A key idea for me is that ritual is something social.  Those of us coming together in a circle may not in fact have any other connections beyond this time and place, but for the moment we have entered together into a space between worlds (to use some of the language often associated with a circle).  This is why I continue to think of a coven, even an improvised one, as the key to Wicca.  Many individuals have no choice but to be solitaries, yet I think something is missing.

In this section I write about myself and my own Jesuit background.  I mention that I was trained a form of meditation that emphasized visualization.  Since I am psychologically more a verbal than a visual individual, this had always been an exercise in frustration.  Later on I did become familiar with Tibetan techniques, and at that point I began to understand how in fact I could use my imagination more effectively as a means of spiritual involvement.

It was then that I found I was much less alienated from traditional religious expression than I had been before.  My mistake, I realized, was to be caught up in the beliefs apart from the poetry.  A spiritual path did not have to be bound to a particular dogmatic system.

For more about Tibetan techniques, which I have tried to incorporate into the Pale Horse teachings, you might want to check out this introduction to Tibetan Buddhism, and for an interesting presentation of the Jesuit technique look at this discussion of spiritual fitness.

What I want most in these lessons is that you think of Wicca as more than a collection of old myths accompanied by fun reenactments.  Think of Wicca as a genuine spiritual path.