Merry Meet sister Witches,
There is something that has been in my thoughts a lot.
Initiation into the Craft. Stewart Farrar said, as many others have that one must be initiated buy someone else. If you are female you must be initiated by a male (preferably a High Priest.) If you are male your initiation is done by a female, usually a High Priestess but not required.
I have learned that many initiated witches do not acknowledge self-initiation.
I am inclined to believe this is crucial.
I initiated myself years ago and it didn’t feel official.
I am an Empath so I trust the “vibes” I get.
What are your experiences, anyone?
Blessed be and thanks for any input given ahead of time.
Initiation isn’t relevant in Nordic witchcraft, I have joined heathen communities and they don’t do initiation either, everyone just joins up together. My personal view on initiation is quite simple really, it’s a manmade thing to decide who joins the group and who doesn’t. It’s how we label and box each other up. If your craft works (you have an effect from what you do) then there’s a cause be it connection with gods/spirit or whatever, so who’s to decide if another person says you’re ready or not when spirit says you are . Just my view.
It’s an interesting point, but I’d say with confidence that this aspect of initiation will depend entirely on someone’s magickal path/tradition.
Like Tracy said, Norse practices have their own expectations - and while there may be similarities, the expectations, histories, deities, tools, and things such as initiation can vary quite differently from those following a Celtic, Egyptian, Greek, or other spiritual tradition. Even within Wicca, Gardnerian Wicca has different expectations and methods than, let’s say, Dianic Wicca, where some groups are made up of entirely female practitioners. Wikipedia says that Stewart Farrar follows a subtype of Wicca known as Alexandrian Wicca - and I’m no expert there, but I’d believe that even within Alexandrian Wicca, different covens may have slightly different ways of practicing.
As for solitary and eclectic witches who draw on multiple traditions and blaze their own trail, I can say that it’s 100% fine to do a self-initiation. Some witches don’t even do an initiation at all - and that certainly doesn’t make them not witches.
At the end of the day, this feeling you have is the most important thing. If you don’t feel that your initiation went how you’d like it to go, then I’d encourage you to do some research. You could try a different type of self-initiation - here’s one on the site you could consider:
If not, no worries - perhaps find a tradition that resonates with you and study how they go about doing initiations. If it turns out you need a group or a High Priest/Priestess, then you can look for local groups who share your tradition and inquire about having them assist with your initiation.
Whatever you choose to do, I’m wishing you all the best! Blessed be
What a wonderful and informative reply! Thanks so much. You know, I am definitely leaning towards initiation by others. I isolate a lot and I don’t want to do that with my magick. I’m in a couple pagan groups in my area on FB but kinda leary about going about things that way. Time will tell.
Blessed be.
That’s a great place to start connecting with fellow local pagans! And you’re smart to tread cautiously at first - some things seem great at first glance, but turn out to be different with time. I’d say take it slow and make sure the group resonates with what you’re looking for before jumping in further.
Hopefully, you’ll be able to connect with some people who share your beliefs and can help with your in-person initiation. I’ll keep my fingers crossed for you!
See, I’m a solitary witch and if I waited for someone to initiate me, well, I’ve been pagan for over twenty years and never found another pagan of any kind in my area. I’d be standing in front of the Goddess herself before it happened.
Plus I don’t need anyone to tell me I’m a witch. Even if I only cast one spell a month, I’m still a witch. I know that deep in my bones. So maybe it’s the confidence you lack?
I thought about this long and hard myself this time around.
If it was me, I’d start here; I’d ask myself why it didn’t feel official, and what exactly were the vibes? Personally, I think initiations of any kind - coven, gang, political party, etc. - are about the acknowledgement that one has been accepted into a group, external validation if you will… maybe that’s what you’re looking for?
I say that because that’s how I felt… that it wouldn’t count, or it wouldn’t be real unless someone else said it was. I had to kick my ridiculously low self-esteem out of the way, and ask why I couldn’t validate myself. When I joined IR, I did the self-initiation Bry posted and didn’t look back, because whether people believe it or don’t is irrelevant to me now.
Would it be kinda nice to be initiated by a High Priestess… um, yeah it would! Do I need that initiation to practice my Craft…not at all. This coven provides the human connection I need, more information than I can soak up, and it’s a slice of relief from practicing alone.
Like everything else in the Craft, I think initiation is about choice; doing what feels right for me, not what I think I should be doing. I hope that makes sense!
When I was initiated, I didn’t know what I was being initiated into. It was a wish fulfilled at such a young age that I simply felt that I was initiated by the Creator (can’t get any higher than that) into a belief system which only existed between the two of us. No matter how often I get lost or how squiggly my path gets, it is the only path I can follow because it is being created with every step I take. Thus, it is perfect for me. No one can tell me I’m doing it wrong; no one can be judgemental about me or my path. This is purely between myself and my deity.
Such a path requires me to be much more confident in my abilities, my beliefs, and my deities. Not everyone feels that, so my path is not for everyone. I hope for the best for you, no matter what path you choose.
I understand the need for something to feel “official”. I grew up catholic and all important things were ritualized. Sometimes, I miss that. Sometimes I want to do a ritual with someone else. I felt that way with my initiation - like I wanted someone with me to help me step into this new part of my life. That wasn’t an option and the time. I felt a little silly doing it by myself… so honestly, my initiation was really more like “Well, I’m a witch.” It was a little odd at first, but now… not so much. Maybe you can find a few people and get to know them and they will help you!
I’ve never been initiated and, to the best of my knowledge, initiation is only required when joining a coven in a specific tradition. That’s why they have certain ways of doing things. Stewart Farrar was an Alexandrian Wiccan. That tradition of Wicca has set rituals and customs that are followed, so it would make sense that his writing would say how it’s done in their tradition.
I think a very important distinction needs to be made here. When speaking of initiation, most people are referring to Wiccans and not witches. You don’t need to be initiated into anything to be a witch.
If you don’t feel your initiation was “official”, then I would ask you to consider why. What do you feel was missing? Are you looking for community, and so maybe it doesn’t feel official because it’s not recognized by another witch? I understand trusting the energy you feel as an empath, but it’s also important to reflect personally on why you feel the way you do. Once you understand where things went wrong for you, then you can begin to understand how to make things right for yourself.
Good point, it’s community I need. Everybody needs community when they’re doing something they don’t have any idea what they’re doing you need other people to teach you how to do it that’s common sense.
That’s very true - community is a huge part of the witchcraft space. Many people look to community in books when they’re first starting, then branching out to other spaces. A lot of community spaces are here online – that’s what I love about Spells8 in general is that there are so many of us from all over the world!
There are also community spaces in person. These can be harder to find depending on where you live, but they do exist. I hope you find the community that you’re looking for
I was pretty lucky, because soon after becoming interested in witchcraft and thinking it was something I wanted to get involved in, I happened upon Spells 8 and all the information and lessons they have here. The more I read about it, the more I wanted to become part of it, so I signed up for Infinite Roots, and the community here was exactly what I needed. Eventually, I did the self-initiation here on Spells8 and that, combined with access to this coven of wonderful, generous witches from all around the world, made me feel right at home. And just to “document” the process, although it wasn’t really necessary, I purchased a lovely personalized self-dedication plaque from a seller on Etsy which is now on the wall above my altar.
I remember I used to dream of a very special initiation ceremony held for me by someone I greatly respect… it’s something that can happen, and I think that if it does, it can be a highlight of one’s life But it’s hardly the norm I’ve found out.
I learned a different way to look at initiations, from someone who literally built her own temple, or as she said, she “landed it” into the physical, it had always existed. An initiation is always into something, and it’s a memorable experience that opens us up. Life does this with us all of the time… many (most?) of us have gone through a “spiritual awakening” for example, a moment when all of this started to make sense. It’s an emotionally and spiritually intense experience, that leaves us in awe and humility. We go through many of them in our lives. Our first spell, our first connection with a deity, coming face to face with our own darkness. The birth of our first child. The publishing of our first book. Our first tarot reading to someone else. It’s usually a “first” in one way or another. I feel that definition makes justice to the concept of initiation, it’s our own path that initiates us to what we’re meant to be, one way or another
Hmm… I think what was missing was other people. I have this loner tendency that I need to shake. Since I’m an Empath (and a Heyoka Empath at that) it’s hard for me to be around a lot of people…because I feel things about people that are in close proximity to me that other people aren’t capable of sensing. Once, I Identified a ped* and he was subsequently incarcerated for the great harm he had done. THAT was a horrible feeling to be around him, it felt like I was in the presence of a demon.
Just wanted to say wow, I’ve never “met” anyone who’s had that experience too! I think that’s a main reason why I try to avoid crowds, because there’s always someone with a really bad energy, and it takes tremendous effort to shake that kind of negativity. Hugs
My personal view on initiation is quite simple really, it’s a manmade thing to decide who joins the group and who doesn’t. It’s how we label and box each other up. If your craft works (you have an effect from what you do) then there’s a cause be it connection with gods/spirit or whatever, so who’s to decide if another person says you’re ready or not when spirit says you are 
But it’s hardly the norm I’ve found out.
