When the Student is Ready
October 15, 2007
by Jeffrey Pierce
Both Sparrow and Bear have been asking me to teach them magick. Well, Sparrow has been literally doing ritual and trying to figure things out since she as three or four years old, but now they're asing for focused lessons.
We've been doing little things here and there and I've been giving them concepts to employ for the last year. Finally, today, they pinned me down and asked me when we'd start.
Since we're right in the middle of moving, I told them that we'd begin lessons as soon as we were settled into the new place. We talked for a little bit about what it would entail, some of the history of the Craft, and the need for secrecy. I'll be putting together all of this in a series of articles sometime in the future, but at the end of the discussion, I asked them both if they were ready to begin their training.
Both of the kids were quiet for a long moment. Sparrow nodded and very confidently stated, "I'm ready."
Sparrow has been ready for years.
Bear took a bit longer to consider things.
"Dad?" he offered at last. "I don't think I'm ready yet."
I smiled and gave him a huge hug. "Buddy," I told him, "I am so proud of you for being able to hear your own heart. There's nothing wrong with not being ready yet - in fact, you're doing exactly the right thing by listening to your heart and doing what's right for you."
Bear's uncertain honesty blossomed into a big smile.
"I love you, Dad."
"I love you too, Buddy."
"I'll be ready one day," he added.
"I know," I assured him. "And even if that day never comes, I'll still be proud of you. Don't worry about anything. Right now, I just want you to have fun and play."
"Dad?" he asked.
"Yeah, Buddy?"
"Will you play with me?"
I replied with a big smile of my own. "You bet."