Wiccan Initiations (particuluarly rescues)

scorplett

Wiccan Initiations (particularly rescues) and the morality of the group dynamic
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I have edited this post in an attempt to be more clear and hopefully get some sort of response or feedback.

Recently I have been thinking quite a bit about the various motivations for giving initiations, the karma and morality for them, the synergy and dynamic between initiator and initiate and the initiators responsibilities for their charge.
Oaths taken by traditional wiccans often create a feeling of almost obligation to initiate anyone who asks, and is in the opinion of the High Priestess 'properly prepared'. But defining properly prepared and the circumstances of the asking are often very troublesome.

I have found a great deal of conflict in whom an initiation would suit and of when. Questioning within myself, my own willingness to give an initiation in the sense of what set of personal circumstance would colour my perception of what is right and correct, needed and deserving and the wider situation as would any responsible High Priestess or Priest.

Motivations for initiation are generally seen as being mostly on the part of the initiate, that it is primarily a matter for questioning them. Motivations from this perspective can be many and varied but it is not only the motivation of the student and initiates but often and even more so those of the teacher and initiator. I look and the past experiences of others and this issue becomes of huge concern within the wider community. Of those I know or have known, some took their initiations simply because it is what your supposed to do and in the Gardinarian tradition the only way to be able to work in a coven.

Others seem to have been pressured into taking initiations having been told that they should or that they are ready or various other statements that may feed the ego and then some misguidedly walked into their initiations in a very unprepared state, which may have as much to do with withholding information in the catchments of ‘it’s a mystery tradition’ or some other reason, which I would say rarely has anything to do with the level or talent of the individual dedicant. Then there is the ‘for the good of the group’ routine where the unwavering desire for the perceived perfection of male female to number thirteen etc within the group (whereas in truth ‘where three or more shall meet, a coven they shall be’, and time again I have seen High priests pander to the woman who wants to be his witch queen or the High Priestess installing a new tier to her pedestal.

I should question my granting such a request on many levels for all of those reasons outlined above, however something I have found to be quite rare is the responsibility of the initiate to ask the motivations of the High Priestess and/or High Priest. In my own case I asked this question of a good number of HPs’ and HP’s and took quite some time in choosing who would suit my personal needs and also as to who could answer these questions to my satisfaction, changing teachers and initiators over the years and taking my time over choosing who, what and when was right for me.

Initiation is something that I have taken very seriously for myself and as such feel that this should be the case more often for others seeking their way on this path. I am aware that this may be to a degree judgmental on my part, seeing my own precautions and foresight is all very well and good for me, and will of course give my opinions an accent that speaks to my past and future but that may not be so for others. However, I digress as there is a base line question of ethics here rather than any personal experiences circumstances or histories etc etc.

The strongest thought within this subject that I have often considered is the ethics of 'rescue initiation'. That is the process of encouraging and giving initiation for the purposes of creating a functioning coven. Most often this occurs when the High Priest/ess chooses a new partner who has not been initiated yet and they want to act as their magical partner at the head of a coven. This will also sometimes happen in order to bulk up the numbers of a coven and sometimes even to enable a segregation of courts (i.e. inner and outer or initiate only and training circles) This can have a very beneficial outcome but more often does not which is why any High Priestess should consider it as a last resort. It is sometimes beneficial in that if second and third are given close to each other that the initiator can wash their hands so to speak of the newly independent High Priest/ess and also very often be un-necessarily reluctant to take initiation and an individual may be for want of a better term ‘overdue’ or very quickly adept possibly because of past experience with other groups etc. although these can often be more due to the initiate and coven being a poor fit.

The two greatest dilemmas this creates for me personally are, firstly the holding of responsibillity by the High Priestess (mother) for the individual (child) for an undefined amount of time and sometimes the responsibility for any of their initiates(grandchildren), is this too much to hold and for too long? I personally tend to think so.

Secondly how can a High Priestess expect those initiated under rescued members, to follow the traditional procedures for training and should initiates be aware of any individuals within the group who are rescue initiates and even occasionally if the new initiate themselves are being encouraged in order to 'make up the numbers'. I think that such questions of initiation and lineage should not even need to be asked as it should be up front to begin with.

The interpretation of oaths should be seriously considered to allow such questions be asked and should not be taboo within a group environment which for many reasons they seem to be just that. But then some people I know who were themselves initiated under circumstances outlined above was not even aware of anything different being the case and were not encouraged to ask rational questions and forbidden to ask some questions.

This is at sometime or another, bound to be a consideration for any High Priestess who is like myself working within the parent coven and as a natural course should eventually wish to hive or set up solo. Has anyone ever thought about this? Has anyone even ever thought of these topics being at issue? What us your general understanding of the area of ethics and understanding of initiation?I am unsure if there are any other High Priest/esses or Priest/esses on this forum, if there are I would be welcoming of your thoughts on this however I am much more interested in the personal expectations of students, neophytes and dedicants on this.

I would be interested in discovering what those who have the expectations of initiation have to say with regard to responsible questioning of your motives the motives of your initiator or even if you wish to know absolutely nothing of those you are going into circle with as in the strict gardenarian tradition. The real question I think I am looking to ask is this.
Do you wish to know, not so much what you’re getting into but WHO you’re getting into???

skateing dragon

That was a great Post Scorplett! I wish to be initiated at an older age so it was very interesting