Azure's Gateway to Wicca

To All Present and Future Practitioners of the Craft,

TAKE HEED of this necessary message for those of you seeking a teacher! These warning signs could spare you many dark nights and much chaos. Know this, brothers and sisters, just because someone claims to be Pagan does not give them an inherent ability to teach, nor does it ensure that they are harmless. There are hypocrites in all religions and unfortunately, Wicca is no exception.

Protect yourself!

When seeking a teacher,
ask yourself these questions:

Does this person force their ideas on you, often without explanation?
Is this person controlling, manipulative, selfish, egotistical?
Is this person constantly secretive, making you "pull" information from them?
Is this person supportive of your own spiritual growth or do they try to keep you "less than"?
Does this person claim to be a friend, but act otherwise?
Does this person expect you to "pay" for your training in the form of sex, free meals, cleaning their house, etc?
Do you feel your energy being depleted after spending time with this person?
Does this person use their abilities to instill fear in you?
Does this person constantly demean you or "test" you as a supposed measure of your progress?
Is this person genuinely interested in your well-being, or are you merely an extension of themselves, i.e. a means to a higher degree?
Do you feel mutual trust with this person or are you a victim of their control and manipulation?
Does this person create an answer based on ignorance to your questions to avoid having to admit they "don't know"?
Does this person claim to be a High Priest/ess but have no proof of training, group experience, or lineage? (Their status may be all in their mind.)
Does this person ask you to give up possessions or people?
Does this person float in and out of your life at will, appearing when you are useful to them and abandoning you when you are needy?
Is this a person you desire to link with, possibly for a lifetime?
Above all, does this person appear, through their actions, to be living in accordance with the Rede ?

Think carefully about your answers to these questions.

If the teacher does not "fit", if you experience major negativity from this person, BEWARE!
They may be a psychic vampire, primed to suck the energy and life blood from you.
There are practitioners in the Wiccan community that have the ability to be exceptionally competent teachers. You can seek them out, or when you are ready, they will appear.

May you walk in balance on a path of illumination
in your quest for knowledge.

Namaste

Azure
Priestess of