textfiles/occult/WICCA/test.txt

EXAMINATION OF MATERIAL: LESSONS*.TXT "THE SPIRAL DANCE" 


     The point of this test is not to see if you can copy the answers 
from the text, but for you to present the answers in your own words, 
to demonstrate your grasp of the material presented. Take all the time 
you need to do this test and feel free to re-read the material as much 
as necessary to answer the questions. Good Luck! (Question 11 is a 
test of your resourcefulness in searching out answers on your own.) 


1.   Name the three mysteries of the Triple Goddess. 


2.   Name the cultural sisters which are close in spirit to the Old 
Religion. 


3.   Where do the teachings of the Craft come from? What inspires the 
teachings? 


4.   What is Witchcraft NOT based on? Why? 


5.   Why did male shamans dress in skins and horns? 


6.   Describe the burial rites/customs of the early tribes. Explain 
the significance. 


7.   When and why were the first covens formed? 


8.   What major development in civilization changed the God from 
Hunter to Lord of the Grain and the Goddess from Lady of the Wild 
Things to the Barley Mother? 


9.   Explain the concept of the Divine Child. 


10.  Why were the menhirs and dolmen erected? What changed and 
amplified their power? 


11.  What is a passage grave (barrow)? 


12.  What does the Great Wheel represent? Why is it divided into eight 
parts.? Name the parts. 


13.  Explain the origins of the Faery Myths. 


14.  Who were the repositories of the old knowledge in ancient Ireland 
and Wales? Describe their profession. 


15.   When did the various Hereditary Witchcraft Traditions develop? 
Why did they develop? Are they any better than current traditions 
practiced in he United States? Why or why not? 


16.  Is Witchcraft a religion or poetry or thealogy? Explain 


17.  Explain the meaning of the symbol that is the Goddess. Why is She 
important for women? 


18.  Explain the difference between the Goddess and God-the-father. 


19.  Why is the Goddess important for men in our society? 


20.  Explain the Craft views towards sex and sexuality. 


21.  What is the basic ethic of the Craft? What does it mean? What 
does it mean to you? 


22.  What is the true function of Craft rituals? 


23.  Explain the statement, "Honor is a guiding principle in the 
Craft." 


24.  Explain the symbolism of the Dance of the Double Spiral 


25.  Briefly describe the phases of a regular Craft ritual. 


"#_%%%i! !  )19AIQYai WICCA 101 - SPIRAL DANCE 

# 

                          TEST - CHAPTER 2 1.  Describe the ordinary 
waking consciousness. What is its value? 

2.  Describe the extraordinary consciousness. What is its value? 

3.  What are the two main purposes of training regarding the magical 
    and psychic aspects of the Craft? 

4.  What is the "Price of Freedom" in Witchcraft? 

5.  What is Dion Fortune's definition of magic? 

6.  What is the basic attitude that the Craft takes to the world? How 
    is it awakened? 

7.  What is the difference between magic and psychosis? 

8.  Why is unsupervised use of drugs to alter consciousness 
     considered dangerous and irresponsible? 

9.   Explain both sides of the paradox symbolized by the Mirror. 

10.  Explain the statement; "Ecstasy is at the heart of Witchcraft." 

11.  On page 26, Starhawk explains the concept of the polarity of the 
     Goddess and th God. Explain this in your own words. 

12.  What does the Female force manifest as? 

13.  What does the Male force manifest as? 

14.  Is there a need for balance between the Female and Male forces? 
     What happens when the Female dominates? When the Male dominates? 

15.  Explain the Craft view towards death and rebirth. 

16.  Explain the Craft view towards aging and disease. 

17.  What are the threefold aspects of the Goddess? 

18.  Explain the duality of the God. What examples in nature 
     personify this duality? 

19.  Explain the concept of Divine Sacrifice. Compare it to self- 
     sacrifice. 

20.  What does Starhawk say about human sacrifice? What are your 
     feelings about this subject. 

21.  What sacrifices made by women make their bodies sacred and 
     inviolate? 

22.  Explain the concept of, and personality manifested by, the 
     Younger Self. 

23.  Explain the operation and limitation of Talking Self. 

24.  Explain the concept of the High Self. 

25. Explain the statement; "Witchcraft does not demand poverty, 
     chastity, or obedience." 


                        CHAPTER 3 


1. Describe  and explain the functions of the Witch's coven. 

2. What structure is a coven founded upon? How does it affect it's 
   members in their interactions with each other? 

3. Explain the concept of the Raith as it applies to covens. 

4. What are the usual steps a Witch takes in becoming a member of a 
   coven? 

5. What was the original function of a coven? What changed it? How did 
   the coven change? 

6. Explain the typical organization of authority within covens. By 
what 
   authority does a coven exist? 

7. Examine the concept of power-from-within, and relate it, and it's 
   ramifications, in your own words. 

8. What is the position of the Craft in regards to charging for 
   initiation or coven training? How does a coven pay for its 
supplies? 

9. Should a coven be a retreat from the world? Why or why not? 

10. On pages 45 and 46 of the Spiral Dance, Starhawk explains some of 
    the group dynamics of a coven. Do you agree with what she says? 
Why 
    or why not? 

11. What is the purpose of magical training? 

12. Name and define, in detail, the 4 basic abilities a Witch must 
    develop. 

13. Why is visualization an important capability for a Witch? 

14. What 3 things does Starhawk recommend as a basic, daily 
discipline? 

15. Have you started to keep a dream diary yet? If not, now is a good 
    time to start. 



                        CHAPTER 4 

1.  Where does a Circle exist, when it is cast by a Witch? 

2. Why does Starhawk define the casting of the Circle as an enacted 
   meditation? 

3. Contrast the function of a CIrcle in Witchcraft with the function 
of 
   one in Ceremonial Magic. 

4. Why is leaving the Circle during ritual discouraged? Why do you 
   suppose cats and very small children can cross the barrier of a 
   Circle without disturbing the force field? 

5. What is the accepted procedure for leaving a circle before the 
   ritual is ended if you are not a cat or very small child? 

6. What act marks the formal beginning of a ritual? What purpose does 
   it serve? 

7. What is always done before attending a ritual? What purpose does 
   this serve? 

8. Name two cleansing elements used in purification rites. What are 
   their attributes? 

9. What are the five directions of the circle? What groupings do each 
   of the directions correspond to and resonate with? 

10. What are the "Guardians of the Watchtowers"? Why are they evoked? 

11. What does the term Deosil mean? When would you want to move in a 
    Deosil direction? 

12. What does the term Widdershins mean? When might  a Witch move in 
    this direction within a circle? 

13. What is the true function of the tools of the Craft? What really 
    works the magic? 

14. Explain the different approaches taken towards working tools as 
    contrasted between Witches who lean toward Ceremonial Magic and 
    those who lean toward "kitchen" magic. 

15. Name the correspondences to an element, a quality of self, a time 
    of day and year, symbolic animals, forms of personal power, and to 
    the tools of the Craft for each of the five directions of the 
    circle. 

16. What is the general rule regarding the handling of another witches 
    tools? 

17. What is the Cord a symbol of? Why is it sometimes of different 
    colors? 

18. What purpose does the censer serve? What quarter is it identified 
    with? 

19. What does the Necklace symbolize? What materials can it be made 
of? 
    What symbols are appropriate to be worked on it? 

20. What happens when an altar is used for regular meditation and 
     magical practice? 

21. Generally, which way does the altar face in most Craft rituals? 
    Why? 



 SPIRAL DANCE TEST CHAPTER 5 


1. Explain the concept of Manifest Deity. 

2. Why does the Goddess bear the titles Earth Goddess, Queen of 
Heaven, 
   Star Goddess, Muse and Cosmic Lover? What do each of these titles 
   mean? 

3. What are the three aspects of the Moon Goddess? 

4. What Goddess of old do you personally associate with each of the 
   aspects in the previous question? 

5. What does the pentad or five-fold star stand for? 

6. What fruit contains a pentacle within itself? Where else has this 
   fruit played a part in contemporary religion? 

7. Explain the concept of the Creatrix-Destoyer. 

8. When are the tides of subtle power the strongest? 

9. Is Witchcraft a belief system? If not, what is it? 

10. What is the Law of the Goddess? Explain. 

11. What is the Mystery? Explain. 

12. What is the Goddess the symbol of for women? For men? 

13. What happens when the Goddess is invoked? What function does the 
invocation serve? 


SPIRAL DANCE TEST CHAPTER 6 

1. Why is the image of the Horned God in the Craft radically different 
   from any other image of masculinity in our culture? 

2. Make a chart of the aspects of the Horned God. On one side list 
what 
   they mean in the Craft and on the other side, what they were 
   perverted into meaning by the medieval Church. 

3. What positive male qualities would a man created in the Horned 
God's 
   image be free to express, if he strove to emulate Him? 

4. What relationship does the God bear to the Goddess? 

5. What radically different role model does the God present for men in 
   todays society? 

6. If the Witches God is the God of Love, what form(s) does this love 
   take? How does it compare to the non-Craft view of love in modern 
   society? 

7. What are men in the Craft urged to do in order to meet their need 
   for nurturing? Speculate on the type of relationship a Craft couple 
   would have if the male is connected with his inner Muse and the 
   woman is connected with the Mother Goddess. 

8. If the God is Eros and Logos, what develops when the bodily desire 
   for union and the emotional desire for connection is joined 
   together? 

9. Explain the aspect of the God known as the Dying God. How does this 
   affect us psychologically? 

10. Explain the concept of the Divine Hunter. Does a male in the 
Craft, 
    or a female for that matter, need to become a hunter to experience 
    this aspect of the God? What other  alternatives can you think of 
    that would allow you to connect with this aspect? 

11. Contrast the celebrations of the Goddess with those of the God. 

12. Explain each aspect of the God as you trace His progress around 
the 
    Wheel of the Year. 

13. It would seem, at first glance, that the Craft has more to offer 
to 
    women than to men. What do men have to give up when they choose 
the 
    Craft? Explain the new relationship to the female body required. 
    What are some of the more subtle and not easily comprehended 
    benefits offered to the men in the Craft? 

14. Explain the "Great Man" model of spirituality. How does it relate 
    to Witchcraft? 

15. What happens when the cosmos is no longer modeled on external male 
    control as embodied in the "God the Father" concept of 
    Judaeo-Christianity? 

16. What special benefits do men derive from being in the Craft and a 
    member of a Coven? 

17. Which would be worse - a religion which elevates men to power at 
    the expense of women, or one that exalts women and refuses to 
    acknowledge the existence of men? Explain why. 

"$`%%%k! !  )19AIQYai WICCA 101 - SPIRAL DANCE test chapter 7 # 

1. What is the "Craft" of witchcraft? 

2. Define magic. How does Starhawk describe what it is like to perform 
   magic? 

3. What physiological process takes place when one learns to work 
   magic? 

4. What is the first requirement of magic? What does it accomplish? 

5. How is the language of magic expressed? Why? 

6. Define what a spell is, and what often gets mistaken for a spell? 

7. What makes up a great body of magical lore? Why? 

8. What combined faculties are required in casting spells? 

9. Explain the concept of the magical will. How do you nurture it? 

10. Why is it accurate to say spellcasting is a form of do it yourself 
    psycho-analysis? 

11. There are two basic ways in which spells work. Explain each of 
them 
    and the principles behind them. 

12. Contrast the power of emotion and the directed energy of spell 
    casting. Explain the differences. 

13. Why don't spells work all the time, every time? 

14. Of all the planets, which celestial body influences the subtle 
    energies the most? Why? 

15. Name the four basic guidelines of spell casting, and explain each 
    of them. 

16. What must be established before a spell that influences another 
    person can work? How does this effect you? What law governs this 
    act? 

17. Explain the differences between, and the uses for, a hex and a 
    binding spell. Does the law of threefold return still hold true? 
    How might it effect the spell caster? 

18. Might not a love spell directed against a specific person be 
    construed as coercion? How would a wise witch go about attracting 
    love into her/his life? What is the usual result of such spells? 
    Why? 

19. Contrast the occurrence of an effective psychic attack with a 
    physical one. What state of mind is a far more pressing danger 
that 
    psychic warfare? 

20. What are some of the more subtle ways of attacking someone? What 
    can be done in defense? Is it ethical in the first place? 


SPIRAL DANCE TEST CHAPTER 8


1. What is the primary principle of magic? How does it work? 

2. Explain the statement, "To light a candle is to cast a shadow". 

3. Is the equilibrium of the universe static, or dynamic? How do the 
   rituals, spells, and meditations of the craft aid this equilibrium? 

4. What geometric shape does energy flow in and name some natural 
   phenomena that display this form. 

5. What are the implications of the Spiral Model? 

6. How may we learn to understand the workings of the underlying 
   physical reality of nature? Why would we want to? 

7. What is the key principle to raising energy? 

8. What demands must be met to practice magic as an art and as a 
   discipline? 

9. In what form is raised energy most often molded into in coven 
   rituals? What forms the base? Name three things the apex can focus 
   on. 

10. There is a conceptual model which conceives of subtle energy as 
    being of three basic types. Name each of these types of energy. 

11. Explain what "elemental" energy is and its relationship to the 
    subtle bodies that surround and interpenetrate the physical body. 
    Explain the energy of the consciousness and the energy of the 
    Goddess and God. 

12. What must occur before the higher consciousness will awaken 
    naturally? 

13. What must you learn before you will be more sensitive to the forms 
    and levels of power in rituals? 

SPIRAL DANCE test chapter 9 # 

1. What occurs when a witch trances? 

2. Where have trance techniques been found in the past? 

3. Name some of the more common forms of trance. 

4. What are some of the effects that are possible in deeper trances? 

5. Explain Starhawks' statement that "Classifying consciousness also 
   encourages 'higher than thou' games of one upsmanship." What is the 
   message here? Have you been able to break free of this trap? 

6. Are trance states subjective, objective, or both? Why? 

7. Describe the subjective part of trance. Describe the objective part 
   of trance. 

8. Define astral projection. What purpose does it serve? 

9. Name two ways of protecting yourself while you are doing trance 
   work. 

10. Explain the parallel(s) between trance and hypnosis. Are they the 
    same thing? Does it matter? 

11. What happens to our suggestibility to others as we increase our 
    awareness of the functioning of suggestion and use it deliberately 
    on ourselves? Why? 

12. What can we use our own suggestibility for? How? 

13. It has been said that trance can be dangerous. Why? 

14. What do the real dangers of magic stem from? Explain. 

15. How are cults born and perpetuated? What is the driving force 
    behind them? 

16. How does a cult reinforce its members defenses and stunt their 
    personal growth? 

17. Name two other defense strategies and explain them. 

18. What advice does Starhawk give for dealing with, and helping 
    projectors and "sickies". 

19. Explain the role of drugs in a traditional society. Why aren't 
they 
    used in our society withing the same context? 

20. What's the best protection when learning to trance? Why? 

21. What does expanded awareness begin with? 

22. What value do dreams have? 

23. Name as many ways of 'opening the door without a key' as you can 
    find in the Spiral Dance. 

24. Name the four related principles of trance induction. Explain. 

25. Relate some ways of 'going forth into the night'. 

26. What blocks the trance state? 

27. Which elements of trance induction are present in a good ritual? 

28. What purpose is served when a ritual goes into the 'cakes and 
wine' 
    phase? Why is it necessary? 



END OF TEST FOR CHAPTER 9 

SPIRAL DANCE test chapter 10 # 


1. Briefly explain the significance of an initiation. 

2. Why is the timing of an initiation important? 

3. What conditions should be met before a dedicatee is probably ready 
   for initiation? 

4. Why must the leaders of a coven carefully consider who they will 
   initiate, and who they will not? 

5. What makes up the theme of an initiation? 

6. What is the true face of the Shadow? Explain. 

7. Who is the Guardian of the Threshold? What is his aspect? 

8. What does an initiation traditionally begin with? 

9. What is the purpose of the ritual bath? 

10. Explain the meaning of the phrase "Feet neither bound nor free". 

11. What is the Perfect password for entering an initiatory circle? 

12. What is the purpose of taking an initiates measure? What 
    circumstances dictate who keeps it? 

13. What parallels can be drawn between the witch's initiation and the 
    Knighthood ritual under the code of Chivalry? 




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