I think it’s important that lineages exist. To, in their own way, grow and refine and keep what consistency they see fit. It’s just important for them, and everyone else, to remember they aren’t *everything.*
Maybe really too much is made of ‘lineages’ on the Net. After all, anyone can claim one, here, whether they know much or not. (And I observe most of the wisest are too busy to be out here posting. Maybe occasionally looking at the ‘more eclectic’ world and being shocked how random things can look)
Part of the problem, too, is that when ‘lineages’ actually *agree* with what goes on in the broader community, they can’t *say* so publicly, cause to them what everyone else may bandy about could to them be oathbound.
Certainly, for those of us who weren’t raised Pagan, especially when we’re fairly new, habits of considering anybody that looks like ‘authority’ to be *in the way* die hard.
I think this is actually *OK.* I’ve found that many ‘traditionals’ actually value what I’ve found ‘on my own’ (and thus aren’t worried about ‘keeping secrets’ where they aren’t) and therefore weren’t afraid to teach me some things that they therefore could, even if I couldn’t stay and become ‘lineaged.’
If we *think like Pagans,* this doesn’t have to be a bad thing. We’re *not* all supposed to be ‘the same.’ We can be ‘control groups’ for each other. We should celebrate that. Value it.

All in all, I’ve come to look at this lineage and affiliation stuff this way: We practitioners enjoy relationship with other humans, and we enjoy relationships with non-human beings, including deities, guardians, allies, “cousins”, co-walkers, totems, and such.
Lineage relationships appear to be more important among human groups and communities of common practice/world view than they are among the non-human beings. Folks fret about lineage, too often some other practitioner’s lineage. Deities, guardians, etc, don’t (in my experience) fret about lineage. They seem to have their own ways of deciding which practitioners to touch–and how.
Because my practice is fundamentally about my relationships with deities, guardians, and the rest of the non-human panoply, I’ve learned not to fret so much about my lineage or lack of lineage beyond how it matters in getting along with other human practitioners. (This outlook on lineage is not, so far as I can tell, widely shared…)
I don’t understand the view of lineage that wants to re-train and re-certify practitioners already skilled in a given Trad or Lore. It’s not continuing education or ongoing magical transformation, the way I see it. It’s power, ego, fear, resentment, petty agrandizement, and, in the long run, futile.

It’s not lineages themselves that are the problem; they can be a very positive influence. However, as with anything else they can be misused, allowing people to play the “Witchier than thou” game we’ve all encountered.
If anyone starts that game with you, my advice is to refuse to play. They obviously have some more growing up to do. Walk away, and find a more mature group. Even if it means being a self-initiated Solitary. Believe me, you’ll be far better off.

I think that for many groups, lineage means you don’t have to keep reinventing the wheel. It can be a good thing when well done. When it’s used as a cudgel, not so much. Lineage shouldn’t be the be-all and end-all of a decision regarding someone’s competence and, even in places where lineage is important, it shouldn’t be used against folks outside that tradition who actually know what they’re doing. Lineage is a tool, not a weapon.

I have never seen anything postitive come out of lineage and traditional coven mentalities. It’s a system largely perpetuated by people who have never moved beyond the power dymamics and manipulation of their Judeo-Christian roots and who crave power over others. Some covens have some worthwhile things to teach, but they tend to hold people back over the long run to make sure none of its members gain equal footing with the leaders. I have never seen anyone do their best work until after they became solitaries or began working with more mature and less uptight groups. Same goes for people who make a point about lording their title of “High Prietess” or “clergy” over others. The ones who feel the need to claim that status tend to have the least backing it up.

We did an excellent radio show about the pagan wicca path at
W W W .SHOCKAWENOW. N E T You can download it free also in mp3

Although Hierarchy has dangers, it also provides a structure which is very helpful to those lacking self-discipline. Unfortunately a trait sorely lacking in our society so focused on feeding the ego. I enjoy being able to place myself at another’s direction on occasion. This helps to facilitate the open mind necessary for learning. You can’t learn anything if you think you know it all.
After thirteen years of solitary practice I enjoyed immensely the time I spent under the tutelage of a woman ten years my junior. Our learning relationship was beautifully complementary and I believe that we both grew because of it. It wouldn’t have worked without the structure of our lineage.
Although the demands of family and childcare and a move two hours away have thus far prevented me from attaining my degree I do not in anyway feel slighted by those of my acquaintance who have surpassed my attainment. My time will come when my children are more grown. Till then, their achievements merit recognition and I feel nothing but SO proud of them. When Hierarchy and lineage works, it gives SO much more than it asks.

Coming from both sides of the aisle, starting off in a coven, then solitary, and back to a coven, I think that lineage and lines of teaching have their place. For one, you can see where attitudes, ideas, concepts and so on sprang from, and have an ability to contextualize them where you may not have that with solitary work.
In my work as a solitary, I had the disadvantage of having no one to turn to when I was at a loss, or was stuck (which I also see as an advantage) except to myself, and the resources around me. The experience, sounding boards and general support of a community could have helped me through many of the hurdles I had to overcome on my own. It could be argued this was best for me, but I think that for those who need or want community, lineage can provide them a way to see how they’ve come along, give them examples of what to do and not to do, and people to call on when they need the help.
The big advantage of working solitary is that I had no one telling me what to do, where to do it or how. With no lineage and no one to hang on to, or to hang on to me, I felt free to experiment with whatever I wished, however I wished, without the obligation of a community or its lineage.
In my experience, lineage does not dictate to you what you can or cannot do with your life, nor does it dictate others worth. It gives you a history, like a family tree, a place to look back to, a spiritual home.

From my experience, which does NOT include initiation by any group, Pagan or otherwise, I suspect there’s more to it than just hierarchy and one-up behavior.
I understand from colleagues that “initiation” into several specific traditions is seen, perhaps chiefly, as putting the individual in touch with a specific “deity” or “current” on another plane from the place where human interactions and ranking occur. There is also an aspect of ‘knowing something you couldn’t know before/without initiation, and which you will never ‘not-know’ again.’
From my personal experience of living, I notice a few events that seemed like “initiation” in that second way. Childbirth was one, and parenting another. In both cases I studied fairly extensively and was confident that I “knew” what to expect. Then the experience arrived and I found everything I had expected, and much more. And once the initiating experience was complete, there was much that I could never turn back from.
Gus, I wonder if you could speak to this aspect of initiation — and I wonder if your friend who now circles with the Druids had thought of initiation in this way at all?