08/28/2026
Shared from Anna Franklin
NITIATORY WITCHCRAFT
Initiatory witchcraft is a mystery tradition with formal degrees of initiation. In this, it differs from most other forms of modern Paganism. The majority of people prefer a looser arrangement, or solo work, but this is the path I have followed all my adult life. Initiatory witchcraft is a path that suits very, very few people, and I’m certainly not advocating that everyone should follow it, or that it is better than other ways of working with the Gods, but for those of us who do follow it, it has blessings beyond measure.
Some Pagans condemn covens for their exclusivity, their systems of degrees and their titles of high priest and high priestess. This criticism is understandable when we have characters like Lady Tiggywinkle, who read a book on the Craft a year ago and now she is a high priestess and has even written her own book about it. Or Darth Moloch who is magus of his own dark coven – or at least he is when his dad lets him stay out late. Such people have always existed of course, and are found in every branch of Paganism, but it is true to say that the Craft, with its titles and degrees, is a magnet for the egomaniacs and the lunatic fringe.
However, the Craft degree system does provide a firm foundation to assist individual spiritual progress. Candidates are enabled to develop at their own pace by a supportive group, under the guidance of experienced teachers. As they progress, they become able to train and help the less knowledgeable – we say that with each degree comes greater responsibility. Those groups that try to run as democracies where those with no know-how have as much say as those with a great deal, or those groups run by inexperienced individuals with no proper training tend to fall apart very quickly, as do those groups where people are advanced too quickly through the degrees. Over the many years I’ve spent in the Craft, I’ve learned the hard way that when I, in my ignorance or arrogance, have deviated from its guiding rules, the consequences have been disastrous.
Working in a group can be very powerful but it can fall apart with power struggles and individual personality clashes. Meet an interested person and invite them straight in, and you are asking for trouble. Short of a high priest? There’s a bloke who started coming a couple of weeks ago, never mind he isn’t experienced or initiated, we need one don’t we? Sleep with all your neophytes and it really isn’t going to last. When admitting a person into a group, you are adding their energies to the existing pattern, to the group mind, and they must be harmonious with group aims. If they are not, it is all going to blow up in your face, even if they are your best friend.
Sadly, just getting together a group of like-minded friends is one of the very worst ways to found a magical group. The most effective groups are drawn from a variety of people with diverse backgrounds who probably didn’t and wouldn’t know each other if not for their involvement in the Craft, but who, after a while, are able to meet in Perfect Love and Perfect Trust to perform the work, and the work is the whole point, not hanging out with your mates (there’s the pub for that).
Everyone has their strengths and weaknesses in the magical arts – some have easier contact with the spirit realms, others can weave the energies of the group during ritual, hearth witches bring in the energies of the plant kingdom, and the Crowman stands as guardian of the gates and protector in the spirit world. A high priest needs to take on a pastoral role as well as a ritual one, and the high priestess needs to be a bloody good organiser as well as a good ritualist. The more skilful each of the members is, the more effective the group will be. I reckon it takes at least ten years to get an effective coven off the ground, maybe more, but the results are a million miles beyond what you can expect from a loose-knit collection of interested parties.
The Craft is a mystery religion, and a system of initiation through various degrees is implicit. The word ‘mystery’ comes from the Greek musterion meaning a secret rite or doctrine. A follower of the mysteries was a mystes or ‘initiate’, a term originating in the word myein meaning ‘to close’ or ‘to shut’ i.e., to close or shut the eyes and mouth, since only initiates were allowed to observe the rituals and these were not to be spoken of to the uninitiated.
Initiations centered around the theme of death and rebirth, the candidate undergoing the same journey as the God or Goddess; thus, the candidates became the ‘twice-born’. They followed the same basic pattern that most Craft initiations today, first with training, then the rite proper with ritual purification, warnings and challenges, an ordeal, a binding oath, revelation of the deity and secret symbols, rebirth and consecration as an initiate, followed by a proclamation of the new status of the candidate to all assembled.
Reputable covens ensure that the training for priesthood is thorough and monitored at every stage so that the priest/ess is ready for the degree conferred, is effective, competent, works well in the group, and is connected to the Gods. This training is difficult and requires a high level of commitment. Most people are not willing to put in the time and effort or put aside their own egos to do it.
Beginners often think that initiation is conferred by the ceremony, and that the person involved is thus promoted to a higher rank rather like an army officer. This is far from the truth. The neophyte, having undergone training and taken part of various rituals and spiritual practices, starts to experience a heightened state of consciousness and awareness. He or she is often very confused at this stage, suddenly aware of entities, archetypes, spirits, concepts and ideas that may seem contradictory and confusing. Many people take fright at this point and back away, but if they go forward, initiation will occur as a fundamental change of consciousness, a progression to the next stage. An experienced high priest/ess will recognise when this juncture is reached, and the candidate will be formally initiated: a ritual and magical event that triggers the next stage in the process.
If a person encounters many difficulties in the path the Gods may be telling them they are not ready, or it may just be that they are being tested to see whether they are committed enough to overcome any obstacles. The Gods often interfere in someone’s life to point them in the right direction or deter them from following the wrong path for them. This is why barriers are placed in the path of the would-be initiate, sometimes by the Gods, but always by the coven. Tests are made ensure the suitability of the candidate - who might not even be aware that they are being tested.
Three degrees of initiation common in many mystery traditions. I like to think of the three degrees of the Craft as being akin to mediaeval guild apprenticeships. A person wanting to learn a particular trade would have a trial period with a craftsman and then if they showed some skill and dedication, they were accepted into the guild as an entered apprentice, working under a master craftsman. When they had acquired enough knowledge and skill they would become a journeyman, someone able to go off and do a job without needing to be supervised all the time. Eventually, they would become a master craftsman, able to take on apprentices of their own.
Initiation is a death and rebirth not symbolically, but in a very real sense. In some tribal societies, the candidate is thought of as a ghost for the duration of the process, until the new birth takes place. The old self can never be reclaimed, and a new self emerges from the old shell: the process is traumatic. The results of initiation are profound and always throw the new initiate off balance until the new world-view is assimilated. People expect that after they have gone through an initiation, they will suddenly acquire greater magical powers. This is not the case. In fact, the candidate may feel empty, resentful and confused after the ceremony. If the initiate rejects what they have been given or is not really ready for what is passed to them, the results can be catastrophic for all concerned. I once made a bad mistake of this kind when I was younger and initiated a man who proved to be emotionally unstable, when I had thought him just to be a little over-enthusiastic. He then proceeded to virtually destroy the coven and his own wellbeing in the process.
At first degree, the candidate is led, blindfolded, to the circle. This is an act of trust. Their shepherd might lead them through branches, brambles and tangled roots and they must allow themselves to be led, having confidence that they won’t be injured and will be taken to the right place. Letting go of control is very difficult for most people, and learning to trust fellow members of the coven is very difficult in a world when betrayal and mistrust is an everyday event. Inside the circle and inside the coven, we must only act from pure motive of ‘perfect love and perfect trust’.
The symbol of the second degree is the inverted pentacle - the world turned upside down, because this is often precisely what happens to the candidate. At a true second degree, the Gods may test the fitness of the candidate to the limits of their endurance. Whatever you place before the Gods at initiation will be reflected back to you many-fold. Placing ego before the Gods will only be destructive. In order to be reborn, you must die, and nothing won in this world can be carried into death. The death of the ego is not the death of the Self, but its birth. There is only one reason to seek higher degrees of initiation and that is to serve - the Gods and your fellow beings.
At third degree, the candidate becomes a high priest or priestess and can form their own Hearth if they wish. To become a high priest or priestess, a person must wish to dedicate themselves to the Craft entirely and be prepared to live the Craft before all else.
We’ve had many hives (new coven offshoots) over the years. Some no longer exist, but some continue to this day. Coven hives are part of the process for every long running coven, during which one or two third degrees seek permission to leave and form a new coven of their own, with the full support of their existing high priest and high priestess. In some circumstances, if they prove able and have enough experience, a second-degree initiate may be given permission to form a hive. (If a first- or second-degree witch just leaves a coven without discussion, they do not have the authority to found a new coven, use their old coven rituals, or initiate candidates.)
There are only two guiding rules concerning hives. The first is that the high priest/priestess of the mother coven are kept fully informed and permission is sought. The second one is the rather contentious rule called Voiding the Coven. This states that the working place and Outer Circle of the new coven must be a league [three miles] distant from those of the Mother Hearth. Furthermore, there should be no contact between the old coven and the new for at least a year and a day, at least as far as any magical work is concerned. This seems rather odd and a bit cruel at first, but there are very good reasons for it. If the new coven is to forge its own identity it is necessary for it to be completely independent and find its own way, without continually checking in with the mother coven.
Extract from Anna Franklin, Pagan Ritual, Lear Books, 2011 See less
