Apprentice to Power: A Wiccan Odyssey to Spiritual Awakening PDF
Preview Apprentice to Power: A Wiccan Odyssey to Spiritual Awakening
Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2011 http://www.archive.org/details/apprenticetopowe00timo 41-- APPRENTICE TO POWER A Wiccan Odyssey to Spiritual Awaken.ing By Timothy Roderick ~ THE CROSSING PRESS ~ FREEDOM, CALIFORNIA Copyright ©2000 Timothy Roderick Halph1di.! Cover art, Wizard, by Sw.an Dorf Cover design by Courrnay Perry Princcd m the U.S.A. No part of chis puhlu:.a.tion may be reproduced or tranS1mtred m any form or by any means, decrrontc or mecharucal, including photocopy, recording, or any informauon swrag.: and retrieval sysr.em now known or w be mvenr.ed, wrrhout p..rrmission rn writing from the pub lisher, <!xcept by a re, tewer «-'ho wishes to qHote brief passages in connection with a review writk'Tl for mclusion rn a magazine, newspaper, or broadcast. Contaa The Crossing Press, Inc , P.O. Box 1048, Freedom, CA 95019 For information on bulk purchases ur group discounts for this and other Crossing Press rides, plcaSe contact our Special Sales Manager at 800-777-1048. Visit our Website lm the lntemct at: www.crrn,smgprcs.:..com Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Rodenck,Timorhy, 1963 · Apprenuce to power : a wiccan odyssey co spiritual awakening/ by Timothy Roderick. p. cm. Includes b1hlmgraph1c;il reference~. ISBN 1-58091 -077-7 (phk.) I. Witchcraft. 2. tviag1c. 3. Ritual. I. Title. BFI 566 .R57 2000 I 3> .4' 3--<lc2 I 00-030854 A CKNOWLEDGMENTS Ir takes many people to write a single book. I would like to thank the follo\ving people, who have contributed their wisdom, time, and tal ents toward the creation of App-rentice c.o Potver. My many thanks to Mead Hunter, n1y personal editor and good friend. Without his gL11<lance and unfailing insight, this book ,vould never have come to fruition. I am graceful to Caryle Hirshberg of The Crossing Press for believing 1n this project. Thanks also goes to Lady Varda of Crescent's Shadow for her connnued support and magical input. My appreciatton also goes to Chan1 Beeman, who provideJ in spiration on several occa51om, anti to Marilyn Odella for her beauti ful photographic work. Eduardo Wa1skopf provided conttnued support, long conversa(ion:,, and l1sten1ng ear::,. Without hii. support, this project would have never been realued. C ONTENTS lncroducnon l s H ERMES ) l H ECATE 59 SIN 109 M USE FATE 135 CHAOS 159 187 PANDORA 209 SATURN 243 DEMETER 301 DIONYSUS AppenJices 307 316 Bibliography INTRODUCTION A brass bell clattered against the door of the rickety old side street shop as I entered it for the first time. The bell was hung on the inside doorknob from a thin piece of red yarn that had a series of knots, shells, seeds, and tiny brass trinkets tied into it. This is probably magic, I thought, as I examined the charm. Perhaps I'm under a spell righc now. Once l had passed through the doorway l felt that I had entered a worlJ only talked about in fairy tales or in movies. This was the world of enchanters, the realm of witches. At that point in my life I was like most people in my beliefs about \vitches. I thought they ,vere heretics, poisoners, spoilers. I thought that they practiced black magic and engaged in unspeakable rites. A chill went up my spine. I ,vas petrified to be standing there in the only shop in cown chat everyone knew of, yet about which no one would speak. Why was l there? At the time I couldn't really sc1y. I had a vague sense that I was searching and that l was hungry for something unnamable. Perhaps l had the courage co enter the shop chat day be cause, beyond my fear, I felt utterly m~ mert2ed by what l saw. I looked around the musty old room. Bundled herbs of every sort, which filled the air with a bitter green fragrance, hung from the ceil ing. Oversized jars filled with things such as "Dragon's Blood Reed" and "Solo1non's Seal" cook up every inch of shelf space in the shop. "Have you seen the back room yet?" a beautiful, dark, elfin woman asked me. "Yes," I lied. I didn't ,vane to speak to her any further. I was dro,vning in a mix of emotions that ranged from fascination to dread and the last thing I wanted was to look like a novice. The woman dis appeared behind a dark blue beaded curtain that led co the back of the shop. As I stood there watching the hanging strands swing and click together l wondered to n1yself, Should I pass through the curtain or not? Where would it lead! What would I find? That day I took a breach, braced myself, and passed through that mysterious threshold. To my surprise I didn't stu1nble into evil, be devilment, or other dark doings. Instead, I wandered into a world of wisdom, truth, beauty, an<l above all else, spintual awakening. When I passed through the curtain that day, I rook my first steps on a mag ical odyssey chat continues to chis day. The book you hold in your hands chronicles my apprenticeship along the path of Wicca, The Craft of the Wise, which is the name of the spiritual path of contemporary witches. During the years of my training, I learned che ways of a mystic, a healer, a seer, and a magi cian. Through the guidance of n1y teachers and by practicing the techniques of chi parh, J learned how to forge a close relationship with deity and how to align myself with the spiritual power that flows through all things. This same spiritual journey awaits you as well. As you read, you may choose to un<lertake your own spuitual ap prenticeship and to awaken the magical power residing within you. For this purpose I have provided the methods that I was taught by my elders and that l still use today. You rnay notice, as I did, that at times the practices and tech niques feel peculiar and unfamiltar. This is deliberate. The Wiccan path is not intended co soothe or coddle the apprentice. In fact, l found that my training was at times disorienting and even a bit un nerving. I attended 1nysterious ritual!) anJ engaged in unusual cus toms. However, I JiscovereJ that each step of the way was purposeful and designed. Each of the les ons th.at I encountered pushed the Ii m ies of my perceptions, my notions, and n1y assun1ptions about life and - 2-
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