One of the most frequent conversations I hear in the pagan community comes from people who think there aren’t enough teachers. I usually counter with the notion that anyone – even you – can be a teacher!
In the Tarot, we have the Major Arcana. These are 22 cards of higher wisdom which teach us great karmic and life lessons – and usually their lessons are multi-faceted. The Hermit is a card that I think works well to exemplify my point. On the card is a wizened old man who is leaving a cave and carries a lantern. A person on a spiritual journey must go within themselves and find their internal truth before that wisdom becomes a part of them. Sometimes that truth takes work; research, interviews, experience. But it is a truth that they have to process and learn. The other side of this wisdom tells us that it is not enough to seek our truth, but to share that truth with others, hence the lantern. It does no one any good if your “truth light” is used only to illuminate your own cave – you can share that light with others so they might find their own truths in turn.
I’m not a teacher by trade, but I’ve taught many people over the years in Tarot, Witchcraft, Divination and other subjects. In my decades as a public workshop leader as well as a teacher within my own Tradition / Coven, I have found an amazing truism. I have discovered more about the Craft, about the Tarot, about people, and about my own self through teaching than I ever learned from a book or from another person. Certainly books and teachers set me on the right path, but it was in the assimilating of knowledge and being able to impart it to others that gave me a special insight that I would have otherwise not have attained.
When you teach, you get a perspective that you might not have gotten otherwise. It may help you to see things in a different way and approach those topics from another angle. Even if you think you know a topic like the back of your hand, fresh eyes give you a renewed enthusiasm for the subject without allowing it to become stale or boring. The blessings I’ve received from my students are priceless to me and I thank my students for giving me the honor of sharing what I know with them.
In the giving is the receiving. In our coven, we strive to see our students excel and surpass us, using our knowledge as a platform to further their own growth. Hording information does not serve you, the community or our Gods. So, give your gifts freely! It’s not hard to share your light of knowledge with others. If you have done any research, even for your own personal spiritual growth, you can present your findings to others. You are then the expert.
Expert? Yes, you – the expert. Experts are used in everything from academics to the legal profession. To qualify as an expert in a legal context means you fit the definition of someone who is a specialist in a particular subject, that is, you know more than the general populace. If you have studied a particular subject for a while and know it better than the average bear, you are the expert in that subject.
For example, if you were looking for a magickal name and did a lot of research on birds and mythology to determine which one fit you best, you could come up with a topic that explores the role of birds and the Gods in various myths. If you’ve researched a God or Goddess, pantheon, or other spiritual topic, write it up and share it. Draw from your own experience and knowledge. Of course, you wouldn’t want to share private or Oathbound information with the public, but you can share your own knowledge as you wish.
When you’re creating a presentation, whether written or verbal, there are some important things to consider. First of all, remember accuracy and check your facts. If you are doing historical research, you have to make sure your facts are verifiable. You can’t just say “I found it on the INTARWEBZ so it must be true”, and hope people will respect what you have to say. Wikipedia is a great place to start your research, but it shouldn’t be the reference itself. Its scholarship is tenuous at best, and is often added to by people who have not done their fact checking either. Use the same criteria a college professor would in evaluating a research paper. If you can’t prove it, don’t use it.
Another important consideration is attribution. Attribution is giving credit to someone else for their work. If something is your opinion, then say so. But if you got the idea from someone else, make sure you acknowledge that person. Not attributing properly is not only unethical, it’s also illegal to claim someone’s intellectual property as your own.
Now, I understand that not everyone is interested in teaching formal classes or workshops, nor is everyone interested in writing a book, but there are many other wonderful ways of sharing your knowledge with the community!
You can write up article and submit it to local newsletters and magazines. You’re reading this newsletter, right? Well, there are tons of newsletters and magazines in pagandom with readers just like you. And those readers might be very interested in what you have to say!
The Internet has given us a great forum for sharing our information as well. You can create a pagan blog or share your topic with your favorite blog out there. You can submit your presentation to various pagan websites who support the sharing of knowledge. A good place to start with is www.witchvox.com. Make sure that you know the criteria the website owners require and what they’re looking for before submitting your article. And remember to be gracious if they come back with “Sorry…we already have eleventybillion articles on Beltane this month!”
There are plenty of pagan online groups available to share your information with – a quick search on www.yahoogroups.com will provide you with many pagan groups eager to chat. Many even allow you to post your presentation – but kindly check with the moderators before you decide to spam them with your presentation or you might get the big ol’ ban-hammer. You can even share your knowledge on your Facebook or MySpace pages!
Another way to share what you know is offering to present your work to a pagan or pagan friendly shop; or if that’s not an option, look for pagan gatherings in your area who will allow you to present your information at their function. A word of advice, make sure you have a good synopsis of your presentation and know how long it will take, an outline of what you will be covering, and what supplies you’ll be needing (chairs, easel, etc) so they can plan around you. And always allow the participants of your work – the people who attend your presentations or read your work – to give you feedback. Give them time to assimilate what you’ve said and let them flow with it.
So you see, you too can be a teacher by Teaching What You Know – all that hard work you put into learning about a particular subject doesn’t have to lie dormant within you. Give it life and share it with other like-minded friends. Furthermore you must Know What You Teach – you can’t share a topic with others unless you know it inside out and are sure things are as accurate as possible. Put the two together and you will have the motivation and resources to be a vibrant part of our pagan community.
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