Don Lewis-Highcorrell - Witch School Second Degree: Lessons in the Correllian Tradition

Llewellyn Publications

Woodbury, Minnesota

Copyright Information

Witch School Second Degree: Lessons in the Correllian Tradition 2003, 2008 by Rev. Donald Lewis-Highcorrell.

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First e-book edition 2014

E-book ISBN: 9780738718217

Third Printing, 2012

second edition

(first edition 2003, 2007 Witchschool.com)

Book design by Rebecca Zins

Cover design by Kevin R. Brown

Interior priest and priestess illustrations from Dover Publications; other interior artwork by Llewellyn Art Department

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Contents

Lesson : The Tarot

Lesson : Physiognomy

Lesson : Astrology

Lesson : Magical Alphabets

Lesson : Numerology

Lesson : Death, Spirits, and Spirit Guides

Lesson : Sex Magic

Lesson : Magical Calendars

Lesson: Advanced Chakra and Energy Working

Lesson : Ley Lines

Lesson: The Ba Gua (Pu Kua)

Lesson : Group Dynamics

: Comparative Religions

Introduction

G reetings, and welcome to Correllian Wiccas lessons for the Second Degree of clergy.

The Correllian Tradition follows the three-degree system of traditional Witchcraft . Today, many Wiccan traditions have moved to a two-degree system, eliminating the Third Degree. We, however, favor the traditional system, believing that each of the three degrees has an importance of its own.

The symbol of the First Degree is the downward-facing triangle, which symbolizes the Goddess. This triangle portrays Spirit (Goddess) descending into Matter (God) through the medium of the journey of the soul. This represents the First Degree as a phase in which the initiate is suffused with the spirit of the Goddess and immersed in spiritual study and practice.

A First Degree priest/ess is expected to be familiar with the details of the Wiccan faith and have a thorough grounding in Wiccan philosophy and traditions. The First Degree priest/ess should be able to answer most questions about Wicca on a practical (as opposed to theosophical) level. At First Degree, a priest/ess should be able to take any role in ritual with reasonable confidence, short of ritual leader.

First Degree symbol

The symbol of the Second Degree of clergy is the pentagram, the five-pointed star facing upwards, which represents the union of Spirit with the four elements. This also represents the union of Goddess and Godthe Goddess being Spirit and the God being the lord of the material world, which is defined by the four elements. In this context, the pentagram represents taking the spiritual knowledge learned in the First Degree and applying it on a practical level, thus uniting Spirit and Matter through action. This is the role of the Second Degree.

Clergy of the Second Degree should be able to take any role in ritual and answer most questions about Wicca, whether practical or philosophical. Second Degree clergy should be able to manipulate energy in ritual and other settings with reasonable competence. The Second Degree priest/ess should be familiar with most Wiccan rituals and techniques and be able to undertake them without direct guidance.

Second Degree symbol

The symbol of the Third Degree of clergy is the pentagram surmounted by the upward-facing triangle. This represents the souls return to Source (Goddess) after achieving a perfect union of Spirit and Matter. In this context, it symbolizes the ability of a Third Degree high priest/ess to momentarily unite with Deity through trance in order to access divine energy or guidance.

A high priest/ess of the Third Degree should be able to achieve this union with Deity through the rite of drawing down the moon or its equivalent. This allows High Clergy to bring through divine messages, and it is this skill that gives the Third Degree the ability to facilitate initiation. Initiation is a difficult and easily misunderstood technique that is not used lightlynor is it infallible.

Third Degree symbol

When initiation is performed through self-initiation, or by a First or Second Degree priest/ess under the imperium of a Third Degree, it still uses the channel established by the Third Degree to facilitate it.

As this brief description points out, the role of the Second Degree clergy is one of practical application of the spiritual arts. The Correllian lessons for Second Degree have been crafted with the intention of providing a broad knowledge of practical metaphysical skills, as well as the theories behind them. Many of the basic ideas will be familiar to you from the First Degree lessons, but here you will find much more information about how to actually implement them in practice.

The Lessons

Like the lessons for First Degree, the Second Degree coursework in this book includes the following:

The Lesson

The main body of each lesson will be devoted to a single subject, examined in as much detail as space permits. Many of these lessons are noticeably longer than the First Degree lessons, as the Second Degree material is somewhat more complex, and we have attempted to provide as thorough a grounding as possible. Many of these subjects could easily fill a book in themselves. Obviously, these lessons provide only an introduction and a good basic understanding of these different topics, and we strongly encourage you to follow them with further research on your own. Some of the subjects we will deal with in the Second Degree lessons include traditional arts such as tarot and astrology, as well as deeper mysteries such as death and the spirit world.