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1.: On Teachers & Covens - Why They're Important From: gaia_d

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1.: On Teachers & Covens - Why They're Important

Posted by: "gaia_d" Gaia_D@yahoo.com gaia_d

Fri May 27, 2011 10:42 pm (PDT)

On (Wiccan) Teachers & Covens:

Why Good Training Is Important

© 2011 By Gaia_d@yahoo.com <mailto:Gaia_d@yahoo.com> ; Please
don't reproduce without permission.

__________________________

A. "Democratic" Ideals not a part of Metaphysics:

In recent years, there has developed among many wannabe and beginners to
paganism, an attitude of "democracy" about learning and
practicing. Democracy isn't just about politics, it's an
attitude / assumption that all knowledge is for everyone, and should be
available for the asking.

While that might be very true of *general* knowledge (and therefore has
become a hallmark of education) it is *not* (and never has been) true of
Metaphysics.

We tend to understand this in some contexts: for example, few would give
knowledge of how to build an atomic bomb (or other "WofMD") to
a group of hotheaded, extremist terrorists, for obvious reasons. The
same is true of the Powers of the Gods – one (should) not give
information on how to do spell-craft, for example, to someone who wants
to "make somebody love me" or "make my parents change their
minds about letting me date", or whatever.

B. What is Wicca?

I realize that there are many different definitions (some better /
worse than others) that are used, but the one that I'm using here,
is one that few beginners hear, because it's the one used by most
experienced, "Traditional" Wiccans, while many beginners tend to become
(initially at least) acquainted with the notions that are put forth by
generally untrained wannabes and beginners.

Wicca is a lineaged, MYSTERY Path/ Tradition, of Myth, Symbols, Ritual,
Poetry, and Personal Experience -- whose most important and central
mysteries are generally oath-bound."

Now, let's explain some of the most important and relevant part(s) of
that:
1. Wicca as a Mystery Path/ Religion:
Wicca reveals and celebrates Truths that cannot be communicated -- not
just because they are secret, but because there are no words that can
adequately express them.

Mystery Religions might have been more common anciently – for
example, the Elusinian Mysteries were among the most popular for a long
time; people saved their whole lives to be able to attend them and
become Initiates, just once. [NOTE: A brief study of the Elusinian
Mysteries would be very helpful in understanding the nature of Wicca,
and the huge differences between Christianity and Wicca – See for
example, http://www.eleusinianmysteries.org/
<http://www.eleusinianmysteries.org/> .]

Again, It's important to understand that Mysteries (and Mystery
religions/ paths) are not just "secret" – they literally
cannot be told because they are beyond words.

Some Wiccan Mysteries are freely available to everyone who "has
ears to hear and eyes to see"; – But many others are simply not
available publically in books, articles, or websites; they are only
available to Initiates. Additionally, each Tradition tends to have
their own Mysteries which are only available to the Initiates of that
particular Tradition.

It is (part of) the "job" of a good Teacher to help prepare the
student-Initiate to be in the right frame of mind, heart, soul and
spirit to be able to access, comprehend, appreciate and learn from the
Mysteries of his/her Tradition.

I want to stress that this is emphatically *not* a matter of
"exclusivity" or "lording" anything over anyone -- as so
many wannabes and beginners seem to think. It's a matter of
protecting and preserving sacred knowledge and experience, so it cannot
be abused or misunderstood by the Student, prove a curse rather than a
blessing to him/her, or be corrupted by those who disrespect or
don't understand and appreciate them.

2. Wicca as a religion of Personal Experience Rather than "Belief:
Wicca is most definitely and emphatically NOT a religion or path of
"belief" – and this distinguishes it from not only many of
the most popular world religions (especially Christianity) but from what
people have been led to expect about religion, so I'm going to go
into some depth on this.

Most people have been conditioned to believe that religion is – and
even "should" be -- about what you *believe*. But it's
only been since the rise of Christianity that this has been true. [ In
Christianity, the "goal" is "Salvation", which is acquired by BELIEF in
Jesus, alone; one may "repent" and "accept Jesus" on their deathbed, and
as long as they "believe in" Jesus, they are "saved".]

Anciently, religion (or rather, spirituality) was about what you
EXPERIENCED. You didn't "believe" in Divinity – that
was like "believing" in rivers, oceans, trees, birth and death,
or love. A Pagan didn't "believe" in God/dess – s/he
*experienced* Divinity in every rock or herb; every time a baby was born
into -- or death took an elder out of -- the Tribe / Village.

Similarly, Wicca is about EXPERIENCE. One is not Wiccan because they
"believe" certain things – they are Wiccan if they have had
certain (Wiccan) Experiences – especially and most importantly, the
Mysteries (More on "Mysteries", a bit later).

Basing spirituality on "belief" had some very important (and
problematical) effects:

-- It made spirituality about having the "right" beliefs –
which in turn raises the need for a particular "church" (to
define, designate, teach and pass down, determine and provide sanctions
(rewards and punishments) for -- the "right" or "wrong"
beliefs. This (in part) is what turned "spirituality" into
Religion – religion is about dogma, hierarchies of leadership and
authority; it's what turned "ministers" and Shamans into
"preachers", "confessors" and such.

3. Wicca as a Religion of Symbols:
Symbols are enormously powerful: they act instantaneously, on many
different levels at once, including the unconscious. Pschologist
Clifford Geertz has said that "Religion is a system of symbols which act
to produce powerful, persuasive and long-lasting moods and motivations."

Here's a quote from the wonderful little book (which I most highly
recommend!) "The Heart of Wicca" by Ellen Cannon Reed, which
beautifully explains symbols, and their importance in and to Wicca:

"The use and misuse of symbology is one of the areas in which I find a
big difference between "my" ["traditional'] Wicca, and that practiced by
the "new" [ie, non-Initiatory,"Solitary","Neo] Wiccans",
and it is one of the most Significant. The importance of symbolism
relates to everything we do. I have seen very few people in pop Wicca
who realize that.

Symbols and myths have a reality beyond being pictures and stories. A
failure to comprehend that will, at least, make your work ineffective,
and at worst put you and others in peril. No, I don't want to be a
doomsayer here, but I do want my readers to understand what I'm trying
to say.

Most people tend to think of symbols as just pretty pictures that stand
for something. They do stand for something, but they are much more
complex than that. They don't just stand for something, they are keys to
much more.

If you are a computer person, symbols are like the icons on your
desktop. Icons are not just pictures, they are links to computer
programs, programs that are much more complex than a simple symbol. If I
click on the icon leading to my word processing program, I am linked to
something of great complexity.

A word processing program contains formats for pages, fonts, graphics, a
dictionary, a thesaurus, and the ability to put all these together in a
document. Unless there's a computer glitch, I won't get anything else
when I click on that icon. I won't get my desktop publishing program, or
a graphics program, or a music program. So it is with symbols. An
understanding of their importance, and their uses, is an integral part
of Wicca, in almost all we do.

The true value of symbols is not what the symbols say to the conscious
mind, but what they say to the deep mind. They are the language of that
mind. That mind doesn't understand words, for words are too restricted,
but mind will understand symbols. Communication with the deep mind is
vital to the practice of Wicca, indeed of any magical path. I can't
think of a single aspect of Wicca where symbology is not important.

The spiritual changes we are trying to make within ourselves are not
made solely by attending a ritual, learning various subjects, learning
meditation, and so forth, although all those practices are a part of
making those changes. Spiritual growth comes from beyond the conscious
mind, and it is to those deeper levels we-wish to speak. This is done by
all the methods mentioned above, and others, through the use of
symbology. .....

The basis of all these words is this: symbols are real. They have a
being, or rather they represent something real, even if it's abstract.
Once you realize that, you can put symbols to good use, and learn what
they have to teach you.

A religious symbol conveys its message even if it is no longer
consciously understood in every part. For a symbol speaks to the whole
human being and not only to the intelligence.'

1. (Mircea Eliade, The Sacred and the Profane (San Diego: Harvest/HB
- San Diego, 1959), P .. 129

(End quoted material from "The Heart of Wicca" by Ellen Cannon Reed, pp
61-68)

4. On Teaching & The Basics:
It can be very difficult to learn even the most essential Basics (like
Centering, Grounding, Psychic Cleansing, Shielding, Creating Sacred
Space (including Casting Circle, etc) on one's own, or through
written materials "picked up" in books, Discussions, Chats, or
Websites. Rather, a good, well-trained and experienced Teacher needs to
be present with you, to see your technique, check your Aura, and how it
changes as you develop these skills.

5. Wicca, Personal Development and The Shadow:
Wicca is not just about learning information, facts or skills; it is a
*religion* and therefore, a Way of (New) Life.

In fact, serious problems can occur when one takes on the study and
activities of metaphysics without accompanying, thorough self-discovery
and self-discipline – which can be exceptionally difficult to do
when studying without a good, experienced Teacher/ Mentor/ Guide. For
example, I have elsewhere discussed the fact that we all have an
internal "Shadow" which can cause us problems, especially in the
practice of Metaphysics – (Please see "Magick, Metaphysics & The
Shadow" here:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/BeginningWicca/message/19747
<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/BeginningWicca/message/19747> )

This is partly why nearly every metaphysical system has (at some point)
a way designed within it, to lead the Seeker to confront and work
through this "Shadow". This is crucial work for anyone wanting
to pursue a metaphysical path -- But again, it's extremely difficult
(if not impossible) to do by oneself, since the Shadow is by definition,
a part of ourselves that we hide from ourselves.

6. On Choosing One Particular Tradition, Good Resources, Etc:
Students are generally advised to study just one particular Tradition at
a time – with very good reason. During their initial training,
various aspects of the Tradition, for example quarter correspondences,
have to become like second nature. These correspondences eventually
become like a second "language" – such that the moment
someone calls or refers to "the South", you will immediately
associate it with Fire, Midday, Summer, Passion, Will, the Wand, the
Censer, etc (or whatever the correspondences might be, for the Tradition
in which you're working).

If you're trying to work on a regular basis with multiple sets of
correspondences from different Traditions, you're inevitably going to
get confused – you may have to stop and think where (and which
Tradition) you're working in, and what attributions are made to
that quarter. This definitely interferes with what you are trying to
learn and accomplish. Here's what Ellen Cannon Reed says about
this, in her excellent book, "The Heart of Wicca":

"Eventually, when your mind has learned this "language," the
connection with the deeper meanings of symbols will not only be
available more quickly, but the deep mind will begin to communicate with
you in those symbols. It is this repetition that creates the connection
with the symbols' deeper meanings, and with the deeper meanings of a
ritual's symbolism.

Thus, when we call the quarters, we are acknowledging the presence of
the elements and all they represent. The symbols we use to symbolize
those elements -- colors, candles, items, and so forth, have (or will
have) a connection in our deep mind with what the elements represent on
both the physical and other levels. The more you have worked to
establish that connection, the stronger that connection will be.

"Because in ritual you are working with more than one symbol, it is
especially important that all the symbols be appropriate. A hodge-podge
of symbols will confuse the deep mind and accomplish very little. ….

"Without a true understanding of symbolism, the rest of what
we do has little meaning."

(End quoted material by Reed, from "The Heart of Wicca", pp
61-67).

Thus, If you're trying to go it alone (without a good Teacher to
guide and supervise all these things), and getting all your information
from various books, web sites, discussion groups, etc, how are you going
to know which principles and practices (like correspondences) belong to
which Tradition? – It's not always made clear. This accounts
for a lot of the confusion and frustration that many beginners and
students report and about which they complain.

Similarly, how is a beginner to know which authors, books, websites, or
articles to rely upon for good, accurate, reliable information, and
which to avoid? How can they determine what to study, when -- what is
of "primary importance" versus what can (or even should) be left
until later, when it will be more easily understood?

One might ask members of a Group – but how does one know whether
*they* have good judgment and experience, on which to base good
recommendations???

Thus, It can be enormously helpful to have a good, experienced,
well-trained Teacher help guide one through those issues.
7. Rituals, practices, etc that need to be learned and done within a
Coven:
Still another good reason for studying with a good Teacher and learning
within a Coven is that many of the most important, beautiful and
powerful of Wiccan practices and rituals (for just a few examples: The
Fivefold Kiss, Drawing Down the Moon and Drawing Down the Sun, the
Great Rite and the Symbolic Great Rite, etc) –

Then there are the Chants, Songs, Charges, Runes, Invocations and
Evocations, and other pieces of often-used and much-beloved Wiccan
"Liturgy" (See http://www.thefreedictionary.com/liturgy
<http://www.thefreedictionary.com/liturgy> --

These cannot really be experienced (in their full beauty and power) as
a Solitary – they need to be experienced within an experienced,
functioning Coven – which is one of the reasons why Wicca was
originally designed to be learned and practiced within the context of a
Coven.

8. First things First:
Spell-casting is an advanced skill set, which requires mastery of a
number of other, basic, essential skills. Students should therefore
begin with the BASICS –Teaching spell-craft (or indeed any other
magickal work) to a beginner is like trying to teach advanced Calculus
to someone who has little or no experience of basic Math.

In fact, as many a beginner has discovered, to their surprise and
distress -- there are very real issues – and even (potential)
dangers – involved with practicing ritual, divination (or other
psychic/ metaphysical activities) and magick, with little preparation or
training.

I studied as a Solitary out of necessity when I began – over 30
years ago, in Utah ("Mormon Country") -- long before one could
walk into a bookstore and find rows upon rows of Pagan books. For over
five years, I read (intensively, obsessively!) everything I could get my
hands on – literally dozens and dozens of books, and articles from
"Underground" Pagan newsletters –

But when I finally had the chance to meet and learn from a good teacher,
I was amazed to discover that there were huge "holes" in my
knowledge and experience: everything from the embarrassing
mis-pronunciation of many Sabbat titles, to never having heard of (let
alone know how to do/ use) important rituals, Chants, etc.

As High Priest and author Sam Wagar says in his article, "Wiccan
Theology and Practice" –

"But, Wicca is, after all, an Initiatory Mystery Religion of Clergy
worshipping in small closed groups, and using techniques of ecstatic
trance and prophetic revelation to raise energy and work magick….
…. Our intention is to produce a religion of prophets, with direct
access to the Gods, using symbols, including images and including our
beliefs, as tools…..
So, Wicca is an elite religion, which most people are not suited to.
Belief is not enough, it takes Talent and the capacity to experience
certain things and to go through a process of personal transformation,
Initiation, before one can practice it.

It also is not a solo path, but one where the most profound experiences
are the result of group efforts. The capacity of a group of trained
people to focus their energy magickally, the development and nurturance
of an egregore, the strength of trance induction done by experienced
people, the sophistication of an informed discussion of the Gods and the
direct revelation from the Gods through possession and inspiration
trance, the aesthetic pleasures of well-constructed and performed
ritual, for these and other reasons the coven form is highly preferable.

People who are unwilling or unable to do the work are not clergy people
and therefore are not candidates for Wicca. They may believe what
Wiccans do, but Wicca is not principally about belief. These people are
Pagans, and they might, some of them, be leaders in Pagan groups and
activities. They are not, however, Wiccan clergy.

This leads me to briefly discuss public roles for Wiccans. We are, by
the definition offered above, clergy, which means that our ability to
realize ourselves individually and spiritually is tied into religious
service to the broader Pagan community and to the broader human
community.

Wiccans are clergy, servants of the divine as we understand it, which is
expressed in and through other people, through social institutions like
the government, families and universities, as much as through the
natural world, through the joys and pleasures of life like sex, dancing
and singing, marriage as much as through loss and disappointment. We
must, it seems to me, make ourselves available to Pagans for the
performance of rites of passage, to teach and to celebrate and mourn
together in the presence of the Gods. But we must also participate as
citizens in the larger social and political discourse."

(End quoted material by Sam Wagar, "Wiccan Theology and
Practice", © Samuel Wagar, 2008, All rights Reserved; Used by
permission. For the entire article, please see:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/BeginningWicca/message/31751
<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/BeginningWicca/message/31751>

This last point is one that few – even
"intermediate" students -- seem to realize: Wicca is a religion
of CLERGY – A Wiccan is initiated "Priest/ess and Witch"
– so Wiccans are Priests and Priestesses to the Gods and Goddesses
– which is perhaps the major reason why solitary practice is just
not consistent with basic Wiccan principles.

On Initiation:
As previously said (but i think it bears repeating) -- Becoming Wiccan
is not just a matter of acquiring information – It is a matter of
entering into New LIFE – and that new Life has new responsibilities,
obligations, characteristics and qualities.

Part of the Initiatory process is a (symbolic) death and re-birth, and a
"bequest" (and please note, I'm using that term advisedly
– to indicate "inheritance" and "endowment") -- from the
Teacher-High Priest/ess-Initiator -- of spiritual power and authority.
This is difficult to explain – It's one of those
"Mysteries" referred to earlier – But I can say that it is
much, MUCH more than just sharing or passing on information,

Summary and Conclusion:
These are just a few of the major reasons why:

a. (Legitimate) Wiccan Teachers tend to be very careful about whom
they accept as Students, and to whom they "teach" or provide
information;

b. Anyone who presumes to "teach" Wicca (or any aspect
thereof) to another, should be very careful and realize that it is a
great and serious responsibility they are undertaking, with very serious
and lasting responsibilities that they cannot ignore or dismiss.

c. I most strongly recommend that beginners who are *serious* about
respecting (authentic) Wicca, and wanting to learn and practice it
happily, successfully, and productively -- seek a good, well-trained,
experienced (High Priest/ess) Teacher.

d. There are several different "kinds" and Traditions of Wicca, each of
which has their own benefits, blessings, and limitations or drawbacks.

e. While it's true that the (non-Initiatory, Solitary) type of
"Neo-Wicca" favored by many (especially younger) beginners today, offers
some attractive aspects --

It should also be remembered that there are very important
*reasons* why Wicca began as an Initiatory, Lineaged, Mystery Path that
was learned and practiced within the context of a Coven.

If you want to understand more about that, ask an Initiated,
Lineaged Wiccan, and then prayerfully, meditatively, ask the Goddess to
help.

How to Find a Good Teacher:
For more on this, please see:
-http://groups.yahoo.com/group/BeginningWicca/message/35301
<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/BeginningWicca/message/35301>

I hope that's helpful – Good Luck and Blessed Be –

~Gaia

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