What to look for when choosing a Teacher:

What to look for when choosing a Teacher:
Or What to strive for, should you choose to teach.
(Also : What to look for in your group/coven/church’s leader.)

You’ve studied Witchcraft in one or more of it’s many forms, and now you’d like to do some “hands-on training” with others of your chosen field. Depending on were you live and the type of Witchcraft you have chosen to practice, you may find that you either have dozens of local groups/tribes/covens in your area or you may have to travel far and wide before finding any at all. If you’re lucky you’ll be able to interview several group leaders and be allowed to visit their group/coven/tribe/clan/congregation/church/meetinghouse to sit in on several meetings before you decide which one you want to join. Even if there is only one local group, you still must be choosy; don’t feel that you must join their group just because they are the only one that you can find-interview the leader and sit in on their meetings, just as you would if you had a hundred groups to choose from. Remember there are allot of good people who out there trying to help others, in an honest, legitimate group; but always remember too that there are just as many groups out there that are not so good, far from honest, and run by egotistical-control-freak leaders, bent on taking advantage of innocent young minds. It’s a sad thing to have to admit, I know that you, like myself, would like to think that everyone out there was just as good, sweet, and honest as that little old lady down the street, but we have to face the hard truth, that not everyone is nice, in fact there are people out there who are down right mean-and often it isn’t the rough and tough street gangs that are the meanest people in town. I found that out the hard way. Learn from my mistake and don’t make the same mistake yourself-get out there and do your research-find out just exactly who these people really are, where they live, where they work he people they spend time with; not just the group leaders either, but the members too-make sure you know 100% positive for sure who can trust, before you join their group. It may seem like an awful lot of hard work and trouble to go through, just so you can join a group, but it’ll pay off in the long run, and it’s always better to be safe then sorry. If anything doesn’t “feel” right, no matter how good the group seems to be—RUN! Remember that one of the advantages of being a Witch, is that you are more sensitive to the energy around you, if there is any “bad” energy in that group, your Third-Eye Charka/Sixth Sense will pick up on it; it may be a “burning” in your stomach, a headache, “butterflies” in your stomach, shortness of breath, a quickened pulse, or even hearing an actual voice telling you to get out of that place; it doesn’t matter how it gives you the message, what matters is that you received the message, something is warning you that this place is dangerous for you and that it is time to leave–NOW–don’t wait until the end of the meeting, if your intuition is telling you to leave-get up and walk out of that meeting right then and there-don’t wait.

What if you’ve interviewed all of the leaders and visited all of the groups but none of them felt right for you? Now what? Well you could do what allot of Witches in your position do-become a Solitary Witch. You do realize of course that most Witches are Solitary. Covens and group meetings were are fad of the 1950’s-1970’s,they were never common at any other time in history. Oh sure, one or two show up every couple of hundred years, but all throughout history, it wasn’t the coven Witches that were feared-coven Witches were believed to be “weaker” than the Solitaries, coven Witches were usually thought of as very wealthy and very silly young girls playing games and acting out of ill breeding, no one really ever beloved that coven Witches were “real” Witches. Coven Witches had to practice their magic in groups before they could gather up enough strength and power to cause any trouble to the towns folk, so individually they weren’t considered to be a threat. No, it was the Solitaries that had the true power behind the spells and hexes-they could do things all on their own, without the help of a group. The towns folk could scatter the coven group members and be safe, but the Solitaries were another matter. The Solitaries had devoted their entire lives to Witchcraft, they didn’t have to waste time with the silly school-girl rituals of the coven groups, they got right down to business; While the coven Witches had to spend long hour chanting and dancing up a frenzy and than only on certain nights of the year to make their spells work-the Solitary had only to look at you, point a finger, or say a magic word, at any time of any day all year long. Solitaries were dangerous. Solitaries were the ones that were executed. For a Witch there really was safety in numbers. Solitaries can be in any type of Witchcraft, Wicca, or Religion, they just practice on their own, separate from a group-most Witches are in fact Solitary. Very few real Witches ever choose to join a coven and most covens today are started by teenagers in high school and quickly dissolve after graduation day. Some Solitaries may be a member of a group but live too far away to attend more than one or two meetings a year. Solitary Witches often become very powerful, much more powerful than Witches who choose to remain in coven, because they focus all of their time and energy into what they are doing, without worrying about peer-pressure from the group, or relying on the powers of another Witch to help them.

Another option is to become a Solitary “just for now”,while you continue to search for a group that’s right for you. Maybe you just need to be willing to travel farther away to find a group; or you could just wait; new groups are being started all the time, who knows maybe “your” group will start up brand new next week. You might be in for a long wait (maybe as long as ten or twenty years);but if you are patient it’ll be well worth the wait to find the right group that’s just right for you. There is another thing you could do, although I highly recommend that you don’t-You could join a cyber-space chat group over the inter-net, to share ideas with, although this is not a substitute for actual group meetings. Just remember that for every honest person you chat with on the net, there are five more who are not who or what they say they are-since you aren’t talking to them face to face it is much easier for them to lie to you. There are thousands of people on the chat sites that join them “just for the fun of it” and whose only purpose is finding out how much personal information they can get you to reveal-beware of anyone who asks for your home address, your last name, your phone number, your social security number, any credit card information, your mother’s maiden name, the name of your school, the name of your town, or any other information that could reveal where you and your family live. I personally have never joined a chat room; at first it was because I had no computer, and there was no public access computers in my area. That changed however, in 1997 when a library from a neighboring town added a computer room, with five computers(today they have fifteen). It was the end of the year before I could get around to learning how to use a computer, and being the only local library with public computers at the time meant long, long, long, long waiting lists. Southern Maine became abuzz with the computer craze, soon every public library had free internet computers available to the public. That’s when the local chat-room serial killer first struck. Between the years 1998 and 2003,five sixteen year old green-eyed hazelnut haired girls from all from York County, Maine have disappeared without a trace, each one had disappeared after telling their parents they had “a meeting” with a man from Maryland whom they had met in a chat-room. As of today, only two of those girls have been found–both dead–one was found less than five miles from my house, the other one was found half way across the state over a hundred miles from where she’d last been seen and they have yet to find her head.

NEVER, EVER, EVER, agree to met ANYONE, ANYWHERE, ANYTIME; the danger can not be overstressed.. Hundreds of teenagers, children, and ever grown men, and women get kidnapped, raped, tortured, and murdered each and every year by people they met in a chat-room; and the rate of the attacks gets higher every year-DON’T let yourself be added to that list!

What if you have really, really, really got your heart set on being part of a group, and you still just can’t find one anywhere, and you just don’t want to wait around until a new one shows up? Well, you could start your own group. Yes, a beginner can start their own group-you don’t have to be High Priest or a Priestess or have any other type of fancy title, and you don’t have to get permission from any other group, either. It isn’t even required that your group even has to have a leader! If you’ve got two or three friends that want to study and learn as well, than you’ve already get all the group you need. Organize it just as you would a club meeting or a high-school study group. You don’t have to go met in any fancy buildings, cemeteries, pine groves, beaches, deep dark forests, caves, or any other spooky Hollywood type of place. You can meet right in your own living room (if you’re a teenager make sure you get your parents permission first). Later on if more people wish to join your group, you could think about starting a more organized, “official” group, with rules, laws, books, leaders, teachers, and stuff like that, and you could consider renting or buying a building to use just for your covens group meetings.
Now for those of you who are really truly determined to roll up your sleeves and become a 100% real Witch every day for the rest of your entire lives, and not just play around with a few spells for a year or two and then move on to the next fad, then you might want to consider an apprenticeship. Yeah, that’s right, just like the Sorcerer’s Apprentice. You don’t usually join a coven for this, as most real Witches view covens as a sort of “playground” for the “baby Witches” who aren’t yet ready to dig in to the real thing–a life long medical, scientific, and spiritual career in Witchcraft. Apprenticeship used to be the most popular way for Witches to get their training. In apprenticeship, you seek out an older, wiser, more experienced Witch (often a Crone or a Wizard) that is willing to personally teach you the art of Witchcraft. You will live with or close by this Witch for many years-five, ten, twenty years or more. At first you will simple run errands for your teacher, watching and listening carefully to everything he/she says and does. You will start writing you Grimoire immediately–by taking notes of absolutely everything. (If you weren’t go at note taking in science class than you won’t last long as an apprentice). You will usually begin by studying and memorizing the names and uses of various plants, herbs, rocks, and minerals as well as how to identify each and every one, and what they cure and how to administer them to the sick. You will also usually learn the meaning of various colors and how they affect people. You will most likely learn to make and use your own candles, and often you will be taught how to do other things on your own such as sewing, embroidery, making your own clothes, knitting, weaving, crochet, “homemade” cooking, and toy or doll making ~now don’t groan-these are all necessary skills that all real Witches eventually end up having to learn, and the earlier you learn them the better. You will study things like dreams and visions, and you will spend allot of your time-hours each day- sitting silently practicing the art of deep meditation. If you didn’t like history class, you’re in for bad news–you will most likely spend allot of time in libraries researching the history and spiritual and medical practices of Africa, China, Ancient America, Haiti, and Papua New Guinea. Later, after you have gained the teacher/Witch’s trust you will be allowed to assist in spells and things, and much later-probably years-as you become more experienced, you will move on to things like healings, exorcisms, and lifting curses. There is a dark side to Witchcraft that isn’t often spoken of-to date I’ve yet to find a book on Witchcraft that even mentions it: death. Many young teenage Witches have their fairy-tale fantasies about being a Witch smashed deeply into the ground with the hash reality that Witches are often surrounded by death. Real death, not video game, vampire movie, fantasy type death, but real dead people-including possibly people that you know. Preparing a body for burial requires allot mental strength and should not be taken up by the weak or faint hearted. There are very few people who have the mental strength to deal with being around or even hearing about death, much less handling the actual dead bodies. Be prepared to help your teacher in the preparation of dead bodies for burial-you will probably be asked to assist in the funeral services as well. It is a plain and simple fact that a majority of real Witches are there to help the dead pass on to their new existence in the afterlife and the preparation of a body for burial is a common thing for Witches to do. This is why Hollywood so often associates Witches with cemeteries, fact is if you are a Witch you may very well spend allot of time in cemeteries-but not casting spell at midnight-instead you will be burying the dead, cremating the dead, performing funerals, blessing the dead one’s spirit, and helping to ease the pain of a grieving family. It is often this harsh shock the reality of what Witches really do that causes most aspiring young Witches to give up on Witchcraft and instead turn to Wicca. It is this association with death that has made true Witchcraft so unpopular among the young generation of today, and why Wicca is quickly becoming the “new age form” of Witchcraft. Sad thing is, is that very few young people realize that there is no horror in death, that death is merely the passing of one life into another. Their minds are so filled with Hollywood superstitions and fears about death, that they run in terror from Witchcraft once they are asked to help the dead and dieing pass on into the next life. Wicca is often more appealing, simply because they are unable to face the facts of life-that you can’t escape death. You might as well face the facts now, that if you want to be a Witch, you are going to spend allot of time with dead people, especially for those of you training to become Witch Doctors, Mambos, Hogan’s, and Borkas, all four of whom deal with dead bodies more often then live clients, be sure to keep this in mind when choosing your teacher. If you want to avoid having to work with dead people than you should steer clear of an apprenticeship with Witch Doctors, Hogan’s, Mambos, Borkas, Aborigines, Jala`, (pronounced: hale-lee) and some Medicine Men/Women; to be on the safe side you should choose a Garden Witch, a Kitchen Witch, a Green Witch,——- . Depending on the type of Witch your are training under, you may also learn about things like using Vodun Poppets, Medicine Bags, healing auras, rock divination, crystal healing, spirit animals, animal communication, Taoist exercise, Feng Shui, Yoga, music and dance therapy, essential oils, incense, Reki, smudging, homeopathy, aromatherapy, massage therapy, hypnosis, and any of countless other things. You may also need to take a collage course in psychology and mental health, if you plan to some day open a practice of your own. (Remember Witches often treat clients, and you will need to know how to diagnose grief and illnesses and be able to give advise to them, this is especially important if you will be dealing with dead bodies and may need to provide counseling to the families of the dead.) Each Witch uses different methods and has different beliefs, so the Witch you choose to study under should be chosen carefully to make sure that he/she is actually the type of Witch that you want to become, because that is the whole point of being an apprentice-to become like your teacher in every way.

So, what do I look for in a teacher/leader? Will, aside from the obvious fact that the Witch you choose for a teacher/leader should teach/do/believe things that you yourself would like to learn, your teacher/leader should above all be an overall good person. So, what makes a good person a good person? Look at how they live their lives. Do they take care of themselves and their families? If they spend more time away from home than with their families, they aren’t taking care of their families mental and emotional well being-how can you expect them to care about your feelings if they don’t even care about the feeling of their own family? What are their goals and priorities in life? If they are chasing after big houses, fancy cars, more money, and the opposite sex then they aren’t very spiritual, and can’t be expected to teach very spiritual things. Do they take care of their health? Obviously you don’t want to be lead by someone who gets drunk and smokes-if they don’t care about their own health, how can you expect them to care about the lives of their students and congregation? What kind of things do they talk about with their friends? If they swear, make dirty jokes, talk loudly about or bullying the opposite sex or those weaker or different from themselves, and are always horsing around and making a joke out of everything, than they have a very low self esteem and are showing off to make up for their lack of confidence. Do you really want to be lead by such a cowardly bigotries person-how can you expect them to stand up for what they claim to teach/ preach/believe, if they don’t even believe in their own self abilities? You also want to steer clear of teachers/leaders who lie, cheat, steal, tease, threaten, have violent tempers, commit adultery, or sexually harass or abuse anyone. Well, those are the things you want to be sure your teacher/leader does not have, but what about the things that he/she should have?

The list that follows is one that I made based on ones that I have seen school teachers using in their classrooms to teach their children to be better citizens. I instantly fell in love with these lists and view them as the ultimate list of laws, rules, or creeds that could ever be written or used by anyone, regardless of race, culture, or religion, and should be used by everyone. I have taking the things that I have seen many of today’s school teachers list on various classroom charts and combined them, edited them, and added a few of my own. I have worded them as personal affirmations, so that they may be used during meditation sessions, either with or without the help of prayer beads, in order to help you set your mind to becoming more like any trait in which you may be lacking or wish to improve upon.
I’m sure you have seen one of these types of “character trait lists”,most everyone has seen one at one time or another. Unfortunately, most people just glance at the list and than without giving any thought to what it says, pass it off as a mere learning tool for elementary students, and therefore unnecessary for teenagers or adults. Nothing could be farther from the truth. I have often found that young children have these traits naturally and progressively lose them as they grow older. Don’t feel that this list is “only for kids”,by skipping by such a list you could be passing up a very important learning opportunity for yourself. Whenever you see a list like this one, stop and read it carefully, go over each thing that it says carefully, and think about what it really means and how you could strive to be more like it.
This list here, applies to all, wither they be Witches, Christians, Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, or anything else. I have found that this list more closely describes the “laws” that Witches live by, far better than any creed or articles of faith laid down by any faith or religion, including the famous “Wiccan Reed” which contrary to popular belief applies only to Wiccans and not to Witches. This list contains all of the good character traits that any good decent person should be proud to strive for. After reading this list, I’m sure that you will feel the same, and wish to add this to your own list of personal beliefs. More importantly, these are also the things you will want to look for in your teacher/ leader, or the things that you yourself should strive for if you plan to start/teach/lead your own group. Keep your eyes open for leaders and teachers who run high in the qualities listed here, for they are the teachers and leaders that you want to find and learn from.

The Character Traits of any Good Teacher, Leader, Healer, or other Practitioner of Witchcraft:

Caring:
1.) I will say nice things and share compliments with others.
2.) I will be considerate, kind, and respectful in everything that I do.
3.) I will lend a helping hand to those around me.
4.) I will be the person who others can count on.
5.) I will help others as much as I can, and more than I want to.
6.) I will give to others without expecting anything in return.
7.) I will think about the needs and feelings of others before my own.
8.) I will share what I have with those in need.
9.) I will go the extra mile.
10.) I will do nothing that hurts or causes harm to anyone.
Citizenship:
1.) I will cooperate with others.
2.) I will contribute to my community.
3.) I will work to improve the land.
4.) I will obey the laws of the land.
5.) I will study the history of the land, and learn from the mistakes of others.
6.) I will study the history of the land, and learn from the successes of others.
7.) I will help those around me.
8.) I will be myself and allow others the freedom to do the same.
9.) I will speak up against and work to change things that are hurtful, unfair, and wrong.
10.) I will volunteer to help without being asked.
Courage:
1.) I will stand up for what is right, even if I must stand alone.
2.) I will ask questions, and seek the truth.
3.) I can think for myself, and make my own decisions.
4.) I am too busy to be sad.
5.) I am too positive to be doubtful.
6.) I am too optimistic to be fearful.
7.) I am too determined to be defeated.
8.) I follow my conscience, not the crowd.
9.) Nothing that anyone can say or do will stop my reaching my goal.
10.) I know that what is right is not always popular, and that what is popular is not always right.
Effort:
1.) I will achieve my goals through commitment and hard work.
2.) I will give my best in everything that I do.
3.) I will keep on trying without giving up or giving in.
4.) I will make the most of every opportunity.
5.) I will set goals, because if I aim for nothing that’s all I’ll get.
6.) I will not pass my work on to others, needlessly.
7.) If I don’t succeed I will try again.
Fairness:
1.) I will follow the rules, and play fair.
2.) I am open minded to the ideas and opinions of others.
3.) I listen silently to what others have to say.
4.) I will not take advantage of anyone or any situation.
5.) I will speak up and work to change things that are unfair and wrong.
6.) I will not blame others for my mistakes.
7.) I will speak my mind, and allow others the freedom to do the same.
Freedom:
1.) I will make every decision carefully.
2.) I will think everything through responsibly, before I decide.
3.) I will exercise my freedom to choose, and allow others to do the same.
4.) I can decide right from wrong and do that which is right.
5.) I will follow my conscience, not the crowd.
6.) I am free to worship as I see fit, without forcing others to follow my beliefs.
7.) I will not demand that others believe the same as I do.
Honesty:
1.) I will be truthful to others.
2.) I will be truthful to myself.
3.) I will do what is right regardless of who is around to see me do it.
4.) I will be someone that others can trust.
5.) When I tell the truth I don’t have to remember what I said and who I said it to.
Kindness:
1.) I will be friendly to everyone I meet.
2.) I will do good things for others without being asked.
3.) I will show that I care by the things that I do.
4.) I will treat others the same way I wish them to treat me.
5.)
Respectful:
1.) I will treat others the way I want them to treat me.
2.) I will be kind and considerate to everyone.
3.) I like myself enough to be myself.
4.) I will accept others for who they are.
5.) I know that respect is not a gift and that I must earn it.
6.) I will be honest to myself and others.
7.) I will be polite.
8.) I will respect the freedom of others, and not force them to follow my ideas.
9.)
10.)
Responsibility:
1.) I will be in control of my own behavior.
2.) I can be trusted to do important jobs for others.
3.) I will get my work finished on time.
4.) I will do my part when working with a team.
5.) I do what I am supposed to do, when I am supposed to do it.
6.) I do my best work, every time.
7.) I can admit it when I have made a mistake, and I will strive to correct it.
8.) I always think about how my actions will affect others.
9.) I can accept the consequences of my actions, wither good or bad.
10.) Others can depend on me.
Self Control:
1.) I know that I can do the wrong thing, but I have decided to do that which is right.
2.) I will not lose my temper.
3.) I know that less is sometimes more.
4.) I will not be greedy and take more than my share.
5.) Broken bones from sticks and stones will soon heal, but names can hurt forever.
Trustworthy:
1.) I will never tell a lie.
2.) I will never take something that doesn’t belong to me.
3.) I will never hurt another.
4.) I will take good care of things that I borrow from others, and return the item as good as new.
5.)

What’s your take on this? I’d love to hear what you have to say about this post. Leave a comment and share your views!

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If you liked reading this blog and want to read more stuff written by me, I have lots of websites, where you can read other things I write, here are a few of the ones I like the best:
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