Perhaps one of the most commonly asked questions about traditional
Witchcraft is, "How do I find a teacher?" This question is very
important to the Seeker as it bears account on how they will locate a
prospective teacher and ensure the validity of what they learn.
There are five basic rules that you should proceed by if you are
interested in learning from a person or group. These basic procedures
will hopefully help prevent you from being scammed by people who are
out to make quick cash or those who are completely ignorant of the
religion and "just like the name."
- Never Pay Money
You should never need to pay any money in order to learn
Witchcraft. If they ask for money in exchange for teaching you then you
should walk away from the situation immediately as something is very
wrong.
- Ask Questions
Remember to question everything and always ask why. A prospective teacher should always encourage questions from their students.
- Understand the Religion
You should have a comprehensive preliminary knowledge and
understanding of your spirituality before you undertake formalized
study and engage in an apprenticeship. If you do not understand the
rudimentary basics of a
religion, then why follow it? And, more so, what do you have to offer
to a prospective teacher?
- Teaching In-Person
Teaching is always done in person and face-to-face. You will not
find any traditionalist Witches who offers online or written
correspondence courses.
- Get to Know the Person
You need to get to know the person that you desire an
apprenticeship before undertaking formal study with them. Spirituality
and a dedicated study is not something that you causally contemplate
and it is best to get to know who you are dealing with first. I am more
than sure that they will want to get to know you too.
First and foremost, you will need to have a basic understanding of
your own beliefs. If you have an education, then you will be able to
know whether or not someone is lying or just making something up.
However, if you never took the time to study then you just might
actually believe them when they tell you that the moon really is made
of green cheese. An education and a little bit of common sense will
always help tremendously.
As for actually locating a traditionalist Witch or appropriate
household in your area - well, traditionalists tend to be very private
individuals. The best advice that can be provided to you is to dedicate
yourself to the service of the Gods and keep studying your beliefs -
and always question everything. More than studying your beliefs, you
should also understand them and why you believe what you do. There is a
reason for everything in our beliefs, and probably one of the most
important parts of this religion is understanding why. No one ever said
that the path of a Seeker was an easy one.
