Teaching a Witchling
In what way is educating a Witchling different than educating any other child? As parents we take it upon ourselves to teach our children what they need to know about the worlds. So that they will grow up to be responsible and creative, and follow their bliss as adults. But to do this we have to ‘let go’ of our children and allow them to walk their own way.
Witches have little excuse when it comes to allowing the young to grow at their own pace, as we have respect for the cycle of life. That means we have to celebrate our children’s coming into their own. It is important, in fact part of our job to make sure our children have plenty of experience with their own power. We only hold ‘our’ power over them in trust. When they are babies, they can’t do for themselves, so we must. As they grow older and are able to do more and more – including the mistakes – we must allow them to learn from them. So how do we do this? Well we provide plenty of opportunity and experiences for them. How do we manage this? We remember that raising children is a Magical experience. Allow them time to ‘breathe’ and grow. Our bodies mature 10 years earlier than our brains. Our brains need more time to develop, and there is a lot to learn. And remember there is a lifetime to learn it. Be patient, and allow your child to guide you.
Your relationship with your child is magical.
So how do we educate a Witchling? We incorporate the teaching of Wicca into the learning of everything to do with life. We can structure our teaching just as secular teacher do, borrowing some concepts that are not hard to understand even you don’t have a formal background in education. You can apply a syllabus or curriculum to your educating or make your own lesson plan. You can of course just follow your intuition and use everyday experiences as the classroom. Teaching styles are at least as different as learning styles, and of course, the subject matter has something to do with how we teach. No matter what or how we help our young ones to learn, remember that it is the ‘craft’ we are trying to impress upon the children. Witchcraft teaches us that life is an adventure, so it’s alright for the way we teach our children to be an adventure. For example: you don’t have to teach chants just by writing the words on paper. Let your child practice chanting, so they can learn not only the words, but also the way it feels to chant, and hear live chanting. There is no one witch that can say, once and for all, what’s always right, and what’s always wrong. Following Wicca, we trust our instincts and rely upon our experiences. Apply plenty of practice tasks, crafts, and things to do that are full of adventure.
Follow your instinct. Be guided by your young Witchling. But most of all enjoy.
Blessed Be.
Belladonna.