Pulling Rank

One of the bigger controversies I've always noticed among Pagans and other magical people is over titles: who has them, who deserves them and when or when not to use them. In the great, wide, varied world of the Internet, there are so many traditions, teachers and ways of learning that accomplishment is measured on a lot of differing scales, none of which are known to outsiders, and none of which can be used to confirm whether a person knows what they are talking about or are participating in a giant role-playing game while the rest of us are serious.

We end up not knowing if Lady Sunshine in the Shade is a third-generation traditional High Priestess or a 14-year old who wanted to have a cool title to fit in and seem admirable amongst a group of magical and mysterious people. Sure, it can become obvious once the person in question starts to participate in serious discussions, but how do you tell a reserved practitioner who rarely enters into a discussion from a fraud hiding their lack of knowledge and experience behind silence?

The simple answer is: you don't. Titles are funny things: merely words, like any other words, and yet they are meant to convey that the people they refer to should be respected for their accomplishments. It's true whether the title is Doctor, Father, or Lord. And how many times does the doctor, priest or noble end up not being worth the respect you show to the most unsavory of characters?

The judgement of any person's value, wisdom and accomplishments must be purely and solely in how they demonstrate those qualities; which leaves that judgement to be measured not by the universal indicator of a title, but rather by the value you as an individual set upon that person. What good are all the titles in the world if the person who wears them is not worth as much as the "paper" they're printed on?

So, you may say, do I simply ignore the titles that someone lays claim to? To a degree, yes. But, there must come a point where you acknowledge the legitimate accomplishments of people who have earned the titles that they use. The problem lies in determining whether or not someone who lays claim to a title has legitimately earned it, and then, whether having earned it indicates that their accomplishment makes them worthy of your respect. And that goes entirely back to evaluating someone based on both what they say, and your gut instinct. That certainly leaves room for error, but if you disregard someone because they insist upon using a title, then you're going to end up with as poor a set of acquaintances and discussion partners as you would by going to the other extreme.

So, in the end, what does a title mean? Well, hopefully it means you worked long and hard at doing or learning something meaningful. That may mean you've studied extensively with a well-known teacher or group for decades, or it may mean you've spent some smaller number of years learning the things you need to know in order to become your idea of a good priest/ess, magician or witch. In a world where most of us tend to acknowledge our own accomplishments only when the outside world does, there is often more to that than simply saying "I deserve this title, and no one is going to tell me differently." If you can get at least one person that you respect to say "you deserve this title, and no one can tell you differently", then your case is twice as strong, to you and to anyone who might question whether you deserve whatever title you have. If that person has in turn been acknowleged as deserving their title, your case is even stronger than that.

Thus we have the origin of the traditions and covens that we have today. Even if you personally don't care at all about the learning and experience such a situation can provide, it's also the easiest way to get some easily provable credentials. Which is a sad thing, especially considering that some of us were never intended for group work, and indeed are probably better off finding their own way. You should never have to join a group and put in years of work simply so that you can lay claim to a title.

Here we have a question of value, but who is to assign value? Who decides what criteria designate value and when those criteria have been met? I don't think there's ever an easy or cut-and-dry answer to that question. The end result being that you must still make instinctive, but educated decisions about issues of trust and respect. There is no easy formula (title=wisdom, 10 years=knowlege).

The best solution I can give you is to simply reserve judgement upon any person that you meet, whether it is in person or on-line, until you've had ample opportunity to see what they have to offer in the way of information, philosophy or reputation amongst their peers. That goes for people with titles and those without. Be wary of those who flaunt their titles without backing them up with clear indications of their knowlege and experience. Acknowlege that sometimes even the newest and youngest have value, even wisdom, for those of us who may have been around a lot longer. Realize that not everyone is who or what they appear (or claim) to be. And finally, trust your gut instinct and that of those around you. You'd be amazed at how many times that nagging little feeling of "something's not right" turns out to be an accurate reminder to be suspicious.

Which brings me to a final point: just because someone has demonstrated their value to you, in terms of wisdom, information or experience, does not mean that they are necessarily a good person for you to associate with. Many learned practitioners have their own agendas, which may or may not include luring in those who are impressed by reputation and knowlege for their own gain. This is not to say that all or even most of the people you will run into are going to be potentially dangerous, but rather to remind you that you should never rely upon the judgement and word of a single person or group. Always retain your own right to judge, to accept or reject what you are being told, and the all-important right to a second (or tenth) opinion (you'll never have a problem getting one!). With those cautions and safeguards in place, the world in general becomes a safer and more interesting place, full of things for you to learn, and empowering you to make your own decisions about what you believe and who you become.