Somewhere along the way
someone fostered the bright idea
that to be a Teacher of the Craft
meant that you have to be perfect !

Ok so why do I bring this up?
Because I'm a teacher :)

And I am not perfect

Now in most things, the Craft being no exception,
one expects one's teacher to
be at least more knowledgeable than oneself

If they are not why try to learn from them. :)

So it's a given, one assumes,
that they have some knowledge you don't
and will, to the best of their ability,
share that understanding with you

But why this demand for perfection for a Craft teacher ?

Well here's one reason why

In many books of the Craft I have read,
With regard to choosing a teacher it says,
" if the teacher is not well off, in a good state of health
and overall has a good home life,
they are not someone you want as a teacher "

Which is not a direct quote from any one
but a general agreement many of them share

Now one does need a " rule of thumb" to pick and choose

But

This statement implies that if the "teacher "
can't magick up the good things for themselves,
health, wealth etc.. then they must not be very good at the Craft !
Which doesn't take into account anything else

Which is, in a word .. BullCookies !!!

As if the Craft were a job one does ..
that you can see the effects of in tangible terms
like one would ,if they were "successful"
as we measure every other "trade" by obouvoius gain

The Craft is not some job we do, it's a way of life,
a life spent for the most part in the service of others ..
And that life has a lot of lessons to learn, if one is to be any good at it,
not the least of which ,is how to deal with problems

Magick is not the answer to every problem
In fact, one must learn to over come many problems
before one can Even begin to learn Magick !

But that knowledge and understanding of reality
often comes through much trial and tribulation
And part of that understanding is'
this "yardstick" of fitness to teach ... often fails

Health:

Ever heard of the wounded healer ?
I am one, A healer of the body who is themselves ill

This phenomena has been about since the dawn of man ...
and even the most primitive man would understand it.
We are so "sophisticated" however, we are often too blind to see
that as the body fails the power tends to increase ...
Why ? Simple, as the shaman pulls away from the mundane life,
they have more energy and time to devote to the spiritual ..
Its a very simple idea, a moments thought and you can see why
it works, but too many reject my hands as a healer
as they figure if I was any good
I would just heal myself wouldn't I ?

Point in fact I have lots and lots of practice of those skills
as I must use them daily .. On me !

The Teacher as Counselor :

Who better to know the forbils of a person
than one who has had to overcome those things themselves ?

It's a simple fact
that one who has never known depression
or had some personality flaw they had to overcome
cannot see or truly understand this in another,
nor can they really help them overcome it.

I'm sure a few devotees of Sigmund Freud
would majorly disagree with me on that one, but be that as it may :)

Wealth :

Can you really trust someone whose so far above you in station
and wealth that they have no idea what it means to be you ?

Just remember your own feelings,
when some smart newsperson asked a now Ex
President the cost of a loaf of bread, and they couldn't answer them

That presidents credibility took a major nose dive that day
because it proved he was so far removed
from the needs and understanding
of day to day life, for the average man ..
out of touch with the very people, he is supposed to serve

Not to mention major wealth ,as any really well off person
will tell you, major wealth requires massive amounts of ones time
just to maintain it ... which means
they would have no time to teach you
Wealth and position are not always an advantage

So what has all this to do with your choice of a teacher ?

It means that things are not always what they seem

I am a teacher ...... while I have had many
moments of Joy in the Mothers service
I do not fit the profile of " perfect " by a long shot

I am not wealthy
.... I am not even in good health ....
and I'm far from a saint ... I have as many faults as the next person

Pick a job, Ive most likely done it ..
Name a pain, I have most likely felt it
Pick a limitation, I have most likely had to overcome it
Problems ? Had more than I want to even try to list
A million things that any student that comes to me may be facing
That I can relate to

And that's the whole point

The student has got to be able to relate, the teacher has to have
" been there done that" , in order to have any credibility
in my opinion, and I have seen this to be true over and over

It's why I believe, the Great Mother "lets"
for want of a better word, those of us
who are to teach, go through so much experience, the good and the bad ..
We almost have to ..

How else can we "know" what it means to struggle with  life
If it came with no cost ?

How else to know what it means to be in pain of any kind
and live to overcome it ?

As pain is part of being human
but we cannot allow it to run our lives,
nor can we avoid it entirely either.
How we deal with it ,however, can be learned

How else to know how hard it is to try and wrest time
out of trying to make a living
to study, to learn and grow on the path  ?

When it's what we ask our student to do despite
the demands of life and making a living

How else to know what it means
to have major scars of mind or body, if we have had no wounds ?
When we ask the student to examine the self
and rid themselves of scars that limit, we must show the way

How else to learn how not to let the errors of the past limit,
if we had never made any mistakes ?
When we ask a student to grow past their own mistakes,
we have to be able to tell them how

How else to know how to live with betrayal ,
if we have never been betrayed ?
When the student has been hurt  and betrayed
what do we tell them ?

How else to know how to deal with grief, if we have never felt it ?
When the student is burdened by pain for any reason

How else to learn what is really important in this life,
if we never have to make choices ?
If the student is wrapped up in the Mundane
to the point were it becomes their life
and there is no longer a choice ?

The Teacher must know not only the Craft,
but themselves in full detail
as well as have a good understanding ,
soul deep, of the kinds of problems
that they will see and have to deal with
in any student that comes to their door

For we often teach more about living, than the Craft ,
at least at first, for the Craft cannot BE learned properly
with all that baggage in the way

We cannot aid the student with their burdens, and help them to learn
if we ourselves have never carried any of them or had
to over come our own weaknesses

Every time some dip in the road comes along now I ask Mother,
what Lesson is this here to teach me ?
Help me learn it well, so the next person perhaps
doesn't have to learn it the hard way

This is what it means to be a Teacher ... not perfection
Not, never having had troubles but,
To knowing that even the "bad" events
are just another lesson to be learned about ourselves
And learn them well

A Teacher is one who will hand down that lesson,
and perhaps make another's road down the path a bit easier

Companion works

Elders

Teaching Ethics
A two way street

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