Wicca is an experiential religion. For a long time, this meant that people didn’t talk about the mysteries central to its practice. There are a variety of arguments for this. First, some people believe that talking about the Mysteries, or the experiential truths that practitioners become aware of through practice and initiatory rites, cheapens them and makes them less sacred. Second, some people believe that the Mysteries cannot be fully explained in words but can only be experienced in order for their power to be fully realized. Third, some people believe that revealing the Mysteries sets expectations in the mind of the practitioner and limits their experience of them.
There is a grain of truth to each of these arguments. Talking about the Mysteries outside of their sacred context and reducing them to clichés to be bandied about does indeed cheapen them because their sacredness is not being respected. Teaching the Mysteries through words is challenging because the Mysteries are designed to be experienced rather than talked about, and oftentimes words are not enough to transmit the fullness of the wisdom. And revealing the Mysteries before a practitioner has experienced them can set expectations in that practitioner’s mind about how they “should” experience the spiritual truths of the Craft and can lead to the notion that knowing in the head has the same value as experiencing in the heart.
Despite these grains of truth, I have found that it’s very difficult to hit a target when you don’t know what you’re shooting for. In my own practice, it was assumed by my teachers that I had “gotten” things about the Craft through experience when in reality I was confused by or oblivious to them. There were things I had learned through practice that I couldn’t articulate my basis for, and there were things I had read about that I hadn’t made the experiential leap into understanding. I feel this was a detriment to my training as a witch. The sense that I was missing something left me doubting that I was “doing it right”. Even when I reached the third degree, the culmination of twenty years of practice, I felt like an imposter because I couldn’t articulate the central mysteries of my faith to others. In some cases, I knew them but didn’t understand them. In other cases, I didn’t have a clue what I was supposed to get out of my experience in the first place. It took several conversations with my priestess and priest before I felt comfortable enough with my experiences to talk about them. As a leadership team, we decided that our students wouldn’t have the same problem, or at least not to the same degree as we did, as they also had similar experiences in this regard.
Because I come from a Traditional, Initiatory, Wiccan path, my understanding of the Mysteries was molded by the workings of the Circle, the lessons of the Initiation and Elevation rituals, and the liturgy of our Tradition. Not all of these experiences are available to non-initiatory Wiccans. However, this does not mean that the Mysteries are not available to such practitioners. The Mysteries reveal themselves in a variety of ways to those who are ready to experience them, and the Gods initiate their followers in a multitude of ways that don’t necessarily happen in a magic circle. But, as I said, it’s difficult to hit a target when you don’t know what you’re shooting for. Consider the list below to be a rough sketch of what you are striving to understand fully in your heart and soul.
Magick Is Real
One of the first things we teach our dedicants is how to cast a Circle. This act is an act of Magick. It’s using our will to change reality. And it is absolutely, literally real. Beyond the psychological value of ritual, there’s a tangible quality to the Circle that cannot be defined in any other way. It’s more than just a formality or an ephemeral spiritual protection. It’s heat and haze and a step out of space-time. It’s cell phone batteries draining and watches stopping. It’s the smell of ozone on a clear evening. And if the Circle is real, then everything we do in it — raising energy, casting spells, praising the Gods — is real as well.
Love Is Stronger Than Death
In our liturgy, we reenact the descent of the Goddess and her time spent in the Underworld as an initiatory experience. The initiate, as the Goddess, descends to the realm of the dead and comes to understand that Death, as the God, is not cruel but kind, and that all things that are suffering long for relief from their pain. When we learn to love Death as a part of Life, not only does Life become more precious but also sweeter and more valuable. But because the Goddess learned the Mystery of Death, Rebirth is also a part of the cycle. Neither Life nor Death are permanent conditions. And it is Love — the Love of the Goddess and God, the Love of human beings, the Love of all of creation — that keeps the cycle of Life, Death, and Rebirth flowing from one to another. Even in our experience of losing those we love to Death, we understand that they are not truly gone but still accessible to us in the spirit world. Our memories keep the connection strong. That is why, in the Craft, we say, “What is remembered, lives.”
We Are One
The Great Rite, performed in token in the blessing of cakes and wine and in truth on some special occasions, is the union of the self with the Cosmos. Contrary to popular belief, it does not need to be a sexual act, nor does it need to be performed with another person. This union, however it is performed, is meant to remind us that we are part of the vastness of creation, connected intimately with one another and with Deity. It also serves to remind us that in each of us dwells a spark that is wholly Divine. It exists in us just as we exist in it, and each of us, in our bountiful diversity, is a reflection of the Divine.
It is said that the Mysteries reveal themselves to those who are ready to experience them, and that they protect themselves from those who are not yet ready to behold their majesty. As a wise person once said, “For those who understand, no explanation is needed. For those who do not understand, no explanation is possible.” For those who are on the cusp of understanding, a little explanation may be all that is necessary to bridge the gap between knowledge and experience. By choosing to offer a little explanation, I hope to maintain the sacredness of the Mysteries while still making them accessible to those who seek for them. So mote it be.