In my teachings and encounters with fellow pagans - both teachers and students, I constantly encounter a similar story. Someone eager to break away from an oppressive religious teaching meets a Wiccan who inspires her and invites her to be a student. (Note: I am not implying that any one religion is oppressive, only that some have been taught in an oppressive manner.) At first, the learning is liberating to the new student. She is excited to be introduced to the ways of self-empowerment and to be revealed the secrets of ancient mysteries. But, as the story usually goes, at some point, the teacher becomes domineering, possessive or overbearing creating a very uncomfortable situation for the student - a situation not unlike the condition the student first sought to escape.

In this all-too-common scenario, the teacher begins to make demands upon the student that are not designed for the student’s growth. Instead, they serve the teacher only or serve to bolster the teacher’s ego and insecurities. These demands can be masked through the language of the mystical in order to make them seem more grand and necessary. There may be words like “I have seen that you should....” or “It has been revealed to me that you need to ....” Cosmic revelations may be real enough but they are always personal. In Wicca, we must stress that no one else can reveal truth to the individual. That is what makes Wicca unique and special. Teachers are only guides who point the way based on a range of experiences. It is up to each one of us to walk the path ourselves and interpret its meaning.
Sometimes, teachers are not even aware that they are doing these things. They may feel that they truly have the student’s best interests at heart but are led astray by their own desires and personal needs. Teaching is a wonderfully exhilarating experience. The respect and praise a student showers on her teacher is intoxicating - literally. Like a drug, the effects are exciting but when it’s over, you desire more and more. Soon, the need to have the experience outweighs the original intent - to be a guide for another person’s spiritual development, a teacher worthy of praise and respect.

How can a teacher avoid that deadly trap? How can a student know when she is being snared into this web? The teacher must adhere to a set of guidelines and the student must be aware of these guidelines and use them as a tool for assessing the teacher’s actions. It must be the teacher’s responsibility to adhere to some basic principles and it must be the student’s responsibility to point out to the teacher when she is not.

I have set up a series of guidelines for myself (as both a teacher and a student which is what we all really are.) I call these guidelines the Teacher’s Pentagram. They are five principles based on the five elements - the core of all Wiccan teaching.

The element of Air deals with the mind. Here the teacher must be concerned with acquiring knowledge. It seems only logical that a teacher must first know about a subject before teaching it to others but there are times when the desire to appear knowledgeable about something too soon becomes a driving force for poor decisions. This does not mean that you must know it all - that is simply not possible in one lifetime but you must attempt to know a subject as thoroughly as possible before teaching it to others. This is a continuos process. Like the student, the teacher must commit to constant learning. The teacher must be willing to admit that she cannot know it all. Student’s will respect your honesty and humility if you admit that you do not know something but are willing to make the effort to find out. Know when you know, know when you do not know and know when to admit it to yourself and others.

Fire represents the forces of energy of which the greatest energy is love. The teacher must have a selfless love of the student. This means that the teacher loves the student unconditionally. It is easy to love the student that follows your wishes to the letter and showers you with constant praise but can you also love the student that disagrees with you, that decides to study in a different way, that decides to stop studying altogether? Can you love the student for exactly who she is now and not for who or what you think she should be? These are the challenges of unconditional love for a tutor. Furthermore, that love must be extended to the teacher herself. A teacher must be happy with who she is as a person and in her abilities to teach fairly. I am not talking about a self-centered selfishness that ignores the needs of all others. I am talking about being accepting of the self in such a way that you do not need to define yourself through the work of others. A self-loving teacher offers what she has to a student out of a desire to share and help another grow and not to be able to say “look what I have done.” It seems ironic but true that the goal of a good teacher is to develop students who do no longer need them. Like sending a child off to school, the loving teacher wants the student to come to a point where she is able to go off on her own. Trying to possess the student will do neither the student nor teacher any good and may even cause harm to both. With selfless love and devotion, carefully nurture the young student, then let her go.

The element of Water is the representative of Soul - that spark of the spiritual force within all of us. The element of Water helps us to remember that we are all individual parts of a divine wholeness each deserving equal respect. As students should offer respect to teachers, so should teachers be willing to offer respect to their students. But respect must be earned from both. Teachers earn respect when they treat their students with dignity - balancing a need to push the student ahead with the need to provide support and encouragement. Students earn respect when they show a willingness to take on the hard lessons and exhibit the diligence to see them through. Both teacher and student should strive for the attainment and continuation of mutual respect. That respect must also be reflected not just in HOW we teach but in WHAT we teach as well. As guides in earth-centered spiritualities, we must be certain that each lesson discusses material that shows respect for the earth, our deities, and to all life. Otherwise, our teaching becomes hypocritical - a sure and definite death knoll to gaining respect.

The element of Spirit represents the basic cosmic energy in all things. This element serves to remind us that the focus of our teaching must always be spiritual growth. As teachers of the ways of God and Goddess, we must constantly remind ourselves that we must serve and teach for the greater good and not just for our own. The forces of nature, cosmic forces, the sun, the moon, the stars, the earth and all her creatures are the ultimate teachers. In the vast array of all life and energy, what can a single human teach? This sense of awesome humility serves to remind the teacher of her true place. As thinking beings we can observe the cosmos and we can make critical judgment about its workings and our place within those workings but we cannot be master of them. This is an important distinction between Wicca and many Western religions. We do not believe that we exist to control our environment. Rather, many believe that the world and the universe around us are all a living entity of which we are only a small part. If we are not master of the world around us how can we think to be master of another human being? As guides for the soul, we can point out interesting facts and relationships about visible and invisible realities but it is from those realities that the learning actually takes place. We cannot take credit for that learning. We must remember that students of earth-centered spiritualities do not really need human teachers. We may be able to speed up the learning process a bit or, better yet, we may be able to provide needed support and assurance but learning spiritual truths comes to the student when the student is ready. We must be willing to focus our teaching on these simple truths.

The final element in this discussion is Earth - the material. Here we are concerned with the methods and materials of teaching. The actual methods used will be based on careful consideration of all the previous elements. The teacher should ask herself questions like: (From Air:) Have I gained adequate knowledge of the subject matter I am about to teach? How can I get this information across in a clear and effective manner? What materials can I use? How can I assess my teaching to make it better? (From Fire:) Am I presenting this material in a way that does not harm or belittle myself, my students, and any others? Can I avoid unconstructive advise and be willing to impart much more praise than criticism? Is the learning challenging yet fun? (From Water:) Am I teaching in a manner that both offers and invites respect from my students? Am I teaching in a manner that respects the earth, God and Goddess, and all life? Am I providing the support and guidance that my students need while encouraging them to push on in their studies without expecting much in return? (From Spirit:) Am I teaching material that is designed to assist the students in their own spiritual growth? Am I encouraging learning from nature and the gods without taking credit for that learning? Is my teaching helping to make the lives of myself, my students, and all others a little better?

These are all worthwhile questions and guidelines for any teacher in any discipline but it may be even more important for Wicca. We stand at a particularly sensitive time in the development and growth of our religion. If we are to be considered seriously, we must be serious about what we do. Stories of abuse and the mistreatment of students and of overzealous teachers does great harm not only to practitioners but to the religion as a whole. A constant vigilance by both teacher and student must be maintained so that ours can be a religion of respect.