My comment: My husband, a Wiccan priest and 32nd Scottish Rite Freemason, says that one of his greatest frustrations is not being able to point out the similarities, and some downright literal text, of Gardner's Wiccan rites and Masonic rites.
Response: This represents the exactly kind of hearsay and gossip that I complain about. Now some non-initiate who read SRW last week, who is not sophisticated enough in the nuances of either group, is going to get the idea that Wicca and Scottish Rite Freemasonry are the same thing. Wonderful. It happens now and we have people on this board who draw these conclusions and present them as facts to other uninformed sorts who take it as gospel truth.
Me: Lack of research on the part of others is out of my control. If they take a statement that says "similiarities" and "some literal" as equating the two as the same, then that's their own ignorance.
Response: This statement is a dodge of your responsibilities as a priestess and a presenter of information. The group of people in question would not even know where to look for information with which to even learn more, nor would they be motivate under normal circumstances to research it.
Highlighted: This statement is a dodge of your responsibilities as a priestess...
Excuse me?! Gee, I must have missed this memo. Exactly where are MY "responsibilities as a priestess" set in stone for the world at large?
Let me clarify things. My responsibilities as a Lycian priestess are to pass along the teachings of the Lycian Tradition of Wicca to those I initiate, and those I take on as students in a coven setting. Outside of those parameters, I am OBLIGATED to do SQUAT for anyone else. Outside the Tradition and coven, I am a student like anyone else.
Now, I'll do my best to steer you in the right direction, share my experiences and give you links to books, essays and other materials that I have come across that might help you in finding the answer to your question. But you have to ask. Where does being a priestess make me bound to handhold everyone that MIGHT take a statement wrong and is not bothered to ask for clarification? Especially for a general statement made by someone else.
Unless you're a Lycian initiate, you are not privy to my specific oaths. So how exactly do you figure I'm "dodging my responsibilities?" I believe this is part of the eclectic idea that a priestess is bound to "serve their community" without question, be available 24/7 for all who want your time and/or ask to be taught, yada yada yada. Because as a priestess, you're bound to do this "in honor of the Lord and Lady," or else your "responsibilities to the community" are not being upheld. You uppity, arrogant priestess, you (cue the Archie Bunker voiceover).
My epiphany on this? That I hadn't really taken it to heart that no, I don't have a responsibility to ANYONE outside whom I choose. I am taking my Degree work because I want to progress in the Tradition. I head a coven because I want to. How I honor and serve the Lord & Lady is between me and Them, and not defined by the general populace.
As a person in a conversation, it is reasonable to expect that information presented by me should be backed up with appropriate material if someone asks for it. But is it NOT my "responsibility as a priestess." Outside of a Lycian setting, it's simply common courtesy as a participant in a discussion.
It was a revelation that really struck home. So obvious, yet it was not ingrained in me. And something that, as a priestess, I will carry with me.
Recorded in my LiveJournal on January 31, 2005
Response: This represents the exactly kind of hearsay and gossip that I complain about. Now some non-initiate who read SRW last week, who is not sophisticated enough in the nuances of either group, is going to get the idea that Wicca and Scottish Rite Freemasonry are the same thing. Wonderful. It happens now and we have people on this board who draw these conclusions and present them as facts to other uninformed sorts who take it as gospel truth.
Me: Lack of research on the part of others is out of my control. If they take a statement that says "similiarities" and "some literal" as equating the two as the same, then that's their own ignorance.
Response: This statement is a dodge of your responsibilities as a priestess and a presenter of information. The group of people in question would not even know where to look for information with which to even learn more, nor would they be motivate under normal circumstances to research it.
Highlighted: This statement is a dodge of your responsibilities as a priestess...
Excuse me?! Gee, I must have missed this memo. Exactly where are MY "responsibilities as a priestess" set in stone for the world at large?
Let me clarify things. My responsibilities as a Lycian priestess are to pass along the teachings of the Lycian Tradition of Wicca to those I initiate, and those I take on as students in a coven setting. Outside of those parameters, I am OBLIGATED to do SQUAT for anyone else. Outside the Tradition and coven, I am a student like anyone else.
Now, I'll do my best to steer you in the right direction, share my experiences and give you links to books, essays and other materials that I have come across that might help you in finding the answer to your question. But you have to ask. Where does being a priestess make me bound to handhold everyone that MIGHT take a statement wrong and is not bothered to ask for clarification? Especially for a general statement made by someone else.
Unless you're a Lycian initiate, you are not privy to my specific oaths. So how exactly do you figure I'm "dodging my responsibilities?" I believe this is part of the eclectic idea that a priestess is bound to "serve their community" without question, be available 24/7 for all who want your time and/or ask to be taught, yada yada yada. Because as a priestess, you're bound to do this "in honor of the Lord and Lady," or else your "responsibilities to the community" are not being upheld. You uppity, arrogant priestess, you (cue the Archie Bunker voiceover).
My epiphany on this? That I hadn't really taken it to heart that no, I don't have a responsibility to ANYONE outside whom I choose. I am taking my Degree work because I want to progress in the Tradition. I head a coven because I want to. How I honor and serve the Lord & Lady is between me and Them, and not defined by the general populace.
As a person in a conversation, it is reasonable to expect that information presented by me should be backed up with appropriate material if someone asks for it. But is it NOT my "responsibility as a priestess." Outside of a Lycian setting, it's simply common courtesy as a participant in a discussion.
It was a revelation that really struck home. So obvious, yet it was not ingrained in me. And something that, as a priestess, I will carry with me.
Recorded in my LiveJournal on January 31, 2005