William Seligman (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
wgseligman) wrote2011-05-13 06:24 pm
wgseligman) wrote2011-05-13 06:24 pm
Teaching Wicca
I'm in an introspective mood, pondering my role as a teacher in the Craft.
The last time I was in such a mood, I pondered what Wicca had given me, and what I attempt to give back. I wonder if I have been able to give enough, at least in being able to teach my students.
Part of this is due to my inescapable habit of comparing myself to others. I read about the intense instruction offered by Craft teachers forty years ago, and I know I haven't given my students those experiences. I've learned about the Blue Star tradition from![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
sabrinamari ; they have a more rigorous training regimen than I ever experienced. Have I done right by my students?
At the Free Spirit Gathering next month, I'm going to see a Blue Star Litha ritual; I've seen one before, but that was many years ago, before I became a teacher. In a couple of months, I'll be at a combined Blue Star/Acorn Garden gathering in which we'll share each others' rituals. It will give me a chance to see for myself what they can do.
I remind myself that I shouldn't pre-judge either me or my teaching. First, I recall Isaac's motto for the ADF: "Why not excellence?" Magic and ritual aren't about perfection or being able to speak arcane languages in rhyme. It's about mood, and energy, and faith. A poem doesn't have to be a sonnet to be beautiful. I know my students can create beautiful rituals, and I can be proud of them for that.
What if I see that Blue Star, or some other branch of the Craft, has achieved something that I have not? Part of the effectiveness of a teacher is their willingness to be a student again. If there's something else out there to learn, and there always is, I can be willing to study it with an open mind and open heart.
Then I can teach this new-found knowledge to my students. Or, if I'm truly blessed, my students and I can study it together.
The last time I was in such a mood, I pondered what Wicca had given me, and what I attempt to give back. I wonder if I have been able to give enough, at least in being able to teach my students.
Part of this is due to my inescapable habit of comparing myself to others. I read about the intense instruction offered by Craft teachers forty years ago, and I know I haven't given my students those experiences. I've learned about the Blue Star tradition from
sabrinamari ; they have a more rigorous training regimen than I ever experienced. Have I done right by my students?At the Free Spirit Gathering next month, I'm going to see a Blue Star Litha ritual; I've seen one before, but that was many years ago, before I became a teacher. In a couple of months, I'll be at a combined Blue Star/Acorn Garden gathering in which we'll share each others' rituals. It will give me a chance to see for myself what they can do.
I remind myself that I shouldn't pre-judge either me or my teaching. First, I recall Isaac's motto for the ADF: "Why not excellence?" Magic and ritual aren't about perfection or being able to speak arcane languages in rhyme. It's about mood, and energy, and faith. A poem doesn't have to be a sonnet to be beautiful. I know my students can create beautiful rituals, and I can be proud of them for that.
What if I see that Blue Star, or some other branch of the Craft, has achieved something that I have not? Part of the effectiveness of a teacher is their willingness to be a student again. If there's something else out there to learn, and there always is, I can be willing to study it with an open mind and open heart.
Then I can teach this new-found knowledge to my students. Or, if I'm truly blessed, my students and I can study it together.