Witchvox Article

Author: Amber4MaryKay
Posted: September 17th. 2006
Times Viewed: 7,744

I wish someone had told me. In the beginning we are so naïve and so awed by everything. We combed through every Wiccan book we could find and stayed up studying until the wee hours of the morning, searching the Internet for every piece of Wiccan information available. For most of us, it’s like coming home. We try to do ritual but it doesn’t necessarily feel right. We buy expensive, elaborate tools, hoping they might help. They don’t, so the next step is finding a mentor. So that wise old grandmother-type figure pops into your head, and the journey begins.

I had been on this path for seven years. Earlier in my studies I was so eager, impatient and hard up for a teacher that I didn’t stop to check out anything about the teacher or the coven that I was joining. I was just so excited I’d found something, I went in blind. My “High Priestess” was not a High Priestess and was no more than a first degree and even that couldn’t be verified. She turned a coven of wonderful women against each other, twisting all our lives into drama and chaos. She overcharged for rituals, lessons, and even insisted on physical labor in exchange for her knowledge. All the while, she masked all this deceit and manipulation with blessings of the Goddess and “how to walk the path” lectures. For most, leaving the group was hard. There was a lot of retaliation, harassing phone calls, threats, and even magickal retaliation. However, one by one all the coven sisters left. We have survived and reunited.

So you find a mentor you might like. You meet them in a public place and bring a friend. Just because they are Wiccan doesn’t mean anything; they are still a stranger to you. Trust yourself and your instincts. If you learn nothing else from this article learn that. The more you know, the more information you have to make a good decision. Ask this potential mentor about their level of experience and schools where they have trained and try to get something solid you can verify. There are a lot of people claiming to be something they are not. A good teacher will not be put off by your interest in their history. Talk to some of their students if you want or ask for references. This person will be trusted with something very personal and sacred to you: your spiritual path.

Taking notes is something I have always done, and I watch for inconsistencies, especially regarding someone’s level of experience. Do you feel comfortable around them? Are your beliefs and paths similar? Do they seem reliable, trustworthy? Be careful and watch for people with constant problems. We all run into a bit of bad luck but even a handful of useful knowledge isn’t worth the truckload of drama that some people can bring.

In regard to payment, I strongly feel any payment given should be seriously considered. Please keep in mind I am not a teacher but have been a student of many teachers both good and bad. Our elders have knowledge that was once taught to them by someone. To be able to teach someone is taking your spiritual path to a whole other level because you have a chance to give back what was given to you. You are, in essence, completing the circle and giving back to your community. It is my belief that this knowledge should be passed freely. Because the teacher is sharing knowledge and time with you, however, students should offer to pay for printouts, copies, and any other supplies used during the lessons. That seems to be a fair arrangement to me, but others, opinions may vary. Don’t get caught up in thinking that you need to go to a university or online school specially geared towards Wicca. I strongly believe that nothing can compare to hands-on, in-person training.

If you have yet to find the right teacher for you, please don’t be discouraged; it took me seven years to find a good one. You will find the right teacher when you are at the right time in your path to do so. If you can’t find a teacher, perhaps what you need at this point in your journey are Wiccan friends so you can share ideas and studies. Below is some other information that I wish I would have known from the beginning.

How about that huge “Charmed” Book of Shadows? No one ever told me that the only tool I really need to do magick is myself. I strongly believe the Goddess and God are in all of us. So, yes, having a bunch of large decorative altar tools is great, but it really is up to you and what ignites with you. When you are ready, the God and Goddess will provide. I don’t know how many times I have found Wicca books or supplies online for sale and have the seller give them to me for free just because I asked when no one else wanted them.

A Witch’s prized possession is a pentacle. Wearing one may be cool or trendy, but with it comes a lot of responsibility. Ramtha teaching states, “the best way to worship the Goddess is to act like one.” Wicca and Witchcraft have been in the hot seat for a long time now. That is why it is so important that, in our public and private lives, those who have dedicated themselves to the God and Goddess act in accord with the Wiccan Rede. To walk the path of the sacred is truly a blessed thing but also a daily conscious choice.

There are magickal and mundane aspects of your daily life. Being a Witch does not mean every time there is a problem you run and do a spell. Most of the time, there is a mundane response that works best. If you are really ill, you can’t just do a healing spell and hope it goes away. You need to go see a doctor. Often, with the newness and excitement of your discovery of Wicca, you forget the obvious answers and reach for magickal ones. One aspect of being a Witch is to be able to balance a mundane and magickal life.

So my advice to all beginners is simple: trust yourself. The magick that you have inside of you is more powerful than any spell or ritual. Don’t be afraid to create your own tradition. That in itself is the beauty behind Wicca and freedom of beliefs without a confining structure. If you choose to call yourself a Witch and/or wear a pentacle, respect it and strive to be at a place where you are walking the path with the God and Goddess at your side. The God and Goddess lives within us all.

ABOUT...

Amber4MaryKay

Location: Bay Area, California

Website: http://www.wiccanmaiden.blogspot.com

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