life and spirituality
I had to think for a moment about this entry. The last couple of days have been eventful for me: my parents left to visit my mom’s relatives in Florida, although I’ve been out of jujitsu class for over 2 weeks because of my thumb, I’m going back tomorrow night, I spent last night cleaning around the house, spent tonight doing some shopping for food and other stuff, so I was wondering for a moment what I was going to talk about, since there didn’t seem to be much spiritual going on in my life the last couple of days. Then I remembered, oh yeah, life is a spiritual experience, I just forget that sometimes.
Actually, I’ve heard some disturbing rumblings coming from parts of the community lately. Seems that there’s a lot of different stuff being taught under the guise of Wicca that really isn’t. So much so that I’ve considered starting my own year and a day class. Although, at least one respected member of the community is starting a new class, and another is being started by another coven leader from out of town, although I cannot personally vouch for his knowledge.
Even so, there are people out there pretending to teach the Craft in order to further their own agenda, rather than correctly instruct their students. I am not so arrogant that I think my way is best for everyone, or even that Wicca is for everyone; but I do believe that people have a right to learn the information if they are sincere and willing to do the work, and our responsibility as teachers is to teach others properly, not use them for our own ends.
If you hadn’t guessed it already, ethics is an important matter to me. Thanks to Hollywood and the media, paganism in general, and Wicca in particular, seems to attract more than its fair share of fakers, wannabees, and scam artists, looking to become something they can’t or preying off other’s desires or ignorance.
If you are looking for a teacher and have found this post, I’d like to offer a few words of advice.
1. A good teacher will not ask you to do anything offensive, such as crossing a personal boundary, especially sexually. You may be asked some to do some things that make you uncomfortable though. Personal growth can be uncomfortable at times, but it’s necessary to keep in mind the difference in being uncomfortable and being taken advantage of. If you’re not sure, ask someone else.
2. While most teachers won’t ask for money to teach you, some will. There’s still a lot of debate in the community over this one, but frankly, I’m not comfortable paying someone to teach me. I took an oath that I would not charge for teaching the Craft, and I don’t. If you’re considering paying a teacher, make sure you know exactly what you’re getting and that you trust this person, there are a lot of charlatans out there. However, it’s not unusual for the teacher to ask you to help offset the cost of materials, such as photocopies and the like.
3. Good teachers won’t mind if you learn information elsewhere, or practice with others, once you’ve got the basics down. Exposure to other traditions and forms of paganism is good - understanding is acquired that way, and possibly new information to incorporate into your practice. Run from anyone who insists “It’s my way or the highway,” or tries to force you into isolation from other traditions once you’ve learned the basics.
4. You have the right not to do anything your teacher asks. You are your own person, and your teacher does not have the right to force you to do something, just as no one else does.
Well, I think you get the idea, so I won’t beat this to death any more. If you’re lokoing for a teacher, good luck.