These excellent questions and comments from a mailing list….
My answers within…
> From my perspective, the most important element of self initiation is
> between the person and the Gods/Spirits of their path, whatever that
> may be.
> The idea of having a human who is not part of that path witness the whole
> thing seems a bit pointless…
I can see your point of view, but I don’t agree. There’s a reason witnesses are present at Rites of Passage, such as weddings for example, even though those witnesses don’t necessarily take part in the ceremony. Having a witness at one’s First Intent Initiation serves a similar purpose.
> > a non-witnessed
> > initiation works pretty well for first-level, Outer Circle practise.
> > But it WILL wear off after a while, with the querent usually returning
> > to general Outer Circle ritual as can be found in any religious
> >
> What do you mean it will wear off? Dedication or initiation is a
> personal thing and a choice…how binding it is depends entirely on
> what/who was involved and the vows taken in the process.
I absolutely agree with you here. An initiation is a personal choice, and, as you say, “how binding it is depends entirely on what/who was involved”. As you may know, the vows taken in the process may or may not remain binding….
For the first question, except in a few exceptional cases, the intent to practise/study/seek will wear off over time if the querent has initiated themselves without some kind of support, and they will either go back to, or remain within, the Outer Circle. The Outer Circle includes all faith based religions, which, in my practice describes: those practitioners who choose to personify and worship energies external to themselves.
I have written extensively on this at my site. It’s also written as an introduction in my book, and I think I posted it as a message here at this list too at one stage, before the book was published.
As I mentioned in another post, Outer Circle practice can be a life-time’s dedication, very powerful and not to be sneezed at. It does not, however, assist the querent to delve further into the Craft.
> you mention somewhere that you have NEVER made any promises to
> God/dess or Spirits…
That’s right. Neither I, nor any of my fellow students, nor my teacher, Edgar Pielke, ever made promises to Gods, Goddesses, or Spirits. We studied and practised Parapsychology and Metaphysics and some of us were lucky enough to learn the occult secrets contained within that study. I count myself among them. We called it Craft work, and that’s what it is. I studied with Eddie for twenty-two years. I say this only to give you an idea of my history…
> now this intrigues me…from my perspective, the
> very act of initiation is one of avowing yourself to a particular path
> and the Spirits/Gods that belong to it….In fact the very basis of most
> Pagan paths (and other Magical ones for that matter) is a constant
> interaction between Spirits and or God/desses..
It might be the very basis of most Pagan paths, but I’m not referring to that (and forgive me for seeing it like this, but it’s really only come into prominence in the past 15 years or so and wasn’t even spoken of when I was studying) somewhat vague label which has been given to so many different factions of first or second level Outer Circle and Middle Circle practice.
Except for the time before I entered my Coven, when the only thing on offer was worship of some kind or another, it was not, and still is not the very basis of the area of the Craft that I study and practise. In my area of the Craft such practice is of the Outer Circle. And, while I understand that Outer Circle practise is the most prevalent magical practice in the world, and have most definitely used such methods myself from time to time – and greatly respect those methods and those who practise them – I am not an Outer Circle practitioner.
I do not worship any God, or Goddess. Though it may interest you to know that while I do interact with some quite surprising ‘Spiritual’ energies on an almost daily basis, I do not worship them either. I do have deep respect for most of them, but I do not worship them. Nor have I dedicated myself or my practice to them.
> I’m guessing that you see this differently….so what if you don’t mind
> me asking, did you initiate yourself into? If there were no promises
> made, what actually happened? What was the purpose of initiation if not
> to promise yourself to a particular path?
Thank you for asking.
My First Intention Initiation was made towards allowing myself to open – to agree – to learn. To open my mind. To use my mind as a tool of learning. I can’t tell you the specific details of my initiation because that is a private matter between me and my coven. It is one of the very few things to which I am oath-bound. I suppose you could call that a promise, but it wasn’t part of the Initiation ritual itself. I did, however, make a promise to be as diligent as I could be in my daily practise of the Craft. It was a 24/7 pledge….
The purpose of my Initiation was the same as any “focused” starting point.
It was the Initial step.
For me, it was the moment when I agreed to move beyond lowest-common-denominator thinking and knee-jerk reaction (that one is hard lol), and move towards open-minded study and practice of the occult and magical understanding of the mind and how it interacts with its surroundings:
The study and practice of Parapsychology and Metaphysics. Sometimes, in my area of the Craft, known as High Magic.
There are a number of levels to this study, but basically it is what I call the Craft – Witch Craft if you will – and except in the first stages for learning purposes, it has very little to do with worshiping anything.
May your days and nights be blessed
Love
Leonora
http://www.witchywisdom.com
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