2006-07-06T14:50:00.000-07:00

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 can find and stay 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 that might help. It doesn’t so the next step is we need to find a mentor. So that wise old grandmother type figure pops into your head and so the journey begins.

I had been on this path for 7 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 that I found something that I went in blind. My “High Priestess” was not a High Priestess and was no more than a 2nd degree and even that couldn’t be vouched for. She turned a coven of wonderful women against each other, twisting all our lives into such drama and chaos. She over charged 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 done, harassing phone calls, threats, and even magickal retaliation but one by one all the coven sisters left. We have survived and reunited.

So you find a mentor you might like. 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 them about their level of experience, schools they have trained at and try to get something solid that you can verify. There are a lot of people claiming to be something that 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 will something very personal and sacred to you, your spiritual path.

Taking notes is something I have always done and do watch for inconsistencies especially regarding their level of experience. Do you feel comfortable around them? Are both of your beliefs and paths similar? Do they seem reliable, trust worthy? Be careful and watch for those 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 regards to payment, I look at it like this. 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. However, being how the teacher is sharing knowledge and their time with you, students should offered to pay for print outs, copies and any other supplies use during the lessons. To me that seems to be a fair arrangement but other’s 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 7 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 with. 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 my self. 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 reignites 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 and no one else wanted them.

A Witch’s prize possession is a pentacle. Wearing one maybe cool or trendy but with comes a lot of responsibility. A wise woman once told me “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 life those who have dedicated themselves to the God and Goddess to 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 is magickal and mundane aspects of your daily life. Being a Witch does not mean every time there is a problem go 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 times with the newness and excitement of your discovery Wicca you forget of 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.

The Best way to worship a god is to act like one