As some of you know, I am currently studying Wicca and working toward my Second degree initiation. My lesson and homework this week has been a challenge to me, as well as reigniting my enthusiasm for learning, teaching, and the Craft. I have been given the task of writing my own seeker course or Wicca 101 class.
For me, the challenge has been to wade through all of the years of general Craft/Wicca knowledge I have gathered and determine what of it is basic enough to be taught in a 101 setting. I know that may sound strange to some, but I'm one of those weird people who didn't grow up in the Craft, but still managed to grow up with it. (If that makes sense...)
When I first stepped upon this Wiccan path consciously, I discovered that I already knew many of the basic elements that so many new people are ignorant of. I had a firm grasp on the elements, mythology, and color correspondence, as well as, basic energy work, ancient history, and even a very basic understanding of the human condition. I instinctively understood that what works for me might not work for anyone else. I understood that Deity is greater than anything our finite minds could possibly comprehend, unless we compartmentalize it and break it in to small, finite pieces. I understood the feeling of the ebb and flow of the energies of this life and that everything has a soul.
The challenge of creating this class has come from the fact that I don't know what it's like to be truly 101. I firmly and readily admit that I am ignorant to many, many things in this world and to even more things within the Craft, and likely will be for many years to come. All that said, it's the basics, the foundation, which challenge me so.
How am I supposed to teach something I have simply always known? (Always isn't exactly the right word, however, many things I'll be teaching I discovered when I was no older than 9 and other things I discovered around 14, so I've still known these things for more than half of my life.) How do I teach the basics of something which I have layered with more knowledge and experience through the years? How do I strip away all of the complications, the meat of my knowledge, back down to the bare-bones structure?
These are my challenges. Don't overwhelm the new students! Don't scare them. Don't freak them out to the point they do not want to continue with their craft knowledge. Make. It. Fun. Of course, then all of the other questions and self doubt creep in. Then, I laugh nervously and tell myself I can do this. There is a part of me, a part somewhere deep within my chest, that knows I'm doing what I'm supposed to do and when that doubt creeps in, this part of me glows blue-white and chases those shadows away.
That part, deep within me, is also the part of me that whispers I'll be learning from my students. It reminds me that I will make mistakes, but I'm only human. It reminds me that even teachers never stop learning. It reminds me to let go and simply let my gods. It is this part of me that is excited and enthusiastic about this possibility. It is this part of me that also reminds me to tread slowly and deliberately. It wants to be as The Fool, but knows that it's not quite the appropriate time.
I have accepted this challenge and I have resolved to muddle through it and take any direction I may get from my own teachers. I realize, now, that this is the direction I have been needing to go for months. I can only thank the Gods for being patient with me as I have figured this out. I can only thank my Elders for setting such good examples for me to emulate. I am thankful for this challenge, despite the scary implications for me (more personal challenges and such that I really don't want to accept) and I am thankful to have all of this coming just as I am emerging from my own darkness and getting ready to plant the seeds for growth within this new year.
Brightest of Blessings my friends!!
For me, the challenge has been to wade through all of the years of general Craft/Wicca knowledge I have gathered and determine what of it is basic enough to be taught in a 101 setting. I know that may sound strange to some, but I'm one of those weird people who didn't grow up in the Craft, but still managed to grow up with it. (If that makes sense...)
When I first stepped upon this Wiccan path consciously, I discovered that I already knew many of the basic elements that so many new people are ignorant of. I had a firm grasp on the elements, mythology, and color correspondence, as well as, basic energy work, ancient history, and even a very basic understanding of the human condition. I instinctively understood that what works for me might not work for anyone else. I understood that Deity is greater than anything our finite minds could possibly comprehend, unless we compartmentalize it and break it in to small, finite pieces. I understood the feeling of the ebb and flow of the energies of this life and that everything has a soul.
The challenge of creating this class has come from the fact that I don't know what it's like to be truly 101. I firmly and readily admit that I am ignorant to many, many things in this world and to even more things within the Craft, and likely will be for many years to come. All that said, it's the basics, the foundation, which challenge me so.
How am I supposed to teach something I have simply always known? (Always isn't exactly the right word, however, many things I'll be teaching I discovered when I was no older than 9 and other things I discovered around 14, so I've still known these things for more than half of my life.) How do I teach the basics of something which I have layered with more knowledge and experience through the years? How do I strip away all of the complications, the meat of my knowledge, back down to the bare-bones structure?
These are my challenges. Don't overwhelm the new students! Don't scare them. Don't freak them out to the point they do not want to continue with their craft knowledge. Make. It. Fun. Of course, then all of the other questions and self doubt creep in. Then, I laugh nervously and tell myself I can do this. There is a part of me, a part somewhere deep within my chest, that knows I'm doing what I'm supposed to do and when that doubt creeps in, this part of me glows blue-white and chases those shadows away.
That part, deep within me, is also the part of me that whispers I'll be learning from my students. It reminds me that I will make mistakes, but I'm only human. It reminds me that even teachers never stop learning. It reminds me to let go and simply let my gods. It is this part of me that is excited and enthusiastic about this possibility. It is this part of me that also reminds me to tread slowly and deliberately. It wants to be as The Fool, but knows that it's not quite the appropriate time.
I have accepted this challenge and I have resolved to muddle through it and take any direction I may get from my own teachers. I realize, now, that this is the direction I have been needing to go for months. I can only thank the Gods for being patient with me as I have figured this out. I can only thank my Elders for setting such good examples for me to emulate. I am thankful for this challenge, despite the scary implications for me (more personal challenges and such that I really don't want to accept) and I am thankful to have all of this coming just as I am emerging from my own darkness and getting ready to plant the seeds for growth within this new year.
Brightest of Blessings my friends!!
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