some happy news

BEAT

I am now officially an ordained minister of Wicca
I cant wait to do my first handfasting or wedding

I am also now a Reiki II Practioner, I will be a Reiki master next month.

I never see any topics here about reiki, if anyone would like to know what it is Id be happy to post about it this is the perfect place for it...

6th

Congratulations!

As for Reiki topics, for some reason then mostly seem to start in the Paranormal Forum

Whispered

I also post about Reiki in the spiritual forum but never get responses! Did you just get reiki II? Congrats.

Nevyn

Reiki topics would be more suited to the spirituality forum tbh.

I find that really odd 6th esp as it was paranomral reulars that wanted the spirituality forum in the first place.

Beat congratuations on the Reiki qualifcatuion, but what on earth is "an ordained minister of Wicca" ?
As far as I am aware Wicca is priesthood and one becomes a member after initation.

Talliesin

I can think of a few Wiccans who are also ministers, but that's like Wiccans who are also martial arts practitioners or also craftspeople or some sort or also professionals in some form of divinition - they might draw analogies between their being a minister or a craftsman or whatever and being of the Wicca, but that hardly makes the two linked (nor does it mean all such analogies they might draw are valid or useful).

BEAT

well its as simple as this really,
My "religion" is Wicca
I am an ordained minister, or reverend whatever you want to call it.. they all mean the same thing.
Since I practice Wicca and I am ordained to perform duties legally I am a Priestess or minister what have you of Wicca.

Yes I am Reiki II and soon shall be finished with my Mastership, I have been studying, learning and practicing now for quite a while

I am excited

Nevyn

Ordained by whom ?

Or it that you did the course which legally permits you to act as a functionary for civil marriages in your state ?

Shiminay

To my knowledge, Wiccan's who have been initiated take the title of priest/ess (because as mentioned, it is a Priesthood), and so your saying Minister is quite confusing.

But not trying to take away from your achievements there Sheila - congrats on both counts!

Nevyn

What line is your Reiki from ? ie what lineage.

http://www.innergy.ca/lineage.php

scorplett

Congrats on the initiations/attunements, although I am unsure what it is that you wish to talk about?
Do you want to talk about performing ceremonies?
Do you want to talk about the process of initiation and attunements?
Do you want to talk about Wicca?
Do you want to talk about Reiki?
Personally I don't really think straight announcements are appropriate in a forum like this. Also, there are certain of the above suggested topics that are also entirely inappropriate discussions for a public forum.
If you are unsure on your feet having gone through so much, I suggest you speak to your High Priest and High Priestess, or alternately your master.

As regards Wicca, To what tradition and line have you been initiated?
Remember, there are a number of duly initiated Priests and Priestesses of the Wica who use these forums and therefore you may be considered to have called them to recognise a sister or to defend and protect, so perhaps you should PM a forum moderator to check your claims before making them known.

If you have become a state minister where 'insert religion here' applies, I would see your announcement as an advertisement of services and therefore wholly inappropriate for these forums and against the forum charter.

Loxosceles

scorplett wrote: »

Congrats on the initiations/attunements, although I am unsure what it is that you wish to talk about?
Do you want to talk about performing ceremonies?
Do you want to talk about the process of initiation and attunements?
Do you want to talk about Wicca?
Do you want to talk about Reiki?
Personally I don't really think straight announcements are appropriate in a forum like this. Also, there are certain of the above suggested topics that are also entirely inappropriate discussions for a public forum.
If you are unsure on your feet having gone through so much, I suggest you speak to your High Priest and High Priestess, or alternately your master.

As regards Wicca, To what tradition and line have you been initiated?
Remember, there are a number of duly initiated Priests and Priestesses of the Wica who use these forums and therefore you may be considered to have called them to recognise a sister or to defend and protect, so perhaps you should PM a forum moderator to check your claims before making them known.

If you have become a state minister where 'insert religion here' applies, I would see your announcement as an advertisement of services and therefore wholly inappropriate for these forums and against the forum charter.

BWAAAHHHHHH

Well, I am also an ordained minister for the Universal Life Church, but it came as kind of a side-benefit of my $30 Church of the SubGenius membership, kind of like getting a plastic decoder ring in a box of Cracker Jacks. The membership contained all sorts of groovy plastic toys and pictures and pamphlets and stickers and my Doktorate and my Universal Divine Excuse, (printed on very nice document stock). And I got my ULC ordination in the mail, legal and notarized, and legally recognized by the United States government in the performance of weddings, funerals, preachings, and other ordained kinda stuff. I am therefore BONA FIDE.

Consider the following: if some rabble-rousing hate-spouting street preacher can get a bogus _HONORARY_ doctorate from Bob Jones University in North Carolina (given by Bob Jones for Catholic-baiting), and use that BOGUS title to stomp around embarrassing the hell out of the houses of Parliament in London with the word 'DOCTOR' in front of his name, and go on to get elected First Minister of the six counties, and NOBODY challenged the title of 'DOCTOR' which I know for a fact is completely bogus and non-bona-fide, then on MY credentials, I should be elected LEADER OF THE FREE WORLD. But that would suck totally and bore the hell out of me, so I'm not.

< the remainder of this post was deleted due it being a trollish rant and the user was banned from this forum. Thaedydal>

Shiminay

That's quite a mouthful Allie, sorry, All-yeah/Áile.

Get some skillz dear.

scorplett

I still can't figure out what that has to do with my post?
And the bona-fides of Ian Paisley have nothing to do with anything being discussed...
But hopefully we can get the thread back on track.

Talliesin

Kharn wrote: »

To my knowledge, Wiccan's who have been initiated take the title of priest/ess (because as mentioned, it is a Priesthood), and so your saying Minister is quite confusing.

You can certainly be both a priest/ess and a minister.

Within Wicca, there's no place for ministry - since there's no laity to minister to, but that doesn't mean a Wiccan can't also act as a minister outside of that.

So they're not a "Wiccan minister" in the sense of being a minister of Wicca, but they are a "Wiccan minister" in the sense of a minister who happens to be Wiccan (c.f. "Wiccan plumber", "Wiccan Man Utd. fan", "Wiccan tea-drinker").

scorplett

Talliesin wrote: »

You can certainly be both a priest/ess and a minister.

Within Wicca, there's no place for ministry - since there's no laity to minister to, but that doesn't mean a Wiccan can't also act as a minister outside of that.

So they're not a "Wiccan minister" in the sense of being a minister of Wicca, but they are a "Wiccan minister" in the sense of a minister who happens to be Wiccan (c.f. "Wiccan plumber", "Wiccan Man Utd. fan", "Wiccan tea-drinker").

I get what your saying Tallie, but tbh, that could get into very dodgy territory.
For example, many Wiccan's will have personal practices that are aside from their duties as Priests and Priestesses of the Wica. Therefore you could end up saying that a Wiccan Mambo or Wiccan Druid or some other easily misunderstood statement while valid in the sense you mean, would by many be seen to mean a single practice and therefore contradictory.

Jrad

Thaedydal wrote: »

What line is your Reiki from ? ie what lineage.

http://www.innergy.ca/lineage.php

Reiki Martin?

BEAT

Thaedydal wrote: »

What line is your Reiki from ? ie what lineage.

http://www.innergy.ca/lineage.php

I am 7 removed from Mikao Usui

and as for scorplett,
I have been on boards for awhile, I have friends here who are Wiccan and so I felt like passing on some happy news, sorry to get your undies in a bunch.
I am ordained to perform misinter type duties legally where I live and because I practice Wicca it is in those duties I would fullfill.
ie. wiccanning, weddings, handfastings etc... but with filed certificates for which the state would recognize as legal. Things here are a bit different than there as you would imagine.
I am not advertising I am celebrating.

Shiminay

I think the real question is are you really Wiccan (e.g. Alexanderian or Gardnerian) or is this a classic case of Americans mis-using this very specific name for a specific religion as a blanket "paganism and witchcraft" term. I don't think anyone's looking to give you a hard time or anything Sheila, personally I'm happy for you and wish you well with it.

[edit]
See the definition of Wicca here in the sticky in this board.

Nevyn

BEAT wrote: »

I am 7 removed from Mikao Usui

Cool and again congratulations

BEAT wrote: »

I am ordained to perform misinter type duties legally where I live
ie. wiccanning, weddings, handfastings etc... but with filed certificates for which the state would recognize as legal. Things here are a bit different than there as you would imagine.

That is cool that you can do the legal paper work and are willing to serve your pagan community with rites of passage but I can't honestly personally see how that is the duties of a person who is a Wiccan priest/ess.

A Pagan preistess, most certainly and if a person is a pagan priestess and a witch then thats is I am sure a wonderfull calling but that doesn't make a person Wiccan.

You mentioned your working with www.goddesstempleinc.org and I am glad you have found community and people to work with but I would question if it is Wiccan as with in Wiccan there is a God and Goddess.

Is it by chance a Dianic tradition ? I really would like to know more.

BEAT

Yes it is of the Dianic Tradition.
Yes Kharn I am really Wiccan and a witch.
I have been a solitary Witch/Wiccan for several years and for the last 3 years had been in a Dianic Coven.
While in solitary I celebrated the God and Goddess, the Dianic concentrates more on the Goddess but as you do or should know you can not have one without the other.
Leaving the all female Dianic coven and joing a male/female coven which is still dianic does feel a better fit with the equal base of male and female energy and we do as we celebrate the Goddess celebrate the God for you cannot have one without the other as is in Wiccan tradition the natural view.

here is a brief blurb from the website and something I wrote on another forum if it helps,

The Goddess Temple is a group that I belong to. We are a federally recognized 501(c)(3) non for profit church. One day it is our goal to own our own "brick and mortor" goddess temple for use by the local pagan community. Until then, we have been conducting public goddess services on all the Sabats for the past year. These services are usually held outdoors and many times where we can have a good fire and drum circle.

The mission for the Goddess Temple is as follows:

The Goddess Temple Inc. shall strive to serve the needs of all Wiccans and Pagans in the areas of religion, fellowship, and social support whenever possible.

We follow a Dianic path.

The Goddess Temple Inc. shall also strive to educate communities, in a non-proselytizing and non-violent manner, about Wiccan/Pagan issues in hopes of creating and maintaining a comfortable and safe environment for Wiccans and Pagans to live and practice their individual religious and spiritual beliefs.

Membership enrollment is free. You can sign up and read up on upcoming events at our website:

http://www.goddessblessedinc.com

scorplett

BEAT wrote: »

I am 7 removed from Mikao Usui

and as for scorplett,
I have been on boards for awhile, I have friends here who are Wiccan and so I felt like passing on some happy news, sorry to get your undies in a bunch.
I am ordained to perform misinter type duties legally where I live and because I practice Wicca it is in those duties I would fullfill.
ie. wiccanning, weddings, handfastings etc... but with filed certificates for which the state would recognize as legal. Things here are a bit different than there as you would imagine.
I am not advertising I am celebrating.

I am well aware of how long you have been about boards and I am well aware of the level to which you know a number of people here. Surely if they are friends you would share the news privately? Considering how long you have been about, I would have imagined you would have an idea of the charter and the type of board this is and what sort of response you might get from such a statement. I must have been mistaken.

I'm really not having a go, Im am more confused than anything, and I assure you I don't have my knickers in any sort of knot! I'm just trying to figure out what you mean and what your intention is.

I just don't understand public announcements with regard to personal, private, oathed, religious development. To most Wiccans I know, such public announcements would leave quite a bitter taste in the mouth, especially on a general public forum. Many, myself included, would consider such statements and announcements to be distasteful and stretching the bounds of oath and honour. This I think has been cleared however since your ministry is a generic one and not a Wiccan one. I am sure that if you have even the slightest idea of Wicca, that you would understand the confusion behind the idea of Wiccan ministers. Especially to those still living and working here in Ireland.

The idea of declaring your legal ability to perform such ceremonies is something that confuses me too. Sure you can be happy about it and I am sure that it is quite an achievement for you. But it rubs against the grain for me. It seems like an advertisement for services and such advertisements, aside from being against the forum rules (although I will concede that it was not your intention despite it seeming that way to me) goes against much of what Wicca is so I will try to explain.

First of all, Why would Wicca need ministers?

All Wiccan's have ministers at their disposal, they are called a coven. Their initiators, their elders, their covenmates, all of these people surrounding them are Priests and Priestesses of the Wica, just like the covener who turns to them for help and assistance, council and guidance. I fail to see the need for Wiccan ministers in the way you seem to mean. Not only does it seem unnecessary, but to me it would go beyond oath and law also.

Fair enough a pagan minister, but a Wiccan minister just seems, not only oxymoronic, seeing as all Wiccans are priests and priestesses, but seems a dilution of what it means to serve the God and Goddess as a duly initiated and consecrated Priest or Priestess. To me it disrespects the very essence of the gift of the God and Goddess and the special relationship maintained between the Lord and Lady and their priesthood.

Sure some people would think it nice to be able to get married through a religious rite and have that legally recognised. But honestly, it doesn't usually get in the way. I think a lot of people understand what the purpose of a rite is and that purpose is not the legality of something.

I have performed hand-fastings, naming, requiems and many other rite's of passage for people. I have not done these rites based on a legal document, I have not done these rites based on my status as High Priesthood, I have not done these rites based on any reason other than being asked by those who wished for the rites to be performed and who needed them performed.

As regards a generic ministry of legal standing, on it's own is a wonderful thing to do if you are called to it. But I just can't accept that because you believe what you practice is Wicca, that the legal conference of your ministry therefore allows you to be a Wiccan minister. The conferring of such a document does not teach you the mysteries, it does not open the doorway's to the realms, it does not introduce you to the mighty ones, it does not in any way mean you are capable of being a Wiccan Priestess. The only way to do that is to be properly prepared, initiated and trained by a proper HP and HPS of proper making and standing. Making such duties legal is also something of a grey area to me. The Ardaines would have any of the Wica steer clear of coming to the attention of the law as being Wiccan. Therefore, sure you can be a Wiccan Priestess, who is also a Minister. But you can't be a Wiccan Minister. It just doesn't work that way! I am sure that Dianic Witchcraft operates very differently, especially considering that Dianic craft does not follow most of the core practices of Wicca. So Dianic Minister may well be fine. Maybe you could help by explaining what makes you Wiccan or how you came to be such. What of your practices mean that you are a Priestess of the Wica in service to the Lord and Lady?

Talliesin

scorplett wrote: »

I get what your saying Tallie, but tbh, that could get into very dodgy territory.
For example, many Wiccan's will have personal practices that are aside from their duties as Priests and Priestesses of the Wica. Therefore you could end up saying that a Wiccan Mambo or Wiccan Druid or some other easily misunderstood statement while valid in the sense you mean, would by many be seen to mean a single practice and therefore contradictory.

Pretty much, but the way Kharn phrased things seemed to suggest you absolutely couldn't be both a Wiccan and a minister. While you can be both, someone saying they're a Wiccan Minister is stretching the rules of the English language considerably.

Kharn wrote: »

I think the real question is are you really Wiccan (e.g. Alexanderian or Gardnerian) or is this a classic case of Americans mis-using this very specific name for a specific religion as a blanket "paganism and witchcraft" term.

I don't mind that definition of the word that much as a Wiccan, looking at it as a Wiccan I'm inclined to think that people can call themselves whatever they want and it'll have nothing to do with Wicca.

As someone who's done other forms of Pagan witchcraft though, it pisses me off though, it's insulting to non-Wiccan forms of witchcraft to act as if they aren't good enough on their own terms and have to borrow Wiccan clothes* to have any standing.

BEAT wrote: »

Yes it is of the Dianic Tradition.
Yes Kharn I am really Wiccan and a witch.

I don't really have any view on whether ministry fits in directly with Dianic Witchcraft or not, but if it does then it would still be the same thing, since being a Dianic witch isn't Wicca, we're back to "Wiccan Man Utd. fan" again.

Worse though, there's a bit more work need to reconcile the two, given how some Dianic witches and other Feminist witches have been critical of Wicca. Not to say nobody can reconcile to two, but it's not the most straightforward of reconciliations.

scorplett wrote: »

I just don't understand public announcements with regard to personal, private, oathed, religious development. To most Wiccans I know, such public announcements would leave quite a bitter taste in the mouth, especially on a general public forum.

Well... someone not entirely unknown to some here did have an initiation announced in another forum not that long ago...

I get your point though, and that forum was specifically aimed at Wiccan seekers and quite a few of the threads there were quire influential in my deciding to seek Wicca.

For all that, I did consider it a bit before doing so. In the end I decided that I drew the line at the fact that it's not exactly hidden, but it's not visible without registration.

scorplett wrote: »

I am sure that Dianic Witchcraft operates very differently, especially considering that Dianic craft does not follow most of the core practices of Wicca. So Dianic Minister may well be fine. Maybe you could help by explaining what makes you Wiccan or how you came to be such. What of your practices mean that you are a Priestess of the Wica in service to the Lord and Lady?

What I don't understand is that given that Dianic witchcraft has a stated political position (feminism), how is 501(c)(3) status not a criminal violation of the United States Internal Revenue Code, unless they have to compromise that political position in agreeing not to engage in significant political lobbying? (Not a criticism of any one group, rather a criticism of 501(c)(3) - it's inevitably going to lead to inconsistencies).

*There's definitely a good joke about skyclad in that turn of phrase

Matthew Hopkins

My first time looking at Boards in over a year and nothing has changed (Sigh).
BEAT, Congratulations. one more initiated Wiccan in the world is good for the planet. The more of us there are the better.

Talliesin

One more person doing whatever they are called for is good. It's not at all clear that it has anything in the slightest to do with Wicca though, is it?

Dragon_Photos

Blessed Be Beat.