THE ILLUSION OF THE RIGHT WAY

“This is the reality; I am more Alexandrian than you, and you know it. Why? Because I had the correct training and you didn’t.”

Training is not standardized. It should follow certain points, but it most certainly depends on the student and on the teacher. There are good and bad teachers. How do we know this? Because some are lazy and scattered and some are systematic and precise. Or perhaps because some produce excellent results in students and others don’t. Styles vary and approach do too. Do the student’s accomplishments measure a good teacher? Or shall we say that some students are quite lousy and therefore it isn’t the teacher’s fault? So many variables and so many different ways to look at this that there isn’t a right answer.
Does proximity to the original (founders) count in any way? What I mean by this is that if the teacher was a member of the first coven in that specific branch of the Craft, does it make him or her more valuable than any other teacher who happens to come after that? Was there another teacher that came after Alex who was a better teacher than him? Does the student ever surpass the teacher? I like to think than that would be ideal.
After this idea, it would be quite stupid, and I have done that in the past, (but one learn from one’s mistakes) to say that this is the training that should be done and it is called Alexandrian training, the right training, proper training or good training. All of these are at best pretentious and at worse snarky.
What I consider proper training might be mediocre to you or what you find average training, I would think it is a reasonable way to go about it but not brilliant.
Let’s face it; some will have the natural aptitude for teaching, and some don’t. It doesn’t mean their bad, just not natural teachers. I would like to think that experience would have some weight on contributing to the quality of the teacher, but it most certainly does not have any influence on the aptitude. Therefore we can conclude that an experienced teacher is not necessarily the best one.
So is there a right way? Is there a real right way to do things? And what constitutes ‘a right way’?
All coven are autonomous, and they will develop ‘their way’ of working. That said, some defining points perhaps are common to all. But even then, I do feel that there is quite the disparity. When each Coven develops their work, the teaching will be a characteristic of that particular coven, according to their teaching ability, taste in magical disciplines and flavor of occult practice. So the choice of a teacher can be entirely random or carefully chosen.
However, neither the teacher nor the student can say that this is the right way to do things. It is a way. That’s all. The dramatic name drop and experience curriculum doesn’t hold much when we think about it in this way.
So in practice, the right way doesn’t exist. What exists is the knowledge and the techniques tested through time and experience that can be followed or discarded. That’s all there is to it. If I prefer this specific coven to be trained in, then that is my choice. Not necessary the right way to do things or the right training, or the most complete. The same applies to the teachers. It would be quite silly says that this or that teacher isn’t a good one if you weren’t trained by this person. You can’t know how the training is done if you didn’t experience it first hand.
Let’s talk about this; if a general curriculum that applies to the whole tradition doesn’t exist, how can one have incomplete training? According to who? The coven they didn’t belong to or the teacher they never had? Well, that’s funny and silly. It looks like another strategy to dismiss somebody else knowledge as inferior which is not only mean, but also egotistical.
So the right way is an illusion. There are many ways, according to what each of the groups developed, of doing witchcraft.
Alex always inspired those around him and empowered his students to be the best they could be. That said, there were some things he was adamant about and this, regardless of anyone say, was “his way” of doing things that later was coined “Alexandrian.” The danger in this is when some will try to take advantage of this specification and call “Alexandrian” what they do, to fit what “Alexandrian” means to them and to their own way.
I train my students in what I know, and what I know is what was taught to me. I always liked to know what “was done” back in the day, in the London Coven and the Temple of the Mother. This search for knowledge gave me the opportunity to receive knowledge and training from both sources through very generous teachers. But that is my journey, and I do share it with my students. This doesn’t make my training better than anyone else. It is just what I feel that suited me and what I think it is the one method which produces results out of the experience of implementing it over the years. That is all.
I would like to think that if a tradition is in place, there are certain aspects I would like to maintain as pure and close to the original practices as possible.

What I mean by “original practices” are the way basics (circle casting, consecrations, etc.) would be done in the London Coven and after in the Temple of the Mother. I like that my training follows those directives, as I believe that’s what makes a tradition; following specific ways of doing things. But then again this might not work for everyone. It is my way of thinking and doing things. I do teach “this way” in our Coven.

In conclusion, no one can dictate which is right or wrong, which is better or worse, which is complete or incomplete, There is no such a thing as “complete” or “incomplete” because our learning process never ends; therefore, “incomplete” and “complete” are misnomers. There is no syllabus for the Alexandrian Tradition, and the reason why this doesn’t exist relies on the coven’s autonomy nature.

What is important is what you teach and how you teach it. It is not really about you; the act of teaching is a selfless one. It has to be done with love and hope that one day, that student will be better than you are.

That is the truth, and the rest is an illusion.