Every once in awhile someone asks, “How do you get to be a High Priestess (Priest)?” If you are a very public person and seriously “out of the closet,” so to speak, you may even field a question such as: “Is that High Priestess stuff for real?” Got to love those folks! Talk about a dose of reality and the world we live in today!
What about that world that we live in today? It’s an instant place, everything is quick, easy, and no one wants to wait for anything. We microwave our food and feel horribly overworked if we have to cook dinner! Laundry is a serious chore at the laundromat and thank goodness we don’t have to wring the clothes out by hand! We get our mail on the Internet, the old-fashioned way using the postal service is now called “snail mail.” It’s an instant world. We get stressed easily, have difficulty staying in touch with the “real” world and could easily get lost if we didn’t have books to point the way for us to spiritual growth.
Several years ago the availability of books on the Craft, the Old Ways, or magick were very limited. Today that certainly has changed and you can find many books that literally teach a tradition between two covers. Many authors have opened a wondrous world of magick. The great mystery schools are almost passe, everyone wants it to be instant, eclectic, easy. Is it just that easy? Pick up a book and read about it, roll a candle, light some incense, and you are on your way to being an experienced teacher? Or better yet, a High Priestess. Is it really that easy?
Good question! The answer is probably different with everyone, or maybe not. Is being a High Priestess/Priest just a role that is assumed during a ritual? It could be, perhaps if you have a group of folks who have gathered together to celebrate a Sabbat or esbat. They may be solitaires and High Priestess/Priest is a part in a ritual drama. When the circle is done and the candles are packed away, and the group is sitting around talking, who’s the High Priestess/Priest then?
Although, to take up a role for ritual is admirable, (public speaking is not everyone’s gift), is does not make a High Priestess/Priest. So what does? Well, we have all seen the movies where the guy receives the “calling” to be a minister, a man of God. It may be real “Hollywood,” but this does actually happen! It doesn’t happen to everyone but, when it does, your life changes, forever. There is no turning back, not really, you may walk away, but it never really leaves you.
There is no turning back. This is your life. You can, do, and will dedicate your life to the Goddess. It’s like breathing, very necessary. It is the life that you live. It is more than being an example, or a “model” witch, it is being a leader, a teacher, a healer, a counselor, a High Priestess/Priest, and very human! It is not a role that you can pack away with the candles. It is your life.
It is what you live. You may not feel like, standing out there in the cold and doing ritual again but that is irrelevant, you do it anyway because it is yours to do. Being a High Priestess or Priest is dedication and hard work and those who do this work deserve the respect that they have earned. They aren’t looking for groupies or someone to do menial tasks for them, rather a few minutes of solitude would probably be nice occasionally. *
*This is article is intended to provoke some thought as to what it takes to be a High Priestess. It is not a slam against anyone, rather a recognition that each person has their role in life. For those of you who are doing your first circle, May the Goddess Bless you & Guide Always. – StarrWalker