Solitaries & Gatherings By Donald Michael Kraig My late friend, Scott Cunningham, used to ask difficult questions. If initiation is necessary to become a Witch, who initiated the first Witch? Why do you need to be initiated to worship The Goddess? If the Craft is ancient, why is it that so many people who claim to be part of an `ancient' tradition can only show that their `tradition' goes back 40 or 50 years? Many of the books he wrote were his answer to those questions. Anybody could worship the Goddess (and the God) without initiation. The craft of Witchcraft consisted mostly of folk magic and customs. Many other authors have written about practicing Neopaganism without being part of a group. Today, there are so many people who follow this path that there is a name for such people: Solitaries. In fact, with the number of books written from the Solitaries' point-of-view, there are probably far more people who could identify themselves as Solitaries than there are people who are members of groups or covens. The debate about whether this is good or bad will go on for years to come. That is not the purpose of this article, anyway. Besides, to take the position that Wiccans and Witches should stop recognizing uninitiated Solitaries is irrelevant. It would be like trying to hold back the ocean's tides with a bucket. From what I've seen on the internet and in numerous personal letters, there are two things which Solitaries seem to admit, one consciously and the other unknowingly. First, most of the Solitaries have one great loss: companionship. Many of them have to hide their beliefs from everyone. They have nobody to talk to, nobody to share with. They have no support system. This is especially difficult if their mundane world has a fundamentalist viewpoint (be that of any religion or belief). It is hard for anyone to maintain their beliefs while being constantly bombarded with messages that what they believe are wrong. Second, while many Solitaries are well studied in certain areas. Indeed, some are far more studied in various areas than traditional coven-members. Some seem to lack knowledge in other areas which traditional coven-members would consider important. I think it is fair to point out that Solitaries do not consider those areas interesting or important. That is why they don't study them. Perhaps if those particular Solitaries found the subjects they didn't research more interesting (and I can't say which subjects they are because they will vary from person to person), they would study those areas in greater depth. Some people might question whether this is actually important. As a believer in education, I think that the more education in more areas the better. As one science fiction writer said, Specialization is for insects. I think that there is a great way to resolve both of these situations, a way that is enjoyable and fun. We should all attend at least one festival or gathering each year. It seems like every year there are more and more Pagan festivals in the U.S. From Florida to Washington State, from California to New York, there are dozens of them, large and small. Each festival has its own rules and regulations. Many involve camping. Some have quite primitive conditions while others take place in hotels. Most such festivals have speakers, some well known, talking on a wide variety of topics. By going to some of these talks people can get interested in subjects which they otherwise might not have studied. Even if they do no more than listen to the speaker they will have broadened their knowledge base. Most of the festivals also have spaces for vendors, selling everything from Pagan-oriented bumper stickers to robes and magical tools. This can be especially valuable to Solitaries who do not live near stores where such items can be obtained. And finally, the chance just to mingle and talk with people who feel as you do, people who are supportive and friendly and do not question every idea you have can help invigorate you. You can go home newly charged and dedicated to your beliefs, not to mention having a wider circle of friends and acquaintances. And lest you think that I am saying that going to gatherings is only important for Solitaries, let me make clear that I think even traditional coven-members should attend such festivals. You get to visit with other people, learn about other traditions, make new friends, find new vendors and go to lectures from knowledgeable people. I go to festivals for all of these purposes. But there is another reason I go to them. By talking with others I can learn more about what people, not authors or so-called leaders in the community are thinking and doing. I learn about things that are going on months or years before anybody writes about them. For example, according to a wonderful woman I met, a woman who had been part of the Israeli military for many years, there is a small but growing Pagan movement in Israel! It is not focused toward a deity, but toward the sacredness of the land. A person talking about them called them stupid. They ended up taking the word used against them, Ahn-kh (as I recall), and using it to describe themselves. This is much as the ancient people became known as Pagans, which originally was an insult much in the sense of hick being an insult today. If you are interested in finding out about festivals, the best networking aid is Larry Cornett's Calendar of Events. You can get a six-issue (one year) subscription to the calendar (it's about six pages per issue) for $11.00 ($16 in Canada and $19 elsewhere). Subscribe from Larry Cornett, 9355 Sibelius Drive, Vienna, VA 22182-1632. Or, if you have access to the World Wide Web, set your browser to: http://www.io.com/~cookec/pagan.d/calendar.htm
1996, Donald Michael Kraig
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