By Faelass72
I came to Wiccan Seminary just over a year ago. At that time, I was trying to learn what I could about Wicca. What exactly was it? Why did it interest me? How did it seem to fit with the beliefs engendered in me, having been raised Southern Baptist? Could the two religions mesh together and, if so, how? In the forefront of my mind, I had no intentions of becoming a Witch. I had no intentions of turning away from Christianity. I just wanted to learn. I wanted to understand what was it about both Christianity and Wicca that seemed to go together, work together, in the bigger picture of things.
Lady Bella found me and introduced me to the Woolston-Steen Theological Seminary through its online school, www.WiccanSeminary.edu. At first I was skeptical and hesitant. After all, I had no intentions of becoming a Wwitch, much less a Priestess of Wicca, or a member of clergy of any religion. After thinking it over and contacting Bella again, I decided to take the plunge. What could it hurt? It was not like I would be bound forever in the seminary. I could check out the classes, and if it wasn’t for me, I could always drop out. Just maybe… I might actually learn something.
I enrolled in the seminary’s orientation class, Standing at the Gate. That class opened my eyes to new worlds. It was truly the gateway to Wicca, as well as my introduction to the online world of Second Life. This orientation class convinced me that the courses being taught at Wiccan Seminary were worthwhile. I could learn what I wanted to learn without necessarily committing to becoming a cleric. I could learn what Wicca was without giving up what I believed in.
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Since enrolling as a student at Wiccan Seminary, I have learned many things. I have learned that Wicca is a nature-based fertility religion that celebrates the mysteries of the seasons. I have learned the energy of those seasons connects us all to the Universe. I have learned that the core tenets of Wicca and the Christian beliefs to which I held are very similar. My first course at the seminary reaffirmed my beliefs that time and reality are relative, it all depends on how one looks at things. I have learned that Wicca is very much a religion of action and empowerment.
In addition to learning Wiccan theory and philosophy, I have learned new skills as well. I have learned how to connect my energy to that of the earth and the universe, which connects me to all that is. I have learned how to draw energy from those same sources and manipulate it for healing and protection. I have even learned I can throw fireballs; how cool is that! I was amazed to learn that not only could I read another person’s aura, but that it could be done over the computer without face-to-face contact.
One experience from the Wicca 101/102/103 course really blew me away. I have believed for a long time that I have lived multiple lives and am an Old Soul. However, I never had a concrete reason to believe it. It has been simply a deep-in-the gut knowing. Through the Past Life Regression lesson of this series of courses, I now have knowledge of one of those lives. While it took months for it all to unfold, the day the memories initially began left me feeling as if I had been run over by a steamroller. Needless to say, it was a bit traumatic to remember being brutally, heinously, callously killed in the name of battle and loyalty. The lesson in it I needed to know was not in the short life of the teenager that I do not remember, but in the death I remembered that day. The mortal injuries I received have provided an explanation for the birth defect in my lung and a reason why my body is as it is. That has been an emotional challenge to accept.
However, that was not all that Goddess wanted me to know. I later learned that not only did I agree to return to life with those injuries and scars, but also to give one of the people responsible for those injuries an opportunity for karmic redemption. I have worked hard to bring closure to that circle. Indeed, it is part of my lesson to forgive, to love, and to let go of the anger and bitterness. I have made efforts to bring about healing, both to me and to the other person involved, but I know that it will be ongoing. This has been a life-changing experience for me, one that rocked me to the core.
Outside of the classroom, I am learning other ongoing, life changing lessons. Thanks to Wiccan Seminary, I am now part of a beautiful online community of Pagans on Second Life. Through the friendships I have made, I am learning daily the power of judgment, gratitude, and compassion. Goddess is currently teaching me how to be compassionate without that judgment. Thanks to two very special friends, I am learning to open up once again to other people after many years of being closed off and withdrawn. I am learning that it is okay to love and trust. Happiness and hurt are two sides to the coin of love and trust. To experience one, I have to experience and embrace the other.
As the year winds down and the wheel has turned to the dark half, I am learning the lessons of the season of death. I am learning that all of those lessons throughout the year have been leading me to where I am today. Today, I stand in darkness, preparing to be reborn. The past is gone. It is time to let go of it. Time to let go of bitterness carried forth from a previous life. Time to let go of anger, resentment, and remaining hurts from a marriage that ended a decade ago. I am learning that I still harbor those negative energies I thought I had gotten over. It is time to let go of withholding love from myself and others because I am afraid of being hurt again. It is time to shed the skin of the past. I cannot move forward and grow as long as I am holding tightly to those things.
A year has gone by. In that year, I have begun to learn the theory and science of the Wiccan religion. I have learned amazing skills, with many more to come. I now more fully understand that we are all connected. We are all here to learn lessons, or to teach them. I have reaffirmed a belief that no matter the deity being worshiped, they are all one and the same. I see that it matters not what name or label is placed on the constructs and methods of religion. It is the spirituality that comes from within that is key. I know now I am not turning away from anything to follow this path. Rather, I am balancing, embracing, and expanding what is within me. I have learned that regardless of my initial intentions, I am Witch.
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