Liber ab Nomen (Book of Name)^23
Naming a seeker is the first Rite of Initiation, better known as the Wiccaning. It
was the first rite of Llew Llaw Gyffes who was initially denied a name by his mother but
whose mother was later tricked into giving him one (see Book of Humanity). Having
been separated from his mother for some time, raised instead by his mother’s brother
Gwydion, his mother did not recognize him when she saw him hunting one day. He fell
a bird with a single stone and she proclaimed that he was a ‘Bright lion with a sure
hand,’ and thus was he named Llew Llaw Gyffes. This naming is the acceptance of
one’s responsibility for all life that appears on this planet, a matter we will discuss in the
following chapter. It is in so much as to say to our Mother Earth that we know we have
been undeserving of a name, but here we demonstrate our worthiness.
The Rite of Wiccaning is both something a Wiccan couple might do for its child as
well as something the community should perform for anyone of good report. As such,
I believe that any public Wiccan organization that desires to be known of good report
should offer such rites once in a month. After all, this rite is simply the affirmation that
the community is present and available to the seeker. If an organization is not willing to
do that much, just what does it do for the public?
The rite need not be formal. But performing it formally will better educate an adult
seeker in the case of this rite being performed by a public group. In the case of parents
Wiccaning their child, the formality of this rite goes a long way towards educating the
participants, the friends and family, in the nature of the Wiccan religion. As the family
and friends of the parents might not be Wiccan, the rite is an excellent way to further
understandings.
Know first that should the seeker desire Wiccaning but not be of legal age, that not
only should a parent’s written and notarized permission be secured ahead of time, but
that a consent-giving parent or legal guardian should be present just as if the seeker
were an infant. While there is no hard rule that a body of Wicca not interact with
someone under the legal age, Wicca insists that all rituals be conducted with the full
consent of all who are involved. As we live in a society that chooses to protect its chil-
dren by stipulating a legal age of adulthood, should one be below that legal age he or
she cannot offer consent.The Rite of Self-Dedication
Self-Dedication to Wicca does not make one Wiccan. If you already have a Wiccan
soul, then you are already Wiccan. Although discovering that you are not alone might
feel as if you are blessed, do not think for a moment that having such a soul is a blessing
alone. It is also a curse. History has shown that those born with such a soul will be
persecuted simply because they are different. Think about your life and the way you
have felt about the world in which you live. Have you always felt different? Like no one
understands you or like you think in a way that others do not?
When your friends talk about casual sex, do you dream about falling in love? Do
you somehow know that racism is contrary to the nature of humanity? Have you alwaysg WB Chap 0.p65 23 7/11/2003, 5:47 PM