Re: Initiation

From: jeffkyer <jeff.kyer_at_...>
Date: Mon, 29 Jul 2002 12:20:11 -0000

> In response to Wulf's queries: 1) That would be an Orlanthi "all", I
> imagine; and 2) the so-called "first initiation" is that of communal
> worship, and binds the initiands to the Storm Pantheon in general.
The
> later, "second initiation" is to a specific god or subcult thereof.
> Devotees undergo a "third" and priests a "fourth", I imagine.
>
> --
> Michael Richard Schwartz | Language is my playground,
> mschwartz_at_m... | and words, its slides and
> Ann Arbor, Michigan USA | swingsets. -- yours truly

This would be my take on the matter as well. Everyone who has a soul (good point, Peter) would undergo this initiation. I think that those who had spirits would do this as well - but they would see things differently. It establishes one as a part of the community. Those who do not undergo it are never considered adults.

You spend the next year involved in learning the rituals and cult your elders think you are suited to. Then you spend a year learning what appeals to you or what you think calls to you. After that time, you choose/are chosen. I suspect that there are a lot of youngsters who deem some of the more violent or strange deities "cool" but just can't measure up to the pace... Somtimes, your elders are right afterall.

Jeff