First of all, initiation seems to be quite an unusual idea/concept that doesn't appear to come up in modern mundane life. But, when a child moves up within their schooling - from junior to secondary within the UK - they have a week in the summer term at their secondary school so that they can familiarise themselves with their teachers and the new school layout as well as their new classmates. They can also go to summer school during the summer holidays to assist with their transition, or initiation, to their new school. There's Fresher's Week at university, which is also a kind of initiation into the adult student life. When you start a new job, you could get an induction into the job, training on the systems they use and other aspects of the work - another kind of initiation.
So really, there are plenty of initiations that we go through outside of our magickal paths. But from a solitary Witch point of view, initiation can be a slightly more complex idea to understand. The conscious act of calling myself a Witch and doing my first spell/ritual could have been my initiation onto my path.
In one of the spellbooks within my magickal library, there is an initiation ritual that is given and it says: "Don't feel you must cast this spell before you can begin on others. This is a spell for when you come to recognise the benefits of expressing your witch and want to promise to yourself to allow your witch to flourish." (Spells for the Witch in You by Marina Baker)
I do and I don't agree with this. I do like the idea of making a promise to myself to set my witchy self free but I don't feel that a spell or ritual is absolutely necessary to do this. This is mirrored by something else I read in another of my witchy books: "There is no need to be initiated or trained by an elder; instead, you can create your own system based on your beliefs, knowledge and experience." (The Witch's Journal by Selene Silverwind) I do feel that this is more relevant to how I am going about practicing my Craft because I am a solitary Witch - I don't physically meet up with anyone local to me. The only people I meet regularly with are online: those doing the Priestess Path course and the Diving Deeper membership community for the various other things that Emily offers.
Admittedly, I feel that those who have done the Priestess Path with me have become a coven of sorts because we encourage and support everyone within the group. So even though this is the final part of the Priestess Path course, I feel like we did an initiation when we started to do the spells and rituals, even meeting virtually for the first time could have been an initiation into the group.
In the Wicca Level 1: Witchcraft for Beginners video course on Udemy, initiation is described as having different levels that you move through as you gain experience and knowledge. There seem to typically be 3 Degrees within Wiccan covens. Within a Wiccan coven, it's a year and a day long cycle between each Degree (which can be longer), although there is an element of having to prove what you've learned along the way to the High Priestess and/or Priest of the coven as they have to know/feel that you are ready for the next Degree.
However, for solitary witches, it's a bit easier as they don't have to prove their knowledge in any way before moving on to the next topic. As a solitary witch myself, I could choose to train myself (which I did to start with), or I could find a teacher outside of the coven structure, which I technically did by choosing to do the Priestess Path course with Emily.
I definitely didn't want this course to end, despite knowing that it would, because it gave me a routine for learning and trying new exercises and seeing how they sat within me. It was great to have an organised way of learning, theory then practical, that I will really miss moving forwards. However, I think I've found something that I can do as a stand-alone course of sorts.
It will be a course through Francesca De Grandis' "Be A Goddess" book, but rather than having someone walk me through the course, I'm the one responsible for setting the goals and achieving them. So this will be another initiation for me - doing something on my own, making a commitment to myself and following through on all the activities and exercises.
I will absolutely be documenting my experiences and writing about them here because I think it's important that these things are shared and not lost or forgotten about - and it will keep me accountable too. The "Be A Goddess" book contains a 15 topic course, with the topics being covered weekly but if I choose to, I can do the topics over a longer time.
So, as with tarot's major arcana and life in general, one ending allows for new life to come in. Change is a part of life and will always be a part of it. As much as I might not like this change that's happening, it's a necessary part of my journey and I hope the next part is as full of new experiences and teachings as the last year has been for me.
There were two parts to the Initiation ritual, with the first being a ritual that was crafted by the whole group. Because it was so personal for everyone, I'm choosing to keep this part private but it was amazing to work magick with people who have come to mean a lot to me. The thing that was created hangs with pride in a place that I can see and walk past every day.
During the second part of the Initiation ritual, the final ritual of the Priestess Path, it was amazing to look back on how far I've come and how this course has changed me, to release things that have been holding me back. This was led by Emily as the facilitator of the course, and it was so powerful that even now, I'm still processing how I feel about who I am. I know that I've changed and I'm still coming to terms with this but as I integrate these emotions and the rituals, it's becoming easier to understand where I want to go in the future.
I hope this inspires you all to never give up, and to know that you are always worth the commitment, time and effort. Remember that if you are willing to put your all into a project, you will reap the abundant harvest that will always come.
Peace and love to all!!!
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