Thea Sabin - A Teaching Handbook for Wiccans and Pagans: Practical Guidance for Sharing Your Path

About the Author

Thea Sabin is an editor and writer whose professional work currently focuses on web content management, curriculum development, and instructional design. She holds a masters degree in education and has taught a variety of subjectsincluding writing, editing, high school English and theater, gardening, cooking, crafts, Wicca, and astrologyoff and on for more than two decades. A practicing Wiccan since her teens, she first started teaching Wiccavery, very badly and long before she was readyin college. She wrote this book in the hope that it would help other teachers find the confidence to teach Paganism and get a better start than she did. Her first book was Wicca for Beginners . In the little spare time she has, she likes to do anything related to art, play with her megalomaniacal parrot, watch very bad foreign movies, and travel whenever possible.

Llewellyn Publications

Woodbury, Minnesota

Copyright Information

A Teaching Handbook for Wiccans & Pagans: Practical Guidance for Sharing Your Path 2012 by Thea Sabin

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First e-book edition 2012

E-book ISBN: 9780738730011

Book design by Rebecca Zins

Cover design by Lisa Novak
Cover image of Japanese maple Jonathan Cohen/Vetta/PunchStock

Cover illustration from 1100 Designs and Motifs from Historic Places by John Leighton (Dover Publications, 1995)

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Contents

: Teaching Our Teachers

Benefits and Challenges of Teaching

Space, Time, Energy, Money, and Legalities

Finding and Screening Students

Adult Learning Styles

Some Basic Teaching Techniques

Creating a Class Session

Preparing to Teach an In-Person Class

Giving a Great Presentation and Interacting with Students

Taking It Online

A Few Possible Pitfalls

Care and Feeding of the Teacher

From Teacher to Clergy

: Okay, Now Go Change the World!

: Screening Questions

: Sample Syllabuses

: Resources

: About the Interviewees

L ife is amazing, and the teacher had better prepare himself to be a medium for that amazement.

Edward Blishen

Acknowledgments

I would like to acknowledge the Pagan teachers who took time out from their often-crazy schedules to allow me to interview them for this book: Anne Marie, Brian, Christopher, Ellen, Holli, Melanie, Oberon, Patrick, Pete, Sarah, Stephanie, Sylva, and Thorn. It was very important to me that this book reflect the experiences of many teachers, not just mine. Thank you for generously sharing your stories and wisdom.

Every teacher is the product of the hard work of many other teachers. Its impossible to list all my teachers, but I especially want to acknowledge Shekinah, Otto, Dot, Adam D., Abuela M., Eran, Akasha, and my extraordinary grandmother. This book is as much the result of your hard work as it is my own.

Id also like to thank my students, who have taught me far more than I have ever taught them and who have been incredibly patient while I neglected them to finish this book. All of you inspire me every day, and I am proud to know you.

Thanks also to the people closest to me, who have put up with me during this not-so-pretty writing process. Thanks to Alicia and Pam for understanding the therapeutic properties of bad monster movies and road trips involving coconut cake and drag queens. Thanks to Susan, my patient and serene sister-friend, who helped keep me (reasonably) sane and who I want to be like when I grow up. And thanks to Ken, who made me laugh throughout this process and who stubbornly refuses to understand how incredibly important that was. I love you, goofy boy.

And extra-special thanks to my mad scientist-Zen-ninja-MacGyver-caveman-ubergeek husband, who did extra chores, taught extra classes, transcribed endless interviews, took care of my beloved pets, put up with my crankiness, and never let me give up. You are my partner in crime, my rock, my love, and a kick-butt high priest to boot. Go make fire, baby. But not in the living room this time, okay?

W hatever you can do, or dream you can do, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it!

Goethe

Introduction

Teaching Our Teachers

I was inspired to write this book because I frequently get letters, email, and Facebook messages from people looking for teachers. All the time, I hear things like There arent any teachers in my area, I dont know where to start, I know there are online classes, but I dont know which ones are best for me, I want to find out if this path is for me, I really want to learn the [name of tradition here] tradition, and I want to study with others.

Most of these people are aware that there is a ton of information on the Internet, lots of books available, and mentorship and even community online. But many people yearn for more. They want a personal connection in their spiritual growth. They want someone to see their magic and feel their energy and tell them that theyre doing it right. They want the experience of communing with deity in the presence of like-minded otherswhether that be in person or onlineor at least with the guidance of like-minded others.

As more and more seekers explore Paganism, there just arent enough teachers to go around. Although having a teacher is not necessary for being Paganself-training is perfectly valid, many Pagans never have a teacher, and some prefer to be self-taughtthe demand for teachers is still far greater than the supply. The upshot is that Pagans who have never taught are stepping up to fill the gap, which not only educates one person or group but ultimately strengthens the whole community.

Druid and author Ellen Evert Hopman considers service to the communityincluding teachingan essential part of being a Druid:

In ancient times, Druids were advisors to the kings. The Druid was the teacher, the genealogist, and the historian for the tribe. In other words, they were serving the tribe. You performed a function for the tribe. There is no such thing as a solitary Druid. So in order to really be a Druid, as far as Im concerned, you need to be serving somebody.