A PAGAN STUDENT'S BILL OF RIGHTS

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1. You have a right to the quality of education commensurate with the
medians in similar education for others in your chosen area. Check several
teachers or schools to find just what those medians are considered to be.

Corollary: You do not have the right to expect your teacher to be a
"SuperPriest/ess" who will fulfill your every need, want and desire. Today,
many are advertising themselves as "teachers" with little more than a few
years experience themselves, much of which may be book learning. Truly
experienced Elders and "Grand Masters" are exceedingly few and far between.
Consider yourself astoundingly fortunate if your teacher falls into this
category, but within reason, expect a teacher of Paganism to be human and
fallible - resolve for yourself to learn what you can from the situation you
are in.

2. The terms of your education shall be agreed upon in advance of its
commencement by mutual contract between both teacher and student. Either
party may at any time with prior advance notice, rescind said contract.
Don't accept an amorphous "well, we'll just take it easy and see what
happens" approach. You have the right to know exactly what to expect in
terms of time, commitment and subjects learned.

Corollary: You may not drop out of tutorial with a teacher without making a
reasonable attempt at telling them why you are feeling uncomfortable enough
to do so. Be specific, they need to know how their behavior affected you and
your potential for learning from them.

3. You have the right to expect a teacher who is compassionate, has a good
sense of humor, has respect for you and others and who has a healthy level
of self-esteem. A good teacher will admit when s/he is wrong in the moment
and will usually heark back to their own novice days with anecdotes of their
own trial and error to share with you. A good teacher knows how to maintain
the delicate balance between friendship and appropriate discipline.

Corollary: Any teacher who projects as "too perfect" definitely isn't.
Beware also the teacher who is continually in a state of personal woe -
these people need too much of your energy that you won't have to give them.
Walk out the door and keep searching.

4. You have the right for the teacher to always be truthful with you. Choose
teachers whose styles permit you to question freely, who "lead by example"
and show you as well as tell you the things you are learning. You can't
learn herbalism solely by reading books, some day you have to get out into
the garden and root in the dirt. Look for a teacher, whatever their
specialty, who does the equivalent in their particular form of practice.

Corollary: Beware of teachers whose main boast is how many books they've
read, or that all of their knowledge is "book learned". Such teachers will
not be giving you anything authentic that you cannot learn on your own from
the same books. A person "teaching" like this is perpetrating little short
of plagiarism. To bring in the danger factor, you do not want someone
"teaching" you the art of soul travel/astral projection who has never really
done it themselves. Don't be someone else's guinea pig. A teacher is a rich
resource not only of the literary materials they have consumed, but of their
own experiences: those triumphs, failures and illuminating moments of true
enlightenment that cannot be learned from any book in print.

5. You have the right to expect your teacher to hold a broad education
themselves, with specialty areas in which they might be considered to hold
above-average knowledge. Anyone purporting to be a teacher of Witchcraft,
Shamanism or one of the other forms of Paganism is held to a standard of
excellence in their own community, and usually will have specialized in some
branch or another of its components. Bonus points to a teacher who has
cross-cultural initiations or similar expertise/other cultural referents to
draw from. A broad educational base generally lends another primary desired
quality of a good teacher: a broad mind.

Corollary: Ask your teacher to name their teachers or others in the
community who know them, and talk to them before signing on to that
particular teacher's list. You may find they have an expertise in
permaculture, spellcasting or soul retrieval - or you may discover knowledge
that might lead you in another direction. It never hurts as a consumer of a
service, to obtain references.

6. You have the right to expect discipline from your teacher. You have the
right to expect that they will not let you get away with slackness in your
learning, presentation or commission of your duties to them. When learning,
expect no less than to apply yourself with the diligence most would reserve
for a graduate school degree. A good teacher does their own research and
give credit where it is due - expect the same of yourself. Be on time; ahead
of time even, for lessons and coven/circle activities as your teacher
should. Do one more bit of homework than is expected of you. Expect no less
than excellence of yourself and you will be richly rewarded.

Corollary: You have the right to expect your teacher to be firm, but
flexible within reason. Teachers should be expected to keep their
commitments to you as you do to them. Overly regimented structures are not
conducive to learning, although sometimes in some traditions, such
strictures may be put into place specifically to challenge you and help you
grow. Look for teachers who walk the balance between firm and flexible for
the best learning environment.

7. You have the right to expect change. Do not expect a smooth ride. Life is
its own powerful teacher - learning the arts of Shamanism or Witchcraft are
seriously advanced study in the crafting of your own soul. By virtue of this
process, your issues will be brought out into the open and you will be
expected to deal with them and act/react accordingly. How you react will be
noted by your teacher and you can expect to have such reactions become the
topic of discussion for your further growth. You have the right to expect
during these "spiritual crises" for your teacher/s to be there for you to
consult, lean on just a little bit and to provide you resources for getting
through. You do NOT however, have the right to call the teacher in the wee
hours every night of the week with a new crisis, to monopolize your
teacher's time for weeks on end due to a major crisis or series of smaller
ones. Some support is to be expected from a teacher, but not unlimited
support. Ask prior to your training what level of support the teacher is
comfortable giving you and adhere to that. Know also when to refer yourself
to a competent psychotherapist or healer. And if your teacher suggests you
do so, take their advice without quibble. Clinginess from crisis-prone
students who do not engage competent healing staff at the appropriate times
is one of the behaviors that can be incredibly abusive of the teacher. If
such clinginess is particularly time and energy consuming, it may cause the
teacher to end their relationship with you.

Corollary: Your teacher does not have the right to use information
concerning your spiritual crises against you, or to pass you off without
seriously attempting to help you. Any teacher who does this you should
immediately disengage from. Such a person is not the one to be trusting with
your soul and your psyche as is required from a teacher of the metaphysical
arts.

8. You have the right to be listened to, to have your questions answered and
the right to expect a reasonable amount of your teacher's time for the
discussion of issues you might have with your training, different areas you
wish to explore, etcetera. A good teacher like a good psychologist learns to
listen more than talk in order to know what is important and relevant to
you, the better to help them custom-craft your learning experience. Walk
away from teachers who refuse you time to state your concerns, pooh-pooh
your questions or who motormouth over your every utterance.

9. At the appropriate time, you have the right to expect your teacher to
either inform you that it is time for you to move on into your own practice,
or to be open to your suggesting something similar to them. A good teacher
expects their students to mature and progress beyond them and will be quite
pleased for you when this happens.

Corollary: Any teacher who keeps you hanging on indefinitely for initiation,
advancement, further training et. al. with prolonged and continual
protestations of "you're not ready!" when you know you are is not behaving
in a mature manner. If it gets to this point, leave and seek those who will
support your spiritual growth and advancement.

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