Where are the Teachers?

I, like many Pagans, am no fan of pop teen authors like Fiona Horne and Silver Ravenwolf. However, I would like to propose that they, and authors like them, have emerged because we, as pagans searching out a new path, need them. There was time when finding such esoteric knowledge meant finding a teacher. A wise woman or man willing to spend time and share experiences with a younger acolyte in order to impart their own sense of the Goddess and their skills. This would involve lessons on spellwork, herbal craft, stonework and anything else that the teacher felt was pertinent. A student might even find numerous teachers and go to each one for a particular specialty, in the hopes of learning all that she could. Learning the craft was a much more interactive process passed on through stories, crafts and actions. There was a time when we relied on our teachers.

Now, we read. It seems the teachers in the world have disappeared. We have become a society so bent on individualism along with our own sense of privacy that we no longer seek to share our knowledge with others. We have become so determined to allow others to "do as thou wilt" that we shirk from academic discussion and instruction for fear we might insult someone's own beliefs. Even the ancients in our community spend so much time bickering with one another that they cannot possibly have time left for one on one instruction!

So I propose that writers like Horne and Ravenwolf have emerged in such rampant popularity because there are generations of witches out there searching for answers and thirsting for knowledge and the best we, as community, can offer them are a few books from which we expect them to glean some spark of information while being knowledgeable enough to discard any over-the-top and ridiculous notions that were simply added because of a) the author's extreme bias or b) the publishers need to soften a viewpoint, scandalize a viewpoint or find some angle to sell books.

If we continue to ignore our young pagans by patting them on the head and shoving a mediocre book into their hands they will continue to spread misconceptions and half truths. We must claim the youth of our community, we must take responsibility for their learning and we must bring back the teachers!

PhoenixWitch