broomcloset ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Pagan Speak October 2002: Initiation Topic #1: Initiation ______ It is interesting to me that the topic of Initiation should come up now in Pagan Speak as it is something I've been thinking about as of late. I guess I'll start with what I feel the definition of initiation is and work from there. Initiation: A rite or ritual designed to a) challenge a person's knowledge of, commitment to, and/or right to something (such as a group, body of knowledge, etc.), and b) celebrate that person's entry into said something. ... How's that for technical? ;) Forgive me for using the word "something" in a definition! Or: Initiation: The act of being initiated. ... But I suppose that one goes without saying. I see initiation as something akin to a rite of passage, but with an extra component or two. Take for example a rite of passage for a girl who has started her menstrual cycle. She has started menstruate because of a natural maturation of her body. It is nothing she herself worked towards, but a normal and healthy part of her developing body. A rite of passage to mark this point in her life is really her right to have, simply because she is her. With an initiation, though, there is an active process leading up to it. The person (initiatee) has had to work at something, put effort into something, learn something in order to be allowed to participate in a particular rite. I guess I would see advancing to the next level of a martial art as a type of initiation. In order to advance, you must prove yourself and how much you have learned. Now let's to jump into the Wiccan realm. Initiation tends to come at the end of the First, Second, and Third degrees. Some traditions like Alexandrian combine the Second and Third. Some don't seem to have a Third. And some traditions don't have initiation at all. For example, the Dianic Tradition, which I tend to follow, does not have an initiation to become a witch. "A woman is a witch if she says she's a witch." The concept of "Only a witch can make a witch" doens't apply - a woman makes herself a witch if she sees fit. So how do I feel personally about initiation? Excellent question. While I am still trying to figure this out for myself, I do have a few thoughts on the matter. I see initiation and the need for it as a very personal choice. I do agree with the Dianic view that "a woman is a witch if she says she's a witch" -- to a point. (May Z. Budapest strike me down! ;). I would have to resort to asking what the person's definition of a "witch" is. Is a witch a Goddess worshipper, or a student of a mystery tradition? If their definition of a witch was the former, then I'd agree - you are a witch if you say you are one. I also agree with the view that initiation is a rite held after a student has successfully completed a Degree. This, of course, would be decided by the student's teacher(s), not by the student themselves. The initiation would then be performed by the teacher and perhaps a circle or coven in which the teacher and student were a part. Then there is also self-initiation: which is as student initiating themselves. This is probably much more common than before 1950 as there are now many thousands of people around the world interested in paganism and Wicca without the ability to find a teacher. If you want to mark your studies and achievement, you have to do it someway. :) And it is the subject of self-initiation I am wrestling with most at the moment. You see, I have pretty much figured out that for me initiation would be a benefit. I have always thrived in an academic environment, and the rites of passages there have always ment something to me. For example, I have my university degree in Physics and Math, something for which I worked incredibly hard, and I am very proud of that achievement. That degree was given to me by a group of teachers who thought I had the requisite knowledge to earn that degree. I would be lying if I said their approval and good wishes didn't mean anything to me. But I'm also a very good independent learner. If there is something I am interested in and I cannot find myself a teacher to help me, then I do my best to teach myself. Do I think I need a piece of paper for everything I learn? No. I know I've learned my stuff and am confident in that knowledge. And yet... if I really want to make something special, to mark the crossing of a line or the achievement of a goal, I do feel I want the recognition. Not adulation; I don't mean that kind of recognition. What I mean is... the marking of a certain point of time when I was able to prove myself not just to others, but to myself; a point when I truly knew that I had achieved a goal, and that it was recognised with some ritual or event. I think that I need something that would speak to both my Lower and Higher selves all at once, and that something would be an initiation ritual. One of the reasons I'd started thinking about self-initiation is because I'm currently working on a First Degree program at Witch School. (Purists beware!) It is all done online, so it is essentially self-taught, and the initiation at the end is usually a self-initiation. Now, I'm confident in my knowledge. After reading for 7.5 years and practicing for 4.5 years I'm pretty solid in my Wiccan basics. And after reading what comprises the First Degree at Witch School, I think I know enough to deserve a First Degree. But would I feel confortable doing a self-initiation? Well, that remains to be seen. But if I feel initiation is important to me and I am not able to find a real life teacher, I may have to resort to it even if that's not what I'd ultimately want. So those are my current thoughts on Initiation. Any questions? (I know I have them! :) BB, all, Wyrdsister -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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