by: Cerridwen Johnson
Once again, I have been thrust into the roll of big, bad Traditional persecuting the poor defenseless eclectic. Most Trad Witches have been here, sometimes deserving, mostly not. So, I am once again going to explain the Traditional Witches Viewpoint. Please, all you eclectics out there, especially those with the persecution complexes, read this and maybe look at yourselves and those around you from a different point of view. Who knows, you may realize we aren’t the big bad wolf, and you definitely aren’t a little piggy.
Doctor A has spent more than half his life going to school. He received his Ph.D. in biochemistry and as we speak is developing new and revolutionary drug treatments for cancer. We’re talking here of 20 years of school, then internships, research, another decade to get where he is today.
Nurse Practitioner B is happy where he is. It took a lot of work to get where he is, and to do what he does. Maybe someday he will go on to medical school and become a doctor, but right now, he’s happy, he works hard, and is a very important part of the medicine profession.
Mr. C just got his bachelors of science degree in chemistry. He’s been accepted to graduate school, but is not there yet. He thought he would never get where he is, but finally, after years of study, he has that diploma. He’s happy and proud, but rearing for the next step.
Mr. D got a book on his way home from work Friday night, Science for Dummies. It had two chapters on chemistry, a paragraph on how chemistry is used in the medical field, and a sentence on biochemistry. He read the book from cover to cover and finished it Sunday night.
When Dr. A walks into a room, we give him the respect he has earned as a man of science, a researcher, a Ph.D., a distinguished gentleman.
When Nurse Practitioner B walks into a room, we give him respect too. And in his own right, he is just as important as Dr. A. But if Dr. A and NP B have two contradictory opinions, I would probably trust Dr. A.
Mr. C joins us. He’s getting ready to go off to grad school. Good guy, worked hard, but that’s about it. Really, there are a thousand chem majors who do nothing beyond that. If Mr. C sticks with is, then we’ll talk about respect and deference.
Mr. D comes trotting in. Who is he? He’s not a college graduate. He’s not even a student. He read a book. Good for him, maybe he’ll pick up more and it will lead to something.
Well, what if Mr. D here introduces himself as Dr. D? What if he insists that everybody treat him the same as they treat Dr. A? Would you give him the same respect? Would you take a pill he designed? After one paragraph on medical applications, would you trust him as your doctor or pharmacist? What if he’s read 10 books? A hundred? Would it matter that he had never gone to school, never seen the inside of a lab, besides the one he converts his kitchen into sometimes? Would it matter that he has never been shown proper lab techniques? That he doesn’t know the difference between an enzyme and a protein? Sure, he’s read about them, but… You’d laugh in his face, wouldn’t you?
That is how we feel. Dr. A is our 3rd Degree. To get there, you have to study (and it is a lot like formal education, in some respects harder). Not everyone makes it. Not everyone can do it. Not everyone wants to. Some, like Nurse Practitioner B (2nd Degree) are happy where they are, maybe someday they will seek elevation, but maybe not. It took a lot of work to get where they are, and not all are sure they want to go on. In their own way they are just as important, but you wouldn’t ask them to do things that you would ask a 3rd Degree, and they will defer to the higher degree. Mr. C is our 1st Degree. For all intents and purposes he’s still a student, but we know he has the dedication and drive to stick with it. Mr. D. is how a lot, but not all, eclectics are. They read a book, or several, but have had no training, nothing tangible. Reading is great. Books are a great way to start. Books and the internet are great things for seekers and even supplemental information. But you have not put in the time, the effort, the training, to be considered on a level with someone who has. Dr. A can explain to you how to synthesis an enzyme, but unless he takes you into a lab and shows you how, you won’t be able to do it as effectively, or even do it correctly.
Traditionals in general, Gardinarians in particular, are required to know a lot from a variety of subjects. What does physics, biology, psychology, electricity, astronomy, geology, linguistics, carpentry, anatomy, law, a hundred other -ology’s, and a thousand other things have to do with magick, running a Coven, and the Craft?
What does digitalis do? Where do you find it? How about salicylic acid? Sodium salicylate? What kind of salt do you use? Incense? Do you know what herbs and plants are toxic?
A lot of books don’t tell you, so don’t rely on that for your answer. Why shouldn’t you wear a watch in Circle? For that matter, other jewelry? What do you have to change in a ritual if one of the participants has a pacemaker? What kind of metals can you NOT use in your chalice? What oils are toxic if ingested? Can oil be absorbed through the skin? If so, is that toxic? Well, all those questions require a knowledge biology, botany, chemistry, medicine, physics, geology, and a few other things. Every single one of those questions, if you don’t know the answer to it, the why and how and how much, at the best if you are extremely lucky, you will mess up whatever you are trying to accomplish. At the worst, you can seriously hurt or kill someone.
There you have it, our views, and some of the reasons behind them, and why we get upset when we are asked to treat someone who read a book as if they were a Ph.D..
To contact me or to request topics to be covered, send to RikJohnson@juno.com
by: Rick Johnson 
PO Box 40451
Tucson, Az.
85717
