Initiation Question

[RowanModig]

I've recently gotten back onto my path in Wicca and am fully committed to being initiated to the practice. That being said, I live in a very christian, republican state and have yet to find a coven. I plan on being a solitary practitioner for a while so that I can come into my own in regards to my deities and spell work, etc. My question would be do I necessarily have to be initiated into Wicca by a coven or can I do my own ritual to become a full fledged wiccan?

Also, I've just started reading Coming to the Edge of the Circle, which is a book about initiation into Wicca, I'm just curious as to the experience around the forum and to any opinions or advice you all could give.

Thanks

[MaskedOne]

I've recently gotten back onto my path in Wicca and am fully committed to being initiated to the practice. That being said, I live in a very christian, republican state and have yet to find a coven. I plan on being a solitary practitioner for a while so that I can come into my own in regards to my deities and spell work, etc. My question would be do I necessarily have to be initiated into Wicca by a coven or can I do my own ritual to become a full fledged wiccan?

Also, I've just started reading Coming to the Edge of the Circle, which is a book about initiation into Wicca, I'm just curious as to the experience around the forum and to any opinions or advice you all could give.

Thanks

The answer to this depends on the tradition of Wicca. Some won't acknowledge you unless you're initiated by a lineaged coven. Others acknowledge self-initiation. Have a tradition in mind?

[monsno_leedra]

The answer to this depends on the tradition of Wicca. Some won't acknowledge you unless you're initiated by a lineaged coven. Others acknowledge self-initiation. Have a tradition in mind?

Definitely agree with this. I know many recognize self dedication to a practice but only neo's really accept self initiation into a practice that I know of. Haven't really met a traditional or lineage'd Wiccan that accepts or acknowledges it. Seen a few suggestions of a hived and independent practitioner being recognized by a lineage'd group but that was rather few and far between from what I've seen.

[RowanModig]

I identify more with Celtic and Norse mythology and those gods and goddesses speak to me far more than any others. I guess that would make me eclectic or Seax?

[Tylluan Penry]

You might enjoy this interview I did with a lineaged HP, Tam Campbell
You can find it here: http://tylluanpenry.podbean.com/e/in...-tam-campbell/

[thalassa]

You can be Wiccan without being initiated*, but you won't be recognized certain types of Wiccan (Gardnerian, Alexandrian, Blue Star, Georgian, etc) without being initiated. And, if you want to go into a lineaged tradition, they likely won't recognize your self-study and practice as applicable to their tradition. Part of the process pre-initiation is a matter of testing comittment and fit. Not everyone is *right* for the group and not every group is *right* for the person...



*TBH, anyone that at this point refuses to acknowledge self-dedicated solo practitioners of Wicca is just a troglodyte. While (IMO) its perfectly fair to be (hopefully constructively) critical of some solitary practices as being "Wiccan", a blanket statement of "there's no such thing..." is just moronic because people have been doing un-covened, non-traditional Wicca for at least 40-50 years now.

[RowanModig]

Thank you

[Jembru]

I thought I'd pipe in because I have been going over my past books of shadows and recalling details about my path so far that I had forgotten. To me, my most important initiations were those I did myself. So much so, that having gone over the books, I am planning on conducting another to mark the most recent changes and my starting out on a new leg of my spiritual experience. My first self-initiation (or dedication, as some would prefer to call it), wasn't until I turned 18 in 2000, which was 4 years after I first discovered paganism and witchcraft. I had actually been 'initiated' into a teen coven before this point, which of course didn't last beyond high school (this teen coven btw, is how I always know when I started my path; the founding members had seen the movie 'the Craft' in the cinema, which came out in 1996 ^^).

I then took a second self-initiation in 2005, 10 years ago almost exactly! I was initiated into 2 other covens (neither of which were lineaged, although one allegedly had the input of a gardnerian HPS who critiqued and advised on the core liturgy. I say 'alleged' because I never met said HPS or even knew her name, and simply corresponded with her via a solitary wiccan from over the river who called himself 'Earthlore'*), as well as being initiated into the Fellowship of Isis, but these initiations always felt simply to be initiations into the group. In fact, my first and for me most significant, proper coven had a rule in which we weren't to discuss our degree or position within to coven to anyone outside of the coven, because such ranks were meaningless to anyone outside. Some traditions race you through to third in a few years, while others require much more stringent training and experience to be accumulated before members can move on, so that that two second degree witches from two separate covens (even within the same tradition in some cases), can be quite different in terms of knowledge, experience and spiritual development. Initiation into and within groups were meaningful and nice, but never felt as spiritually significant or intimate as the two initiations I carried out in private.

Sorry for the odd detail about my wiccan days, but reading through my BoS has thrown back loads of things I'd just totally forgotten, and helped me to reconnect with an earlier part of myself. It's been a really nice experience.

*Incidentally, if this person sounds familiar to anyone.. if indeed you're reading this yourself, I'd really love to get back in touch.

You might enjoy this interview I did with a lineaged HP, Tam Campbell
You can find it here: http://tylluanpenry.podbean.com/e/in...-tam-campbell/

I'm going to start listening to your podcasts while I'm at work! It will be a pleasant break from the constant chirping of Japanese I listen to. You've got such a nice soothing voice.

[Serria]

You can identify as a Wiccan when you truly feel committed and that this is the religion for you. When I started, I actually initiated after only 2 months since discovering Wicca. I don't recommend this because I'm self-aware so I knew at that point that I didn't want to be Christian anymore, that I wanted something different and the separating from Christianity had occurred a god year before I stumbled upon Wicca. It was just a matter of, who do I wanna be. Wicca just clicked. It just felt right. To me, it was like coming home to your mom after a long sleep-away camp. It was like it was always there, I just couldn't find it. At the time, I was 16, and I actually joined the forum a year or so later, and here I am! 19 and still on my path.

That's just how I did it. Now, you can be coven initiated if you like, but it isn't required. It's not like just because they're a coven, means they are more truly Wiccan then a self-initiated Solitary. A lot of people will do a Year and a Day of learning, researching, and practicing the faith before they identify because that Year is kind of like a trial period to really learn what it's all about and to make sure it's the right path for you.

I hope my reply helped!

- - - Updated - - -

You might enjoy this interview I did with a lineaged HP, Tam Campbell
You can find it here: http://tylluanpenry.podbean.com/e/in...-tam-campbell/

May I just say, your voice is soothing!

[gelman66]

Very interesting. The more I find out the more I understand how superficial my knowledge really is.