In this section I come as close as I think I ever have to explaining what I mean by the Blue Lake Doctrine.

What I invite you to do at this point is think through for yourself what you want out of a spiritual path.  Let's look at possibilities.

• You want a set of answers for the deep questions about the meaning of your life.
• You want the assurance of salvation (whatever that might mean to you).
• You want a sense of membership in a group that you respect.
• You want recognition by others of your own worthiness.
• You want an enhancement of your natural abilities.
• You want entry into a secret organization with special powers.

And now let's think about what's going on with each of these.

I'll start from the bottom.  I grew up with comic books in which the hero had special powers or special technology (I always preferred Batman, because there was nothing "supernatural" about him as there was with his colleagues in the old Justice Society of America) but his real identity was unknown--and my favorite episodes were inevitably those in which that identity seemed about to be revealed, as when Batman and Catwoman were ready to take off their masks and then they end up driving through a cloud so that it doesn't matter.  The old lodge magic, what was there with groups such as the Golden Dawn, approximated this.  The adept gained a secret knowledge, but in the world around this alter ego would be unknown.

This "secret society" mystique is still there in Hollywood depictions of the occult.  What I hope you all recognize is that this remains entirely a fantasy, although in Tibetan literature there is the idea that a wise master might encourage this fantasy as a means to leading the disciple to a deeper truth.

What of the other options?  I think looking for recognition simply ignores a basic truth about interpersonal dynamics in that in any group, whether the most serious monastery or the corner chess club, being misunderstood or having one's actions misinterpreted is something of a rule rather than an exception.

And a sense of membership?  Well, this has to be defined more carefully.  I belong to Coven X--wow!  I've been inititated into the twelfth degree in Secret Lodge Y--wow!

In the original Gardnerian picture this did seem to be very important.  A visitor to a coven might be expected to cite bona fides in much the same way an individual would announce what degrees he had from a particular university.  In today's Pagan communities I think this is no longer much of an issue, and groups themselves are far more ephemeral.

Salvation or whatever?  Here the question might be from what one expects to be saved.

Ultimate answers?  Maybe not, unless in the paradoxical sense that accepting the ambiguity or uncertainty is itself the answer.

Enhancement of your natural abilities?  Yes, I think this is reasonable, and perhaps the only goal that is.  Again there can be a element of paradox in this: the task is to be more fully what you already are but perhaps do not know you are.

So can the Craft play a role in this?  Here there are only individual answers, but one thing that strikes me is that it can do so only if there is not so much an effort to have it mimic other religious institutions.  Wicca made into another church might be able to offer what many look for from religion as a type of social setting, but I worry about something getting lost when this happens.

Your thoughts on this?