At first when people think of initiation they assume that it is a mere rite of membership, where one learns "the secret handshake" and otherwise is ritually accepted. If the new initiate assumes that the meaning is this simple she will give the rite no further consideration. Generally it takes a little while before a new initiate starts to question "What difference does it make" whether or not she has had this experience. Too many in the neo-pagan community have concluded that it literally makes no difference and therefore that it can be dispensed with.
Coming from a traditional orientation, I hold the belief that it does make a serious and substantial difference. While the initial assumption that the rite marks membership is correct, it is not completely correct. Certainly the formal marking and recognition of membership is a legitimate purpose of creating and building group solidarity. There is a larger and better reason that is truly intended to make a difference far greater than mere membership.
Before we proceed we should probably make a basic distinction. The true initiation is not the ceremony per se but rather the connection one makes with the forces that call and impel the individual to spiritual connection. When the ritual is properly performed this is a seminal moment in making this connection, but the connection can be made without the ceremony and some will fail to achieve the connection even when the ceremony is enacted. The formal initiation is to call the power to the psychic centers of the initiate, linking the "souls" and preparing her for the return to the path of Wiccan power. The finding and additional development of the virtue through their own practice and efforts is the task that is undertaken by the initiate with the goal of ultimate fulfillment of the initiation by integrating the power with the Lady's purpose such that we become a force of nature and a part of the unfolding of creation. This fulfillment is the true initiation.
Wicca has a somewhat complex explanation for the nature of the individual as both assembled from the divine substance and yet capable of separation from full awareness, The explanation offers a description of the divine and the divine connection with the mundane and the human condition. The description is properly understood as metaphor, but as described more fully below, all descriptions are metaphor.
To first approach our spiritual nature we must discuss the divine. The common spiritual experience is that the presence of the divine is awesome, ineffable and indescribable. The intellectual portion of us yearns to describe, but little can truly be said about the ultimate power/virtue, one is capable of resisting the separation of these souls -- increasing the probability that they will reunite.
At this point the question of whether or not this evolved soul is a "god" depends rather considerably on your personal definition. It has a "tap" on the universal forces. It has its own direction and experience. It is very powerful. Therefore it may be conceived that there is a possibility of what might be termed "spiritual advancement" or it may be viewed as the potential of fulfilling our ultimate purpose in assisting the divine process.
In each degree of initiation, there is a magical attempt to empower and harmonize the aura and the spiritual energies of the initiate to call to the divine light leading toward harmony.
It should be clear to those familiar with magic that the connections of energies here described as being part of the initiation are internal connections. They can be made without formal ritual and even, sometimes without training. They do not require the intervention of another, but the training and assistance by a trained person can be deemed to be of some aid. similarly the training should assist the person in working with these energies and the full understanding of them. This said, the formal ceremonies can be done ineffectively and the training may not be psychologically useful to all who study. It is for this reason that we are taught to develop a relationship with teacher so that the teacher can harmonize his teaching with the student's natural energies and temperaments.
It is always possible that the student - teacher relationship will fail in spite of the best efforts of the parties. Both should first sincerely attempt to overcome the difficulty when it is identified but when the relationship becomes unproductive the ties of teacher an student should be severed. If the relationship exists only for the gratification of the teacher's ego or as a spiritual crutch for the student, both will be harmed by continuing the relationship.
The teacher can be an important aid to initiatory development. This is a fact long recognized. A person's personal endeavors are of utmost importance to the development of the initiatory energy. If the degree is properly and powerfully conferred but the Student fails to train and use these energies, the initiatory force will fade and return to the pre-initiatory state. Similarly, in the case of the ineffective ceremony, if the degree is improperly conferred, but the individual works strongly with the energies with his mind on the ideals of the rite she may activate the initiation in spite of the errors of the initiator. In wicca the ultimate responsibility is with the individual for their own development.
All of the above forms the basis for the initiatory process but does not answer the truly fundamental question of what does it mean to be an initiate. This has two answers depending on how the word, "initiate is used. If we use it to mean "one who has had the rite of membership" and thus used as the opposite of "cowan" then it refers to those who have been the focus of the ritual of initiation. If we refer to "initiate" as someone who has, at lest to some degree, begun to fulfill that initiation then, the answer is much more difficult. We must describe a state of mind that, by definition, can only be understood after it is experienced. The religious texts of many great religions attempt to describe this spiritual state. I suspect that all are right and all are equally wrong.
You may use this link to contact the author,