The Degree System

British Traditional Wicca; and many traditions that share the same spirit, core principles and guiding rationale; have a system of three degrees of initiation.


In a broad sense, initiation to the first degree is open to all Witches, governed by what is expressed below. However the second and third degree criteria are quite demanding, and essentially anyone who seeks and becomes 2nd or 3rd degree is responding to a deep inner calling. Higher degrees aren’t about levels of magickal prowess, power or learning: That is involved, but 2nd and 3rd degree Witches have people skills, management skills, communication and teaching skills as well as magickal skills. Those who aren’t well balanced emotionally, psychologically and socially; and who don’t have the appropriate skills; wouldn’t be able to successfully lead a Coven, nor would they be able to fulfill all the requirements that would be needed of them.One of the greatest problems that some Covens suffer from is that of having inexperienced or ’unqualified’ people in leading positions- knowing all the rituals off by heart and having a dominant or charismatic personality does not alone make for a good High Priestess or High Priest.

Because of this we work within a strong but flexible training, development and assessment structure, and which then ensures that we do not unleash imbalanced, power hungry, exploitive or unstable people on to the community, who appear to have credibility because of their Initiatory degree status.

We set these criteria so as to ensure that we work with people who truly do want to walk this path. Wicca is a path for those who want to walk it, and our main initial criteria in regard to anyone who seeks to join our circle is very simply:

Would you do this even if if you never met another Witch to do it with?


We teach in the sense of encouraging people, of providing resources and guidance to help them, and not in the sense of making people learn when they’re not willing to do so. Our favourite kind of trainee is one who stretches us, and who when we give them material to learn is back very quickly asking for more, and who wants to learn everything they possibly can.

Let’s first of all take a look at the basics of the degree system.


Dedicant/ seeker/ neophyte/ novice:


There are various names for these people for the sake of argument let us just say dedicant. A dedicant is a person who has decided that they would like to make a commitment to the belief and be initiated into the clergy of Wicca (All initiates of Wicca from the first to third degree anr considered to be members of the priesthood). Traditionally they will be given limited access to the group rituals and ceremony.

They will serve a period of time in which they must study and learn the required information needed for initiation (usually a year and a day). Most of the time covens will have separate study groups for outsiders and dedicants. Toward the end of the dedcicants period of learning they will be instructed in the initiation ritual and then learn their coven lineage. In our group we withhold this information till the night before initiation and the dedicant must remain with an elder till initiation so as not to disclose oath bound secrets. This is just traditional but it is stressed that they meditate and ask any final questions of the elder that they are unclear on about initiation.



First degree:


Is for those newly coming into the Craft. As you will see elsewhere in information about Initiation, this brings the new Witch into the Coven, connects them with the Coven group-mind, connects them to the Inner Plane power sources which that Coven and Tradition works with, and Initiates- starts them on their path in a powerful and guided way.
There are a number of approaches to this. Some Covens and some traditions take rather a "Bring ’em in and let the Goddess sort them out" type of approach, by initiating people very quickly, and before they have gained much knowledge and experience of the Craft and it’s principles. On the basis that they can and will learn all they need to know thereafter. Others; including Gardnerian require that before anyone is initiated first degree that they have gained at least some knowledge and experience, have learnt basics such as generally used chants, circle principles, simple energy work, Coven etiquette, etc. This way they can then learn much more, more quickly by training and learning with a sponsor of either 2nd or 3rd degree, and have a basic foundation on which to do so.



Second Degree:


Marks the beginning of a deeper path within the Craft, and acknowledges the commitment, work and effort that the 2nd degree candidate has made following their first degree initiation.

Many people never move beyond 1st degree- which is fine, but some who do want to deepen their knowledge and extend their Craft skills into such areas as craft-work, herbalism, incense making, practical magick, ritual and ceremony, and who want to be much more actively involved in rituals, the running of the Coven and its circles, training and helping new initiates and candidates, and other more challenging areas; do aspire to 2nd degree.

Second degree initiates are on their first step also to becoming elders in the group and sometimes will actively take over training of dedicants and run study groups



Third Degree:


Is granted to those of sufficient experience and knowledge who are either in a working partnership together and are going to leave their parent Coven to form a new one, or for a small number of individuals who do not have a working Craft partner to form a new Coven with, and who have been Initiates for sufficiently long that they are becoming Elders of the Craft and of their Coven.
This degree is mostly for those couples who are going to leave their parent coven so as to form a new one. This process is known as ’hiving-off’. It is also sometimes granted to those of long Craft experience, but who do not have a working partner of equal experience, and whom are therefore going to stay with their Coven as Elders.

In order to receive this degree, candidates must be 2nd degrees of good experience, and with the necessary people, organisational, social, magickal and ritual skills to be able to run a working Coven in a good way that benefits, empowers and nourishes all members thereof.

Within that a broad criteria is that it is generally granted to couples of sufficient actual age to have gained plenty of life experience so that they can work with new people in a good way- there is nothing more potentially disruptive of a Coven than having immature people leading it. I have to say that parenthood that has included being the parent of teens is about the best training that any HPs or HP can have. Couple that with good magickal and energy awareness skills so that the HPs can feel what Coveners are doing with the energy they raise, and so that they can ’carry’ and encourage those who may be lacking, and we have the basis for a very well grounded and powerful Coven.

These aren’t skills that are exclusive to those with long parenting experience, and it also has to be said that a new HPs, with the support of her HP can develop the balance needed by sheer dint of hard work and ’making people have it’ till it all does come together well. This can be wearing on all involved, but there is a Craft saying of being prepared to "Suffer to learn", that if we hold to will help us to learn.

For those who are not going to found covens themselves and who are developing into Craft Elders, the criteria are much the same: Craft Elders need to be fully able to step into the shoes of the HPs or HP on those occasions when they are needed, and must be able to do so without indulging in petty ’power-play’ or other ego games. They must also be able to shoulder some of the counseling, advisory and teaching work that would otherwise fall entirely onto the HPs or HP.

Without going into much greater depth, these are the basics of the Wiccan degree system ’in a nutshell’, and should provide you with a basic but clear understanding of how and why this works within the Craft. You should clearly see from this that the degree system therefore provides a framework of support, and a clearly defined structure to help you along the Wiccan path.

For those of 1st degree; and those who seek initiation; the degree system also provides a rich source of knowledge and experience to draw from. Having people around you of experience and knowledge with ’pickable brains’ makes life considerably easier- that can range from help in memorising chants and invocations so that you can use those fluently and confidently within rituals, to what’s the best wood to use for making a Wand. As well as that a good Coven provides a collective pool of skills for all members to draw from- from herbal remedies to Tarot readings, to having access to a wide range of books, to anecdotes and experiences shared.

If also you have an HPs and HP with experience and good people/life skills, then any conflicts and arguments between people can be quickly resolved without conflict, and you always have someone to turn to for advice and guidance in your life.

Copied from Mark Sumpter