In my tradition, the titles of priestess and priest refer to offices rather than genders.  Each role has specific duties, and every dedicant is expected to be able to perform the basic duties of each office before they are initiated.  There is a relationship between office and a person’s natural energy flow, and a lot of the time these fall along genderized lines — women as priestesses and men as priests.  But that is not the only interpretation of the office, and each office is open to anyone who is willing and able to perform the duties of that office.

The Priestess

In circle, the priestess represents the magnetic or attractive energy in circle.  Oftentimes we call this energy Goddess, as in the Universal Creatrix, She who transforms energy into matter and brings Form to Force.  During circle, the priestess may embody this energy or simply call it to be present in the circle, but during the working of magick, the priestess is responsible for taking the collected energies from the priest and giving it appropriate intention before directing its passage through the spirit world into reality.  This is a deeply intense experience and requires all of the priestess’s attention, so the priestess relies on the priest to protect them from distracting or harmful energies while they focus on manifesting the magick.  The priestess also relies on the priest to protect the group from the priestess in the case that the priestess loses control of the energies that they are in the process of manifesting.

Outside of circle, the priestess is responsible for planning circle, counseling group members, teaching dedicants, and setting the ritual calendar.  In some traditions the priestess and priest switch this administrative role every six months, saying that just as the Goddess rules from Beltaine to Samhain and the God rules from Samhain to Beltaine, so the priestess rules the coven from Beltaine to Samhain and the priest rules the coven from Samhain to Beltaine.

The Priest

In circle, the priest represents the electric or projective energy in circle.  Oftentimes we call this energy God, as in the Universal Creator, He who transforms matter into energy and brings Force to Form.  During circle, the priest may embody this energy or simply call it to be present in the circle, but during the working of magick, the priest is responsible for collecting the energies from the group, ensuring that it has the correct quality to it, defending that energy against corruption, and acting as an emergency fuse between the group and the priestess as the energy is passed through the priest to the priestess.  It’s said in our tradition that the priest protects the priestess from the coven and the coven from the priestess, not because the priestess is being intentionally harmful but because a momentary loss of control can result in spiritual sickness and injury.

Outside of circle, the priest is responsible for maintaining the ritual space and the physical items used in group ritual.  They also have the responsibility of teaching dedicants and with this comes some of the counseling role as well.  But the priest’s major role is to be a watchful guardian, protecting the group from elements that might disrupt it.  As guardian, they keep a finger to the pulse of the community and advise the priestess about the best ways to keep the group dynamics of the coven stable and safe for all.

Energies and Offices

Every person has a dominant energy pattern.  It’s not the only energy pattern that they can generate, but it’s the one that they naturally fall into when they’re going about mundane life.  Sometimes that energy pattern persists when a person enters ritual space, and other times it flips into a different pattern unmasks and allows themselves to be who they truly are in circle.  For the purpose of energywork, we look for an active element in priestesses and a passive element in priests.  This is because it is the priestess who projects the magickal energy of spellwork from thought and intent and imagination into something that exists in the real world, and it is the priest who collects the energy from the group and the environment and modulates it into a focused energy pattern which goes to the priestess.  It is entirely possible for someone who calls the Goddess in circle to act in a priestly role when the time comes to raise energy, and for someone who calls the God in circle to act in a priestessly role during spellwork.  As long as everyone in circle is aware of who is doing what and when they are doing it, there’s no need for adherence to strict gender polarity.

Offices and Initiatory Rank

In my tradition, we train our dedicants to be able to embody the energies of both Goddess and God before they are initiated to the first degree.  Once they are initiated, they are taught advanced energy techniques and by their second degree initiation they are expected to be able to masterfully perform the duties of each office when called upon to do so.  As they advance from second degree to third degree, they are expected to be able to perform the duties of both offices at the same time, dividing their attention to be able to collect, modulate, direct, and manifest the magickal energy of a group.

At the time of the second degree initiation, it is expected that the candidate has discovered which role they are naturally drawn to.  When they put their name in the book, they are given the title of Lady or Lord in reference to their office of priestess or priest.  At the third degree initiation, it is expected that the candidate has decided to serve the Gods for the rest of this life (and possibly for all lives that follow) and they receive a spiritual mark that indicates this.  It’s one way that an Initiate can discern the true level of skill of a practitioner, for the Mark is bestowed by the Gods rather than by the priestess or priest.