A lot of people nowadays don’t trust secrecy. Well, in fact, they never have. Especially if it is a secret society. Conspiracies always abound as to what happens in those places. Why the secrecy? What do they have to hide? Everyone should have access to that knowledge. What evil is afoot in those places? And on it goes.

Mystery Traditions
My definition of what constitutes a Mystery Tradition is as follows:

A Mystery Tradition is an occult Order that is composed of initiations in which an individual may reach self-development, discipline, and union with the Divine by being exposed to symbols and signs unique to the Order.

Someone initiated into a Mystery Tradition is known as a mystic. This word was solely used for an initiate. However, over the course of time it has come to mean anyone who feels spiritual, specifically through meditation or contemplation of “spiritual truths.”

In ancient Greece, the definition of a mystic was one whose “eyes and lips were closed.” That is, the initiate swore not to reveal what they had experienced. Although a Greek word, the concept stretches into prehistory and is a premise shared by other secret societies around the world. They have included groups of men, women, warriors, Spirit Walkers, whole tribes, and more. To be a part of these groups means that one would need to pass a trial, an ordeal. One has to prove oneself in order to welcomed in.

But how exactly did they come to be?

Birth of the Mysteries
The answer is that we don’t know. One individual, Brian Hayden, in his “The Power of Ritual in PreHistory: Secret Societies and Origins of Social Complexity,” attempts to place secret societies at the forefront of archaeology. The author argues that they had a central role in the evolution of different societies, such as why religious centers, temples, and artwork had such a huge emphasis. Moreover, that such groups may have held control over their clans, tribes, or nations. Using esoteric knowledge, they communicated their secret language in public discourse by using symbols. The true knowing of these symbols would only be known to the initiates – the mystics.

Be that as it may, different mythologies also exist which refer to the Gods and spirits coming down and teaching humanity the Mysteries. For example, in Greek myth, the Grain Goddess Demeter taught the Eleusinian Mysteries. The Eleusinian Mysteries were the most famous in all of Greece and throughout the Aegean world. When Hades, the God of the Underworld, kidnapped Demeter’s daughter Kore, Demeter began to search for her. Disguised as an old woman, she then went to the city of Eleusis and remained there for a time.

It is said that while at Eleusis, she cared for the Queen’s son named Triptolemus. She fed him from her breast. As a result, he grew to be a man quickly. The Goddess then ordered a temple be built to her and taught him the secrets of agriculture. Based on these, the Eleusinian Mysteries were born. We have little idea as to what exactly went on. There are conjectures to be sure, however, the initiates who undertook this journey kept silent about it. The Mysteries lasted for two thousand years, until the advent of Christianity. In Egypt and throughout the Graeco-Roman world, the Goddess Isis established the Mysteries of Osiris.

To Be Silent
Initiates who had undergone these rituals were under a vow of secrecy. Unlike subjects which could be taught and contemplated, the Mystery Traditions were experiential: there were sights, sounds, smells, and tactile sensations which only the initiates knew. These parameters allowed for a true illumination into the afterlife and it also changed their lives.

Why secrecy?

As mentioned, they were experiential phenomena. While there is a lot to conjecture, I believe that the powerful signs and symbols used therein were effective in bypassing conscious thought and reached more into the subconscious. I call this landscape the Sea of Dreams. Labeling the subconscious the Sea of Dreams, to me, speaks volumes about how the subconscious interacts with the rest of the Mindscape.  The Sea of Dreams is the ocean of Memory as well as the depths of the Mind. Here, symbols are understood and, via contemplation, are keys that open the pathways to Gnosis. Gnosis means “knowledge,” specifically an instinctual form of knowledge which impacts the spirit and leads one to Illumination.

The secrecy behind such things is because there needs to be proper preparation and proper mental focus to even come before the Gods and achieve Gnosis from them. Secrecy protects the Sacred. Jesus said in Matthew 7:6 not to throw pearls before swine. Some concepts are much too valuable for prying eyes (even the Christians have their Mysteries). The Mystery Traditions are for those courageous enough to want their lives changed and their spirits awakened.

The Wiccan Mysteries
Traditional Initiatory Wicca (TIW) is a Mystery Tradition. TIW has its beginning in England around the 1950s with a man by the name of Gerald Gardner (although there are roots going back further). His band of initiates were derisively called “Gardnerians.” Although now the name has stuck and people from those lineages belong to the Gardnerian Tradition. It is the oldest TI Wiccan trad out there. The second oldest is the Alexandrian Tradition, founded by a British witch named Alex Sanders. It is this latter one that I am an initiate. I do not mean to ignore other Wiccan Trads; I am merely using these two since they are the oldest.

There has always been an argument about the question of initiation by group or self-initiation. I’ll save that topic for another blog. Suffice it, for now, to say that unless you have been properly prepared and properly initiated into one of those two traditions, than you are not a TI Wiccan (read: Gardnerian or Alexandrian). You cannot be what you do not belong to.

The Wiccan Mysteries are a system of Witchcraft, and the initiates themselves are referred to as a priesthood of the Old Gods. There is a lot of training in many covens to prove one’s worth to join the priesthood. However, because the Mystery Traditions are secretive, many (including Neopagans and other witches) wonder just why the secrecy. In this Information Age, people desire to know everything. Even if they don’t practice it, the question becomes why all of the disguises? What are Wiccans hiding?

Rumors have always been spread of child sacrifice, Satanic rituals (sorry Satanists we know you guys aren’t bad), orgies (I have yet to be invited to one with other Wiccans), and heavy drug use (I have yet to have someone offer me marijuana gummies). Corruption of the youth and the breakup of families is also blamed on this secret society.

But one thing escapes people about secret societies. I lectured at a local Unity church and spoke about Trad Wicca. One person in the audience asked about the secrecy: the same questions as posed above. I quickly answered, “Rather than secret, I think the better word is private.” You see, Wicca and other Mystery Trads are about family; tribe and kin are also often used by me (and others) to describe the atmosphere of covens, lineages, and overall Traditions. Like the Mysteries of Old, the ordeals and initiations are experiential, and therefore beyond mere words can describe. To add, secrecy also adds protection to its members. No one is allowed to “out” another witch. It is the reason monikers are created such as Rhiannon, Oracle, Merlyn, Silver Ravenwolf, Oberon Zell, and more. Choosing to use legal names is an individual choice; but even then they have to be out themselves.

Mystery Trads and secret societies have a right to privacy. Their esoteric knowledge is theirs alone. Most folks – if they possessed the “secret” Books of Shadows or grimoires linked to the Mysteries – probably wouldn’t know what to do with them. For most, they’ll end up on the bookshelves as a collection. Besides, the Trads are more than books. They have oral lore, and that is the heart of the Craft. There are already existing Books of Shadows and magical grimoires in occult stores; few have worked through these books and merely keep them as curiosities.

The privacy is about how we connect with the Gods and spirits of our Craft, how we protect our tribe, and how we manage our magic. There is little to gain for the outsider who is angry about knowledge that isn’t passed out to them without the privilege of earning it. Again, in this Information Age everyone wants to know everything. But what is lost is how much people must earn the privilege to it. Yes, there is a privilege. Privacy is paramount among families. This is as it should be. I don’t want just anyone walking in my door and demanding to know everything about me. They have zero right to that information. I think the issue of privacy needs to be understood, because with it comes boundaries. As a compilation of religious movements, Neopagans and other Witches need to respect that. Not every tradition is meant for everyone. That’s okay. Simply being yourself is good.

Take a look at the history of various Mystery Trads, and you’ll see the root of occult Orders. Some things are better left unsaid and experienced. The enchantment disappears when you hear about something. But still, nothing prepares you for the actual moment. If and when you do decide to undertake the thorny path, keep in mind that you’re a seeker for Illumination. And with that comes the right to your privacy.

Eirene kai Hugieia!
(Peace and Health!)
Oracle