Hi Yvonne,
>>That's interesting; still, I bet they don't charge 600 pounds for a
>>weekend!<<
No they certainly don't.... Unlike what seems to me the New Age which has
recently, last 5 - 10 years or so has, in Australia, permeated
'Paganism/Witchcraft' and brought its high workshop prices with it... Its
not *all* like that here, by any means, but certainly people who were used
to charging big bucks for New Age workshops have moved into Paganism as a
new area to exploit. And there are people who will pay for it.
>>I think it is because there are so few genuine Wiccan covens in Australia.
>>(And even fewer in New Zealand, apparently.) There is a problem here in
>>the UK also, as there are many more people wanting to get into covens than
>>there are covens to accommodate them.<<
Oh, that's interesting. I would have thought that there'd be lots and lots
of Wiccan lines willing to initiate. I think that a lot of the 'D-I-Y
Witchcraft' or maybe I could call it 'book-learned Witchcraft' in Australia,
which is the majority type of Witchcraft here, is so popular because it *is*
so hard to find and then get into lineage-type Wiccan covens. There are
Pagan groups here, the Church of All Worlds (CAW), for example, who were
"imported" (from the USA) specifically because the people who did the
importing (here) couldn't get into Wicca - it was a personality clash in my
opinion, in that case, but if it hadn't been, then these people would not
have bothered joining an overseas organisation - because they'd be Wiccans -
and CAW probably wouldn't have been established here at all.
The thing is, with a group like the O.T.O., its not like there are no rules
for joining, or that anyone who can come up with the bucks can join, but
membership doesn't rest on fitting into an intimate coven situation -
although some O.T.O. groups are probably more intimate than others.
Potential members do need to be sponsored by two other members, and if you
affiliate with a particular group you'd need to be reasonably likely to be
able to get on with the other members. But even if you don't get on with
other members, you can still be initiated into the O.T.O. system (provided
you get sponsorship) and simply not join any of the groups within the larger
structure.
I know people are incredulous that the O.T.O would cost money, but the
ancient Mystery Religions like the Eleusinian Mysteries weren't exactly
cheap - or free for that matter! I just look at it that way. And call me
cynical but I'm sure that although money may not exchange hands in Wiccan
covens, there'd be 'payment' in something, whether that's fitting into a
hierarchy and making the higher degree members feel good, supporting a prima
donna HPS by being an audience.... (I'm just thinking if very bad examples
there - not that other groups including O.T.O wouldn't also have such
*human* goings on....)
~Caroline.
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