Why Do Some Witches Initiate Themselves?

Since Wicca is a mystery religion, it is necessary to be initiated into it. However, this became difficult for many people in the United States when Wicca first became popular in the early 1960s. They learned of the Old Religion and wanted to be a part of it, but it was exceedingly difficult to come across a coven to join. Frustration ultimately led to many covens being created from scratch, with the creators having no authentic training in Wicca. This also led to a large number of Solitary Witches-those who either could not find a group to join or had no desire to join with a group yet still wished to practice the Old Religion.

For many years there was a disagreement between those witches initiated into one of the established traditions and those who had established their own. Little by little, as more eclectic covens were created, this conflict died down, although it will probably never be fully done away with.

Witchcraft in the early Middle Ages had initiation ceremonies, as we know from references to them in the evidence of the witch trials. Sometimes the leader of the coven would place one hand on the crown of the initiate's head and the other under the soles of the feet, dedicating everything between the hands to the old gods. This was a popular dedication in Scotland. Actually, this ritual is part of the initiation into Gardnerian and other traditions of Wicca.

But there were many witches in those early days, just as there are today, who were not part of a coven. Often, a farming family lived a long distance from the village, or from a coven, yet still worshiped the old gods-still asked and worked magic, for a good harvest and thanked the gods when it came. The solitary witches would dedicate themselves and their children to the worship of the gods-if not in an official capacity, then in a simple ritual of their own words. So it is presently with many witches who are either not able or not willing to join an established coven. They will dedicate themselves to the old gods in a simple ritual of self initiation. Just as the early witches who did this were as valid as any other witch who happened to belong to a coven, so these days such self initiation is as genuine as a coven initiation. Doreen Valiente, who was one of the founders, with Gerald Gardner, of modern Wicca, said "Many people, I know will question the idea of self-initiation...To them I will address one simple question: Who initiated the first witch?"

Bibliography:
Buckland, Raymond: Buckland's Complete Book of Witchcraft. 1986.
Buckland, Raymond: Wicca for Life. 2001
Murray, Margaret Alice: The Witch Cult in Western Europe. 1921.
Valiente, Doreen: Witchcraft for Tomorrow. 1978.