The Poet Priestess

Enlightenment and spirituality doesn’t require a price tag – that is a personal journey and cannot be given to you, although it may be guided and supported. Knowledge should freely available, but the providers of knowledge should not be expected to devote time, skills and experience for free. So here lies the constant, and often heated, debate about paying for training in Witchcraft, Wicca or Pagan Spirituality. On one side, the argument that all aspects of spiritual education should be freely given; on the other side, that every practitioner is entitled to a fair compensation of their time, experience and skills.

This argument rears its ugly head time and time again in the Pagan community. What amazes me is the unhealthy fascination that we place on very specific forms of training – namely eclectic Wicca training courses. No one seems overly concerned with Pagans who charge for classes, courses, workshops or services such as Tarot or Astrology. No one verbally assaults Pagan Celebrants who charge for handfastings, baby blessings or funerals.  No one insults the professional Pagan who writes for a living, owns a store or holistic centre, or operates a retreat centre. In my understanding, the debate really heats up when offering a year and a day training in Wicca that combines a variety of skills and teachings that people would otherwise be happy to pay for should it be provided in bite sized pieces. The debate about Wica vs Wicca, Gardnerian/Alexandrian vs other initiatory systems such as Odyssean or more eclectic Wicca aside, the idea that any Priest/Priestess/Coven or Mystery School would charge a fee in exchange for education seems abhorrent to many practitioners.

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