RyukotsuseiTsukiyomi
In agreement and for discussion sake, would you say that, perhaps, the mysteries and the Inner Court of Wicca have long been publicised? Considering that in many of the Gardnerian Covens did not allow the casting of circles, entry into the circle, introduction to the elements, introduction to the tools of witchcraft, the working of spellcraft, and even the very name of the Coven. Many say that the true names of the Wiccan Gods are given are initiation....which in turn contradicts itself in how Doreen Valiente presents them in her Charge of the God/dess. Is this all still, outer court workings?
I've not been initiated into a Traditional Wiccan coven, so I cannot speak from personal experience, but I CAN speak from a knowledge of basic theological principles. First off, I will say that mysteries and mystical experiences CANNOT be taught. They can ONLY be experienced, so you will not find them in any book. This is because of the characteristics of mystical experience themselves, which I'll outline in a bit.
William James, a well-known philosopher of religion, argues that all religions have at their root mystical experience. All religion does is shape one's INTERPRETATION of such experiences. Now the word mysticism, according to the etymology of the word, implies a relation to mystery. Thus experiences of mystery religions can be traced back to mystical experiences.
Mystical experiences have four primary characteristics. First, mystical experiences are in some way, ineffable, meaning they cannot be put into words. This means they can only be experienced, not taught. Second, mystical experiences are noetic, or convey a knowledge or truth value. Third, mystical experiences are transient; they're temporary and only last for a short time. Lastly, mystical experiences are passive. They cannot be fabricated or manufactured at will and it is as if you're 'posessed' by some other will force.
So let's think a bit about what all this implies for Traditional Wicca's exclusive claim to their mysteries. The first characteristic, as mentioned, means that the mystery material cannot be taught, but only experienced. Thus the availability of a linaged coven is not neccesarily a guarentee you'll have these experiences and you can have them on your own as well. The second characteristic implies that those who do not follow Traditional Wicca may receive the knoweldge of the God and Goddess without conventional coven training. The last characteristic implies something similar to the first, but let me make a few notes here.
Although mystical experience CANNOT be manufactured and is spontaneous, there ARE techniques that can help it to occur. The techniques (such as meditation) can be learned in MANY places, certainly not just in Traditional Wiccan covens.
Here's the real catch to all this though. As I mentioned, a structured religious system provides the framework from which mystical experience is interpreted. Now, if you're base framework is different, you're going to have different experiences. The question raised here, then, becomes, are the basal frameworks of Traditional Wicca and Dedicatory Wicca close enough to yield comparably similar mystical experiences? And is there really any way to fairly evaluate this question given the ineffable and highly personal quality of the experiences themselves?
I'll stop here, as I think I've rambled on enough. If some of this doesn't make sense, please DO ask questions. Or you can do some of your own research on Wililam James' ideas concerning mystical experience.
whee
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