THE INITIATE
Scenario: A famous British Archaeologist unearths an ancient Pheryllt incantation etched upon a stone tablet, the engraved words once used to open mystic portals to the Otherworld.
"A-ha!" he exclaims, as he poises himself expectantly and reads aloud the spell in the profoundest voice he can muster. Nothing happens. But why? Wasn't that same incantation once used to greatest effect... the very same words?
Answer: the "effect" does not depend primarily upon the words, but instead upon who is speaking the words. That Archaeologist, renown as he might have been, had earned no 'Authority' within the Pheryllt System--- and so his words were worth no more than that, remained as mere words. They carried no 'weight;' or, termed another way, they carried no 'Authority.' The concept of Authority is much akin to 'experience' in the everyday world, except on an Elemental level... the level of Wind, Sea, Fire & Stone. It is a Key Factor built up by tightly-focused work over time... accumulated... 'recognized' by the System Elements, the foundation of actualized Power within any one Magickal Realm. Authority cannot be bought, traded or inherited; only earned through time.
Within the Pheryllt Apprenticeship system, the INITIATE INSTRUCTOR represents 'Elemental Authority.' This is a "concept within a position," which is unique to Pherylltism, and stands at the very heart of their Magickal advancement.
The INITIATE "stands up for" the student's integrity and worthiness, before the Oracle Tree (which itself symbolically represents the entire System). In a sense, the Initiate is responsible for the successes and shortcomings of his charge.
The Initiate is an adviser, one who has climbed the Ogham Ladder of Fionn, has been through the System successfully and earned the Authority it has to offer. Symbolically, the Initiate IS the Authority in super-position.
INITIATE IMAGE BANK:
(click on the images to enlarge)
