CORRELLIAN WICCA.
LESSONS FOR THE FIRST DEGREE



 


Prepared by Rev. Donald Lewis-Highcorrell

© Copyright 2000, 2005, 2007, Rev. Don Lewis. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced without the written permission of the author

Foreword

 
Greetings,

 I am very pleased to be able to present the revised new edition of my Correllian Degree materials. The creation of these materials took many years, and the new edition has taken many months, but at last I feel we can call them completed.

 Of course because people’s needs and circumstances are in a constant state of change it is only reasonable to assume that there will in future be additions to the materials, but I think we can regard the basic form of Correllian Degree education to be established.

 I think it is particularly appropriate that this new edition, long in the working, has been completed at the dawn of Year Seven Aquarius (2007 AD) with its numerical emphasis on spirituality and learning.

 When I began writing these materials the Correllian Tradition was a tiny familial Tradition of Witchcraft. What is meant by Witchcraft in this connotation is a relatively unorganized Pagan religious practice involving magic and spiritualism.

 In my writings I have always treated the term “Wicca” as synonymous with the word “Witchcraft” as defined above, because this is what I was taught, and has been common practice for many in the USA especially during the period when I was learning. Many people now use a much more limited definition of “Wicca”, confining the term to the Gardnero-Alexandrian Traditions: it is important to realize that this is not how the word “Wicca” is being used in these writings.

 The Correllian Tradition considers itself to be “Nativist” –a word roughly synonymous with “Pagan”. In 1579 Pisces (1979 AD) the Elders of the Tradition decided that it was a form of “Wicca” using the term as synonymous with “Witchcraft” as described above. The wisdom of this decision is now questionable, and certainly has been subject to a great deal of criticism by people who note the great deal of difference between Correllianism and Gardnero-Alexandrian Wicca. But none-the-less the Tradition has styled itself “Wiccan” ever since and will continue to do so until and unless the Elders decide differently.

 Ultimately however we consider Correllianism to be something unto itself: “A lens through which all things may be seen.” Though influenced by the movements it has grown up among and at times identified with, the Correllian understanding of the Universe is ultimately simply Correllian.

 In setting forth the Correllian understanding in writing, it has always been my intention that the materials should be available to all seekers, whether Correllian themselves or not. I do not believe that we are given spiritual insight so that we can hoard it to ourselves or hold it back from others who could benefit from it. If a better understanding of Spirit makes one a better person, then sharing spiritual understanding should make a better world.

 I hope that you find this new edition of the Correllian Degree materials interesting and useful in your personal spiritual journey.

 May the Blessing Be upon you,

 

Rev. Don

Most Reverend Donald Lewis-Highcorrell,
First Priest and Chancellor, Correllian Nativist Tradition

INTRODUCTION



 

 SO YOU WANT TO BE A WITCH

 So you want to be a Witch?

 What is all this witchcraft stuff, anyway?

 Does being a witch mean you can point your finger and make things happen? Does it mean you can learn to fly on a broom and turn people into toads?

 Well, not quite.

 Witchcraft, or WICCA, is a religion. Wicca is not primarily about magic, though it does use it. Wicca is about your place in the Universe and your evolution as a spiritual being. Wicca is about moving forward on your personal spiritual journey - about learning, growing, and becoming the most you can be.

 Wicca is a religion. Wicca is a way of understanding and interacting with Deity and the Universe. It is a life-affirming path of growth and expansion.

 Wicca is based on reverence for Nature and Her cycles, respect for the Earth and all Her creatures. Wicca reveres the natural forces of the Universe and sees them reflected in the world around us, and in every person and thing. 

 Wicca has great reverence for Deity, Who for us has both a Mother and a Father aspect.   Wiccans approach Deity through many names and forms, both masculine and feminine, drawn from all over the world and from every age. We often compare Deity to a diamond with many facets; each name or image for Deity is like one facet on the diamond. Each facet may be considered separately and all are beautiful in themselves, but all are aspects of the single stone.

 Wicca believes that Deity comes to each person in the way that is best understood by that person, and that this is different for different people. Wicca believes that the relationship between a person and Deity is highly individual, personal, and subjective. Not everyone will have the same understanding of Deity, because not everyone is in the same place, or able to understand from the same level or perspective. Because of this no one has a right to judge another persons relationship with Deity, because each person is different.

 This is why we respect all the names and forms that have been used to honor Deity through the centuries -Deity needs them all in order to come to all people in the way they can best understand.

 The most common way for Wiccans to approach Deity is in the form of the TRIPLE GODDESS, Whose three forms are Maiden, Mother, and Crone, and Whose symbol is the Moon. Her consort is THE GOD, Who rules the cycles of the solar year and is called among other things Lord of the Dance. His symbol is the Sun. They are viewed as POLARITIES, opposing but complimentary powers, like the Eastern concept of Yin and Yang. 

 Wicca has a very strong moral base. By “moral” we mean treating each other in an honorable and loving manner. Wicca has only one law which all traditions agree on; DO AS YOU WILL, BUT HARM NONE. In other words how you dress and who you sleep with is not our business -those issues are not what we mean by “morality.” But a moral person doesn’t hurt other people, and this is the criteria for all moral action; “Am I harming anyone?” If you are, you are acting wrongly.

 Wicca is a Pagan, or Native, religion. The word Pagan means “from the countryside” and reflects the fact that Pagans follow indigenous, native religions rather than the Book religions. Pagan religions are built up over millennia as a result of people’s observations and experiences - they are living, growing religions which can and do change when change is needed. Pagan religions revere the natural forces and cycles of life, and it is from observation and interaction with these that their beliefs developed.

 Wicca is wholly unrelated to the Book religions; Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and Satanism. The Book religions are all descended from the supposedly historical bargain between Abraham and Jehovah, which is recorded in their Bible. The Book religions all share common elements; belief in a final Day of Judgment, in a jealous and vengeful God, in the basic sinfulness of humanity (called Original Sin), the superiority of the male sex, and the idea of Hell; a place of eternal torture. Most of all the Book religions believe in the infallibility of their Book, the Bible (and its related books the Talmud, the Q’uran, the Satanic Bible). Though these books were written by humans, the Book religions claim they were written by God - this is the hallmark of the Book religions. Absolutely NONE of these ideas are shared by Wicca. The Book religions have a totally separate origin from the Pagan religions, and a very different history.