Initiation: Are You Ready?

Initiation marks the beginning of a new path to a practitioner. But how will you know you are ready for it? Read through as Gwyddon guides you to the basics of Wiccan initiation. By Gwyddon.

You finished a year and a day studying and searching. You’re pretty sure that you’re ready for an initiation into witchcraft. But are you truly ready? What does initiation really entail? How do you know you’re ready for it?

Initiation is a step in any true seeker’s journey. Initiation is a rite of passage, a ceremony marking the entrance or an acceptance into the inner circle of a secret society or into the confidence of the gods. Hence, initiation must be regarded with utmost seriousness. When it is taken, it is both exciting and frightening. The misgivings and hesitations that you feel are a part of its challenge. It is what separates the wheat from the chaff. And blessed are you who are found worthy of such an undertaking. These things precede any true initiation so don’t be discouraged. Let nothing stop you.

Near the time of initiation itself, you will be gripped by an unexplainable fear. It’s like the fear one experiences if one would want to leap off a cliff’s edge. This is actually a good sign. It means that you’re serious. Anyone who would fearlessly go into initiation is not going to last as a witch. For the mental and emotional turmoil before initiation make the witch into what he/she must become. Nothing is gained for nothing. The emotional roller coaster before initiation is a price a witch must pay.

There are also guardians of the threshold who protect the higher mysteries from the non-initiate. They may assume the form of a person or of situations that act as obstacles that test one’s perseverance in the path. If one is able to surpass the tests, one is then admitted into the presence of a group or into the realm of the Spirit. In Masonic and Gardnerian traditions, the knife pointed at the heart of the initiate upon entering the temple symbolizes these mighty protectors. In my case, my family was a guardian in disguise. There were three other guardians, and each demanded a sacrifice: friendships, honor, riches, or time.

The rite of initiation depends on the tradition you’re seeking entry into or on your personal choice. For solitary practitioners, a simple rite is enough. Lengthy rituals sometimes lose their magic because there’s no one else to guide you but yourself. It is best to state your purpose directly. You may give promises that you must keep, and you can also ask for gifts. But true initiation may happen days, months, and even years before or after the formal rite of initiation.

For the solitary witches, initiation poses a problem. Who will initiate us? There is no one to give us the formal passing of the lineage. But is lineage really that important? Isn’t lineage an allegory for power that is passed on from witch to witch?

Well, the gods are higher than any witch. For solitary practitioners, the gods work by other means: through signs, omens, feelings, or dreams. This is why a witch must work by feeling and by intuition. Signs will come when you’re not even looking for them. They’ll jump right at you and surprise you with a sudden flash of awakening. They may come from books, nature, dreams, and conversations. All it takes is awareness of how the gods communicate with you.

I remember when I was preparing for my self-initiation a few years ago, I used to get frequent signs. Words from books I read jump out of the page and hit me with a frying pan. “Hello!” it seemed to say. “We’re trying to tell you something!” and I just knew. I once asked for a sign in choosing the right magical name, and I saw two hawks circling each other above me. And so my name came about, a term for hawk in Welsh

Things that happen to you after the initiation might confirm it. During an outdoor ritual, animals may confirm your initiation and magical things might happen. There may be also a suddenly feeling of oneness with everything. You might sense that you’ve become especially psychic and your spells begin to work fast. After a while, these things do wear off and you just become a regular, normal witch.

Other seekers into the mysteries think that when one gets initiated, one is invested with special powers. But it doesn’t work that way. Initiation is like getting into another bus after getting off a previous one. You have a new ticket and bought some food for the trip, but you’re never really there yet. Initiation is just another beginning. A witch never really reaches the end of learning. Everyday brings new knowledge. A witch would do well to know as much as he can. It is what we are, the Wise.

Sometimes, the spirits take hold of us and would not let us go. For some privileged individuals, that is enough. There would be no need for a formal rite or a public declaration. And they are free to practice, as the gods have commissioned them. This is in fact, the highest and truest form of initiation into the mysteries, for the gods themselves do not do this by any human mediation but by sheer calling. And in the battle for a man’s soul, only the gods can win. Now, are you ready?


About the Author: GWYDDON has been a practitioner of magic and pagan spirituality for 6 years now. He aspires to be a writer someday while also trying to pave his way as a future architect. He loves books, art, music, nature, and animals. He also heads the recently launched organization, Cebu Paranormal Society. As a psychically sensitive person, he has received good feedback for his card reading and psychometry skills.

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