INITIATION 

 Initiation is a ritual common to most all human societies. When you become a member of the Bridge and Structural Ironworkers Union you are initiated and you promise to be a good union brother, take care of women and orphans and pay your dues. The union promises to defend you from the depredations of management and collect your dues.

In the occult there is a lot more to initiation than this. Initiation is just about central to the magical growth and social position of Traditional Witches and Magicians. So much so that it forms a part of our identifications ie "Hi I am Ken Ra, Third Degree out of Triskellion with collateral degrees from Alexandrian, NROOGD and American Traditional". Many people are known not for their abilities but for what Tradition they belong to. Initiation does not mean that a person is or is not Wiccan. It does mean that they have been tested against an arbitrary standard and admitted into a class that others are not part of.

 

PRACTICALLY initiation can drastically speed up your Spiritual / Magical / Emotional growth and development. The other side of these benefits is that in a real Initiation there is always the chance of the novice failing. Initiation once failed seriously compromises a students spiritual growth.

SOCIALLY the occult is divided into Traditions (Hermetic, Alexandrian, Rosicrucian Gardenarian, Triskellion, etc.) Entrance into a tradition is by way of initiation. Many traditions have little or nothing to do with people outside their tradition, and would not consider for membership someone initiated into a different tradition. Within a tradition, rank is often determined by degrees that are conferred by initiation. Supposedly these are indications of spiritual or magical development and it is assumed that a high degree initiate is more spiritual and powerful than a novice. Unfortunately standards are not uniform throughout the occult and occasionally not standardized even within a tradition. The result of this is a lot of comparisons "the highest of your degrees is the lowest of ours" or "we are the most powerful of all the holy ultras" etc. In a group or tradition that does not have clear standards for initiation, advancement is all too often determined by personal likes or dislikes and who is going to bed with the group leaders.

PHYSICALLY initiation is a ritual where the person undergoing it must prepare themselves for the experience. Each Tradition has its own requirements for preparation before initiation. In some traditions there are physical tests of stamina as well as mental, emotional, and moral testing that may occur. In some Shamanic initiations there was scarification, mutilation and even amputation of fingers and toes. College fraternities still indulge in hazing would be members. No reputable occult group will allow physical damage to a postulant.

EMOTIONALLY initiation is an extreme experience that changes the person going through it drastically for the better. It may cause a reassessment of the persons whole lifestyle or resolve long standing psychological problems or even physical problems such as ulcers. BOTCHED it may leave behind emotional cripples or do things like trigger LSD flashbacks. Due to the nature of initiation it is nearly impossible to go back and retake an initiation that was botched. In one sense that would be like going back to redo your first sexual encounter. In truth you can only go forward.

It has been noted that the persons within a tradition share many characteristics, and that there are even more similarities between master/initiator and student as a result of initiation and training. 

PSYCHICALLY a power initiation is designed to push aside all the postulants defenses, flood the postulant with energy (wakening them to power) and bring them to the attention of the deity/deities that the tradition serves. (Incidentally bringing the Deities to the postulants awareness). Some traditions believe that the power, once granted, is there permanently. While others see it as a wakening of the postulants own power that must be further developed. In training a person to power there are two schools of thought the first is to train in ritual without power and then initiate the student giving them power. This results in a ritualist who is very competent in the rituals of their tradition but cannot work in other traditions without a great deal of effort because their power has been "channelized". The second school is to initiate the postulant first and then train them in ritual. This results in a flexible ritualist who can work in several traditions or styles but who may leave the original Tradition.

 ASTRAL INITIATIONS are dreams and visions that occur spontaneously or by deliberate astral travel, that are of an initiatory nature. In magic they are referred to as having occurred in "a temple not made by hands". The occult tends to view astral initiations with skepticism, while admitting that they may be valid. This is because they happen within the mind of the person who had the vision, and may not be a psychic reality at all but, subconscious desires or simple lies for attention or unearned rank. Valid astral initiations are distinguished by the changes in the person. They manifest increased spirituality, psychic energy or the ability to call on powers that they did not have before their dream/vision.  All valid astral initiations will have a physical and a psychic manifestation in the life of the person that experiences them.

BOGUS INITIATIONS  The value of initiation is accepted by almost all of the Traditions that use ritual. It is understandable, that there are many persons who wish to counterfeit the genuine article. It is possible to buy initiations. For $500 you too may be initiated to one degree square ten of the Ordo Templis Rectum or for $350 receive a genuine Shamanic initiation from the author of a book. In 1930 Dion Fortune said that no reputable occult fraternity would charge for initiation. Times change and fifty years have passed and she is still right.

SELF INITIATION is popular with those persons who want the title and social standing without paying the price associated with it. A person can swear before the Gods and dedicate themselves to Wicca. A person can not initiate themselves into the Mysteries because in initiation there is always a real challenge against an arbitrary standard  with the chance of failure.  There is debate about who can Initiate a novice into the Mysteries.

INITIATORY ABUSES do exist. Within the Wiccan religion there is the Great Rite which is the union of the God with the Goddess this is effected by the union of the Priestess with the Priest and with the sexual union of the man with the woman. Performed by two people who are both fully trained and very devout, this is one of the Holiest rites there is. Used as a first degree initiation it is a way for a lecherous, ritually incompetent, hypocrite of a priest or priestess to get fresh bedmates. Sexual congress is never the price that one has to pay for initiation.

There have been "teachers" who use the format of an initiation ritual as an excellent way to gain dominance over their students. This is not furthering the spiritual growth of any one concerned. Neither teacher or student. A good group or teacher is beyond price for a student. A bad group or teacher is much much worse than nothing!

SECRECY AND OATHS are a part of the initiatory experience. At the least, a student is required to keep the exact nature of the initiation secret from all non-initiates. This is necessary as knowing exactly what will happen in the rite can and will block the person who is being initiated from fully experiencing it. Instead of feeling the rite they are thinking of the next thing that will happen. This could cause the initiation not to "take". It is noted that in all legitimate initiation rituals there is the possibility of failure on the part of the postulant.

 

OATHS TO THE GODS and the group are often a part of the ritual. They may be a simple oath to use the powers that are given honorably or more complex and demanding oaths. Many Wiccan oaths include a promise to worship the Goddess once a month, and better when the moon is full. Some Oaths include an oath of obedience to the Initiator or group. Many of the oaths in ceremonial magic include a retribution clause "and if I should break this most solemn vow, may  my tools break, my friends desert me, God the most mighty turn away from me and the creatures of the pit come for me to render punishment to my soul". The postulant should have any oath fully explained before the rite. The postulant should also be aware of what limits these oaths have, the duration of them, and how they will be implemented.

 

RESPONSIBILITY.  The student is expected to follow the instructions of their initiator/teacher and the initiator/teacher is expected to protect, defend, and in general, care for their student. The initiator is held accountable for their  students actions by the Craft community until graduation and sometimes after graduation.