do are not one and the same thing ---regardless of whatever source material the eclectic folk may use in their practice (including info from texts written by BTW folks). To BTW's, lineage holds great meaning and validity. One's lineage implies an understanding about the bearer's knowledge base and how the Mysteries have been transmitted or made accessible to them by a set of particular practices, teachings and methods of being revealed by a similarly-trained lineage teacher. The different lines within a given trad further distinguish by their association, often in subtle nuances which have been extrapolated, as they relate to a particular up-line's practice. Important note: Lineaged folks keep careful records. With this they can vouch for the validity of claimants saying they are of their tradition or their line. While BTWs won't "out" each other publicly, they do have means to confirm or deny whether a person or group is of their line/trad. This vouch procedure, also called vetting, is usually done backchannel/offlist, when an interested party needs to verify a claimant --- for example, when I seeker has met an individual offering them BTW training and they want to make sure the teacher is legit. However, BTW's most definitely will step forward to "out" folks who claim false lineage; those humorously referred to as the dreaded "Fraudernarians" and "Alexandrianots."

8. Seekers should be prepared to seek for some time before they find a "good home." Don't be discouraged when you do not instantly find an open coven in hiding in your backyard after posting your request for a teacher. Give folks the time to get toknow a bit about you, to see how you respond to discussions and what questions you ask. As a seeker, no one is going to bonk you on the head with the Salmon of Wisdom and drag you off to their covenstead just because you've said you're available as a student. Once you've put it out there that you're looking and what your interests are along with your general geographic locale, do not think it is time to just siton your laurels! Continue to do private solo work. Be out in nature, talk with the Gods, meditate, read mythology and anthropology…and yes, even the occasional occult book or three. Listen! Listen! Listen and actively seek! And be prepared that you may have to arrange some priorities in your life to get yourself ready for serious study. Is your mundane life in order? Do you have the time to devote to many years of study with a group, often having to travel some distance or attend gatherings several times amonth? Is there room in your life to be a disciplined priest or priestess ofthe Gods and not a flexible, eclectic hedge-witch?

9. Define what you are seeking about BTW and know why you are seeking it. Try writing out your definition/description of exactly what you would consider your ideal coven situation. Really contemplate that for awhile. As a seeker, you should figure out just what you want from your future coven, what you have to offer them in return and how willing you would be to make changes in your life to get this to happen. In some cases, that last part is the toughest challenge. Once you have a game plan like this for yourself, you may be surprised how quickly the opportunities start to appear on the horizon.

10. Be aware that while you may be drawn to practice witchcraft, not everyone is meant to follow a BTW path. Being interested in the lore alone is not enough. Being attuned to the energy alone is not enough. Being willing to do all the work involved, to face your demons on the threshold and actively participate in your growth, along with these other things, is the key. Personal responsibility is essential. Dedication, determination, discipline…these are characteristics of someone with BTW potential. Know that it is not a personal failing in any way if you are not cut out for the rigors of a Traditional path or if your life at this stage doesn't support your efforts to devote to such an endeavor. Not everyone that loves animals can be a veterinarian. Not everyone who loves air travel can become a pilot. And not everyone who connects to the Old Gods is meant to be of the Wica. Some are better suited for themselves and the Gods to be an eclectic witch. Some make better folk artisans and poets. Some just quietly live how they live and do not need take it to the level of attaining priesthood. At the end of the day, just be who you are, who you are meant to be.