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Post by *Gypsy* on Jan 22, 2007 20:17:55 GMT -5
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Post by estatigua (Tiggy) on Jan 23, 2007 15:18:09 GMT -5
No, this has not happened to me & I was initiated quite a few years ago. I think it was a time when fellow pagans believed you for who you were & didn't question if you were "legitimate or not, there wasn't a need for it perhaps because it was a bit more clandestine & private than maybe now. If you followed a path it was quite difficult to find a coven, well here in my part of the UK anyway. So you had to be pretty much a devotee to want to be initiated. I do not believe that to be a "legitimate" pagan you "have" to be initiated, each to his own.
As the young man said so rightly....."And when all else fails, just remember, the Gods will recognize their own. I believe that wholeheartedly.
BB
Tiggy x
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Post by *Gypsy* on Feb 13, 2007 0:56:14 GMT -5
Me to Tiggy,another someone trying to shove their beliefs on everyone!
"My way is the only way" I hate that nuts~
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Post by Daydreamer on Feb 19, 2007 18:18:57 GMT -5
I, personally, haven't encountered this reaction, but Friends of mine have. I feel like the writer, your beliefs are yours and no one can tell you that you aren't allowed to follow a path without formal training. Sometimes training by experience is more impacting than listening to lessons from a teacher. I have done both and find benefits from both ends. I have not been "initiated" yet and don't feel any less of a pagan for it.
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Post by osran on Jun 19, 2007 13:30:41 GMT -5
I, Myself totally agree with Daydreamer. My wife and I never been " initaiated " yet either. And we do not allow that to discourage us from anything else either. Our beliefs and faith willl be as strong as it is now and forever, even if we do not get initiated. We have our own ways of beliefs and we do things that makes us comfortable. So for all of you, Follow the path that you desire, learn from your experience as you go. Do what makes you comfortable. As long as it doesn't harm thee, I say you're good to go.
Blessed be.
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Post by dragonsteve on Dec 27, 2007 12:47:54 GMT -5
sure being initiated may have some great benefits to some people. But at the same time it as many restiction's and may even stop you reaching your true potential. We are all free to find our own way or follow our own paths. Initiation is for some the right way but is not the best or the only way. We all have the right to freedom of choice,
To me, my only initiation was to realise that i can connect with my spiritial self and in turn become one with the divine. In doing so i know i am apart of.
This is a spiritial jorney so look at your beliefs not at your knowlogde or initiations.
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Post by ladyjay on Jan 4, 2008 18:15:41 GMT -5
well, I wont be initaiated so this probably dont include me.
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Post by starr on Jan 13, 2008 12:49:48 GMT -5
After reading this, I have a few thoughts. My first one would be that the study of wicca and the study of "witchcraft" are not the same. Wicca evolved from the study of alchemy and what we call "witchcraft" is the study of "craft" as defined by the hebrews in ancient times. Both are evolved from ancient spiritual beliefs but they are not the same. Second, I believe each person's relationship to a higher power or the divine, however, you prefer is unique and special to that individual, if it is a true relationship. Therefore, there is no way we can judge another person's connection to that. That relationship is sacred to the individual and there higher power, and the only person harmed if it is a falsified experience is the individual involved. It is basically irrelavant to me. Initiation is a ritual that is more for the spiritual bonding of the group involved than the connection to the individual and divine. So how much relevance it is given is really a decision that can only be made by the differant sects. If you want to join one that gives it great importance, than you should feel that it is very important also because it has more to do with your bond to that group than your actual spirituality. You will not gain special access to the secrets of the divine through initiation, you may gain access to the secret rituals of that group though. For me the importance initiation depends on my spiritual connection to those in the group, not in my connection with higher powers.
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