As a teacher of esoteric studies, I have the honor of conducting Initiations once or twice every year. This is an obscure and greatly misunderstood concept for most people. Plus modernization has gradually killed off many traditional rites of passage.
Some everyday Initiations you may already be familiar with:
Christening. Baptism. Bar or Bat Mitzvah. Induction into any institution. Your first day of school. University Matriculation Day. Graduation Day. The rigorous training of the armed forces. The first day of a new job. Joining the local Golf or Rugby Club. The Freemasons. American Fraternity Houses. The Mile High Club.
In a new job, the Initiation may be simply learning the ropes, being taught procedures, where to put your coffee mug and what time the “in crowd” work till. You usually get a special “tome” full of arcane laws and guidelines that no one really ever reads. There may even be a joining fee.
History shows that medicine, physics, chemistry, reading, mathematics, writing, astronomy and anatomy were all at one time “occult” secret arts. In the modern world, you were probably initiated into most of those before you were 16 years old.
Definition from The Oxford Dictionary:
Initiation [v] – to begin and admit a person with introductory rites into secrets, mysteries or science. Latin root “initium” means “to begin”. So it’s a rite of passage ceremony, which signifies the transformation of an individual into a higher, more desired level of identity.
Initiate [n] – the person who has been initiated
Imagine you want to join an exclusive members-only social club. You can walk up to the building, but the people on the door will usher you away unless you’re a member. However, if you have a friend who is already a member, you will walk up the steps together and will be given a warm reception. Now you have access to higher powers [in this case the social, economic and prestige benefits of club membership] as well as the physical, emotional, mental and spiritual changes initiation brings about.
Now if you don’t have a friend who’s already a member, the alternative is to keep going over to the club, getting your face known, trying to schmooze the doorman and occasionally peeking through the window to see what’s going on inside. The way people do that is by reading books and trying things out haphazardly.
Unfortunately enlightenment doesn’t come from books – it is experience alone that brings realization.
Initiation gives you membership, companionship with like-minded individuals and access to deeper and broader levels of insight and power. In many systems, it is believed that many of your new contacts will be previous Initiates who are no longer with us. Initiation gives you nothing in tangible terms. Instead, it allows you to begin a particular system or practice.
Practical training involves: