Myriad Traditions gives us very specific instructions on the RIGHT way to perform magic, often contradictory, with the supposed purpose of giving us something to fight for. The top three on the list are the RIGHT way to draw a circle, the elemental grouping of ritual tools, and last but not least, the legitimacy of someone else’s title or Tradition. Let’s get started, okay?
Are you a true Reiki Master/Sorcerer?
Something that has worried me a lot lately is the appearance of the title-horse. Although not a recent invention, an individual’s attainment of titles, none of which trace historical or otherwise valid lineage, seems to lead down a path of inflation. If most practitioners have 20 cords on their belt, how valuable are some of them? If something is so easy to acquire, taking little more than a few nights of work to write the rules of your ultra-brilliant new Tradition and declare yourself Muckety-Muck High Priestess (countless times), how precious will your rites be? Will it give you strength in times of trouble? It will work?
To that end, does the master with obscure titles and great hair have more to give you in a workshop than that plain old Gardnerian who has been practicing for 15 years? Oh, and by the way, before you answer that, the latter won’t charge you a $300 “love donation” to talk to her.
The only simple solution to this is also the most difficult. Get to know your community. Talk, play, work and build relationships. Know the value of the person, their vision and experience. To paraphrase a great spiritual leader, ‘do not judge them by the color of their strings, but by the content of his character’. Doing so leaves us less vulnerable to charlatans and more interdependent; You are less likely to be rendered insignificant in your sincere endeavors by someone’s plastic and airbrushed glamour. I encourage you to be more real. No consultant image, breast augmentation and donation of love.
I digress. The easiest way to determine whether or not someone is a true “Reiki Master” is to ask them. “How long have you been doing this?”, “What is your lineage?”, “Why do you practice Reiki?” That last one can launch them for a loop. Keep your head on your shoulders and don’t settle for simple, formulaic answers. Ask them why they charge for their initiations, a sore point among Reiki practitioners. Some believe that if something is not hard to get, its value and ability to work decreases. It has been calculated that in a capitalist society, this means money. A shrinking minority believes that it should be available to all who need it, and that the Universe will extract its own price from the recipient, whether it’s a confrontation with your broken pieces or putting you on a path you didn’t plan on, or necessarily even wanting. , how to heal and tune others. One last point to touch on: Reiki is like sex. If they have to ask if you can feel it yet, they’re not doing it right.
Is she a real shaman?
Certain traditions, including one of my favorites, the Third Way, created by Francesca deGrandis, actually use classical shamanic initiation principles and techniques, without violating the belief systems of native and third world cultures. This is a rare gem. Most so-called shamans are nothing more than white men with an ethnic complex, strong traces of racial guilt, and a midlife crisis trying to preserve a culture like a butterfly trapped behind glass. Braids, shabby mullets, hair dye, feathers, and fake tans don’t make Apaches. I am part Cherokee, and even being raised within that culture, I was not privy to all the “ancient secrets” of my tribe. Because most of it is lost. Racial memories in our double helix. Mom taught me how to use indigenous plants for medicinal purposes. How my great-grandmother walked the Camino and she was so stubborn (“just like me”) that she came back, little by little. She also taught us about Irish stories and legends, and all about stone soup. To be proud of who we were, and why we were. I still remember a time when it wasn’t “cool” to be Indian, Irish, Dutch or Portuguese. Much less all four. My point is this: you can’t have the good without going through everything that was bad about it. The idea that there are many authors claiming bogus titles and bogus lineage for personal gain, contributing nothing to their “tribe” is reprehensible. There are many things to learn from a myriad of cultures, including your own.
Unless you can prove to me that you were raised in an indigenous culture and apprenticed with the shaman, witch doctor, healer, or village woman, or have a degree in Anthropology, and can tell me why you want to share this knowledge, no there’s a great chance in Tir na Og for me to attend your class at the local New Age store sponsoring you for some nebulous reason
And finally, a true Witch is someone who worships nature with love, sincerity, and joy.
All of these things express themselves in your life, as naturally as a rose opens. You will recognize a real witch by her intent and by her eyes.