An Alchemy Of Spirit: My Post-Initiation Reorientation

I was initiated into the Horsa and Sacred Pentagraph traditions this past July. My approach as a new initiate and student (again) is to ask as many questions about the traditions’ histories, lore, practices, and more. My initiator and mentor is very gracious and seems to always find time to answer my many questions. I remember well what it felt like to have my own initiates ask questions. Honestly, it felt great because their interest in something I held so dear always warmed my heart…and I could literally talk about Wicca and witchcraft all day!

Something many of us understand about initiation is that it’s the beginning of something new; a new orientation. What we’re not always warned about is the disorientation that comes with it! I’ve experienced initiation before, but these newest shifts in my world following my most recent initiations have largely felt different. I knew there would be a ripple effect, of sorts, but I didn’t know exactly what it would look or feel like. A month after my First Degree Gardnerian initiation, I lost my job. It felt like the end of the world at the time but it ended up being a good thing in the long-run because I started school for my Masters in Library Science a year later. I have since made leaps in my career that I otherwise wouldn’t have had I stayed at that place.

Alchemy of the Spirit

Now, a month and some change after my Horsa and Sacred Pentagraph initiations, I’m feeling the effects on a more personal level than my career. It’s as if a giant spotlight has been shown on some of my Shadow tendencies – those that I was unaware of or have ignored. The good news is that I was expecting something like this to occur and I know how to better handle the changes this time. I’ve got my Elders that I can talk to, as well as two traditions’ lenses to help me navigate these choppy waters.

At the core of each tradition are Sybil Leek’s teachings (she brought Horsa over to the United States in the 1960s and was one of the key influencers of the Sacred Pentagraph tradition). Sybil’s Tenets of Witchcraft (which can be found in her book The Complete Art of Witchcraft) will be an excellent guide for me, as will be the Tenets of Faith and Wiccan Affirmation of Faith of Sacred Pentagraph (Book I: The Covenant). Mentioning “faith” and “Wicca” in the same sentence will make some people’s eyes twitch, but monotheistic religions don’t own the word “faith”, okay? These tenets and affirmations will be guiding lights through my “reorientation” process and there won’t be any rushing it. As with any evolution, spiritual or otherwise, it will take time and deliberate action to achieve anything of great value.

It’s in moments like these that I’m unsure of where I’m going except I know that I must keep moving forward. There’s something akin to an alchemical process happening to my spirit and person; a deep transformation of self that won’t be fully realized until it’s complete (either in this life or the next…or the next).