Bella Blog

I have watched Wicca face many challenges over the years. We have accomplished much. We have received recognition as a valid religion. The IRS has granted church status to some Wiccan groups. We have festivals all over the US, so that we can worship together. We have many networking resources that allow us to find each other. We have tons of books on the subject. We even have books about books on Witchcraft. We have grown tremendously in numbers and in ideologies. Today we witness a variety of concerns. We want manicured temples in which to hold handfastings, wiccanings, and requiems. We want rites of passages, and to honor our seasonal celebrations as a community. We want to frequent pagan businesses, drink at pagan pubs, and send our children to pagan schools. We want to celebrate our religion locally, without having to make a major investment in camping gear, or driving to a remote location and battling the weather, so that we can worship in privacy and peace. Today's biggest challenge to Wicca is not it's lack of volunteers, or lack of ideas, lack of heart, courage, or ambition. Our biggest challenge is lack of organization and resources. We are an amazingly, interesting, multi-talented, powerful and charismatic people. Yet we are so driven in our individualism, that we have difficulty working together as a whole. Churches provide the many social programs that we are begging for, such as schools, food banks, community centers, and public temples. Churches provide legal protection, validate our clergy, accredit our schools, network our businesses, minister to our sick and needy, and host our seasonal celebrations. They provide religious support and social services to the community that makes our world a better place. They give us the opportunity to connect as a society and allow us to do more working together than we could do as individuals acting alone. They foster culture, such as music, art, poetry, and theater. Churches are a vital part of a healthy community. It is through churches that each of us can find our place to serve the greater community at large. But, we don't have many churches, and the ones that we do very closely resemble covens. They are mostly small, and have no formal meeting place. Why, with a throng of people begging for ministering, can we not provide services for our seekers? Is it because we don't believe in proselytizing? Is it because we are afraid and wanting to hide from public view? No. It's because we don't monetarily support a clerical body to freely provide religious services. Let's be honest with ourselves, when was the last time that you went to a pagan event, and offered ANY money to the facilitator that wasn't a required fee? When was the last ritual you attended where a plate was passed to collect money? When was the last time that you got your paycheck and thought, 'I should give 10%, or 5% or even $10 to my local priestess? Statistics prove that 99% of us would have to answer: NEVER. My question to you is, "Why not?". For any of us to ever have the community we dream of, YOU and I have to tithe to our local groups. You can't wait until you have "extra" money, or until you see others doing it. YOU have to set the example. YOU have to make it a priority. You have to decide to budget it in. You choose to spend your money on what's important to you. You can choose to set aside some for the Goddess, or you can choose not to. We wonder why other churches don't take us seriously, but we have been sending a very clear message to our government, our community and our clergy that while our books, candles, herbs and crystals are very important to us, our religious institutions are not. I run a church. It used to be a coven, now it's a legal entity under the umbrella of the Aquarian Tabernacle Church. I am asked to tithe 10% of our receivables to the mother church monthly. There are many affiliates, who utilize the resources that the ATC has to offer. It costs the ATC about $75, 000 a year to provide the services that we enjoy. Less than $1, 000 of that money comes from Tithes. The church must charge a fee for their celebrations in order to raise this money, or they would not have the funds needed to continue operations. Last year, I invested over $20, 000 on my personal resources into our church. I received less than $500.00 in tithes from our members, which is a marked improvement from the year before. Say what you will about charging for spells, that's not what I'm talking about. It's true that making money off the craft can lead one down a dark road. But, I ask you, when is the last time you suspected a High Priestess of purchasing a new car on embezzled church funds? We are not in jeopardy of making anyone rich off the pagan community, yet. I strongly encourage you to be watchful of your leaders. Immediately quit giving your money to anyone, whom you feel is misappropriating it. Don't support ANY leaders, whom you do not feel deserves an energy exchange for their services. But, if you participate in a community, find some way to give back, even if it's just the spare change you collect in a bowl on your altar. Many of you volunteer your time and services. This is important. The community runs on volunteerism. But, services don't pay the light bill. It won't buy land or a building. Time, talent, and treasure together make up an appropriate offering to the Goddess. It doesn't take a lot of money. If every one of the people, who considers me their spiritual leader, were to give me $1 a month, I could open a public temple and sit in it all day planning free public events, teaching free classes, and giving readings, healings, and free spiritual counseling to the community. Each of us could have an on call spiritual leader, if we'd work together to support the ones who are already doing the work. Isn't that the world we would rather live in? We have become jaded against the idea of giving money, but it's only through pooling our mutual resources that we will ever have the common services that other religions enjoy. Churches provide the services that we are asking for. We don't have these services, because we aren't supporting our local pagan ministries, so that they have the resources to grow these services for us. Lack of tithing, donating, offering, or sponsoring is the single biggest obstacle Wicca faces today. Our spiritual institutions have already overcome many obstacles as a religion, such as getting the government to put Pentacles on military headstones. But, the one obstacle that stands looming over every pagan leader is lack of funding. It's time we changed that.

Author: Belladonna Laveau APs [a WitchVox Sponsor] Posted: May 24th. 2009 I’ve been training people in the Craft for almost two decades. If someone who comes to me looks very young, the first thing I want to know is their age and whether or not their parents are aware that they’re seeking this training. Under 18? Your parents don’t know you’re here? Then my answer is always an emphatic “No!” Invariably, these kids want to know, "why not?" There are many reasons why the vast majority of Wiccans and Pagans will not consent to train anyone under 18 in the Craft, and all of them are established to protect the community, including the person wishing to be trained and the group she or he wants to join. The biggest reason that we won't train someone under 18 is related to parental consent. Without parental consent, anyone teaching another religion to a child can be prosecuted under the law. Let’s face it; most parents who aren't Pagan are strongly opposed to having their child (ren) exposed to witchcraft. On the other hand, parents that aren't opposed are usually studying it themselves. They’re more than fine with letting their kids learn age appropriate material with them, and do. Which brings me to reason #2. I say age appropriate, because we are a fertility religion. That means the act of creation, and the sexual union of God and Goddess is sacred to us, and is the basis of our religion. You can't ethically teach that until someone is over 18, because it's confusing AND illegal. We, as a culture, have decided that sex with children is wrong. We, as a society, have decided that the age limit is 18. We, as a people, made this decision based upon the negative experiences that humanity has encountered when adults have crossed this line. It is an important line, and although all of us mature at slightly different rates, you never know if you've crossed that line until AFTER someone is emotionally damaged. Since, the price of safety is only a couple of years, it is foolish to risk it. RESPECT this rule, because if you do not, you cannot undo the damage after it has been done, and you spend the rest of your life trying to get over it. Besides, impatience is a sure sign that one is not ready for magical training. Reason #3 – What most academic schools are teaching is actually the foundation upon which magical training is built. To be successful in any field, especially Witchcraft, you need a good understanding of Mathematics, Algebra, Mythology, History, Social Studies, Geography, Science, Literature, how to write a research paper, and grammar. These things are very important to know before you begin studying witchcraft. Without this strong foundation, you will never be able to get past the basics of the craft. I look at the report cards of new students coming into the seminary who are under the age of 30. Students with bad grades inevitably lack the required skill set needed to perform in a college level setting. Since they've not developed the discipline required to learn basic educational concepts, they have a difficult time grasping the more complex concepts that are required to train your brain to move from a linear thinking pattern to a spiral-thinking pattern. Basically, schools are doing FAR MORE to establish the roots of magical training than most people realize! Reason #4 - Teenagers are really busy "growing up." Teaching them magical concepts creates more trouble for them. For example, look at the stories of "Sabrina, the Teenage Witch". She causes herself way more problems with her powers than if she'd just be a regular kid. Notice how it takes advice from someone older and more mature to help her find her way out of the trouble she gets into. Maturing teenagers are learning how to interact as an adult in an adult environment: how to be respectful, honorable, grounded, etc. If you dishonor your training, and there are many ways to do this, you could be dismissed and not allowed to return. Reason #5 - While most of us who are appropriately trained in the craft try to come from our highest place every moment of every day, there are just as many who are lying about their training and looking for anyone to worship and glorify them as God or Goddess incarnate. These people are hard for adults to identify until after they've already been spiritually abused. It's impossible for Wicca, as an institution, to protect our youth from these predators, if we allow children to enter training too soon. We do not have many safeguards to protect people seeking craft knowledge, and people get deeply challenged in the best training programs. BEWARE of anyone willing to teach students under 18! Oftentimes these are unethical people who are more interested in amassing students and lording their power over others. These people can do just as much harm as the worst abusive parent, and then you could be spend the rest of your life trying to get over it. All in all, youth is a very short chapter in our lives. There are times in life when one's energy is just not conducive to studying witchcraft. The teenage years are one of those times. It's not that you don't need the spiritual interaction or ministering, because if you feel you do, you should do something about it. But do it the right way. Get your parents to take you to a Sabbat celebration and participate in the joy of the craft. Pray to the Goddess, meditate, read mythology, learn to read tarot. The time for formal study will come. It will come when you stop being a member that attends meetings, and start learning how to be the person that leads the meetings. If you seriously want to study Wicca and become a Priestess or Priest, then properly prepare yourself so you'll be ready for it when the time comes. Make good grades; take your Literature assignments and writing assignments very seriously. You'll write a lot as a priest/ess, so you should be able to do it well or people will not respect what you have to say. Learn about our history, because there will be other stories that can’t be found in books that you won't be able to understand, if you don't know the historical background. Take your Mythology, Science and Shakespeare lessons very seriously. Shakespeare (a magical name, btw) was a Priest of the craft who took ritual performance to a new level. That crazy language he wrote in is the language of the Fey. It's fairy speak. It's hard to understand at first, but it's very helpful in making magic. These are things they don't tell you in school. The mysteries guard themselves very well. You are already in magical training, because you're here on the planet. Magical training has to do with the way you look at your life, and how you respect the magic that is already there. This perspective earns you the right to be exposed to more. When the student is ready the teacher will appear. Make sure you're ready for formal training, by applying yourself in school, making good grades, learning to be honorable, telling the truth, doing the right thing, and respecting your parents, even if you don't agree with them sometimes. Respect the fact that people that are older than you have learned many lessons and are trying to help you avoid the same mistakes. The world is this way because experience teaches us things that youthful optimism doesn’t: human nature is not the same in reality as it is in our heads. Find the long version of the Wiccan Rede and memorize it. Follow it. It has many mysteries in it. Then, when you're 18 and you apply for training, you will more likely be accepted. Always remember this extremely important part of the path. It's JUST like college. You APPLY for magical training; you don't just show up and expect to get it. A High Priest or High Priestess has absolutely no obligation to teach you. They can dismiss you from training at any time, and will, if you make the experience of teaching you unpleasant. If you come properly prepared, if you're humble, respectful, appreciative, and hard working, you will find your place among the Wicca. Consider your relationships with your parents and current teachers. How do you treat them? Do they find you a joy to teach? Do you turn in homework? Do you listen in class, and read the chapters? Do you take the time to understand why your parents make the decisions they make, or do you just rage against the restrictions? These will tell you where you need to grow. If you make your life successful as a teenager, you'll make an excellent witch. Good luck.