{"id":3580,"date":"2015-05-18T06:00:30","date_gmt":"2015-05-18T12:00:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/?p=3580"},"modified":"2015-05-14T17:36:09","modified_gmt":"2015-05-14T23:36:09","slug":"initiation-in-todays-pagan-world-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/2015\/05\/initiation-in-todays-pagan-world-2.html","title":{"rendered":"Initiation in Today\u2019s Pagan World"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Patheos is running a feature this month on Rites of Passage.\u00a0 This week, I\u2019m pulling up five posts from my old Blogger site on the topic of initiation, making a few updates, and putting them up front for your consideration.\u00a0 Here\u2019s the first: \u201cInitiation in Today\u2019s Pagan World\u201d from January 2011.<\/em><\/p>\n

\n

\"initiation<\/a>This week I learned that a friend has been passed over for a teaching position with a Wiccan school because he doesn\u2019t have a proper initiatory lineage. His many years of Wiccan practice and coven-based teaching experience count for nothing without documented First, Second, and Third Degree initiations.<\/p>\n

Long-time Gardnerian and Alexandrian Wiccans and those with experience in groups such as Freemasonry and the Golden Dawn will not be surprised by this. But those who have come to Paganism within the past 10-15 years and those whose work has been either solitary or with eclectic groups such as CUUPS will likely find it odd, if not flat-out wrong.<\/p>\n

I have no desire to debate the value of lineage. British Traditional Wicca groups find it useful for preserving their traditions and heritage \u2013 that is their prerogative. But I do want to explore the value of initiation and its place in our diverse and still-evolving Pagan world.<\/p>\n

Mystery religions teach their mysteries primarily through initiations \u2013 there are some things that cannot be explained but can only be experienced. Thus if you want to be a member of a mystery religion, you must be initiated. But while Wicca originated as a mystery religion, Paganism as it is widely practiced today is much more of a Nature religion, focusing on our relationships with the natural world. In a nature religion, initiation is less critical and frequently less formal.<\/p>\n

The late\u00a0Isaac Bonewits\u00a0wrote an excellent\u00a0essay on initiation<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 it\u2019s still on his website and is well worth a few minutes to go read. He says there are three types of initiation: recognition of a status already gained, an ordeal of transformation, and a method for transferring spiritual knowledge and power. I have had all three types, both in ritual and in ordinary life. They all have been meaningful and helpful, although in very different ways.<\/p>\n

It is possible to live a deeply spiritual life and to serve the Gods, humanity and the rest of Nature without ever experiencing initiation. For some people, the concept of initiation conflicts with their sense of egalitarianism. Others prefer to keep their practice as simple as possible and see no value in initiation. I respect those opinions, but the initiations I have experienced have been very helpful to my spiritual growth.<\/p>\n

I see four reasons why initiations are helpful.<\/p>\n

Initiations serve as a metaphysical line in the sand<\/strong>. So many people come to Paganism through \u201cdabbling\u201d \u2013 they need a spell to help with this or that, or they attend a seasonal celebration out of curiosity, or they feel a call to Nature. And they do these things while still maintaining an identity as a Christian or as Spiritual But Not Religious. That sort of split loyalty can only take you so far \u2013 at some point further growth requires a commitment to a specific path. The act of initiation makes it clear \u2013 to yourself if to no one else \u2013 that you\u2019ve explicitly crossed a line and made that commitment.<\/p>\n

Initiatory ordeals build confidence<\/strong>. I\u2019ve been through the 2nd<\/sup> Degree three times: once in ritual (sorry, the details are oath-bound) and twice in ordinary life. When life gets hectic and bad things happen, I can look back to those experiences and say \u201cI got through that, I can get through this too.\u201d The ritual 2nd<\/sup> degree was perhaps the most valuable of these, because it happened when I was 19 \u2013 before I had much of the life experience I have now.<\/p>\n

Formal recognition of a status achieved reinforces that achievement<\/strong>. For all the work I had done with my\u00a0OBOD studies<\/a>, I thought of myself as a Druid-in-training and not a Druid. But when\u00a0John Michael Greer\u00a0laid his hands on my head and proclaimed that I was a Druid<\/a>, all doubts went away.<\/p>\n

Sometimes the magic just works<\/strong>. Tarot artist and author\u00a0Robin Wood<\/a>\u00a0says \u201cThe Gods initiate. We just officiate.\u201d Sometimes when you prepare yourself through study and practice, declare your desire for initiation, and take the action to begin the initiatory process, a God decides to give you exactly what you asked for. Sometimes a door opens that you didn\u2019t even know was there. Sometimes you find yourself in a serious ordeal in the ordinary world. And sometimes in the middle of a ritual, a leader is transformed into a High Priestess and serves as a conduit to fill the candidate with a divine energy that neither of them had experienced before.<\/p>\n

So, while I don\u2019t see initiations as a necessity, I do think they can be very helpful. And some people feel like they have to have them. Those of us who are leaders in non-initiatory traditions like CUUPS need to be prepared to perform initiations, just as we perform child namings, handfastings, and other rites of passage.<\/p>\n

Tomorrow: \u00a0Planning Initiation Rituals<\/em><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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