When Wicca was developed by Gerald Gardner it was specifically created in such a way that initiation was required. While there are still some hard-core Wiccans from the older Traditions who would not consider one to be Wiccan without a proper initiation, the community has largely come to accept that a person could call themselves Wiccan without having undergone initiation at all.
In British Traditional Wicca, ie Gardnerian, Alexandrian, etc.. initiation is required before one even begins one's training in that Tradition. Someone who has not been initiated into that particular Tradition might still be considered Wiccan, but they wouldn't be British Traditional Wiccan.
Initiation requires both the person who is to be initiated, a specific group/Tradition to be initiated into, and someone to perform the initiation. The idea is that the initiation opens the newcomer into the group egregore or group mind of that Tradition and permits them to become part of the Tradition Mysteries. This is why the idea of " self-initiation " is ia contradiction in terms. You can dedicate yourself to your chosen spiritual path, but you cannot initiate yourself into it.
In my opinion, a proper initiation cannot be done over the internet. Rather it requires a face-to-face encounter between the initiator and the individual being initiated.
Not all covens or Traditions these days even require initiation and certainly it is not a requirement for Solitaries, at least not in my opinion. You may find old timers who would disagree, but that horse is long out of the barn. What you cannot do, of course, is to claim you are part of a Tradition which specifically requires initiation if you have not actually undergone the ritual. As an example, without proper initiation you could not claim to be Gardnerian, etc.
Theodore , in my opinion one cannot be both Wiccan and Christian, so the idea of a Christian-Wiccan coven makes no sense. The two religions are simply too different in focus, beliefs, and practices to be merged together. Trying to do so leaves one with a belief system that might work for you but really cannot be considered either Wiccan or Christian. In most cases when I see people trying to create this combination they are trying to take the care for nature and the spellwork out of Wicca and include it in their Christian practice. But Wicca isn't about nature and/or spellwork so what you end up with bears little resemblance to Wicca.
Whether a specific coven requires initiation or not is entirely up to that coven. So if you find a coven you'd like to join you would need to ask whether that particular coven requires initiation.
Yes,Christian Wiccas Is a laughable
Concept for folks like myself who are Christians who practice Magick or Witchcraft,You may come systems of magick into any religion but you cant mix two opposite religions and be taken seriously..Hoodoo and many other baths combine Christianity very well.Hoodoo is not a religion
In my opinion it depends on one's definition of initiation. Initiation into a particular religion, group, or lineage must be conferred by an already existent member of this group.
This being said, I honestly believe both from my experience and the experiences of others that any initiation which takes place after a candidates initial initiation/reception into a group only has an effect simply if the candidate has done the necessary work and has experienced the necessary experiences.
If we are talking spiritual benefits rather than psychological and understanding ones I truly believe one's personal work is more important and I would class certain spiritual experiences as initiatory experiences. There are countless people who have written and experienced this.
What a solitary initiation can't do, which a group initiation does do, is connect a person to the collective group energy and give access to the egregores which the group has built up.
I also agree that one could claim to be Wiccan if they are unitiated, but they could not claim a degree, nor membership to a particular group. Not that it matters, just because one isn't a first degree/adept/other fancy title doesn't mean one isn't operating on the same level as them.
Initiation into a group is an in-person experience, it can only be conferred in person. Anyone who states otherwise is either running a shoddy organisation, a liar, or both.
My advice is to practice and not care about titles, if the opportunity for initiation arises; then great, if not, then it isn't the end of the world by any means. I have been initiated into an organisation, and I can say that the experiences of my personal work outside of that ritual are much more rewarding spiritually.
what about the one coven christian wicca you see they practice nature magic and how it can help through Christianity you can love the nature and use magic for good includig spiritual healing and nature healing and remedies and the works and teachings of god and in short this coven i heard about is doctors it's like a science and spirituality combined
Whether there is a coven on this site called "Christian Wicca" does not mean that Christian Wicca is a genuine spiritual practice or not. There are lots of people who are very confused as to what Wicca is truly about and think it can be combined with Wicca. Praying to nature spirits and the Christian God is definately not part of Wiccan practice. Nor does pract6icing "nature magic",whatever that may be, have anything to do with Wicca.
But I would not discount that following the practices you describe as a personal spiritual practice. But it is not Wicca.
Re: Initiation By: Dongho579
Post # 15 Dec 17, 2016
If Christian Wicca isn't real and very hard to believe in, why is there a coven in this website for "Christian Wiccans"?
Re: Initiation By: Hodge
Post # 16 Dec 17, 2016
Dongho, dredging up ten month old threads probably isn't the best thing, however, in response to your query; different people have different beliefs. And as such the site accommodates for this, irrespective of the opinions of its users.
