Distance Learning with AFW

We have *just* created a facebook  group to meet a growing need and request for  Craft instruction in the AFW style. We have been approached by students all over the US (and a few internationally) who want to work within the AFW model and would like a bit of direction from Natalie and Laurelei.

There may be a few kinks we need to work out in regards to teaching this way. Teaching Craft online/remotely is new for us, and since Craft is so experiential and personal, the best we can do for anybody (near or far) is to provide a framework for independent study,  a couple of voices of experience, and the opportunity to share personal gnosis in a group setting.

Most of the work a distance student will do will be very independent in nature, and then we will discuss what that work is like as a group. The insights, opinions, and experiences of the DLC’s members will prove to be a sounding board for each of us, much in the same way that happens in real-time, physical space meetings of the coven. Each person in this group comes from a different background, with varying levels of occult experience. That variety will prove invaluable in terms of digging into the material, as long as most everyone participates to some extent in discussions.

If you wish to join the group, please add Laurelei as a friend on facebook and send a request through her to join the group. (The group itself is listed as "secret" so it won't show up in search results.) Only join, however, if you are interested in serious study within *this* Tradition. Casual conversation regarding Trad Craft can happen in any one of a half-dozen other groups where Natalie and I participate.

FORMAT

Our plan is to post the month’s discussion topics at the beginning of each month.  We’ll post relevant links to the AFW blog (and elsewhere) to serve as a jumping off point for personal research and group discussion. Each person can then post questions, insights, etc in the comments below the corresponding topic.

If you have questions unrelated to the Red Cord class topic, you can either pose it to the group in a new post, or you can write directly to Natalie and Laurelei.

We leave it to your discretion to post other assignments to the group (or to send them privately to Natalie and I.) Within the “home coven” (Coven Caer Sidhe), we share all of our assignments with each other in order to have a better mutual understanding of the topic and of our siblings within the Craft family. However, we are nothing if not Willful, and we want you to do your Will in regards to find a balance between personal privacy and group bonding.

GREENING, ADOPTION, RAISING

There are three rites of “initiation” within the AFW format. The first (Greening) is easy enough to perform on your own without much modification from the original format. It is basically an assertion by the individual that s/he is ready to begin her/his study of Craft and that s/he is giving AFW a few weeks of dedicated effort to see if this tradition is a good fit. The Greening period usually lasts about 6 weeks.

Adoption (Red Cord) gets a little more complicated. The ritual honestly looks very similar to Greening, and the intent is similar, too. However, as the name “Adoption” implies, this rite is intended to bring you into the Family. You are stating that you have given due consideration to the prospect, and you want to honor the Witch Blood within you.  Within a physical working group, each member takes a blood oath with the Adoptee, and we embrace each other as siblings. In a distance learning group, though, that blood bond can really only be made between the Adoptee (you) and Tubal Cain (the Witchfather). You will be symbolically linked to us, as all Witches of the blood are. But there is a difference in the extent of those magical links (between people), as I think you will come to understand. The Adoption period lasts no less than 1 year, but can take as long as a student needs.

The Raising (Triple Cord) is the true Initiation of the Witch. It involves trials of the mind and spirit in order for a person to fully and completely claim the title “Witch.” We honestly know of no way to offer the Raising without being physically in the same space. To that end, we are willing to work with each individual, should you choose to pursue Raising. We may be able to come to you, or you might come to us, or we might meet somewhere in the middle. Alternatively, we *may* be able to develop a self-directed series of tests and ceremony that will accomplish the same ends (but look a little different than the IRL version). Raising gives a Witch the full authority within this Tradition to start a coven and/or teach others. There is no human-made Initiation beyond this point, and you can choose to continue studying with the other Raised members of the group (including participating in Red Cord discussions), or you can structure your study and practice however you deem appropriate.

COVEN CAER SIDHE

At the time of this writing, there are 6 corded members of the coven Natalie and I started in Indiana. Natalie, myself, and our Pythia are all Triple Cords. Our 13-year-old daughter and the Hearth Keeper are both Red Cords. And our 10-year-old son is a Green Cord. We also have a few folks preparing to take their Green Cords, including the Hearth Keeper’s 12-year-old daughter.

The coven isn’t large, per se, and it includes our children. These are both true because we consider ourselves to be members of a family tradition.

We don’t have a hierarchical structure within the coven. Nobody is the Maid (high priestess), and nobody will become the Magister (high priest).  Natalie and I have both come from other covens where the hierarchy choked the life out of the group, and we each even have experiences in being carriers of HPS Disease within past groups. There is no rule against hierarchy within AFW (for covens you may start after your training is complete), but we choose not to engage in it ourselves. We see ourselves as Sisters and Brothers to each other within this Craft Family.

The members of Coven Caer Sidhe are encouraged to participate in the discussions happening online, and it is my hope that together we will be able to create a sense of community – of extended family.

If you happen to be in the Indiana area, we would love to have you join us for class or ritual. Likewise, you are always invited to participate with us when we attend festivals or present publicly. And if you have a festival or event in your area that you would like for us to attend, let us know. We may not always be able to afford the travel expenses for events far out of state, but sometimes opportunities open up unexpectedly when we state our needs and desires.

Admission: The Way In

This post will be relevant to potential seekers along the Crooked Path who are both in our local area (South-Central Indiana) and those who are not. As we've been receiving requests for more information about how one goes about joining the coven, messages of regret from cunning folk who live too far afield to come circle with us, and a wild boost of page-views for our "admission requirements" post, we feel that we would serve our readers best by sharing one or two of the (many) paths "in."

It All Begins with a Request ...

However it may work in other groups, we hold to an old tradition of expecting potential students to ask us for admission at each step of the process. Even if we know you personally and really think you'd be great, that choice -- and the leap of faith & fear that goes with it -- must be yours and yours alone. We've been there. (Laurelei's initiating coven even had the practice of denying potential members at least three times before granting admission, which added a whole other "gulp factor.")

Do not wait for an invitation from us. Even if we know, love and see you regularly, that personal invitation will not come. If you're not asking for what you need and want, it's because you aren't ready yet; and, honey, that's okay with us. You take your time. We've been sitting on this Tradition -- nesting and hatching -- for years.

Near and Far

If you live close to us, you'll probably be asking to join us through the first admission, which means Greening. That's a trial period for both you and us to figure out how well we work together, if you really want to walk THIS path, and for you to learn some of the very basics. You don't need much: a couple of binders and a flash drive. We need to have met you in person, since you'll be coming into our home and interacting with our family (including our children, who are at the Greening and Adoption stages, respectively). And, of course, that "formal request" mentioned in the requirements is a reminder that you need to have actually asked us to take your green cord.

What if you don't live close to us and you still want to walk THIS specific path, learn from US, etc? If you lived close, you would ask right now, but you don't. You live on the South Coast. What then?

Here's the thing: We can't really take vows with you from a distance, and there ARE vows at the Greening and Adoption. However, we feel certain that we can teach green- and red-cord materials at a distance, and we can offer you self-led variations of the Greening and Adoption rituals, as well. So, through the basic levels, anyone who wishes it can be taught, we feel, at the same level as a student we would take on here locally.

We would teach you individually. If there are truly several authentically interested individuals in pursuing this option, we might start a private e-mail group or something to facilitate communication, file-sharing, and camaraderie. Both Glaux and I would be your teachers and guides, just as we are for students in-person.

But then we come to the Raising ritual -- the point at which you become a full-fledged Witch. After all the time spent together on-line, we would probably have developed a sense of family, and Glaux and I feel that we would be willing to raise any Witches that we taught in this way. But we'd have to do it in person. The Raising involves trials and tests -- and Mysteries -- that we simply cannot convey except in person. Luckily, we have access to wonderful sacred ground in Southern Indiana (with our own cabin on it), where we can go to perform the Raising, if no other site presents itself.

How Long?

The time-frames suggested in the requirements document are a rough estimate. The Greening requires a "getting to know you" time, but it really shouldn't last too long, either. If you haven't decided, for instance, within a year to ask for Adoption, you probably have reasons NOT to ask that you should heed. (Think of Greening as being akin to childhood within a family structure. It's over in a flash, and by the end of it, you have a good sense of your own mind -- and skill.)

On the other hand, you may spend significantly longer than a year and a day wearing your Adoption red cord. There is a lot of material to cover, and we won't be surprised if it takes you more than a year to do it. It just can't take less than that. (Adoption is like young adulthood in a family/tribal setting. You are learning vast amounts of knowledge, gaining independence, discovering what draws your interest, making significant bonds with your peer and family groups.)

Once you've been Raised, and you have red, black and white cords, you will govern your own studies and perhaps begin your own coven. You don't have to jump right out and hive off. Feel free to stick around for as long as you need. Forever, if that's what you choose. (A "Raised Witch" is like a full adult in a family unit -- completely independent, held by bonds of love and kinship, a contributor to the internal workings of the clan.)

Getting in Touch with Us

Laurelei -- laurelei@asteriabooks.com  www.facebook.com/laureleiblack
Glaux -- nataliewitch@yahoo.com  Glaux on Facebook

Requirements for Admission

After years of working this path, tweaking it, living with it, and loving it, we have decided to open ourselves up to those who would like to walk the crooked path with us locally (within the South-Central Indiana area).  Here, then, are our requirements for admission.


Greening – green cord

• For children of the family at the age of reason, and for potential new members to the coven.
  
• Creates an informal bond between teacher and student.
  
• Before Greening the student should :
  
  • formally request to join the coven
  • obtain a binder for handouts and personal research notes
  • obtain a flash drive
• During Greening the student should:
  
  • learn to raise, form, move, and ground energy
  • create or obtain a stone bowl
  • begin their personal crane bag
  • choose a coven symbol
  • begin a personal home altar
  • attend at least 2 rituals (Sabbats or Esbats)
  • obtain a ritual robe (either white or black, depending on the time of year)
• Greening lasts through a 6 – 12 month period, or until the age of puberty.
  
  

Adoption – red cord, bone ring

• For children of the family at the age of puberty, and for formally joining members to the coven.
  
• Creates a formal bond – the Red Thread – between the student and all members of the coven.
  
• During Adoption the student should:
  
  • Memorize the year wheel
  • Obtain the three knives
  • Read:
    
    • The Robert Cochrane letters
    • The White Goddess by Robert Graves
  • Read two of the following:
    
    • Masks of Misrule, Call of the Horned Piper, & Pillars of Tubal Cain by Nigel Jackson
    • Mastering Witchcraft by Paul Huson
    • The Witches’ Bible by the Farrars
    • Sacred Mask, Sacred Dance by Evan John Jones
    • The Roebuck in the Thicket by Robert Cochrane and EJ Jones
    • Witchcraft: A Tradition Renewed by Valiente and Jones
    • The Triumph of the Moon by Ronald Hutton
    • The Witching Way of Hollow Hill by Robin Artisson
  • Perform a link cutting
  • Write a statement of personal ethics
  • obtain an ancestor skull
  • create a staff
  • obtain a cauldron
  • make an incense
  • make and amulet and talisman
  • make a scrying mirror
  • design and make a Witches’ Glove
  • become proficient in three forms of divination
  • create a totemic fetch
  • acquire a familiar (plant, animal, or spirit)
  • perform contact and possession with a Deity
  • lead a ritual
  • complete red cord checklist
• Adoption lasts a minimum of a year and a day, or until the age of majority.
  
  

Raising – red/white/black cord, witches mark

• For children of the family at the age of majority, and for naming the student as a witch.
  
• Marks the student as a fully-fledged witch.
  
• During Raising the witch should:
  
  • obtain tools, weapons, and other paraphernalia related to the compass
  • read and study as suits their interest