Wicca and Initiation

There is often a great deal of dissension over the issue of Wicca and initiation. Many people believe that you can be a Wiccan without initiating or that a person can perform a "self-initiation", while others (mostly Wiccan) declare that initiation is definitely needed and that self-initiation is generally a ridiculous concept.
So which is it, really?


In many ways a lot of this really does just boil down to one question:

Do you believe Gardner?

Once that question is answered, all other questions and answers slide firmly into place. Though it is ironic and perhaps somewhat fitting, that whether your answer is “yes” or “no”, we still arrive to the same destination. All that differs is the journey that is taken in getting there.

So, we’ll begin with this question and start of at the easiest answer:

Do you believe Gardner?
“No.”

If you don’t believe that Gardner was really initiated into a coven of witches, with reference to Wica, as he claimed, then the situation automatically becomes very simple to resolve. For if he wasn’t really initiated, then that would mean that he created the entire religion himself (though using other sources as influences) and that there was no Wicca/Wica before him.

If this is the case then what can we take away from that? Well first of all we immediately get a distinct view onto what Gardner’s intentions for the religion really were. After all, he created it and he could make it anything he wanted. But in this scenario he made it a mystery religion, in which the only way to practice it was through initiation.
Obviously this is no accident. On the contrary, it is a direct reference for what he intended the religion to be and what he wanted it to be. If he wanted to make it open to everyone, then he could do, but he didn’t. He knew full well what a mystery religion was and had connections to a good few other initiatory organisations.
So from the view of Wicca originating only from Gardner, we can see directly that it was only ever intended for initiates.


But, we can’t just end it there. Though we will take a brief intermission to acknowledge that it is among the foremost opinions that Gardner was probably not initiated into a witch cult as he described and that he instead created Wicca from a combination of the folklore he knew, the influence of the works of Margaret Murray, the influence of OTO teachings, his personal interest in naturalism, Thelema and no doubt a good few other sources that I have neglected here.
It’s worth mentioning this here, as the works of scholars such as Ronald Hutton are not to be absently ignored. Indeed, Prof. Hutton has done extensive research in this area and indeed, in the area of studying historical witchcraft in general and remains the foremost expert on the subject today.
For further references to this line of enquiry and an examination of Prof. Hutton’s work, read his book “Triumph of the Moon”.


Now, with that said, lets try and tackle the more difficult subject of examining Gardner’s intentions for Wicca, while allowing for the possibility that his own claims to initiation into a witch cult were true.

When approaching this, there are several angles that need to be considered:
Who were these supposed witches and what was the nature of their craft?
What was Gerald Gardner’s relationship to them?
What was their view/tradition regarding initiation and the Wicca?
This last question is very relevant in that its answer will help us to understand not only the traditions that Gardner may have been following, but also the beliefs regarding initiation that were held by the first traceable followers of Wicca and just what initiation may have meant to them. Unfortunately we have no direct words from these witches (at least, not on matters of witchcraft) but we do have the words of Gardner and what he told us about them. But this will be sufficient, as we can all agree that Gardner is the root of the issue and it is his handed down practices that are being followed today.
But before anything, we must tackle that first question:

Who were these supposed witches and what was the nature of their craft?

The identity of the people of the New Forest Coven, to whom Gardner claimed his initiation, cannot be determined with absolute certainty. But although researchers both within and without Wicca have provided us with some very likely candidates, I’ll not spend too much time arguing the different ideas about who was who. For our purposes here it is enough to say that these witches, according to Gardner, had known him for a quite a while and that they lived in or around the area of the New Forest and Christchurch.
But what of their practices? Well Gardner has given us a fair amount of insight into their workings, from his initiation and onwards. For this we can refer to Gardner’s account per Bracelin:

“Gardner felt delighted that he was being let into their secret. Thus it was that, a few days after the war had started, he was taken to a big house in the neighbourhood. This belonged to ‘Old Dorothy’….
….it was in this house that he was initiated into witchcraft. He was very amused at first, when he was stripped naked and brought into a place ‘properly prepared’ to undergo his initiation.
It was half way through when the word Wica was first mentioned: “and I (Gardner) knew that that which I had thought burnt out hundreds of years ago still survived.
… I soon found myself in the circle and took the usual oaths of secrecy which bound me not to reveal any secrets of the cult.”

In just this short account we are able to gather a wealth of information to help us.
We know from this that the practices of these witches were kept secret, so much so in fact that Gardner didn’t even know what he was being initiated into until he was already half way into initiation. We now also know that if these witches existed as Gardner claims, then they definitely had rites of initiation that were needed to be undergone in order to be “let into the secret”. Perhaps more significant though, is that these witches referred to themselves as Wica.
Now, Gardner’s reaction to the word shows us that he was familiar with the old term and its connotations. However, it also implies that both he and they were unaware of how it was pronounced back in the Anglo-Saxon. This leads us to one of two possible conclusions here:
1) Either the pronunciation of the word had changed among this line of witches, so that now it was a different and new word, which now obviously only referred to them.
2) Or, that the word Wica, as used by them, didn’t actually have any connection to the old Anglo-Saxon and so it was still only relevant to them and their practices.

Either way we have a situation in which we have already established that their practices were secret and required initiation, and that the word Wica/Wicca can only refer to their secret hereditary practices.

One could use this alone as a case to drop the subject here and now, acknowledging that Gardner simply maintained this tradition of initiation and secrecy. But there is a lot more information available to us with which we can build a more complete picture as to exactly what their practices were in regards to initiation.

But first, let us stay on the matter of secrecy and examine the answer to our second question:

What was Gerald Gardner’s relationship to these witches?

Well, if we take Gardner at his word, then we already know that he was initiated by them and so thusly he and they were coven mates. But before we look into Gardner’s relationship with them as an initiate, we would probably do well to take a moment to examine their relationship before initiation. As Bracelin records:

“… I would have gone through Hell and high water even then for any of them.”
-Gerald Gardner on his feelings for the New Forest Coven even before being initiated into them (source: Gerald Gardner: Witch, by Jack Bracelin).

Obviously Gardner felt very strongly for these people and as researchers like Phillip Hessleton have shown us in their works, Gardner had a long association with these witches and that this close relationship was built over time. But exactly how close was this relationship?

“I fell in love with a witch when we were fire-watching together during the war.”
-Gerald Gardner to Ralph Merrifield, Deputy Director of the Museum of London, upon asking Gardner where he had learnt his witchcraft.

It is clear to see that Gardner had very strong feelings for the first of these witches that he encountered and although it seems reasonably clear that no lasting romance existed between himself and the afore mentioned witch (probably Edith Woodford Grimes), we do know that he did maintain an extremely close friendship with her and her family, even giving away her daughter at her daughter’s wedding. This event is listed in official records.

It is important to understand at this point that Gardner’s initiation wasn’t taken lightly. No, these witches had known him for a long time and never even mentioned the Craft to him. They kept him in the dark all the while.
We have a picture being painted here. Gardner kept it no secret that he had an interest in the occult and folklore, yet these witches never at any point before initiation even so much as mentioned the Wicca to their good friend. This alone speaks to its secrecy, but it also speaks of what is required for initiation, both then and now. The witches needed to be absolutely comfortable with him and to truly feel that they could bring him into the fold.
Initiation requires trust and love. These things develop over time.

But the nature of their relationship remains an important key in many regards, even after his initiation.

We have seen that secrecy is a necessity to these witches and that oaths were taken that their secret information should not be revealed. But as we know from the existence of his books, Gardner (already a published author), wished to share the existence of the cult with other people via his books.
By all accounts it seems to have been Gardner who broached the subject with them, regarding publishing information on the Wicca and by all accounts they were apposed to the idea.

“…I wanted to tell of my discovery. But I was met with a determined refusal. ‘The Age of Persecution is not over’, they told me, ‘give anyone half a chance and the fires will blaze up again’. When I said to one of them, ‘Why do you keep all these things so secret still? There is no persecution nowadays!’ I was told, ‘Oh, isn’t there? If people knew what I was, every time a child in the village was ill, or somebody’s chickens died, I should get the blame for it. Witchcraft doesn’t pay for broken windows.”
-Gerald Gardner, Witchcraft Today

However, there was eventually a compromise made, as Gardner was given permission to publish some information, but only if it was in the form of fiction. This, of course, leads us to his first book on Wicca, which was called “High Magic’s Aid”.

The witches seemed to be okay with this work of fiction and so followed his book “Witchcraft Today”.

By his own account he went to great lengths to keep secret information out of the book, not just because it was a matter of oath, but because he had so much love and respect for his friends in the New Forest Coven:

“In writing this book, I soon found myself between Scylla and Charybdis. If I said too much, I ran the risk of offending people I had come to highly regard as friends. If I said too little, the publishers would not be interested. In this situation I did the best I could.”
-Gerald Gardner, The Meaning of Witchcraft, referring to his earlier book, Witchcraft Today.

It would seem that the witches were pleased enough with High Magic’s Aid and that later they allowed for a little more flexibility when he came to write Witchcraft Today. However, they were also adamant that no secrets were to be revealed in the book. Perhaps they had seen that his works could be a positive medium to keep their name clean. Gardner quotes of them:

“Write and tell people we are not perverts. We are decent people, we only want to be left alone.”
Anonymous witch, quoted by Gerald Gardner in Witchcraft Today.

Gardner seems more than happy to honour this request, both to give Wicca a good name and to ensure that they are just left alone. Indeed, Gardner never personally reveals the identity of any member of the New Forest Coven, except by using pseudonyms.

“Now, I simply wont let my friends, the people who trusted me, be bothered and badgered about…”
-Gerald Gardner, 1952 (source: Wiccan Roots, by Philip Hesselton)

This, once more, goes to show the close levels of trust and respect that exist within a coven, but it also goes to show that Gardner had respect for their tradition of secrecy and understood their need for it.

But it is deeper than that. In Witchcraft Today, Gardner informs us that in the beliefs of the Wicca, the need for initiation and secrecy goes far beyond a simple fear of persecution:

“…witches have a firmly rooted belief in their own powers, and the danger of these being misused if uninitiated people learn the methods. Also, they reverence their Gods, and do not wish their names to be known, or bandied about and mocked.”
-Gerald Gardner, Witchcraft Today

Indeed, even today the names of the Wiccan God and Goddess are not revealed to the uninitiated and they are not known to the public. One could argue that this alone makes for a difficult case in regard to uninitiated practice. Fore it is difficult to worship the deities of the Wicca, when you don’t even know who they are…

So we can see that the need for initiation exist as an act of devotion and respect for the Gods of the Wicca, but also in order to keep their magical secrets and rites from being practiced by those who may misuse them.
I am reminded of the Wiccan Rede: “An it harm none, do as thou will.”
Gardner tells us this is the morality of the witches and so it would seem that initiation is also a means to limit potential magical harm.

“…they do not wish it to be known how they raise power.”
-Gerald Gardner, Witchcraft Today

It would seem fair to conclude that this reverence for the divine and desire to do no harm is as true today as was in Gardner’s day. So it is no great surprise that the tradition of initiation is maintained and the inner mysteries of the Wicca remain hidden.

“If I were to disclose all their rituals, I think that it would be easy to prove that witches are not diabolists; but the oaths are solemn and the witches are my friends. I would not want to hurt their feelings. They have secrets which to them are sacred. They have good reason for their secrecy.”
-Gerald Gardner, Witchcraft Today

Good reason indeed. And as a man who was more than familiar with mystery religions, he surely understood better than most.
But as a friend and initiate himself, he respected these secrets and maintained them.

Okay, so we have established quite well that secrecy and initiation were very sacred to the Wicca (assuming they existed before Gardner), but we can even go deeper than that.
Earlier I asked the question: What was their view/tradition regarding initiation and the Wicca?
Well we have already explored a lot of their views and traditions in this regard, but the views so far regard the meaning of being initiated as opposed to being uninitiated. But through Gardner’s words we can also explore the meaning and purpose of initiation within the Wicca. Gardner tells us:

“We ever pick out those who have a little inherent power and teach them, and they practice one with the other and they develop their powers.”
Anonymous witch, quoted by Gerald Gardner in Witchcraft Today.

“…it is no use trying to develop these powers unless you have time and a suitable partner..”
-Gerald Gardner, Witchcraft Today

“They say that witches by constant practice can train their wills to blend this nerve force, or whatever it is, and that their united wills can project this as a beam of force, or that they can use it in other ways to gain clairvoyance, or even to release the astral body.”
-Gerald Gardner, Witchcraft Today

“Being initiated into the witch cult does not give a witch supernatural powers as I reckon them, but instructions are given, in rather veiled terms, in processes that develop various clairvoyant and other powers, in those who naturally possess them slightly. If they have none they can create none. Some of these powers are akin to magnetism, mesmerism and suggestion, and depend on the possibility of forming a sort of human battery, as it were, of combined human wills working together to influence persons or events at a distance. They have instructions in how to learn to do this by practice. It would take many people a long time, if I understand the directions aright… to a witch it is all MAGIC [Gardner’s emphasis], and magic is the art of getting results. To do this certain processes are necessary and the rites are such that these processes may be used. In other words, they condition you. This is the secret of the cult.”
-Gerald Gardner

Gardner quite implicitly tells us that one of the key parts of Wicca involves working with your coven and that this is the belief of the witches who initiated him. Indeed, he lets us know quite clearly that not only does the Wicca have secrets, but that their secret practices require a coven - they cannot be done without one.

”To do this certain processes are necessary and the rites are such that these processes may be used. In other words, they condition you. This is the secret of the cult.”

The secret rites of Wicca open up a person’s personal power and unite it with that of their coven. These rites teach and condition the individual to become stronger and more capable in this regard. To practice them requires a coven and these practices remain a secret of the Wiccan priesthood.

Okay, so we have explored the beliefs of Gardner as they were allegedly handed down to him by the New Forest Coven, and they quite clearly state that one must be initiated. The reasons for this are due to reverence for the Gods, personal protection, limiting potential harm and also because the rites of the Wicca are specifically designed to be utilised by a coven.
We also established earlier that “Wicca”, as a word, can only possibly apply to these practices. But when considering these practices in the way that we are, it would be sensible to consider whether any other witches out there may have passed down the teachings of the Wicca.
Again, we can explore Gardner’s own words:

“They are the people who call themselves the Wica, the ‘wise people’, who practice the age-old rites and who have, along with much superstition and herbal knowledge, preserved an occult teaching and working process which they themselves think to be magic or witchcraft.”
Gerald Gardner, Witchcraft Today

Okay, so according to Gardner the witches of the New Forest were following a religious path that had been handed down for a very long time. It would be fair to assume that over the course of that tradition, that religion had undergone some gradual changes that would make it unique, even if other lines existed elsewhere. The two would now be separate and different. Prof. Ronald Hutton does well to evidence that the existence of hereditary witchcraft dating back to ancient times is utterly unlikely and more than not such claims can be seen to be inaccurate at best, or just untrue at worst. So the idea of one such tradition surviving like this to modern day is unlikely, let alone several identical traditions spanning from the same source.
But we need not speculate about this, once more we can quote Gardner:

“To them the cult has existed unchanged from the beginning of time, though there is also a vague notion that the old people came form the East…”
-Gerald Gardner, 1954 (source: Wiccan Roots, by Philip Hesselton)

Here we can see that although they claim to have practiced an unbroken tradition, things have definitely been lost along the way, if only with regard to history.
Gardner also says:

“My great trouble in discovering what their beliefs were is that they have forgotten practically all about their God; all I can get is from the rites and prayers addressed to him.”
-Gerald Gardner, 1954 (source: Wiccan Roots, by Philip Hesselton)

Of course, Gardner is not implying that these witches do not know about their own God or that they don’t know who he is. Indeed, in the same quote Gardner is confirming that the passed down rites and prayers reveal who he is.
What Gardner is referring to is the history of the God and the religion. The witches essentially don’t know where they came from or who the first people were that worshipped their God. He confirms this later as he continues to explore their beliefs:

“The witches do not know the origin of their cult.”
-Gerald Gardner, 1954 (source: Wiccan Roots, by Philip Hesselton)

It is actually interesting to note that Gardner tends to move back and forth between the words “cult” and “religion” when he speaks of the Wicca. But it isn’t very hard to see why. He reveals to us in Witchcraft Today that he believes the Wicca to be a dieing cult and by all accounts it seems he was probably correct. Those identified as his coven mates were aging quickly and in no rush to initiate others into their line. By all accounts it seems that Gardner’s initiation was a rarity and that Wiccan covens were where few and on the decline, with members dieing within his lifetime.
He has been quoted as saying:

“How wonderful to think that these things still survive”
-Gerald Gardner (Source: Gerald Gardner: Witch, by Bracelin)

However, he was of the opinion that its survival was coming to an end and the idea of that was something that he didn’t want to entertain. This was the reason that he wanted to make the existence of the Wicca publicly known, so that he could quicken it.
But as we can see above, there were certain problems. Firstly the witches didn’t want too much to be known about their ways (a wish that Gardner honoured) and secondly they didn’t have a very clear understanding of their own history. Indeed, Gardner is quoted by Doreen Valiente as saying that the teachings that were handed down to him were fragmented and that he filled in the gaps himself. (Source: Witchcraft For Tomorrow, by Doreen Valiente).
However, we can see that Gardner (if he is taken at his word) had a strong motivation to reveal the existence of Wicca to the world, but he was also obliged to keep it a secret. So we have a rock and a hard place situation.
But as he says in Witchcraft Today, he worked with what he could, revealing a few basics of the religion, but making initiation a necessity to maintain its secrets – just as it was taught to him.

Gardner even goes to great lengths to maintain the traditional practices of initiation:

“The witches tell me: “The law always has been that power must be passed from man to woman or from woman to man, the only exception being when a mother initiates her daughter or a father his son, because they are part of themselves”. (The reason is that great love is apt to occur between people who go through the rites together.)”

Man to woman and woman to man remains the tradition by which initiations take place. But in this quote is also outlines another belief that makes initiation important. It is a transference of power – an energy exchange. The power of one witch to another.

Gardner effectively made the change from cult to religion. Although the beliefs of the Wicca before Gardner (still assuming there were any) would technically be defined as religious beliefs, the actual religion had been denigrated to the status of a small cult and a dieing one at that. Gardner revived it and took in from the status of cult up to recognised religion.

But we have to remember that regardless of anything, it is his religion. As has been shown, the teachings were fragmented, the history has been lost and all the original members from before Gardner are now long dead. All that remains is what Gardner learnt and what Gardner created from it. So nobody can lay claims to the teachings of Wicca, unless they came via him.

Gardner made Wicca initiatory and he made it so that the real teachings would only ever be revealed to those that were initiated. This practice maintains today by all those that have followed him in his lineage.
But this is not merely a matter of protecting secrets. No, it is also a matter of keeping a promise that Gardner made long ago. If the New Forest Coven existed, Gardner swore oaths to them that he would keep their secrets. This was the promise of a witch, but more importantly, it was the promise of a friend.
Initiation honours this promise and honours the promise of every Wiccan that has ever been initiated. With each new person the promise grows as each new person takes on the responsibility of upholding it. It is an issue of trust and of love.


Eclectic Wicca?

It’s established then, I feel, that the case has been made for the necessity of initiation in Wicca, whether based on pre-Gardnerian ideas or just upon those of Gardner. But how then to address the idea of “eclectic Wicca” and “self initiation”.

Well, let’s deal with the easy one first: Self Initiation.

“Self-initiation” is technically an incorrect term, but it is one that you may run into from time to time.
Initiation is a gift of acceptance. To be Initiated means that that a group that you don’t belong to is welcoming you into their fold. It is the opening of a door by another person and inviting you to step through.
You couldn’t declare yourself a Catholic Priest and you couldn’t give yourself a Knighthood. Initiation is the same; it is something that other people give to you, not something that you can give to yourself.
What people often refer to as “self-Initiation” is more correctly termed as a Dedication. This is when a person in a solitary capacity declares that they are going to follow a certain path or certain Gods, often by performing a personal ritual.
Dedication Rituals are absolutely fine for the solitary practitioner and a very good way to give your path a sense of personal meaning and structure, as well as an outspoken declaration to the Gods.

But a dedication like this does not make one a member of Wicca.
Referring back to Gardner, it is interesting to note that he doesn’t really refer to Wicca as a religion, instead he tends to refer to Wicca as a group of people.
This is actually very true to form for both Gardner and ancient Pagan religions. Today “Wicca” is often applied offhandedly to name or describe the religion, but in the strictest sense the religion itself doesn’t really have a name. Although Gardner may reference to Wicca and its beliefs, his implication is that Wicca is the people, not the beliefs and that those who are initiated become Wicca.
As I mentioned, this mirrors the practices of older Pagan religions. In ancient times, it was quite rare to name a religion, however certain groups within that religious community would have names. For example, the Celts didn’t really have a collective name for their religion, however the Druids acted as priests. Not everyone following those Gods and those practices was a Druid. No, Druids were specifically a priesthood of law keepers, lore keepers and advisers. The other people simply went by the name of their tribe. Equally, all of Athens may have paid worship to Dionysus, but there was no name for this “religion”. However, there was the Eleusian Mysteries, but that was a title specifically for the initiated members of that sect.
Wicca is the same. “Wicca” isn’t really the name of the religion, per sé, that is just simply how the religion has become known through ease of speech. But the word “Wicca” is a specific name for that priesthood. In all truth those outside the priesthood that choose to follow the same Gods, don’t actually have a name, but that doesn’t mean that they can just offhandedly take the name of the Priesthood if they aren’t in it.
A Wiccan is a member of the Wicca priesthood.

Gardner certainly seemed to recognised the distinction. When he spoke of Wicca, he did so not in a reference to a religion, but in regards to the people who were initiated into it and that practiced the initiatory rites of that priesthood.


Of course, there are those who, when considering solitary or eclectic practice, like to bring up the root word of “wicca” and “wicce”.
I’ve explained before why these words aren’t really applicable in the sense of Wicca, but of course people can be free to use them at their leisure.
These words are simply the old Anglo Saxon for “witch” and although it would be very odd to regress back into such a linguistic anachronism, it is the choice of the inidivual to do so if they so choose.
However, it must be pointed out that the words “wicca” and “wicce” are not the same as Wicca and do not mean the same thing. Fistly, both words are pronounced “witch-a” and not “wicka”, so when saying these words you sound totally different. Secondly, if you are using the words properly, then only a male can use the word “wicca” and a female has to use the word “wicce” when writing them. They are the sexual definers of the word and the correct way to use them.
But again, neither “wicca” nor “wicce” are in any way the same as Wicca, nor do they in any way imply a practice that is similar to Wicca. In actuality, the implication is that they describe something totally different from Wicca, as one would expect that if an old word is being used, then it is being used to describe something old. Wicca isn’t old and so the words “wicca” and “wicce” can’t be describing it.

Moving onto the subject of “eclectic Wicca” it is proper to examine the grammar of such a phrase.

The word “Wicca” is a noun. It is the name of a priesthood.
The word “eclectic” is an adjective and in this case defines the way in which one approaches Wicca, or implies that Wicca is the sphere within which one is eclectic.

Eclectic means to borrow freely from many different sources. That isn’t what Wicca is. Wicca is a defined religion that exists within a structure of practices and beliefs. Wicca is not eclectic.

If the term is taken to mean that one is eclectic within the confines of Wicca, then that becomes extremely problematic for the non-initiate. Being as there is only a very small amount of Wicca available to the public and it is often mixed up with things that aren’t Wicca at all, it becomes very hard to pick and choose eclectically and still retain a viable practice that is even slightly like Wicca. Basically, you would be taking a very small amount of available information and then skimming it down to even less. This would effectively make it even less Wicca than it was before.

In short, the term is a grammatical anomaly and makes no great sense.

It’s surely hard enough to practice a religion when you don’t know what it is. Practicing such a religion eclectically only makes it further from the target.



Evolution in Wicca

I have seen that there is common habit to suggest that non-initiated Wicca is in some way an evolution of Wicca, making it better and more than it was. Perhaps this is an ironic statement, being as non-initiatory practices only remove from Wicca and in actuality what they remove is the vast majority of the religion’s teachings and beliefs.
It is very difficult to see this as a positive evolution.

But the other problem with this view of Wicca “evolving” outside of initiation is that it completely reveals the ignorance of the real evolution that Wicca is undergoing by somehow suggesting that initiatory traditions are in some way static and unchanging. But the reality is quite to the contrary. That much is clearly evident by the fact that there are now initiated traditions beside Gardnerian Wicca, even though they all derive from Gardnerian Wicca through initiation.
But of course, the other evolutions within Wicca would require an intimate understanding of the real religion.
But we can once again to the words of Gerald Gardner, via Fred Lamond, to gain a little understanding as to how the priesthood progresses together:

“Gerald was always at pains to tell us: “The Book of Shadows’ is not a Bible or Koran, but a personal ‘cookbook’ or spells that the individual witch has found to work. I (Gerald) am giving you my book to copy to get you started: it contains the spells and rituals that worked for me. As you gain in experience, add the successful spells that you have made up, and discard those that didn’t work for you!”
-Fred Lamond, 50 Years of Wicca

I feel it is important at this point to explain what is being said here.
As has been discussed earlier, Gardner’s Book of Shadows is a secret text that defines the core of Wicca and every initiate copies it. It is the basis of Wiccan practice, beliefs, ritual, magic and tradition. As such it is the “core book” if you will and remains unchanged and the fundamental basis for all Wiccans within a coven.
The last line in the quote explains the practice of forming your own coven workings and magics, experimenting with the inner secrets of Wicca and finding what works for you. These things are recorded in a Wiccan’s personal Book of Shadows and those things that did not work a left out of their personal Book of Shadows. Again, the Gardnerian Book of Shadows is not changed, it forms the basis of the religious rites and the starting point for the individual within a coven and the coven entire.
Without access to the Book of Shadows and a coven with which to practice the rites within it, one cannot practice Wicca. As Gardner explained in our earlier quotes, a coven is necessary and the rites rely on a coven.

Wicca is also an experiential religion and requires the group on that level, as the rites are performed.
It has already been outlined that the rites that make up the core basis of what Wicca is, require a coven in order to be performed. But in this the coven becomes doubly significant. As an experiential religion the understanding of the mysteries derives from group practice and communal sharing.
The ritual space is sacred and those within it in many ways become one in their workings. Each person in the coven is an intrinsic part of the whole and each adds their energy, mind, power and understanding to the rites, then through this combined essence and inner unity, the mysteries become manifest and are explored.
The group is essentially a singular and united consciousness that exchanges freely between those within it and in that they become of the same essence.


This is the truth of Wicca, whether one believes it was created by Gardner or not. These are the practices, these are the beliefs. The secrets and majority of the religion are hidden and no one on the outside can practice them because of this. No one on the outside is Wiccan.

Wicca is the named priesthood of this faith. This is how it was created, either by tradition or intent, and this is how it remains today.



© Luthaneal Adams 2008

Initiation Ceremony

This ritual is a compilation of Gardnerian, Fairy, and traditional Wiccan sources, and is intended to be used as an initiation for graduates of my training course in Basic Technologies of Witchcraft. While the ritual is powerful enough as it stands, I strongly recommend that it be reserved for people who have been prepared through training at least equivalent to that which I give, or much of the impact may be lost.



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GUIDED MEDITATION

(The following will be read to all participants in the form of a guided meditation, prior to the processional. It helps if the first paragraph is read by a male voice and the second paragraph by a female voice. NOTE: All are nude; the initiate is also blindfolded.)

Hear the words of the Threefold Goddess, who of old was called Artemis, Astarte,
Dianna, Aphrodite, Ceridwen, Isis, Arianrhod, Brigid, Aradia, and many other names:

Whenever you have need of anything, once in the month, and better it be when the moon is full, you shall assemble in some secret place and adore the spirit of Me who is Queen of all the Wise. She who would learn all sorcery yet has not won its deepest secrets, them I will teach her, in truth, all things as yet unknown. And you shall be free from slavery, and as a sign that you be free you shall be naked in your rites. Sing, feast, dance, make music and love in My presence, for Mine is the ecstasy of the spirit and Mine also is joy on earth. For My law is love unto all beings. Nor do I demand aught of sacrifice, for behold, I am the mother of all things and My love is poured out upon the earth.



PROCESSIONAL

The Initiate is left to meditate as the others rise and follow the High Priest/ess into the Circle area and three times around, chanting:

We all come from the Goddess,
And to her we shall return
Like a drop of rain,
Flowing to the ocean. (repeat)



RAISING OF THE CIRCLE

High Priestess takes the Sword from the altar and traces a circle around the coveners. When he/she returns to the north, he/she kneels and salutes, saying,

HIGH PRIEST/ESS

Hail and well come, frosty Spirits of the North. Lend to us your power and protection this night, that may be given a true initiation, to justly wield the power of Earth. So mote it be!
ALL (envisioning a wall of dark-green light springing up from the circle): So mote it be!

High Priestess advances to the east, kneels and salutes, saying:

HIGH PRIEST/ESS

Hail and well come, bright Spirits of the East. Lend to us your power and protection that may be given a true initiation, to justly wield the power of Air. So mote it be!
ALL: (envisioning a wall of lemon-yellow light springing up from the circle, within the wall of green) :So mote it be!

HIGH PRIEST/ESS advances to the south, kneels and salutes, saying:

Hail and well come, fiery Spirits of the South. Lend to us your power and protection that may be given a true initiation, to justly wield the power of Fire. So mote it be!
ALL: (envisioning a wall of crimson light springing up from the circle, within the walls of green and yellow) So mote it be!

HIGH PRIEST/ESS advances to the west, kneels and salutes, saying:

Hail and well come, tireless Spirits of the West. Lend to us your power and protection that may be given a true initiation, to justly wield the power of Water. So mote it be!
ALL: (envisioning a wall of dark blue light springing up from the circle, within the walls of green, yellow, and red) So mote it be!

STATEMENT OF PURPOSE

HIGH PRIEST/ESS:

I call upon the Horned God; I call upon the Maiden, the Mother, and the Crone; I call upon the Spirits of Earth, Air, Fire, and Water; I call upon the Hosts of the Mighty Dead; and I call every true Witch within this circle to witness that we are here to consecrate as Priest(ess) and Witch. The circle is cast!
ALL: (envisioning the walls of the circle bending together overhead and flowing together under the floor to form a hemisphere of bright white light) So mote it be!

THE WARNING

HIGH PRIEST/ESS cuts a gate in the circle, and roughly leads the Initiate to kneel at the edge before the gate, then balances the sword-point over the Initiate’s heart (the Initiate raises his or her hands to support the point).

HIGH PRIEST/ESS

You stand at the edge of a place that is between the worlds, in the presence of the Gods and under the watchful eye of the Mighty Dead. If you go any further, you embark on a path that cannot be safely turned aside before your death. Feel the sharpness of the blade at your breast, and know this in your heart - it would be better for you to throw yourself forward and spill out your life than to enter this circle with fear or falseness in your heart.
INITIATE: I come with perfect love and perfect trust.

HIGH PRIEST/ESS lays down the sword, lifts the Initiate to his or her feet, and kisses him or her.

HIGH PRIEST/ESS: Thus are all first brought into the Circle.

She then leads the Initiate to the altar and taking up the sword, re-draws the circle over the gateway.

ADMINISTRATION OF THE OATHS

Everyone (except the High Priest/ess and the Initiate) begins a quiet Aum and sustains it throughout the Five-fold Kiss and the Oaths of Initiation.

HIGH PRIEST/ESS, administering the Five-fold Kiss:

Blessed are your feet, that have brought you to this place. Blessed are your knees, that shall kneel at the altars ofthe Gods. Blessed is your sex, without which we could not be. Blessed is your breast, formed in strength and beauty. Blessed are your lips, which shall speak the Words of Truth. Are you prepared to take the oath?
INITIATE: I am.

HIGH PRIEST/ESS:

Then kneel. (Takes the Initiate’s Measure.) You who have from birth been called but now seek to become - do you willingly pledge yourself to the God and the Goddess?
INITIATE places his or her left hand on the top of the head and right hand on the soles of the feet.

All between my two hands belongs to the Gods. So mote it be.
ALL others raise the volume of the Aum slightly.

HIGH PRIEST/ESS:

And do you swear to keep silent all those things that must be kept silent, and to respect that which is taught to you?
INITIATE: I willingly swear to keep silent all that must be kept silent, and to respect that which is taught to me. So mote it be.

ALL others raise the volume of the Aum a little more.

HIGH PRIEST/ESS: And by what surety do you swear all of these things?

INITIATE:

All of these things I do swear, by my mother’s womb and my hope of future lives, knowing well that my Measure has been taken in the presence of the Mighty Ones. Should I fail utterly in my oaths, may my powers desert me, and may my own tools turn against me. So mote it be. So mote it be. So mote it be!
ALL yell quickly: SO MOTE IT BE!



TRIGGERING OF THE SPELL

Everyone grabs the Initiate quickly and hoists him or her completely into the air (if possible), chanting the Initiate’s new name over and over again, as fast as possible, as they carry him or her three times quickly around the circle. When they return to the starting point, they set him or her down face-down and press him or her firmly into the ground.

Gradually, the pressure relents to gentle massage. Through all of this they continue chanting the Initiate’s new name, falling off in volume and speed as the pressure relaxes.

HIGH PRIEST/ESS:

Know that the hands that have touched you are the hands of love. Removes the Initiate’s blindfold and helps him or her up. In the Burning Times, when each member of the Coven held the lives of the others in her hand, this would have been kept, and used against you should you endanger others. But in these happier times, love and trust prevail, so take this (hands the Measure to the initiate), keep it or burn it, and be free to go or stay as you please.


FOLLOW-THROUGH AND EARTHING OF POWER

HIGH PRIEST/ESS hands the sword to the Initiate, and leads him or her to the East, where they both kneel. The Initiate salutes.

High Priest/ess announces:

Behold, restless Spirits of Water - I bring before you , who has been consecrated as Priestess and Witch!
Repeats at the South, West, and finally North.

ALL (including High Priest/ess and Initiate) join hands in the Circle.

HIGH PRIESTESS

Thank you Spirits of the Mighty Dead, Spirits of the Four Elements, and awesome Lord and Lady for hallowing our circle. Go or stay as you will - our circle is ended.
ALL ground and center, then absorb the power of the Circle and return it to the Earth beneath their feet.

HIGH PRIEST/ESS (after a suitable pause):

Our lovely rite draws to its end. Merry meet, merry part, and merry meet again. Blessed Be!
ALL: BLESSED BE!

Copied from Mark Sumpter

2nd Degree Initiation

This is a ceremony we have used a couple of times (with variations to suit the candidate) for the second degree initiation. You will note that it borrows from many sources: Masonic, Gardnerian, Celtic, and Flight of Fancy. We’ve done it robed, sky clad, and some interesting combinations. Seems to work ok either way. If the candidate has done the work, the initiation ceremony is more of a public "rite of passage" or recognition of that fact... the real "initiation" is between the Gods and the candidate, and therefore cannot really be "conferred".

...Gary Dumbauld, High Priest, Hernesgaard Circle


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The Circle is cast as usual. All are properly prepared and purified. High Priestess and High Priest perform the Ceremony in concert. The candidate is brought into the circle by a friend and circled 3 times deosil, ending north of the altar, facing the Priest, who is standing south of the altar (where else?).

PRIEST

This is the time of Full Moon, a time for rekindling of light. The struggle for higher light is: That we may see it, and seeing it, work and live by it. We are about to embark upon a solemn ceremony to rekindle the light of Knowledge, the light of Will, the light of Compassion, the light of Steadfastness; we will combine these lights, and rekindle the light of Dedication in our Sister (Brother) here before us.

_____ _________ , here have you been taught the ways of the Wise, that you might count yourself among those who serve the Gods, among the brothers and sisters of the Wicca, those who are called the shapers of the universe.

PRIEST

I now direct your attention to the two lights upon our altar, the one representing the Sun, the God, and the High Priest; the other representing the Moon, the Goddess, and the High Priestess. The High Priest and Priestess, presiding over the coven, may be thought of as ..One light to rule the day, one light to rule the night’. Since these lights are both beneficent, each having honor in its place, the Craft of the Wise does not set day against night, God against Goddess, Priest against Priestess. In the Craft, we do not define evil as a negative power, rather as the lack of light; where there is the light of Sun or Moon, God or Goddess, there can be no lack of light. Choose one, or both; place light within yourself, and nurture it.

In times past, the Circle of Initiation was called a ..Hermetic Circle’, after Hermes, the ancient name for the planet Mercury. In astrology, the house of the Sun is in the zodiacal sign of the lion, which is the fifth house; the house of the Moon is in Cancer, the crab, and is in the fourth house; and the day house of the planet Mercury is in the Gemini, the Twins, and is the third house. These numbers, three, four and five, were sacred to many ancient peoples, as the dimensions of the Pythagorean Triangle, in which the square of 3 five, twenty five, is equal to the sum of the squares of four and three, or sixteen and nine. Knowledge of this triangle was essential to builders; you are also a builder-you are building your character.

PRIESTESS

I now direct your attention to the several lights surrounding us, in the East, South, West, and North. Let us now examine these lights, and see what we can discern within them of human character.

In the building of character, the Eastern light is denoted the Lamp of Beauty, and stands for accomplishments; for learning, skill in art, poetry, in song and instrumental music, in painting and sculpture. It exemplifies the art of making one’s self attractive to those about one. It is an old saying that ..Beauty is as Beauty does.’ It causes great distress to see these noble graces of character prostituted to ignoble ends. Remember well the lesson of the Lamp of Beauty, and accept the blessing of the East.

Initiate is censed with incense from the censer which has been previously placed in the East.

PRIEST

The light in the South is denoted the Lamp of Life, and stands for individuality, and for energy; for fervency, for zeal and vitality. It exemplifies passions, desires and appetites. It means loves and hates, sympathies and abhorrences, and what is more than all the rest of these, it means heart and joy in the work of life. Remember well the lesson of the Lamp of Life, and accept the blessing of the South.

Initiate is circled three times with the brazier, previously placed in the South.

PRIESTESS

Look now to the West, and observe the Lamp of Compassion, which stands for ..fellow-feeling’. Every work in life demands a price. Labor, tears, self-denial, self-recrimination, the very blood of life is sometimes the price of a truly great work. Look to your fellow travellers on the road; note with care what sacrifice they have made in their progress toward the truth; allow them their faults, commiserate with them in their failures, and rejoice with them when they succeed. Remember well the lesson of the Lamp of Compassion, and accept the blessing of the West.

Initiate is circled three times with water, and his/her hands washed in a laving bowl, previously placed in the West.

PRIEST

Look now to the North, and observe the lamp of obedience. The laws of the Gods are inevitable, and the more we, as children of the Gods, understand and work in accordance with them, the greater is the sum of our happiness. Obedience in character means order, the subjection to one’s principles, the fear to do wrong, and the desire to learn and do right. Many would rather give charity than do justice. They swell with emotion, weep with sentiment, howl with the mob, so long as their own particular little tyranny or injustice is not touched. The Lamp of Obedience exemplifies firm will and determination of character, in spite of difficulties, dangers and losses. So also the Lamp of 4. Obedience stands for self-control, for perseverance, and for prudence. In time of peace, prepare for war; when shines the sun, expect the cloud; and in darkness wait patiently for the coming light. ..When all the sky is draped in black and beaten by tempestuous gales, and the shuddering ship seems all awreck, calmly trim once more the tattered sail, repair the broken rudder, and set again for the old determined course.’ Remember well the lesson of the Lamp of Obedience, and accept now the blessing of the North.

Initiate’s hands are marked with damp earth from a bowl in the North.

Initiate is then led back south of the altar.

PRIESTESS

Of the character thus illuminated and thus guided by the lights here on the altar, and by the Lamps of Beauty, Life, Compassion and Obedience, it may be said, ..Though the world perish and fall away, he/she remains.’

Initiate then takes the Oath/Obligation, kneeling.

..In the names of Arianhrod and Bran; Diana and Appolyon; Heartha and Cernunnos; and by the powers of Earth, Air, Fire and Water, I, __________________ , pledge to love, worship and honor the Goddess in her many aspects; and her Consort, the Horned One, Lord of Death and Ruler of Chaos; to always be true to the Art and its secrets; to never abuse the Art or my own powers; and to keep this pledge always in my heart, in my mind, in my body and in my spirit. This I pledge, by the Circle of Life, by Cerridwen’s Sacred Cauldron, and by my own hopes of a future life. ’
Initiate stands. High Priestess places a necklace over Initiate’s head.

PRIESTESS

The Circle is a place between the worlds and outside time. The Circle is also the Symbol of Life, Death, and Rebirth. We wear the necklace as a token of the Sacred Circle and as a sign that we are part of all it symbolizes.

High Priest strikes the bell three times.

PRIEST

Hear ye, Lady of Life and Lord of Death! Hear ye, Ancient Guardians of the Powers of Air, Fire, Water and Earth! In this place, by our hands and will, _____ ______________ , known to us as _______________, has been duly pledged and anointed a Priest/ess of the Second Degree!

Copied from Mark Sumpter

1st Degree Initiation

The Initiate is normally skyclad for this ceremony. If the coven works robed, the Initiate may be either skyclad or wear a robe that can be opened down the middle. The part of the Squire is performed by the Initiate’s teacher. Females are initiated by the Priest, and males by the Priestess. In addition to the usual altar tools, there is a dish of anointing oil between the water and the salt and a red nine-foot length of cord and a blindfold on the altar. The Priestess’s Goddess Crown and the Priest’s Horned Helmet rest beside the altar. The Initiate wears no jewelry or make up and waits in a room outside of the Temple room. The Erecting the Temple is performed. The bell is rung three times.



Priestess Let there be none who suffer loneliness; none who are friendless and without brother or sister. For all may find love and peace within the Circle.

Priest With open arms, the Lord and Lady welcome all.

Squire I bring news of one who has traveled far, seeking that which we enjoy.

Maiden Long has been her journey, but now she feels an end is near.

Priest Of whom do you speak?

Squire Of she who, even now, waits outside our Temple, seeking entry.

Priestess Who caused her to come here?

Maiden She came herself of her own free will.

Priest What does she seek?

Maiden She seeks to become one with the Lord and the Lady. She seeks to join with us in our worship of them.

Priestess Who can vouch for this person?

Squire I can. As her teacher, I have shown her the ways; pointed her in the right direction and set her feet upon the path. But she has chosen to take this step and now bids you give her entrance.

Priest Can she be brought before us?

Squire Indeed she can.

Priestess Then let it be so.

The Squire takes the cord and his athame; the Maiden takes the blindfold and a candle. They go clockwise around the Circle to the east and exit the Circle by cutting a doorway. They go out of the Temple to the Initiate. The Maiden blindfolds her while the Squire binds* her. With the Initiate between them, they approach the door to the Temple room. The Squire bangs on the door with the handle of his athame.



Priest Who knocks?

Squire We return with one who would join our number.

Priestess What is her name?

Initiate My name is (Given Name) I beg entry.

Priestess Enter this our Temple.

The three enter the Temple room and stand outside the Circle in the east. The Maiden holds the candle; the Squire his athame. The bell is rung once.



Priest (Name)...why do you come here?

Initiate To worship the Gods in whom I believe and to become one with them and with my brothers and sisters in the Craft.

Priestess What do you bring with you?

Initiate I bring nothing but my True Self, naked and unadorned.

Priestess Then I bid you enter this our Circle of Worship and Magick.

The Squire admits them to the Circle. They stand just within, still in the east. The Priest and Priestess move around to them; the Priest carrying the censer and the Priestess carrying the salted water.



Priest To enter this our Sacred Circle, I here duly consecrate you in the names of the God and the Goddess.

If the Initiate is robed, the Priestess opens the robe while the Priest sprinkles and censes her, then closes it again. The Priest and Priestess return to the altar, followed by the Squire, Initiate and Maiden. The Priest and Priestess stand in front of the altar, while the Squire and Maiden move around to the far side, opposite, with the Initiate between them. The face the Priest and Priestess. The bell is rung twice.



Priestess I speak now for the Lady. Why are you here?

Initiate I am here to become one with the Lord and Lady; to join in worship of them.

Priest I am he who speaks for the Lord. Who made you come here?

Initiate None made me come, for I am here of my own choosing.

Priest

Do you wish an end to the life you have known so far?


Initiate

I do
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Priest

Then so be it.


With his athame, the Squire cuts a lock of the Initiate’s hair and throws it on the censer. The Squire and Maiden lead the Initiate around the Circle to the east.




Maiden

Hearken all ye at the East Gate. Here is one who would join us. Welcome her and bring her joy.They move on to the south.


Squire

Hearken all ye at the South Gate. Here is one who would join us. Welcome her and bring her joy.


They move on to the west.




Maiden

Hearken all ye at the West Gate. Here is one who would join us. Welcome her and bring her joy.


They move on to the north.



Squire

Hearken all ye at the North Gate. Here is one who would join us. Welcome her and bring her joy.



The Squire and Maiden lead the Initiate back to stand behind the altar again, facing the Priest and Priestess. The Priest and Priestess place their crowns on their heads and taking up their athames, stand side by side with their right arms holding the knives high in salute. The Squire rings the bell three times.

Maiden

Now then must you face those whom you seek.


The Maiden removes the Initiate’s blindfold.

Maiden

Behold, in these two priests do we see the Gods and in that know that we and they are the same.


Squire

As we need the Gods, so do the Gods need us.


Priest

I am he who speaks for the God. Yet are you and I equal.


Priestess

I am she who speaks for the Goddess. Yet are you and I equal.



The Priest and Priestess lower their athames and present the blades to the Initiate who kisses the blades.

Initiate

I salute the Lord and the Lady, as I salute those who represent them. I pledge my love and support to them and to my brothers and sisters of the Craft.


Priest

Know you the Wiccan Rede?


Initiate

I do. An’ it harm none, do what thou wilt.


Priestess

And do you abide by that Rede?


Initiate

I do.


Priest

Well said. Let your bonds be loosed that ye may be reborn.


The Squire unties the cord. The Maiden leads the Initiate around to stand between the Priest and Priestess. The Maiden then returns to her place beside the Squire.




Priestess

That you may start life afresh it is only meet and right that you start with a name of your own choosing. Have you such a name?


Initiate

I have. It is (Craft Name).


Priest

Then shall you be known by that name henceforth by your brothers and sisters of the Craft.



The Priest takes up the anointing oil. If the Initiate is robed, the Priestess opens the robe. The Priest anoints* and says

Priest With this Sacred Oil I anoint and cleanse thee, giving new life to one of the Children of the Gods. From this day forth, you shall be known as (Craft Name), within this Circle and without it, to all your Brothers and Sisters of the Craft. So Mote It Be.

All

So mote it be!


Priestess

Now you are truly one of us. As one of us will you share our knowledge of the Gods and of the arts of healing, of divination, of magick and of all the mystic arts. These shall you learn as you progress.


Priest

But we caution you ever to remember the Wiccan Rede. An’ it harm none, do what thou wilt.


Priestess

An’ it harm none, do what thou wilt. Come now, (Name) and meet your kindred.


The Initiate salutes* the Priest and Priestess then moves around to salute and greet all the others in the Circle. If the initiation has taken place without the other coven members being present, they now return to the Circle to join the celebrants. If it is the coven custom to present a newcomer with any gift(s) this may be done at this time. The bell is rung three times.




Priest

Now is the truly a time for celebration.


Feasting and merriment follow until it is time for Cakes and Ale followed by the Clearing of the Temple.


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*Binding for an initiation is as follows

The cord is looped over the initiate’s left wrist behind her back. At the mid-point of the cord, a square knot is tied.
The initiate’s right arm is laid wrist over wrist, over the left arm and another knot is tied.
The two ends of the cord are wrapped around either side of the the initiate’s head, crossing in front.
Looping one end around the back of the head, the two ends are tied in a bow at the right shoulder.


*Anointing is done as follows A Keltic Cross in a circle is drawn on the forehead, in the position of the Third Eye. A pentagram is drawn over the heart, and an inverted triangle is marked by touching the genitals, right breast, left breast, then the genitals again.


*When one Witch salutes another, it is with an embrace and a kiss.

Copied from Mark Sumpter

Pre-initiatory Dedication Ritual

for the Proteus lineage and anyone else who wants to use it:

Premise: "Every Witch is a Pagan; not every Pagan is a Witch."

There are many ways to honor Nature in our lives. For some, regular participation in Pagan circles is a way to stay attuned to seasonal rhythms, an enrichment and support for their real work in the world, a way of finding community. An artist, a doctor, a mother, a counselor - such people may find joy and sustenance in Pagan celebration eight times a year, or even at each Moon, but wish to pursue it no farther. They are the Earth Mother’s children, as fully as are Her priests and priestesses. Their lives contribute as much as ours to the re-creation of Pagan community, the restoration of ecological sanity. A window is not opened by lifting one side.

Others of us find in active priesthood our life’s work, our art form. We will dedicate a larger proportion of our time and energy to the religion itself. We are the producers of ritual and ceremony, not the consumers. Not because we are better, holier, or more devoted; but because this is where our talents, and our delight, seem to lie.

In our observation, people often spend some time exploring the community, reading, attending public circles or festivals, perhaps creating personal rituals or meditations for themselves. For some, this time of exploration fosters a hunger. They wish to study more formally, explore more systematically, aim for initiation into the priesthood of the Goddess.

In the old days, such people would have been initiated before being taught anything of importance. The need for secrecy was so dire that even the simplest information was withheld. Indeed, no public festivals or Pagan circles existed as places of exploration and discovery. We probably lost many potentially talented leaders by having no adequate channels; but however much we were diminished, we survived. The time for simple survival, thankfully, is past. Now is the time for re-seeding.

At the very end of the initiation, the candidate is declared to be "a Witch and a Priest/ess." We were not willing in Proteus to make this declaration before the Gods until the person had demonstrated to us their skill and capacity as a ritual leader. Nor were we willing to allow a candidate to make the commitment involved in accepting initiation until s/he had experienced ritual leadership. We ask for a minimum year and a day of study, and demonstration of competence by creating and conducting a Circle for our group. There is enough material publicly available now that we can easily provide this training without going into the oathbound rituals in our Book of Shadows.

This decision created its own problems. By withholding initiation for a year, we were leaving an equally important life passage unmarked - the point at which a person decides and formally begins to study for the priesthood. That moment should surely be celebrated! Moreover, there are commitments short of the initiatory oath that are appropriate at this point. What follows is our first approximation of a pre-initiatory dedication ritual. We more than welcome feedback from our family on this one. We plead for it!

Logistics:

In this model, one coven elder agrees to enter into an apprenticeship relationship with the candidate. While this would most typically be the coven leader of the opposite gender to the candidate’s, there may be good reason to choose some other elder instead. The decision is made by four people: the candidate, the elder who will be primary teacher, and both coven leaders. We recommend consulting with all elders of the coven if at all feasible.

We strongly recommend giving the candidate a list of the questions s/he will be asked several days in advance, so s/he will know what commitments are required before entering the Circle. We also recommend encouraging the candidate to respond as fully as possible, rather than with a simple yes or no. Elegant language is less important at this moment than giving the candidate the opportunity to state her or his feelings and values within a Circle and before the people whose company s/he aspires to join - and the exercise in personal clarification that inheres in deciding what to say.

The ritual here presented can be elaborated, and we recommend it, as time and inclination allow. Some examples: in addition to the ritual welcome, each coven member might offer the candidate some advice, or a blessing, or some personal statement about Witchcraft and the process of learning involved. Small gifts - a crystal, a homemade dream pillow - might be offered as talismans for the voyage of discovery now beginning. Cakes and wine, with toasts to the new student, might follow.

Ritual:

[in Circle, with all coven members present, and teaching elder at altar, candidate steps to center carrying athame or other working tool] Candidate responds to each question asked by the Elder as s/he deems proper, unless otherwise noted.

Elder (candidate’s name), what do you seek?

Candidate I seek to study Witchcraft. I ask you to teach me.

Elder

Do you understand that Witchcraft is the priesthood of the Old Gods and Old Ways of Nature, and that every Witch is a priestess or priest?

Do you understand that initiation into that priesthood will change your life forever, in ways that you cannot now foresee?

Do you understand what priesthood requires that, if you become a Witch, you serve the Lady and the Lord by serving Their People, to the fullest of your ability?

Knowing these things, do you want to study Witchcraft and its related arts until you know enough to decide whether this is truly your Path?

Do you understand that Witchcraft is one of many means to serve the Old Gods and awaken the Old Ways, and that even if this is not your way after all, you may learn and grow while you are here? Can you accept that the decision may be no?

Teaching what I love is a great joy. But I can only teach in joy if I know that what I love will be used and shared with care and honor. Before I am willing to teach you, there are three things and a fourth that you must promise to me:

Will you respect and protect the confidence of all who you meet in the Circle and all who seek our aid, revealing their identities to no one except by their explicit permission?

Will you practice and teach the Craft for love alone, using this knowledge or teaching it only as a free gift, as I give it now to you, never accepting payment for it in money or goods or labor?

Will you promise never to use what I teach you to affect another person, avoiding not only baneful magic but all well-intentioned meddling, unless you have that person’s explicit permission?

And if time brings fullness, as all here hope and expect it will, when you teach new students of your own, will you require these three pledges of them, along with their pledge to similarly bind their own students, so that all that spring from this line may be so pledged?

Elder [ONLY PROCEEDING IF ALL RESPONSES HAVE BEEN AFFIRMATIVE]

This being so, I consent to teach you. This is how I value my labor - that I will plant only good seed in good soil, to become fruit both sound and sweet. I will teach you, I will learn from you, I will learn with you. So we begin by exchanging our pledges. Place your hand on this athame and repeat after me

I, (name), here and now pledge
To you (name), to the Gods,
to all in this Circle
And, most truly, to myself,
That I will explore the Path called Witchcraft
Its lore and its symbols;
its rituals and its deeper meanings
Sharing with you my joy in discovery
and all my doubts and qualms.
Exploring all questions with open mind and heart.
Until I know surely whether or not
I am for the priesthood
and Witchcraft is for me
In token of this pledge I swear
on this tool of my power
To devote myself, from this moment on,
to learning the ways of Witchcraft

Elder [cover candidate’s hand on tool with own hand]

And I make this pledge to you in return

For the lesser knowledge, which can be taught,
I will be your teacher.
For the greater knowledge, which must be discovered,
I will be your guide and your friend.
For the questions and perplexities of the path,
I will be your companion.
To answer when I may; or simply
to be silent as you seek your own answers
And when the time comes to choose
whether you will enter the priesthood,
I will share with you
all I have observed and thought.
And may the Gods prosper through our work together.

Know that although I am your primary teacher, this Circle is not made of the two of us alone. All here are dedicated to the Old Ways and each has unique knowledge. All of us learn from and with each other. You, too, bring the learning of a lifetime and the fresh insight of a beginner’s questions. Together we are more than the simple sum of each of us alone. Go around the Circle, now, and accept each person’s greetings.
Coveners [embrace candidate in turn and say]

I am _______. I am your friend. In time, I may be your sister (or brother).


Candidate [respond with same formula]

Elder [bless the athame or other working tool that candidate brought into Circle] I return this working tool to you with my blessing. Accept it, as I have accepted your pledge. Use it now, in your first ritual act.

Candidate: [go to each quarter and salute in any way s/he knows] Powers of the East (South, West, North) I, ______, call on you to witness my pledge and ask you to bless my time of exploration. [silent salute in East].

Elder -------, be welcome in the Circle! [embrace, almost certain to be followed by group hug].

All SO MOTE IT BE!



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STUDENT’S PLEDGE - alternative versions, from Coven Risingstar
1

And the need cannot be denied,
for I am the Mother’s child
And have come back to the forsaken ways

Teach me, Lady Queen*,
Child of our Mother,
The words of respect She would have us know,
The rituals by which we worship
She Who birthed us of Herself.
Guide me in the Way
That nurtures all and harms none
As I seek to regain that
which was lost so long ago.

And, finally,
walk beside me as Sister, (or Brother)
for we are both children of the Mother

2

And the need cannot be denied’
for I am the Mother’s child,
and have come back to the Ways of Old

Teach me, Lady Queen*,
Child of our Mother,
The words of respect She would have us know
The rituals by which we worship
She who birthed us out of Herself
Guide me as I seek what no other can teach me,
that which is mine but so long denied.

And, finally, walk beside me as Sister (or Brother)
We are both children of our Mother.


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* I think I would substitute something like "Teach me, Elder Priest/ess" or, better yet, simply "Teach me, friend" for this line.

Copied from Mark Sumpter