On Finding the Right "Tradition"

In the grand scheme of things, your Tradition doesn’t mean much.  When it comes to the Craft of the Wica*, it is all about the coven. There are a number of reasons why this is so.  All of the various reasons condense down to two simple things that when viewed together make this quite obvious.

"Enjoy this famous picture of Alexander Sanders and coven-mates"

The first is that the praxis of the Wica is a group practice.  Period.  Any such personal rituals, practices, and observances are just that—personal.  Sure, a teacher may teach you meditation, or any other number of other skills and expect you to learn them by doing, but all of those are about teaching that which the Witch needs to know in order to function within the framework of the coven.  These things are not specifically about the practice of the Craft.  Since our Craft is group oriented and since our groups are organized into covens, the coven becomes paramount.  The rest is great, and often deeply rewarding, but still secondary.

It should also be noted that the group praxis only matters in the context of said group.  What you believe and do in your personal practice is 100% yours.  For this reason, I like to joke that every Traditionalist is also eclectic.  It is all about putting everyone on the same page for the purposes of the shared practice... and a shared practice is not the same as a shared belief.  Our Craft is orthopraxis, not orthodox.

The second thing is that our covens within shared practices, a.k.a Traditions, vary too much for any real and hard fast “which Tradition is right for me” assertions to be made.  For example, in many covens the directions are associated with elements.  This is by far not a secret and if I said that the elements are associated as follows, I dare bet that most of those reading along would have heard it before.  That is that the east is air, south is fire, west is water, and north is earth.  For many covens found throughout the Wica, this is certainly a part of their practice.  However, it is not always.  For you see, it is an addition to the praxis.  Yep, an addition borrowed and added from elsewhere.  There are today, British Traditional Wicca (BTW) covens that do not include any elemental associations with the cardinal directions into their coven practice at all. 

As an aside note, this is one of the reasons that declaring that one of the differences between our Craft and other practices within Contemporary Paganism is the use of elemental directions as opposed to the three realms is simply not true.  Or not always.  Sometimes it is both, or one of them, or neither, or any other vast array of coven innovations.

You see, anytime a coven hives it must innovate to the location and the individuals of the coven, thus additions are made that fit the land and the Witches of that coven.  Not that any coven truly stops innovating.  Notice though that I specified additions, there are a small handful of practices that in order for lineage to be maintained must be present.  For example, we do not alter our initiation rite.  It is one of the “traditions” as a shared experience that unites us into a Tradition and so it is left as one such hallmark.  

"Just one of my altars."

It is because of all of this, that I say that any potential seeker should not worry about which Tradition is right for them.  Instead, it is all about finding which coven is right for them.  I know for a fact that there are covens within the Traditions I have been initiated into that are not right for me, some are far from right.  Which is cool, because I am not a good fit for them either.  All of this is okay.  Though we have a shared Tradition through tradition, it is the coven that is the vehicle of the Craft and not the Tradition.

So, when and if one begins to seek membership among the Wica, the first thing to worry about is finding a coven and if you discover they are your tribe, a family of choosing, then you have found your Tradition.    

Boidh Se,

-SM

“Lost in a thicket, bare-foot upon a thorn path.”

*It is my personal preference to use the spelling "Wica" as often found with Traditionalists as opposed to "Wicca" with the double "C" that has been popularized.  Both are correct in their own way.

Samhain and the Bones of Death

We are the bones of death. Right now, in this very instance, we are the walking dead. The acceptance of this fact and the empowerment of this knowledge is one of the few things that the Craft makes claim to offering. As Witches, we are those whom dwell at the edges of society and interact directly with the unseen forces of the Spirit-world. This role gives the Witch a particular role that both benefits them and the greater community at large.  

It has been a long time since I have written anything about Samhain. If the truth were told, and it will be, I’m just not interested in rehashing the same ole beginner lesson about this time of year. Nor do I claim that this blog is anything but the same ole beginner lesson. There is nothing new, only the new again. For you see, the meat and potatoes of this feast lay in the silent undertaking of the work and not in the talking about it. To say that when we die we go to live amongst the ancestors is a starkly different perspective then to sit in the knowing that under our flesh lay the bones that could become the ancestor relics of our own descendants. We are the bones of death; we are the walking dead.

There are lots of ways for the Witch to engage with death and this time of year is a dark brew saturated with the work of the dead. Will you be sipping of it?

It does not matter whether it is via dressing up in costumes or something more “witchy” such as stirring the roots to enliven the dead by which we may redden them to life again. It does not matter to the Witch. It does not matter because there is a knowledge here that comes only from having experienced it. It is this that the Witch does for the community.

By becoming immersed in the litanies of the dead, the Witch comes to an understanding that transforms them into the keeper of a great a mystery—the mystery of death. We hold that mystery and translate its familiarity for those less keen to welcome the departed to their table. We stand in the crowds, alone, yet with the sacred truth that the ancestors are not themselves relics of the past. The past is not a place where the dead dwell, the ancestors are now. They, all of them, are right this moment. This we know.

The Witch knows this as true because we do not call the ancestors up from a time that is no more, nope, we actively work with them right now, in this moment, and they answer that call. Likewise, when we die and cast off the flesh that clothes these bones, we do not go to live in the past but instead transform in the now.

We are the bones of death; we are the walking dead.

Boidh Se,

-SM

“Lost in a thicket, bare-foot upon a thorn path.”

If the Contemporary Pagan Community Wants Nice Things

Different languages allow us to see the world through different lenses. The perspective through which English and say Gaeilge, or Cantonese or Spanish, etc, present the whole of existence to us are not the same. They present human experiences tented, flavored, with colors and/or seasonings that are not the same. I know, I know, I’m being redundant. The point though is that the core sets of symbols through which we interact with the world directly influence how the world is viewed. Language is one such core set of symbols, religion is another.

The Craft of the Wica is a purposeful construction of such symbols to pass through to present a specific mystery for the initiate to participate in via our rites. Though not all of the Wica also identify as members of the Contemporary Pagan community, many do. I used to think of this as an interesting conundrum in the context of the major early influence that one has had upon the later development of the other. I, however, get it, especially having seen it. Not every initiate’s expression of the Craft intersects between the two.

On the metaphorical vinn diagram though, I sit in that spot where both circles overlap. As such, I have been thinking about the core symbol set that the religious worldview that the Contemporary Pagan community presents, and I worry about it.

I worry about it because every elder from my childhood left to go seeking somewhere else, and even now into adulthood so many of the Priesthood that I have known and whom influenced me have also gone. Many of them because their own spiritual needs lead them after the white stag through the forest to other lands. However, for many it was from exasperation with the community faults that our community exhibits.

One of the central appeals to Contemporary Paganism, and New Religious Movements in general, is the intense focus upon the spiritual development of the individual. For many, it is what brought them seeking at our door in the first place. At the same time, this makes for a community that is not cohesive and often times selfish in that we consume and want the things in which community brings but we do not commit to communally supporting the growth and development of the same. It is a common topic of those whom have been in or around leadership to speak of “burning out,” and to warn others to be careful before they too burn out.

I don’t have a readily available answer either for how to fix this in mass. For us to move from where we are now to have long standing institutions, such as functioning temples and seminaries (assuming such is for our future and not another expression of our religious paradigm), then it will take each of us to make purposeful effort to do more than just consume, we must contribute. We must contribute our time and our money, and we must learn to do so when it is not us that reaps the immediate and individualistic benefit.

I hope that we are up to it. I believe that we are but sometimes I worry.

Boidh Se,

-SM

“Lost in a thicket, bare-foot upon a thorn path.”