Feri Schism<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Author, teacher and podcaster T. Thorn Coyle has an essay on Patheos where she gives her take on a split in the Feri tradition of witchcraft. I have no\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/2011\/01\/feri-schism.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Feri Schism\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Author, teacher and podcaster T. Thorn Coyle has an essay on Patheos where she gives her take on a split in the Feri tradition of witchcraft. I have no\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/2011\/01\/feri-schism.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"John Beckett\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2011-01-25T19:02:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"John Beckett\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"John Beckett\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/2011\/01\/feri-schism.html\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/2011\/01\/feri-schism.html\",\"name\":\"Feri Schism\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2011-01-25T19:02:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2011-01-25T19:02:00+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/#\/schema\/person\/b4c8980dc36f971434424c304ca429ad\"},\"description\":\"Author, teacher and podcaster T. Thorn Coyle has an essay on Patheos where she gives her take on a split in the Feri tradition of witchcraft. I have no\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/2011\/01\/feri-schism.html#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/2011\/01\/feri-schism.html\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/2011\/01\/feri-schism.html#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Feri Schism\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/\",\"name\":\"John Beckett\",\"description\":\"Musings of a Druid, Pagan, and Unitarian Universalist.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/#\/schema\/person\/b4c8980dc36f971434424c304ca429ad\",\"name\":\"John Beckett\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0f50bfa2a79f70103847fe75540bb29c?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0f50bfa2a79f70103847fe75540bb29c?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"John Beckett\"},\"description\":\"I grew up in Tennessee with the woods right outside my back door. Wandering through them gave me a sense of connection to Nature and to a certain Forest God. I\u2019m a Druid graduate of the Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids, the Coordinating Officer of the Denton Covenant of Unitarian Universalist Pagans and a former Vice President of CUUPS Continental. I\u2019ve been writing, speaking, teaching, and leading public rituals for the past eleven years. I live in the Dallas \u2013 Fort Worth area and I earn my keep as an engineer.\",\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/author\/johnbeckett\"}]}<\/script>\n","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Feri Schism","description":"Author, teacher and podcaster T. Thorn Coyle has an essay on Patheos where she gives her take on a split in the Feri tradition of witchcraft. I have no","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/2011\/01\/feri-schism.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Feri Schism","og_description":"Author, teacher and podcaster T. Thorn Coyle has an essay on Patheos where she gives her take on a split in the Feri tradition of witchcraft. I have no","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/2011\/01\/feri-schism.html","og_site_name":"John Beckett","article_published_time":"2011-01-25T19:02:00+00:00","author":"John Beckett","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"John Beckett","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/2011\/01\/feri-schism.html","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/2011\/01\/feri-schism.html","name":"Feri Schism","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/#website"},"datePublished":"2011-01-25T19:02:00+00:00","dateModified":"2011-01-25T19:02:00+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/#\/schema\/person\/b4c8980dc36f971434424c304ca429ad"},"description":"Author, teacher and podcaster T. Thorn Coyle has an essay on Patheos where she gives her take on a split in the Feri tradition of witchcraft. I have no","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/2011\/01\/feri-schism.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/2011\/01\/feri-schism.html"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/2011\/01\/feri-schism.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Feri Schism"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/","name":"John Beckett","description":"Musings of a Druid, Pagan, and Unitarian Universalist.","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/#\/schema\/person\/b4c8980dc36f971434424c304ca429ad","name":"John Beckett","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0f50bfa2a79f70103847fe75540bb29c?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0f50bfa2a79f70103847fe75540bb29c?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"John Beckett"},"description":"I grew up in Tennessee with the woods right outside my back door. Wandering through them gave me a sense of connection to Nature and to a certain Forest God. I\u2019m a Druid graduate of the Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids, the Coordinating Officer of the Denton Covenant of Unitarian Universalist Pagans and a former Vice President of CUUPS Continental. I\u2019ve been writing, speaking, teaching, and leading public rituals for the past eleven years. I live in the Dallas \u2013 Fort Worth area and I earn my keep as an engineer.","sameAs":["http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/"],"url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/author\/johnbeckett"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/309","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1129"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=309"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/309\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=309"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=309"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=309"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}

{"id":309,"date":"2011-01-25T19:02:00","date_gmt":"2011-01-25T19:02:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/2011\/01\/feri-schism\/"},"modified":"2011-01-25T19:02:00","modified_gmt":"2011-01-25T19:02:00","slug":"feri-schism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/2011\/01\/feri-schism.html","title":{"rendered":"Feri Schism"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Author, teacher and podcaster T. Thorn Coyle<\/a> has an essay on Patheos<\/a> where she gives her take on a split in the Feri tradition of witchcraft. I have no connection to Feri and little knowledge of it beyond this and a few other articles on the web \u2013 I have no stake in this dispute, and no desire to weigh in on the merits and demerits of closed vs. open traditions.<\/p>\n

But Thorn\u2019s essay is very timely with the series I\u2019m doing here on initiation and I\u2019d like to point out some of her comments that are relevant to that topic.<\/p>\n

The first is that she references Isaac Bonewits<\/a>\u2019 three types of initiation<\/a>. If you didn\u2019t read Isaac\u2019s work based on my recommendation, hopefully you\u2019ll go read it based on Thorn\u2019s. She says that Feri initiation combines all three types into one ritual, and adds a fourth type mentioned by John Michael Greer<\/a>: \u201cacceptance into the fold of the community or clan.\u201d This clearly shows the strong emphasis some groups place on initiation \u2013 you cannot be a full member if you haven\u2019t been properly initiated. This emphasis (which is not unique to Feri) is one of the reasons why many Pagans feel like they should be initiated even if they aren\u2019t affiliated with such a group.<\/p>\n

When a group attaches so much importance and so many meanings to initiation it is natural for the members to feel that initiation must be clearly and definitively earned<\/i>. I do not know the requirements for initiation into the Feri tradition but Thorn mentions that even though her students worked very hard \u201cthe initial two-year class did not lead to initiation.\u201d There is value in and a place for an exclusive group that has high standards and hard requirements, but that does not mean that initiation in general must be restricted to those who are called to such a laborious path. The initiation process can work on many levels \u2013 clearly the types of initiations I\u2019m discussing here work at a less intensive level than that of Feri.<\/p>\n

If a candidate wants an extremely intensive initiation, he must find a group that offers it, work through their training process, achieve satisfactory results and then be initiated by an authorized member of that group. There is no other way.<\/p>\n

For background on the roots and traditions of Feri, Thorn refers readers to this article by Niklas Gander<\/a>. In it, Gander says \u201cIt is often said that sometimes there are Feri casualties, where initiations have gone horribly wrong, and the candidate does not re-emerge unscathed.\u201d This doesn\u2019t refer to physical dangers like James Ray sweat lodges. It refers to the emotional and spiritual dangers of the deep introspection required by mystical practice. What pain, what injuries, what dreams, what disappointments have you buried deep within your soul? If you wish to truly \u201cknow thyself\u201d you must uncover them and deal with them. Not everyone can handle the truth.<\/p>\n

It also refers to encounters with spiritual beings, not all of whom are warm and fuzzy. We can argue whether those spiritual beings are individual entities or elements of our own psyche, but if you do this work, you will encounter them. Be prepared. This concept is not new and certainly not unique to Paganism, either ancient or modern. Remember the Hebrew story of Jacob wrestling with Yahweh<\/a> \u2013 Jacob received a blessing but was wounded in the process.<\/p>\n

I think Thorn accurately describes the spectrum of initiatory experiences when she says \u201cthere are as many varieties of initiation as there are human beings. The Mystery cannot be taught, and can never be bought or sold or spoken. The Mystery can only reveal itself in time.\u201d<\/p>\n

To repeat the words of Robin Wood<\/a>, the gods initiate \u2013 we only officiate. We cannot create a mystical experience for a candidate. But we can facilitate such an experience, by creating an atmosphere and a ritual structure where true mystical initiation can occur \u2013 to the degree that the candidate is prepared and receptive.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m still working on that initiation ritual outline, but with all the delays I\u2019m starting to wonder if it\u2019s meant for me to post it. Stay tuned\u2026<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"