It’s a pretty common question these days: “can you teach me how to do [insert skill here]?” Most times, whoever is asking the question really has no business trying to learn it (yet), but periodically I encounter folks who have the aptitude, but lack the know-how. They’re frequently frustrated when I turn them down, and some have taken it personally.
I read another blog post by someone recently that touched on this subject, and it got me thinking. Unfortunately, I cannot remember who wrote the article, but they made some particularly valid points that hit home for me.
I’ve taught a few classes in the past, and while I had some fun with the experience, it became pretty clear that teaching is not for me. I love the practice of magic in its entirety: I enjoy evoking spirits, talking shop, and working the energies to make things happen….trying to teach it to someone else, however, is totally not my game. Whenever it comes up, I just feel awkward and bumble around. Some of it is genuinely that I’m unsure what to say, but most of this unease comes from the fact that I don’t really feel as though its mine to teach. I learned these Arts from spirits, so it seems to me that it is their job, responsibility, and pleasure to teach it to others. I shouldn’t be stealing their thunder and taking credit for the things they taught me to do do.
Furthermore, I’m a Leo. Arrogance is a major influence and tendency with my sign, and so I know that attempting to teach others will lead to my getting a big head; once the Magical Arte devolves into an ego-stroking contest, no one gets anywhere. Especially not the person whose ego is being stroked.
The pondering I’ve done on the subject has lead me around to another point that I felt more strongly about in the past: we’re human beings in meat suits trying to learn from other human beings in meat suits. We are imperfect, flawed, and altogether screwed up in our own individualized kind of way. We’re victim to our own needs and wants, as well as to a strictly human perspective. Spirits have their own needs and wants, but their perspective is different because they live and breathe magic in a completely different way. Thus, the intelligent and wise ones make some pretty excellent teachers if you can get through their lesson plans. I’m more comfortable sending folks to their door than I am with trying to teach them myself.
This isn’t a knock against other workers who teach, but its just not really the focus for me. I’ll stick to writing out informative blog posts. ;)
Happy hunting,
SE
I read another blog post by someone recently that touched on this subject, and it got me thinking. Unfortunately, I cannot remember who wrote the article, but they made some particularly valid points that hit home for me.
I’ve taught a few classes in the past, and while I had some fun with the experience, it became pretty clear that teaching is not for me. I love the practice of magic in its entirety: I enjoy evoking spirits, talking shop, and working the energies to make things happen….trying to teach it to someone else, however, is totally not my game. Whenever it comes up, I just feel awkward and bumble around. Some of it is genuinely that I’m unsure what to say, but most of this unease comes from the fact that I don’t really feel as though its mine to teach. I learned these Arts from spirits, so it seems to me that it is their job, responsibility, and pleasure to teach it to others. I shouldn’t be stealing their thunder and taking credit for the things they taught me to do do.
Furthermore, I’m a Leo. Arrogance is a major influence and tendency with my sign, and so I know that attempting to teach others will lead to my getting a big head; once the Magical Arte devolves into an ego-stroking contest, no one gets anywhere. Especially not the person whose ego is being stroked.
The pondering I’ve done on the subject has lead me around to another point that I felt more strongly about in the past: we’re human beings in meat suits trying to learn from other human beings in meat suits. We are imperfect, flawed, and altogether screwed up in our own individualized kind of way. We’re victim to our own needs and wants, as well as to a strictly human perspective. Spirits have their own needs and wants, but their perspective is different because they live and breathe magic in a completely different way. Thus, the intelligent and wise ones make some pretty excellent teachers if you can get through their lesson plans. I’m more comfortable sending folks to their door than I am with trying to teach them myself.
This isn’t a knock against other workers who teach, but its just not really the focus for me. I’ll stick to writing out informative blog posts. ;)
Happy hunting,
SE