Is initiation required?

[blb01]

A few people told me that I'm not Wiccan because I haven't been initiated in a coven. However, this WAS at Gaia Online, and that site is VERY out of control. So please tell me, is it true that initiation is required to be Wiccan?

 

[Feathers in Hair]

Hello, and welcome!

I hesitate to speak, because I am not Wiccan, but I've heard several different opinions on the matter. It really depends on the tradition you want to be in, and how you feel about the issue. I get wary when people try to demand that people be initiated by another person or a coven, because it sounds a lot like what many people in the "Earth-based religions" community turned away from some of their former religions for.

Again, though, it really depends on how you feel.

 

[Darkdale]

A few people told me that I'm not Wiccan because I haven't been initiated in a coven. However, this WAS at Gaia Online, and that site is VERY out of control. So please tell me, is it true that initiation is required to be Wiccan?

I am not Wiccan, but I have heard nothing of initiation being necessary. I would recommend reading AJ Drew's A Wiccan Bible. It is a very down to earth and beautiful explanation of Wicca (no fluff and no nonsense).

 

[Unedited]

You absolutely do not need to be initiated to call yourself a Wiccan. You only have to be initiated to join certain covens or groups. And you of course don't need to be part of any group to be a Wiccan. Most Wiccans I know are solitary practicers.

 

[blb01]

Thanks a lot. You don't know how much those people upset me. Some of them aren't even Wiccan. Some of them say that they used to be. I should have known to not to listen to people from Gaia Online. I'll be staying away from their religion forums from now on.

 

[Feathers in Hair]

I don't know enough about them to have formed any opinion, but please feel welcomed here on RF! A lot among us aren't Wiccan, but we have a wonderful time learning from each other.

 

[Shadow Wolf]

Well, if you plan on being a solitary witch, then how can you be initiated by a coven?

Some of them aren't even Wiccan. Some of them say that they used to be. I should have known to not to listen to people from Gaia Online. I'll be staying away from their religion forums from now on.

Not to put Wiccan down, but I think many people, when first going into earth-based religions, look at Wicca first because it's more mainstream, and easier to find information about. And then many find other paths, while many stay as a Wiccan.

 

[Flappycat]

Eh, you can worship some god or other in traditional Wiccan fashion if you want, but some seek the warmth of being a member of a coven. Just use it as an excuse to do a lot of reading, and you'll be fine. Reading is good. It sharpens the mind.

 

[Fluffy]

Is baptism necessary to be a Christian? Some say yes, others say no.

Who are the ones who say yes to dictate another's religion to them?

I've never been initiated and consider myself a Wiccan. If another looks at that and decides that I am not Wiccan then that is cool but it won't change how I view myself.

 

[Halcyon]

Can't solitaries do their own self-initiation/dedication ritual anyway, if they feel it to be necessary. It frustrates me when people say "you're not a true (insert religion) because you haven't taken part in this ceremony/ritual".

The way i see it, as long as you believe in what a religion has to say, that makes you a follower of that path.

 

[Draka]

I'm Solitary and I have done a self-initiation. Do I feel it was necessary for me? yes. It felt right. I do not feel the need to join a coven and really don't want to either. I prefer being Solitary. As for anyone else that is their decision. Whatever feels right to you is what is right for you. No one else can tell you what your beliefs are anyway...they can't crawl inside your mind...they are yours.

 

[Circle_One]

Just to reiterate what everyone else has said, you absolutely do not need to be initiated to be Wiccan. There are certain traditions, however, like Gardnerian, that require you to be initiated by a coven member in order to join their coven, but certainly not all traditions are like this.

If you wish to practice solitary, then it is, by no means, a requirement, though a lot of covens will have you initiated into their coven before becoming an actual member.

And as Halcyon said, if you do feel it is necessary, there are self-initation rituals you can do on your own, but do not, for one second, think that it is necessary in order to practice Wicca. It is not.

 

[Tez]

Not to put Wiccan down, but I think many people, when first going into earth-based religions, look at Wicca first because it's more mainstream, and easier to find information about. And then many find other paths, while many stay as a Wiccan.

So True, I found out about paganinsm through Wicca, I read an article in a "Teen Magazine" years ago about a girl who was Wiccan. I found out more information about it and paganism and chose to follow Wicca, a few years later I found that it wasn't quite my thing since I always worked alone, so I started looking into the path of the Solitary Witch instead.

I think because its the most well known path because of things like Buffy, etc.. That people seem to choose it first and are a bit weary of looking in to other paths, but eventually get over it as they learn more. I found it pretty scary and confusing when I first started learning, there were so many pages on the net one saying one thing and another saying something different. It made me feel like I was getting no where, lol, but eventually the more you read the easier it gets. Suppose its the same with learning anything though.

- Tez

 

[Dark_Waltz]

Well I am sort of on the fence often I match up to wiccan beleifs but I also do not do things in line with the tradition, I call myself simply a pagan or a witch occasionally a wiccan I tend to be just me
But ponder this,
Does the flower need instruction to grow?
Do the trees need to feel validated by each other?
I personally think a ritual for initiation is not required at all if it is not needed or wanted,
It is a mere formality that is not to say it is useless however,
I personally feel this is a very organic path and when the time is right you may want to be initiated either into a coven or as a solitarty,
It has to be a natural desicion and no one has the right to tell you what you should and shouldn't do with regard to initiation,
Oh and you must be part of a coven to be a wiccan or pagan is a pile of bull !
Infact some people in covens are more in it for noteriety more than anything,
Find your own way to grow

 

[Solon]

To be a pagan, you only need only to follow in the ways of the Old Ones and observe their rites as much as possible. It matters not a jot to me, which God you follow, my personal Gods are Egyptian and Greek, Amun of Ipet-Swt and Athena of Athens.

Solon

 

[Worshipper]

I'm Solitary and I have done a self-initiation.

Would you mind sharing a bit more about your self-initiation, Draka? I don't want to pry into your private religious life, so I will completely understand if you don't want to share, or if you only want to share in vague terms. But what did you do to initiate yourself?

My wife and I read the initiation rites in Gardner's Book of Shadows at the Internet Sacred Text Archive a few years back and we really liked what we read. We have talked about sort of initiating one another using those rituals. But it does seem strange for a non-initiated person to initiate someone else.

 

[krishnano]

I used to be a Wiccan and was a solitary practitioner for most of it, although I did consider coventry. It really is up to you about how you wish to conduct yourself in Wicca, but now that I've matured a little, I think initiation is not a bad thing either.

The good thing about initiation is that you have a community, a coven who is there to help you, and it also helps to preserve the mysteries of the Craft (being a new religion in itself and all... it IS Neo-Paganism after all), fluffy bunnies aside. Solitary practicing is nice too, but the danger is always fluffy bunnies.

I always liked this site for that reason: Wicca: For the Rest of Us - Fluffy Bunnies

I had a fondness for the Alexandrian tradition and Blue Star Wicca, and if I continued on my Wiccan path, I would have been part of either one.

 

[Draka]

Would you mind sharing a bit more about your self-initiation, Draka? I don't want to pry into your private religious life, so I will completely understand if you don't want to share, or if you only want to share in vague terms. But what did you do to initiate yourself?

My wife and I read the initiation rites in Gardner's Book of Shadows at the Internet Sacred Text Archive a few years back and we really liked what we read. We have talked about sort of initiating one another using those rituals. But it does seem strange for a non-initiated person to initiate someone else.

My self-initiation was basically a reaffirmation of my dedication. You do a dedication to the path first. Dedicating oneself to the Lord and Lady and the study of your chosen path. You study for the term of at least a year and one day before initiation. At that time, after all your study, you find yourself still seriously holding your beliefs and vastly more knowledgable of your path, you do another ritual to self-initiate. It is a very private and intimate thing between yourself and the Divine, so no, I won't reveal the ritual I did itself. Oh, and please remember, just because you study for that term doesn't mean you ever stop studying. Learning is a constant.

 

[Worshipper]

I very much like the idea of studying beforehand. What did you study? How much study did you do during the course of the year and day (5hrs/wk; 5hrs/day; 5hrs/month)? Are there things that you didn't necessarily study but that you would now recommend to a novice?

I hope I'm not being too nosy.

 

[Draka]

I very much like the idea of studying beforehand. What did you study? How much study did you do during the course of the year and day (5hrs/wk; 5hrs/day; 5hrs/month)? Are there things that you didn't necessarily study but that you would now recommend to a novice?

I hope I'm not being too nosy.

I studied anything and everything I could get my grubby hands on . Basically to not only get a good understanding of the base of the religion, but the practice of it as well. To learn a bit of everything so you know for certain that it is the right path for you. The Sabbats, Esbats, the knowledge of the divinatory meaning behind certain symbols and much more. To know not only what kind of rituals are best suited to specific times of the month and the year, but why they are. To understand not only the traditions and rituals you might partake in on a Sabbat, but the history of it that explains the why.

I didn't have any schedule that I kept to. I read and studied as the Wheel turned. That is to say, I studied things appropriate for full moon rituals when nearing the full moon. Same for New moons and each of the Sabbats. That's another reason that the year of study it appropriate. For the Wheel of the Year and all that it entails and brings to you are best studied and practiced as it turns. No good just reading something if you don't put it into action and see if you feel the spirituality of it as well as understand the writings.

I don't recommend trying to learn absolutely everything, as that is impossible. Everyone seems to find their own little niche as they go and will spend more time studying their own particular "flavors", that is to say, things like different forms of divination, healing, whether they favor herbs or stones and so much more. That will be done before and after initiation and for the rest of your life.