Merry Meet,
BTQ: Examine the Oath of Practice. What does it tell you?? Why do you think it says what it does?
I have read the Oath of Practice, as I did when I first started many months ago. Even though it still seems like yesterday, upon re-reading it I realize how much the past months have altered me. The signing of the Oath was always a goal for me, and one I thought would take a long time for me to achieve. However here I am at the last lesson, and Oath has no longer become a goal, it has just become the next logical step in a never ending journey.
The Oath of Practice to me means many things. It is most importantly a reminder of my beliefs and of my morals. It reminds me that I believe in not causing harm, in helping others, of truth, of being ethical and the divine. The signing of the Oath reminds me that I should always be striving to grow and learn about my religion, myself and the world in which I live.
�I, name, or "craft name, also called mundane name", swear to live my life by the Five Points of Wiccan Belief, taking responsibility for my actions and educating of my religion when asked. I will not turn any in need of help away without good cause, nor will I allow slander and misuse of Wicca to go unchallenged, because someday I may have need of help or be slandered.�
When people first join CFFN they are asked to write about and understand the Five Points of Wiccan Belief. Signing this Oath tells me to always strive to abide by the five points, to incorporate them totally into my way of life. It explicitly mentions taking responsibility for ones actions more than that of the other points of beliefs. I believe this is because becoming a second circle member involves more responsibility and the Oath is to remind us of this.
�educating of my religion when asked� and �nor will I allow slander and misuse of Wicca to go unchallenged�
There is much misunderstanding in the world about Wicca. The Oath of Practice reminds me that I can serve the truth about Wicca, whilst hopefully remaining tolerant and �un-fluffy�. By being a good example of a Wiccan person, hopefully one day the rest of the world will be more understanding of our belief system.
�Within my practice, if I teach, I ask nothing in return, and expect nothing in return but the respect that I, as a teacher, deserve for the time and effort I put into each student. I take some responsibility for those I teach, and if I find I have taught them incorrectly, it falls to me to undo the wrongs done�.
I have always been a �teacher� in my personality. My sister is 4 years younger than me. I taught her to count, write, read, colour in pictures and even blow her nose. She remembers me teaching her everything. I have also taught dance, I am not qualified to do so but my teacher said I excelled in teaching so she let me teach two classes a week. Currently at work I am training up new girls so they can work without supervision. In everything I do, I generally end up loving to teach it. Signing the Oath and achieving second circle will allow me to put one of my best talents to good use. In signing the Oath I will remember that I am teaching in order to help people and let them learn, and not for financial gains or power over others. The Oath also tells me that I must be responsible for the students I may teach, this is also apart of the Ethic of Self-Responsibility. If a student of mine does a wrong, I must take responsibility to correct the error.
�I affirm that I practice Wicca, and all aspects of my practice, with a free Will, and I will never deny, or in any way restrict the Will of a student�.
As soon as I read this I immediately thought of the Wiccan Rede. If I was to restrict the Will of any student it would be against the Wiccan Rede. By putting this in the Oath we are reminded of the Wiccan Rede, and of tolerance for others. In addition we are also confirming that any religious choice is our own, and no-one is willing us to undertake this path.
Lesson Ten: Identity
In taking the next step I should define who I think I am as a person.
I will always be the following;
I am a resident on Earth
I am a mammal
I am a human
I am a female
I am a daughter
I am a sister
I am a dancer
I am a student of my own beliefs
I am also the following, although these may change at stages in my life;
I am an Australian
I am a girlfriend
I am a lover of animals
I am a teacher (of sorts)
I am a student of university
I am a bookworm
I am a compassionate person
I am a patient and tolerant person (most of the time)
I am a Wiccan
All these aspects of my identity make up the person that I am. More may be added, removed or changed throughout my life, but right now this is the me I wish to sign the Oath of Practice.
A few months ago I mentioned a new craft name was on the horizon. Well I have finally found it, it possibly also found me. My current name was chosen three years ago, and was the first one I had ever used. My original craft name Miw Sheri is Egyptian for �little cat�. Although I still love cats, as I do most animals, I do not identify with the Egyptian pantheon anymore. I have more and more begun to feel pulled toward studying the Greek pantheon. Before I ever began studying Wicca I considered the motto of my life to be �balance�. Lately I have been studying the Greek Goddess Nemesis, seen as the fourth face of the Goddess. She is the Goddess of Balance, Karmic Retribution and Divine Law. I have also been researching Greek names and their meanings. The name �Sonia� means wisdom. My new craft name will take the �mes� from �Nemesis� and an altered version of �Sonia�. My new craft name will be Mesonnia, a reminder that I will always strive to be both balanced and wise.
Some people may notice that it does not a numerological match for me. I realized this myself, but the music I heard, and serenity I felt when I first said this name made me see that I did not need it to be a numerological match. It does however start with the same letter as my old craft name, and also my birth name. I have always felt that the letter of my birth name would never change, even in my craft name.
It feels to me as if I have only just joined the Coven of the Far Flung Net, and only just yesterday started to learn Universal Eclectic Wicca tradition. However in reality it has been many months, and the amount I have learned in these months seems more than what I have learned in any other period of my life. There are many things that one would expect to learn in the first circle, or degree, in Wicca. These subjects would include the elements, the tools, the circle, the divine and the like. However these things are only a portion of what I have learned so far in my time in CFFN. My first circle experience has made me more aware of my connection to the universe, and hence I have learned much about my own personality and being. I have also been exposed to so many experiences of other people that my view of the world has significantly changed, and I think for the better. I have always loved teaching, as I love helping people, and being in CFFN has made me realize that one day I will be able to teach my favourite subject, Wicca.
Blessed Be All, Mesonnia