Teachers of Witchcraft and Wicca Needed to Supply Global Shortage

reply to post by Klassified


my daughter gets my grimoire. If she is ready to receive it. As for the athame...well...I guess if you had an ornate one and wanted to keep it in the family I suppose they would get handed down. I dont even have the original one I started off with. some grimiores are famous like the key of solomon.

reply to post by irsuccubus


Is she a practicing wise woman? And do you know anyone who has or uses old Grimoire's?

Originally posted by Klassified

Originally posted by Starwise
Okay I am sending this link to a High Priestess friend of mine here in NC; she has her own Wiccan Church and I believe if anyone would have heard of this person Rev Don Lewis, she would......

Personally it looks likes an elaborate money making scheme......but who knows.

Please keep us posted on what you hear.

I have to ask a question here though. When I was much, much younger. I knew some Witches personally who allowed me to read some things that don't make it onto bookshelves. I also had and read the first edition of "Drawing down the moon". Which I bought from their store.

My question is a simple one. My understanding is that each witch has an athame, and keeps a journal which is then handed down after death. I've noticed this is something seldom mentioned by witches. So I'm sure it's private to them. But who does the athame and journal get handed down to? An apprentice? A relative who is also a witch? And also, are there still journals used by covens that are centuries old?

If thats too much to answer, I'll understand. But this is something I've been curious about for a long time.

Drawing Down the Moon was my first introduction when I was 15yrs old LOL...It actually freaked me out a little bit. But as I grew up I realized I was a natural but never realized it until my mid twenties.....

As far as the Book of Shadows, traditionally they are burned. However I am nontraditional in that I will pass mine onto my daughter since we both use it....My athame will be buried....

my daughter is not nearly old enough for anything but study but she has shown an interest. If she continues the interest I'd give it to her. I inscribed it to her years before she was actually born. I was a solitary so I didnt know of many organized covens. When you get your hands on an old book you usually end up transcribing what is of use into your personal book anyway. Im sure there are plenty of covens who do use old books but as you said, its not necessarily a topic of conversation, even with other witches. Some of the other practitioners would probably know better than I as my own path has altered a bit and I now follow the path of the techno-pagan. thats a whole other matter

reply to post by Starwise

As far as the Book of Shadows, traditionally they are burned. However I am nontraditional in that I will pass mine onto my daughter since we both use it....My athame will be buried....

Burned!? Ouch! Seems like the wisdom of many witches would get burned with them. Maybe different covens handle it differently? I had always heard they were handed down. I learned something new. Thanks.

reply to post by irsuccubus


Thanks to both of you for your insights. I would enjoy reading through a few really old journals I think. But then, I love history. And firsthand history is even better.

There are many books of old that are kept with the HP and HPS of the coven and passed down within the coven. But, for example, a friend of mine passed a year ago and we had an open ritual where her items were openly burned. I find it kind of a shame, but at the same time, it is such a personal thing. No two witches are alike and now a days in the neo pagan era, traditions like Gardnerian and Alexandrian have been watered down to a eclectic hodge podge......Oh yes there are pure covens descended from them but many covens realize that to be a true witch, you must follow your own truth...So many churches are sprouting up and the only real law that exists is
Wiccan Rede: And it harm none do what ye will........So yeah I am torn on the issue, but I will pass my belongings on...

reply to post by Klassified


for someone like you I would recommend books like "To Ride a Silver Broomstick" and "To light a sacred Flame" by Silver Ravenwolf. They are very easy to follow and she presents modern witchcraft in a very good light. Llewllyn (sp) actually puts out a lot of great books on the esoteric arts. Scott Cunningham is another good author. Back in my days of filching books about paganism from the school library I was all over the place and those books helped me to understand just what it was that I was embarking on.

Originally posted by Starwise

Originally posted by Psychoparrot
This looks as good a place as any to ask why does god want to be worshipped? Surely this is one of humankinds' less favourable traits? And why did he put the tree of knowledge in the Garden of Eden telling Adam and Eve not to eat from it, giving them free will when they were little more than innocent children - sounds like setting us up for failure.

I'm being serious here, would like some answers/opinions.

Am I going to go to hell now?

Read this and it WILL ANSWER YOUR QUESTION

www.paganlibrary.com...

Accursed and marked for fratricide, (4:16) Cain left the presence of Yahweh and settled in the land of Nod, east of Eden. We can assume that the phrase "left the presence of Yahweh" implies that Yahweh is a local deity, and not omnipresent. Now Eden, according to (Gen. 2:14-15), was situated at the source of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, apparently right where Lake Van is now, in Turkey. "East of Eden," therefore, would probably be along the shores of the Caspian Sea, right in the Indo-European heartland. Cain settled in there, among the people of Nod, and married one of the women of that country. Here, for the first time, is specifically mentioned the "other people" who are not of the lineage of Adam and Eve. i.e: the Pagans.

This is really interesting. Have you seen the television show LOST (its no longer on)? I've found that show to be extremely symbolic. And I hadn't really figured out the "others" who were on the island already place in the story and this seems to fit it exactly.

If you have seen that show and made that connection can you expand?

I would really like to know where I can read further about the "other people" who are wiccan, I guess? I'm not looking to become wiccan (at least not at the moment) but this read has sparked my interest into these beliefs.

-------------------------------------------------------
And to avoid having the post deleted, in times of uncertainty you will find many people turning to various belief systems (the world religon has a stigma attached to it). And these days every day seems less certain of the one before. I am not surprised that with population currently growing at about 120 per minute the younger generations reaching out to something outside of their family belief systems. The more broad or flexible a religon the easier it is for people to find interest in, instead of restrictive religons that tell you how to honor YOUR god.

reply to post by ImmortalThought


I found that link quite interesting as well. Especially since there are Jewish sages who say there were people here before Adam and Eve. That makes it doubly interesting.

reply to post by Klassified


Okay I recvd a reply back from my High Priestess friend who sent me this: www.branwenscauldron.org...

She basically told me to run very far and very fast from this *witchschool*......So there you have it...

I will also pass this along!

reply to post by Starwise


Thank you for the heads up. And thanks for the link. I suspected as much. This is what I love about ATS. We have such a good cross-section of society, and people from all walks of life. So sooner or later, someone here is going to know something about any topic posted.

Originally posted by Klassified
reply to post by Starwise

 

As far as the Book of Shadows, traditionally they are burned. However I am nontraditional in that I will pass mine onto my daughter since we both use it....My athame will be buried....

Burned!? Ouch! Seems like the wisdom of many witches would get burned with them. Maybe different covens handle it differently? I had always heard they were handed down. I learned something new. Thanks.

Burned because each witch's path is personal, to re-use a spell gives it twice the power. I sure wont be passing my personal spells on... they are just that. Personal. Now, if my daughter chooses to follow my path, that's a whole different story, I might decide to share with her some things.

Yep dumped Time Team, contracted Timewatch (BBC).
Agreement reads, I re-charge the Stones this Equinox.
Healing stones 4 healing. Ark goes to G-D museum.

"God Saved the Queen"

Serpent

Yep and Everyone Touch the Stones not G-D this Time.
Agreement reads, I re-charge my Universe this Spring.
Hand-dig by Equinox 20th March 2012, 05:14 UTC.

"God Saved the Queen"

Lucifer

G-D

Originally posted by Starwise
reply to post by Klassified

 

Okay I recvd a reply back from my High Priestess friend who sent me this: www.branwenscauldron.org...

She basically told me to run very far and very fast from this *witchschool*......So there you have it...

I will also pass this along!

edit on 25-10-2011 by Starwise because: (no reason given)

Merry Meet Starwise! I see you beat me to it. Any RELIGIOUS affiliation charging a fee to give a certificate to pull rank is questionable in my mind. How silly does this sound, " I am a second degree episcopalian" ? But I also follow a solitary path so the idea of covens is frightening. I am not stirring the cauldroon (lol) on that one just merely stating how the whole thing sounds to a lowly practioner like myself. By the way I wouldn't touch wicca with a ten foot pole, let alone a school accepting money to accredit you for a hypothetical rank... Can you imagine going to your HP and showing her your certification and saying, "um yea, I'm going to have you step down now, I have been certified and you aren't" BAHAHAA, I am sure that would go over well.

reply to post by wildoracle13


Thanks for your input. I guess my biggest personal interest is knowledge, wisdom, and history. The craft goes back thousands of years. I would think witches from a thousand years ago would have passed down their knowledge and understanding generationally. The craft isn't exactly a "fly by night" faith. And I would think modern witches would be no different.

I can see the personal nature of a grimoire or book of shadows, but is there not an oral or written tradition that gets handed down along with historical references of the day? Maybe such as Starwise mentioned? The HP or HPS are the keepers of these?

Even the heirarchy of Druids, Bards, and Ovates had an oral history and tradition passed down meticulously to succeeding generations. Given the celtic roots of modern day practitioners, seems like you might have a similar system.

My thoughts on "witch school" as a general idea. Those who follow this path do not wish to mass convert let alone educate just anyone who shows interest beyond a few of the basic principals, and structure of the craft. Most of the time we (generally speaking) are avoiding ignorant people directing their christian purpose at us. Though, some choose to blow the door off the broom closet never to return, helping others find their way, sticking up for what we believe and shutting down ingnorance by providning as much information as possible to the public and pagan community.

My thoughts on the Correllian Nativist Church as a mechanism to train and specialize students is a fraud and shows total lack of respect for the craft, the rest of us spend YEARS learning, practicing, restructuring, changing, writing, and forging something out of nothing. No one is born wise. And to think you can go to an on-line school and instantly become a third degree high magistrate or whatever they call em these days I can only laugh about like I do the rest of the junk that has sprung up in recent years.

It's sickening to me to think that there are folks out there putting in 10 minutes a day for a few weeks only to emerge as a TEACHER to mass convert other small minds who are dazzled by the candle light. Give me a break.

Originally posted by Klassified
reply to post by wildoracle13

 

Thanks for your input. I guess my biggest personal interest is knowledge, wisdom, and history. The craft goes back thousands of years. I would think witches from a thousand years ago would have passed down their knowledge and understanding generationally. The craft isn't exactly a "fly by night" faith. And I would think modern witches would be no different.

I can see the personal nature of a grimoire or book of shadows, but is there not an oral or written tradition that gets handed down along with historical references of the day? Maybe such as Starwise mentioned? The HP or HPS are the keepers of these?

Even the heirarchy of Druids, Bards, and Ovates had an oral history and tradition passed down meticulously to succeeding generations. Given the celtic roots of modern day practitioners, seems like you might have a similar system.

Nope, "the craft" goes back much much further. Humans inately feel the need to worship ( I hate that word) nature. We feel and appreciate nature and all the earth has to offer all the time. THIS is what it's all about. The earliest cultures you can research placed thier "prayers" with the forces of nature to bring rain, prosperity, fertility and on and on. I think it's pretty difficult for most people to understand what a "witch" is. Are we talking about 1600s farmers making tinctures and harvesting herbs? or are we talking about indigenous peoples of Africa 1300's who cut open the bellies of goats to see into the future? Gypsies, Brujas, Shamans...Okay, I am trying not to go too far into that one. It is unfortunate that more of these oral traditions and histories weren't preserved for us. But the sheer amount of wars, uprisings, social issues and persecuting religions/cultures degraded our chances at perserving much of it. That's my theory anyway.

I wish I could learn more about these things myself, because I find wiccans and witchcraft very interesting myself, unluckily, many things are fake, and as such bring bad thoughts in mind, of course.


I think anyone seeking profit for something is very very very fishy, and could have a bit more meaning to it if its done like the OP's post says it is.


But most people are not blessed with such knowledge now, its like trying to dig through red tape, and it is just not worth the trouble less you learn from sources yourself and actually talk to them.

*wink wink hint hint*

Originally posted by Starwise

Originally posted by Psychoparrot
This looks as good a place as any to ask why does god want to be worshipped? Surely this is one of humankinds' less favourable traits? And why did he put the tree of knowledge in the Garden of Eden telling Adam and Eve not to eat from it, giving them free will when they were little more than innocent children - sounds like setting us up for failure.

I'm being serious here, would like some answers/opinions.

Am I going to go to hell now?

Read this and it WILL ANSWER YOUR QUESTION

www.paganlibrary.com...

Thankyou for that, certainly put a different slant on it, and I did wonder about all the possible inbreeding of these early years. Surely Eve would have had identical DNA to Adam bing based on his rib, for a start? I cannot believe than people I work with believe this as absolute truth.

I showed one of them a piece of amber I have with insects, looking a bit like mayflies, in it, saying how they had been trapped there for millions of years. 'Thousands' she corrected me.

So where do the dinosaurs fit in? Do christians believe they existed because I don't see how they can do if the world is a mere 6000 years old.

Sorry this is rather off topic, please feel free to direct me to a different thread if felt necessary.

As for the witchyschools, the more I think of it, the more dubious the whole set up sounds. Some people have a real 'gift' for exploiting others for money.