Many Exoterics fear the Esoterics because they think that esoteric means secret or hidden. This is a misnomer. All are free to receive the inner knowledge. Few are ready. Since most feel that esoteric mysteries are 'secret' it must be evil and in opposition to their Exoteric beliefs. It is more like the center of a rose. The Exoteric is the outer petals, the Esoteric is the heart of the flower--they are the same bloom. It's just that the petals of a rose bud are so many and wrapped around the rose hip that the core of the blossom is hidden until it comes into full bloom. That full bloom represents the full spiritual evolvement of all humankind--For there can be no joy in Heaven if even one child is lost. A good reference on this philosophy is "Sri Aurobindo Or An Adventure In Consciousness&" by Satprem.
MY ORDINATION
I am an Ordained Minister in the Universal Life Church. I received my Certificate Of Ministery thru a Chartered Organization under the ULC. Officialy, I am a High Priestess of the Myjestic Order of Wicca.
Wicca is a Nature-based religion that recognizes the dualism in Diety--the creative feminine and the active masculine. These two come together to manifest the possibilities of the Boundless One which is in, around, and through all things.
Wicca comes from the word Wic meaning wise. Some people call Wiccans pagans. The original meaning for the word pagan was 'hill-dweller'. That is where they lived--in the hills, away from civilization, close to nature. Today, pagan has come to mean anything that is not Christian. While it is true that most 'pagans' and Wiccans have a disdain for Christians and their religion, it is mostly for reasons of persecution. A true practitioner of the religion is tolerant of all peoples and actually knows that the religions hold much of the same truths. In fact, many of the ritualistic practice of Christianity, especially in Catholicism, was borrowed from paganism in order to make it more palatable for pagans to convert.
The conversion from paganism to Christian Exoterism was usually resisted or done under duress. However, there was not a true conversion from paganism to Christian
Esotericism, only a transition because it was an evolution of the same spiritual path that many were already on.
Let me explain. To a pagan, a conversion to Exoteric Christianity from their current practice, to them, would be like going from high school back to kindergarten. However, to tranistion from their practices to Esoteric Christianity was like moving on from high school to college. Now, I hate to sound condescending; but, it's just that everyone is at different stages in their spiritual development and, thus, have different needs for continued spiritual growth. The Exoteric Churches were good for the untrained and the little trained. Some pagans resisted change at all and were comfortable where they were. Some Christians and some pagans were ready for Esoteric Christianity. It's all good.
I began my religious training as a child in the Roman Catholic Church. By the time I was in third grade, I knew I wanted to be a Priest. However, being a girl precluded me from that vocation. When I reached my thirties and after many problems with the Church, I found myself in a position of being friends with a Myjestic Queen Priestess who began my training in Wicca. Three years and another Myjestic QP later, I was elevated to High Priestess and Hived-off to practice on my own. During the ensuing years I have practiced and studied in a Solitary manner and followed a path to Esotericism, specifically, to Christian Esotericism. My Cerification with the ULC is still valid as the ULC is an Ecemunical, Non-denominational entity. And, as far as the Myjestic, all I will say is, interpretation of the material is the right of the Priestess.
