ashleysworld

Initiation - THAT old chestnut!

2009-05-25T14:35:00.000-07:00

This musing followed on from a recent debate among some of the group Taryn and I have been owrking with:

I think there there are two very distinct kinds of initiation, the spiritual initiation and the traditional initiation (to unintentionly coin two loose phrases!!!). The first I think is the landmark "moment" of spiritual passage from one "level" of understanding and being to another, its a doorway on the soul's journey . .. and the other is the specific initiation into specific knowledge laid out by others on a specific path. .

So often the two get mixed up and it leads to lots of confusion. It used to make me really cross when people said things like they'd undergone "self-initiation into wicca". Total rubbish! These people were never ever able to demonstrate initiation with information that showed they even understood the "degrees" system used by Gardnerian / Alexandrian witchcraft let alone had the specific knowledge passed to them and therefore simply could not claim initiation into these tradtions. I should say I don't rule out the possibility that specific information could have been passed by spiritual or psychic means but, if it had, it would be accessible toi memory and demonstrable to other initiates or the traditional knowledge is simply lost!

I don't dispute however that the people who claim self-initiation have initiated themselves into a deeper level of understanding of themselves, their spirituality and the surrounding spiritual context of their being. In fact I'd say that even a "traditional" initiation can't be called 100% successful if it doesn't achieve some form of spiritual initiation as well.

All of which is a long way round saying that while I openly practice the "have-a-go" approach to working magickally and ritually within an individual's pagan aspiration I also nod to Mon's assertion that the craft itself (whatever THAT might mean to any individual these days!!!) does need "elders" to keep the specific traditional knowledge, pass it on and preside over valuable initiations (both spiritual and traditional).

I too have lost hope that "newbies" will want or be prepared to go through the necessary steps to acheive a meaningful "growth" (initiation) and have somehow used this as an excuse to allow myself to slack off from teaching on a persoanl level these past years. Recently I've been asked to lead some "shamanic" gatherings and have found myself declining but only on the grounds of commitment and time and, on deeper analysis, I've realised that being the leader was appealing to me again for all the wrong reasons.

But I still like to think that if a sincere student came to me, I'd teach again, though, as I say, I've not seen one with the right commitment for a number of years and I've not really looked either, if the truth be told.

But I agree that the craft WILL die if we don't act to preserve its integrity and mystery and the truly "occult" knowledge inside it, and, simply, I don't want that to happen. So I feel frustrated too. We don't want to teach, they don't want to commit to learn

Ashley: "Art thou willing to suffer to learn?"
Student: "err . . no . . no much . . perhaps a bit at weekends . . ."

But I digress . . .
I love our group's gatherings, Taryn and I have reach personal levels of spiritual growth beyond anything we thought previously possible in private but we have thoroughly enjoyed working in a group again especially with so many old friends as both of us miss "the old days" too . . . I don't feel in the least bit guilty for selfishly persuing our own path and working together in a closed group. I disliked the direction several of the open groups I used to be with were going in, although some are run by great friends who I respect magickally and spiritually still for continuing to run them

So yes, I share the obligation to teach "proper stuff" but reserve the right to only teach it to those "worthy" of it . . . but who judges these things? The elders of the elders ? Errr . . . since I don't know 'em ,then I guess that means us!!!

Ash

An Interview With Ashley

2009-04-10T02:32:00.000-07:00

I recently gave the following interview about Paganism and Witchcraft from my personal point of view . . I found typing my answers out for the lady who'd been to interview me verbally first was interesting and raised some good and concise points about what I believe :

> 1. Where do your pagan beliefs come from? Were you born into a pagan
> family or was it your decision?

Paganism "found" me . . .it seemed that my views on the way the world and universe worked were starting to sound pagan, I htought a lot about it, especially in my university days, but it wasn't until a few years later that I really found myself unable to call my views anything but "pagan".

> 2. What made you decide to choose witchcraft rather than any other paths
> and how does this impact on your everyday life?

The brand of spiritual "magic" I'd been practising in my life was pretty organic until university when I got interested in so-called "High (Ritual) Magick" . . . as time went on I was drawn far more to natural magic (communing with trees and spirits of the places I visited) and when I started to learn about the Craft it was obvious that it was more or less what I'd already been doing. Not surprising really when you consider that Gardner wrote most of the recognised Wicca rituals from his own background of studying the very same ritual magick stuff that I'd studied (ref Aliester Crowley)!!!!

> 3. Which path of witchcraft do you follow?

I'd have to say my own, really . . but I like Gardner and feel, in many ways, that most modern Craft actually comes from him o, at the very least, is massively infuenced by him but I am not Garnerian initiated and don't follow any specific path insdie the craft. Which is quite amusing as most people assume I am much "higher" in the initiatory tree than I really am, I don't actually see that it matters much to be honest!

> 4. Is there a set of rules/ideology that you live by, such as Christians
> have the bible etc? What would the pagan equivalent of the bible be?

There are a few good sayings ('An it harm none . . " etc) but I think Jesus' saying about doing to others as you'd wish to be done to is pretty much infallible when it comes to making moral decisions in life!!! Certainly the Craft (and perhaps paganism more generally) don't hold so much sway by specific moral rules like the bible, which I personally believe is all but impossible now to understand as time, translations etc etc over the many centuries MUST have distorted its original meanings in their original contexts . . much younger writings are open ot different interpretation (eg Shakespeare), so how come the bible is any different? oops . .don't get me started!

> 5. Do you feel that you can be open about your faith/beliefs or do you
> have to remain guarded?

I am lucky to be open, being my own businessman etc . . but I do have to be careful that clients might not understand and I'm certainly not evangelical about my beliefs, you get to find out if you ask me, otherwise its a private matter generally . . .

> 6. As a witch/pagan, what Gods/deities do you honour/praise?

All forms of feminine principle goddesses, in the Craft the most often "named" is Diana, the Moon.
And the Horned 9dual principle) male god (often named "Cernnunos")
Diana-greek, Cernunos - Roman . . hahahaha how terrible to mix up cultures like that, eh ? - I think the gods/goddesses themselves don't really mind, i think the feminie principle "deity" knows exactly what I measn when I address her as Diana and I think she rather like sit . .

> 7. What other religion/belief would you say that paganism is closest to
> and
> why?

perhaps Buddhism, mainly for the ideas about cyclic lifetimes and reincarnation (not that reincarnation is a belief shared by all pagans, but many DO think so)
>
> 8. Do you feel that to some, paganism is a fashion rather than a faith
> and
> they wear it like a badge of honour?

Absolutely true . . that said we have to be pragmatic, paganism is for everyone and those people require gentle education rather than marginalisation . . that said whenever you see a "witch" being itnerviewd on the news or anything its nearly always cringeworthy cos they are so often the show-off variety . . (myself accepted, obviously! hahaahaha!)

>
> 9. How easy, or hard, is it to transfer the old beliefs and practices
> into
> modern day?
>
I think its easy to "get" the feelings of how the world works and how the earth feels and the gods "feel" . . . I think its the exact practices that are long gone, and, to be honest, this isn't always a bad thing as they are often firmly rooted in their historical cultural context, for example I see no benefit in dressing as a viking and trying to live like one . . paganism is a modern spirituality, not stuck in the past, but I think its vitally important to study, preserve and understand the older customs and practices, from a deep spiritual point of view as much as from an historical and cultural one.

> 10. What does paganism mean to you?

Paganism is a way of life for me . .its what I "am' and what I "do" . . .
its not a set of rules I feel I have to live up to or some things I feel guilty about not doing every sunday etc (though I wish life wasn't so busy sometimes so I could spend more time out in the countryside being part of the natural world more!)
So its meaning is that I beleive we are creatures of infinite energy, not constrained to 3 dimensions of space and one of time. My friend Wa-Na-Nee-Che is quoted saying "We are not human beings striving upwards to make a spiritual journey, are beings of spirit who have chosed to make a human one".

Who I Am

2009-02-25T13:53:00.000-08:00

I was thinking today about how the way I view myself has changed, I don't think I'm hung up on being 40 but I was wondering at how my self impresion has changed, can I really say "I am a perfect being of light, unimprisoned and unemcumbered with 3 dimensions of space and one of time and I know in my being that all material things are illusions" and mean it as some sort of definition of "me" any more? Am I now "Ashley the web designer", or "Ashley the pseudo-parent" . . instead? As well?

Names are power . . I have had many . . . and given most of them up . . . nothing actually matters except the moments in which we live . . . and this has a strong ring of continued truth about it . . .perhaps more so than my notion of myself as a being of light . .

I have often said that the simplest questions are the most profound and the most important: WHO . . AM . . I . . .? is a bloody good question! Its tempting to imagine I am whoever you perceive I am at any given time but the POINT of the question is to somehow describe me and this doesn't do it . . . I used to have a load of little cards that said "Ashley - poet, magician, philosopher" . . and I thought that defined me, never mind described me! I am not, in any practical sense, NAY of these any more now . . .but I am, I have to conclude, still a being of light . . . the NEXT thought is "does that matter?" . . . and I can't satisfactorily answer that either . . .