Reclaiming Tradition Initiation

Last updated on: January 19, 2018 at 4:56 pm by Phoenix LeFae

Reclaiming Tradition Initiation 2018-01-19T16:56:42-08:00 Phoenix LeFae

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Today is the anniversary of my initiation into the Reclaiming Tradition of Witchcraft. My Reclaiming initiation took place just two days shy of my twenty year anniversary of stepping into witchcraft. Every year on my initiation anniversary I take some time to reflect on what has transpired since my ‘big day’. My initiation date is my second birthday, it is the day that I was born into the depths of witchcraft differently than I had been before. It holds a lot of power.

The Beginning

My relationship to the Reclaiming Tradition started in 1995, when I attended my first public ritual. I had already been practicing witchcraft for awhile at that point, but all of my study had been from books. You see the internet wasn’t really a thing yet. We had to go out into the world and find books! In that first public ritual there were sixty people present, which felt like a million to me at the time.

Although painfully shy, I sang, I danced, we raised a cone of power, and I left that ritual thinking, “Wow, I’ve been doing my rituals all wrong, this was so much more powerful!” Out went the books with the rote and pre-written rituals. Instead, I started crafting my own ecstatic processes, dances, full moon rituals, potions, spells, and the like. That’s how it was for many years; one or two amazing powerful public rituals a year and then my own little private spirituality the rest of the time. All of this supported by a small close-knit community of eclectic witches. The thought of engaging more deeply in the Reclaiming community was terrifying (remember, painfully shy).

Down the Road

Fast forward to 2009. Due to lots of different circumstances, I was craving more local community. I took Elements of Magic, the intro to Reclaiming style magic course. That class served as confirmation that Reclaiming was in fact a good match for me. Over the next few years I dove in and took all of the “core” classes, went to Witchcamp, started student teaching, was consensed as a “full” Reclaiming teacher, starting teaching at Witchcamps, and so on. It was during my time student teaching that I started to consider initiation.

By that point I was self initiated. I was initiated into a small eclectic coven, and I was initiated into a Druid group. Another initiation was not something I was looking for. However, the Reclaiming initiation is not like any other. It is a solitary process with mentorship that takes you on a journey of self discovery. Through the process you are encouraged to dive deeply into the unknown of yourself and explore your dark shadows, bright shadows, gifts, and growing edges.

Reclaiming Tradition Initiation

Reclaiming initiation requires you to seek out your initiators. No one is going to ask if you’re ready, or tap you on the shoulder. There is no way to know who has been initiated. We don’t wear a charm, have a special tattoo, or don a cap of initiation. You have to put yourself out there and ask. It’s scary and heart wrenching because you have to be prepared for them to say no, and maybe not tell you why.

The Reclaiming initiation doesn’t work on a fixed timeline. My initiation was about three years from start to finish. My initiators served as my guides, mentors, and challengers. One of my most challenging experience in life to date came from one of my initiators. It changed the makeup of my core and truly transformed me. Each of my initiators saw me in a different way, or maybe saw through me in a different way. Because of the unique relationship I had with each of them I was offered different challenges to encourage me to shift, change, grow, expand, and shed old outmoded patterns. Hard fucking work.

The years of my initiation culminated in a ritual designed specifically for me. I won’t go into the details of that ritual. We don’t keep much secret in Reclaiming, but this is an area where I feel it’s important to not overshare. What I will say is for my ritual I experienced a challenging physical ordeal. I pushed myself beyond what I thought I could handle. I almost gave up and at one point I thought that I had failed and would be denied initiation.

Post Initiation

In the years that have followed I can look back and see what I’ve accomplished. Now I look back and see the patterns of my life that were rewoven. I look back and I see the power that was imbued into me from those dearest folks I entrusted my life to. There is a connection I’ll always have to my initiators who stepped forward to hold my hand at the gates of life and death. They were mentors who believed I could do it and will continue to be a part of my life.

For me, Reclaiming initiation was about accepting that the Reclaiming Tradition is my home. I might wander (and that’s okay). There will be times I move around and become a seeker in other traditions. I might even initiate into other traditions, but I’ll always remember my roots, my initiators, and my home.

Previous Post

January 17, 2018

Learning to Read Tarot

Next Post

January 31, 2018 Brigid the Goddess of Imbolc

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Ancestor Work Art and Magic Athena Autumn Equinox Being a Priestess Being A Witch Being Pagan Belatane Beltane candle magic Cauldron Cernunnos cerridwen Choosing a magical name Circle Casting Community Coronovirus Coven Curious about magic Daily Practice Deity Depression Earth Ecstatic Practices Elements of Magic Every Day Magic Fae Food Magic Goddess Grounding House Magick Imbolc Ritual Kitchen Witch Knot Magic Lammas Life Ritualized Mabon Magical Healing Magical Practice Magical Teachers Magickal Tools Making Altars Many Gods West Mountain Magic Nature Witch New Year's Tradition Omens Pagan Books Pagan Camps and Festivals Pagan Food Pagan Gods Pagan History Pagan Holidays Pagan Humor Pagan Humour Pagan leadership Pagan Marriage Pagan Music Pagan Parenting Pagan Relationships Pagan Rituals Pagan Rules Pagan Tattoos Pantheacon Peaceful Home Pearl Pentacle Personal Power Politics Ritual Cleansing Ritual Drumming Samhain Samhain Practices saturnalia Skyclad Spells Spiralheart Witch Camp Spirits of Place Spring Equinox spring magic Summer Solstice Tarot The Magick Of Food Time Magic Uncategorized Winter Solstice Witch History Witch Words WitchCamps Work Magic Year End Review Yule

Select a Month March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 October 2020 September 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz