The Training of a Witch

The subject of training within Wicca is an ongoing debate within the craft; particularly with regard to how much should be done between initiation and promotion to the higher degrees. One controversial area of discussion is how much if any practical magical training should be given pre-initiation.

In my parent coven , no pre-initiation instruction was given whatsoever; the first degree was therefore a huge leap in the dark so to speak; and it was only then that magical tuition began. However even in my own tradition, many covens nowadays take the candidate through a curriculum of basic magical training prior to the first-degree, this may include for example elementary working with the elements, awareness of the seasons and the wheel of the year, awareness of the lunar phases and elementary instruction on the significance of the magical tools.

In the West of England, members of my own tradition devised a 0 Degree = Probabationers ritual which although fairly simple is nevertheless quite dramatic and certainly helps the seeker to realise the importance of the step of the step that he or she is about to take. It is also a good way to formally introduce the neophyte to the other coven members, and indeed to the gods themselves. Other covens may have a more simple Rite of Dedication or they may hold a small circle where the candidate affirms his desire to serve the gods and the craft, perhaps by placing his or her right hand on the pentacle and reading out a (possibly) pre-prepared dedication oath.

It has to be mentioned that not all covens have training programmes, i.e. they hold that all you need to do is worship the gods, and work the sacred magic. This is not at all wrong in my opinion and there does seem to be a place for this form of working. I have in the past come across more than one group that works in this manner, the members were very sincere and intelligent people and indeed one of these covens had a first class record on healing.

The candidate (or aspirant as they are sometimes called) should obviously be encouraged to read as much as they can about the craft; and definitely to begin keeping a magical diary or journal. This is called the "Book of Shadows" by some but in my own tradition The Book of Shadows is an "official" document copied out after first degree initiation. In fact there are three such books called (logically!) the first, second and third Books of Shadows - the third being copied out after upgrading to the second degree.

During this time the would be covenor should attend all sabbats of the group and be encouraged to take part with an active role e.g. by assisting with the consecration of the circle or perhaps by calling a quarter. They should also be given simple tasks such as meditation and pathworkings.

The traditional probation period before first-degree initiation is a year and a day; however I do not personally believe this should be rigorously adhered to. I believe that the probation period should be "tailor made" as it were to each individual and that it should be done on an each case on merit basis - after all different people develop at different paces and some will be ready for initiation earlier than others. Besides which there could be an occasion whereby you have somebody who is clearly ready for initiation and ready to contribute to the group - why deny the coven as asset just because of the pseudo-archaic year and a day rule?

Admittedly however a long trial period ensures that the coven get to know the candidate and will give the High Priest and High Priestess better opportunity to assess how well the would be member is going to fit in with the rest of the group before initiation.

Some people hold that the year and a day probation period stems from the so-called "burning times" or persecution and that it was a security measure designed to stop "Christian spies" from infiltrating the craft. Leaving aside the old debate about what was fact and fiction about the "burning times" I have yet to discover any evidence to support this notion, and there is no doubt in my mind that it is purely a romantic myth.

The time immediately after first-degree is crucial - there is much to learn and much to do and it is a period that the High Preist or High Preistess tutoring the initiate will be most pro-active in his/her development. Although initiation when properly carried out should produce a definite change in the initiate's consciousness and awareness it does not bestow any automatic magical ability in itself and in a sense it is for the candidate to be initiated rather than the initiator to initiate!

In my own tradition the new initiate must complete a gruelling course of some sixty-five mental training exercises, these should be begun as soon as possible after initiation, they involve working with, balancing and projecting the elements, visualisation and psychic development as well as awareness of the astral planes of existence. The initiate MUST pass the course before offering him or herself for upgrading to the second-degree. Although tough going and not everyone can hack it, the rewards are great for those who work through it successfully. It will improve the results of the initiate's magical work and psychic ability.

The new initiate should be given pathworkings and practical workings to do on the nature and personality of the God and Goddess, so that he/she comes to know the gods well, furthermore there should be study of the gods and goddesses of other pantheons, not just Greek, Roman and Egyptian but of Celtic and other classical pantheons.

Of great importance however is that the new witch learns how to cast the circle correctly with the appropriate consecrations and conjurations; they should be taught how to correctly consecrate water and salt and how to mix them - we are after all creating a sacred temple and a magically pure place for the gods to enter - great care must be taken in its construction. Not only that but the circle must be secure against any irrelevant or negative energy or any unwanted presence that may take an interest in the coven's activities.

Clairvoyance is a skill that should be learned by the new initiate; this is particularly important in my own tradition as two proofs of clairvoyance must be provided by the candidate for second-degree initiation. After all, you are going to be a poor representative of the craft if you are consulted for divination but cannot do so!

This is very often - although not necessarily - done by guiding the new initiate on a course of exercises to enable the witch to scry or see visions in a crystal or other reflective surface. Not everyone however gets on with scrying, in which case a mode that is more suitable must be found. The tarot for example is an excellant tool for clairvoyance , and a good tarot reading is a form of it. After all, anybody can lay out the cards and simply look up the meanings in a book; but there is no skill in this, besides the book will only give the author's interpretations - they could mean something completely different to the reader!

The trick is to let the symbols on the cards "speak to you" as it were ie let the symbols register in the sub-conscious and then produce the true meaning of the reading. This then is the true art of tarot divination.

The initiate must have a sound understanding of the wheel of the year ie the eight sabbats; again he/she is not going to be an effective High Priest/ess if they do not understand the fire festivals or be able to construct and lead a good sabbat ceremony. The initiate should be encouraged to research the eight festivals in depth including any local customs to do with them.

To sum up: the newly initiated first-degree should develop the skills described above, however he/she should also:

• Begin gathering together the working tools; i.e. the athame, cords, etc and understand their significance.
• Understand the rules of the coven, its etiquette and how to behave in the circle.
• He/she should be developing a good report with other covenors and a good working relationship with them.

As the initiate moves closer to the Second-degree he/she may well - and should be encouraged to - "specialise" in one or more area of study. This may be astrology, kabbala, Tarot or ritual magic for example or it may be a more practical skill such as herbalism or incense making. Usually during this training period the initiate will have shown some sort of aptitude for some particular aspect of study, a good High Priest/ess should be able to spot this and encourage it, not only that but as the initiate nears second-degree he/she should be able to give a talk or workshop on their chosen subject of specialisation.

By now of course the initiate should be more than capable of working alone and unsupervised as well as being competent to write and lead rituals as well as being able to carry out the initiation ceremony to a high standard (let us not forget that first impressions can be long long lasting, great care must be taken in conducting the initiation ceremony properly).

The candidate for the third degree should serve at least a year and a day on the second-degree although in practice this is normally longer. Having said that some covens grant the third-degree on the same night and immediately after the second; although I can understand the reasons for this it would require a huge amount of work on the part of the tutor and the candidate to be prepared for the ritual, however on the other hand there is some merit in this as at the epilogue of the second-degree we have the Legend of the Descent of the Goddess - in which the Goddess (rather reluctantly!) mates with the God - obviously the sexual ritual of the Great Rite at third degree is a natural follow on from the Legend.

The candidate for the third-degree should therefore seek to work with his/her anima or animus - it may sound paradoxical but the seeker for third degree should not only confront the anima or animus but also harmonise with it - and in doing so prepare for the marriage bed at the Great Rite. The tutor to the third degree candidate has only one task - to prepare the initiate for this state of consciousness and realisation - there is no set formula for achieving this as the method must be tailor made to each individual seeker. There are however a number of tools which may be used to achieve this whether by pathworkings, deep meditation; working with the God's secret name or rituals and invocation.

All of the above may sound rather austere and severe in what is after all supposed to be a joyous and natural earth religion; however I believe that great joy can be achieved by passing through an intensive training regime, it can draw us closer to the gods and enrich our experience of the craft as well as promoting our own development on several different levels - and any effort put into training by the initiate will be repaid many times over.

Furthermore there is no doubt in my mind that so-called "higher degrees" are being granted far too freely and that standards of training in the present day craft are lower than say in the 1970's or 80's - I believe that we can learn much from those days - and if we do begin to teach the knowledge and the rituals once again then Wicca can surely become a major player in the New Age of Aquarius.