Seekers and Guides: A Balm for a Pagan Plague – High Priestess’ Disease (Part 2)

June 3, 2013 By 4 Comments
MargaretHamiltoninTheWizardOfOz

High Priestess’ Disease is an epidemic in many Pagan circles.  It can be described as an overinflated view of one’s own importance that afflicts many of us who are just beginning to come into our real power as Witches.  In the last column, I detailed the symptoms and possible causes.  In this article, I will characterize and explain how to prevent and treat this deadly ailment. Prevention If you can head the behaviors off at the pass, you can prevent the development of the disease.  If … [Read more...]

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Seekers and Guides: A Balm for a Pagan Plague – High Priestess’ Disease (Part 1)

May 20, 2013 By 5 Comments
004e98062dcf

If you’ve been at all active in the Pagan community, you have probably heard of this particular ailment.  It describes the spiritual malaise that causes some of us to develop an inflated sense of our importance and “power trip” on being a Wiccan Priest(ess).  Over the next couple of columns I’m going to discuss this problem frankly, explore its possible causes, and suggest solutions for it. Symptoms Symptoms of High Priestess’ Disease include:  arrogance, inability to accept … [Read more...]

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Seekers and Guides: The Merits and Flaws of Self-Guiding

April 22, 2013 By 3 Comments
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Most Witches are trailblazers.  There aren’t a lot of us, so in our eagerness (some might say “obsession”) to find answers, we usually manage most of our training ourselves.  I think one of the greatest advantages of Witchcraft is that we do have the freedom to follow our hearts; I like to joke that if you get ten Witches in a room you’ll find 12 different opinions.  But there are some drawbacks to doing your own teaching as well.  This article will examine the advantages and … [Read more...]

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Seekers and Guides: A Coven Leader’s Primer

April 1, 2013 By 4 Comments
happy-coven

I started a new teaching coven a few days ago.  I wasn’t going to for quite some time.  Coven leadership is a lot of work, and it’s an incredible emotional and temporal investment.  But the Lady sent a bunch of eager new people my way, and I realized that Diana was reminding me of the calling I agreed to undertake.  As I settle into working with this new group, I find myself going over the basics of establishing a new coven, and thought I would share with you the things I wish someone … [Read more...]

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Seekers and Guides: Covening for Beginners

March 18, 2013 By 2 Comments
Witches Dancing

According to the Pagan Census, most of us start out as solitary practitioners.  Deciding to join a coven is not for everyone, but for some of us, it's a great way to learn things we could not otherwise learn on our own.  Fear is usually what prevents us from getting involved in a group.  What if we can't find one?  What if we don't like the group we find?  What if we do, but they think all the stuff we've been doing is stupid or wrong?  What if the High Priestess is full of herself?  What … [Read more...]

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