by Graelan Wintertide, Editor of Old Ways
One of the first things that you'll discover as you begin to explore the Pagan Internet is the use of adopted names. Everywhere you turn, your browser seems to lead you to another Raven or a website whose owner's name is formed from a combination of the words Moon, Wolf, a color, or one of the elements. To an outsider, the practice of taking on an additional name may seem strange; to those within the Craft, it's often confusing. What do these names signify? Are they given to a practitioner or are they chosen by the individual? And if I'm Pagan, do I need to take on an additional name in order to truly be a part of the Craft? Different Names, Different Uses
Although there are many different uses for adopted names within the Pagan community, both the adoption and use of the names generally fall into one of three basic categories: Public Names, Craft Names, and Secret Names.
Public Names
While the Internet holds an amazing potential to exchange information and reach diverse populations, there is great concern over a user's personal information falling into the wrong hands. The normal worries concerning privacy and anonymity are magnified within the Pagan community. There is a great deal of misconception about the Craft and Pagans often fear persecution regarding their beliefs.
With the sheer number of users on the Web, Internet Pagans often end up with e-mail addresses that reflect their magickal nature. After all, there can only be one "joesmith@aol.com" -- all of the other Joe Smith's at AOL are required to choose a different address.
A person's e-mail address often becomes their face on the Internet. As they continue to network with other individuals, they may find that their new found cyber-friends have an easier time remembering their e-mail address than their off-line name. Sometimes, the e-mail address is chosen with this possibility in mind. For instance, Jane Doe who e-mails the Pagan community from catmagick@notarealaddress.com may soon become known simply as "Cat" to her on-line friends. When she goes to create a personal website, she names it "Cat's Den," and what was once simply an e-mail address, becomes a persona. Because her new identity is so heavily involved in her interaction with the on-line Pagan community, it becomes the name she uses off-line when meeting new Witches and Wiccans. The new name becomes her Public Name -- the identity she uses as a Pagan when presenting herself to the other individuals when speaking about her beliefs.
Craft Names
While Craft Names can be used to interact with the public, under normal circumstances they are intentionally adopted as part of an individual's beliefs, rather than the individual slowly growing into the identity. The Craft name can be chosen by the practitioner or it can be given to them by another Pagan or person they respect and who knows them well. In both cases the name is generally adopted when the individual receiving the name is going through a ritual to recognize their growth in, or committment to, their beliefs -- for instance as part of their Initiation rite.
It's not unusual for a practitioner to take on one name during their initial year and a day period of study, only to find they have outgrown it as their knowledge and experience has deepened. If this is the case, it is completely acceptable to choose a different name once the year and a day period has been completed. Not only will the new name more clearly capture the individual's path, but the assumption of a new name can also be used to recognize their growth and their passing of a milestone on their path.
Where a Public Name may reflect aspects of an individual's path, the Craft Name almost always does. An understanding of the traditions behind a Craft Name will normally give you insight into the person's beliefs, their personal practice, or the areas of the Craft they are most strongly drawn towards. While the Craft Name can double as a Public Name, the opposite is seldom true. Even if a person has used a Public Name for sometime, they almost always consider taking a different identifier as a Craft Name. If a different Craft Name is taken, it usually -- but not always -- is used to interact with the public and the Public Name falls into disuse.
Secret Names
Secret names are only adopted in certain Traditions and are not widely used throughout the Craft. The concept is gleaned from a number of indiginous beliefs that hold that a person's soul has it's own unique identity. Unlocking this name gives the individual the keys to their subconsious and the name is carefully guarded and not shared with other individuals except in certain bonding ceremonies. The name is normally received or uncovered during dreams or deep meditative work and isn't something which can simply be discovered by consciously searching.
Secret names are only used in deep solitary ritual work and occasionally in shamanic journeying. A subset of the Secret Name would be the Working Name -- a name which is used only for specific types of ritual work and study and can be given to other individuals who share that work with the practitioner.
Finding Your Own Name
First of all, not everyone within the Craft takes on an additional name. It's personal preference and generally tied to the Tradition that the individual practices. None of the various types of names are necessary and none should be adopted lightly. Even the Public Name may become something you are associated with years to come, so make sure the name fits when you take it as your own.
Lineage and the Power of Names
There is a certain power in naming. "The Forest of Ancient Mist-Shrouded Trees" evokes a certain images that, "the patch of timber over there," just can't. As many of us discover in our magickal work, to hold an image in our minds allows us to experience that image's energy. And once we are able to connect with that energy, we can use it in our rituals and spellwork.
One of the ways to choose a Craft Name is to think about the types of energy you picture yourself being associated with or that you are particularly drawn to. Someone who lives to sail may choose words like "wind," "waves," and "sea." Someone who is particularly connected to the wilderness may choose words such as "evergreen," "wolf," or "forest." Once you have a list, the key is to put them together in a way that captures the energy you feel closest to. For instance, our sailor may choose "Seawind" while our wilderness lover may choose "Greenwolf." If you can't capture the complete snapshot of energy in one word, choose a first and last name. Our sailor may also feel a connection with early mornings and the sunrise, they may choose, "Dawn Seawind" as their Craft Name. Keep in mind that if you use two names the second should describe a larger event ("sea wind" being a constant environment) while the first should be a smaller event ("dawn" only applying to a specific portion of the morning). This is a general rule of thumb for use in almost every Tradition with Western roots.
A Name All Your Own
After going through the above process, if you're just not finding anything that resonates with you, you may want to try another approach. After writing a list of words that represented my own path, I found that none of them worked as a name. There weren't any combinations that I felt appropriately represented myself or the heart of my practice. Taking the list, I began with the aspects that had the least impact on my path and slowly crossed them off, one by one. What I was left with was the journeying that I did in the dreamtime and the forests that I frequented in the Coast Range Mountains of Oregon state.
I began to look at the areas where the two corresponded. The passage into the dream world was considered to be a journey from one type of reality to another. The forests that I frequented were often draped in thick banks of fog -- the mist marking the boundary between the spirit and material worlds in many culture. It was a misty, foggy world that transported me from one realm to another. The boundary between the worlds was a gray land. Gray Land. Gray-lan. Graelan. My name had been chosen.
It's not a difficult step to create a name of your own. Try combinations of words. Drop consonents from various parts of the word (like the "d" in "land"). Use alternative spellings or spell the word phonetically ("grae" instead of "gray"). If none of that works, look to your heritage and see what the words are in the language of your early ancestors. A translation dictionary or on-line translator can help you in your search.
Nature and the Spirit World
If nothing else works, simply ask that a name be given to you. You don't have to make your request to another person -- ask the spirit world, the Goddess and the God -- the list is almost endless. If you don't feel inspired to choose a method of your own to, simply whisper the request aloud as you lay down in bed to go to sleep. Sometimes the response will come in your dreams. Other times, a single event will catch your eye -- pay attention. You'd be amazed the ways that your name comes to you.
While studying with a Native American woman, I needed a Working Name for my shamanic journeying. While I won't reveal the name here, this is similar to how it happened. I walked out the door of my home on my way to do my vision quest. For several days, I'd been asking for a name, each night before I went to sleep. As I stepped out the door, my attention became completely focused on a cat, leaping through the grass as if it were playing. Because my attention was so totally captured -- and I'd been asking for a Working Name for some time -- I knew that it was a special event. Looking at the scene, I knew my shamanic Working Name was "Leaping Cat." Although I had considered a large number of other possibilities, the name somehow just fit. While Leaping Cat isn't actually my Working Name, the event I described where I was given my name happened just that way.
What's In a Name?
Magickal names can be used in many ways. Public Names provide us with anonymity while working with people that have yet to earn our trust. Craft Names symbolize our paths and mark milestones in our personal growth. Working Names allow us to enter even more deeply into our rituals and spellwork.
But can names be used in other ways as well?
Think back to the symbolism you used to find your Craft Name. Each of the words you considered represented an important aspect of your path. By taking these concepts as your name, you have made that energy a part of you. The energy that you chose as your name has become an important tool that you can use on your path.
You aren't just "Seawind;" you've taken the power of the waves and the magick of the air elementals that play on the coastlines and made their energy a part of yourself. You are both the gently refreshing summer breeze and the raging storm winds and crashing waves. As you explore the symbolism of your name in more depth, you'll increase the power of your name, the energy that you have immediately available to you. You can use this energy in a vast number of ways -- to charge your rituals, to empower you meditations, and to strengthen the areas where you are weak in your own personal growth.
For instance, Greenwolf may originally be drawn to the name because he is a loner and connects with that aspect of the wolf. As he explores the wolf's behavior, he may find parallels between his own life and the lifecycle of the pack. For instance, wolves tend to spend part of the year solitary and the other part with their packmates. In this symbolism, Greenwolf may find the reassurance that he isn't wrong to need his private time, but will also be reminded not to cut himself off from his friends and family, as they are as important to his life as the pack is to the wolf's.
When you find yourself with a new name, explore the symbolism. Your understanding of who you are and the name you've chosen will continue to expand. If you find that you've outgrown your Craft Name, don't be afraid to leave it behind. But take your time. If you are patient with the process, if you fully explore the name's symbolism before you set it aside and are certain that the new name fits before you put it on, you'll look back and see that the names have marked various phases of your path. This should not be a frequent or reoccuring process, happening no more than once or twice in your practice unless you're experiencing radical changes to your path. If you find that you're outgrowing your name on a regular basis, consider using only a public name or choosing a name which fits your nomadic status. Pagans are literally people of the Earth. Give yourself time to set roots in your path, to grow and explore each phase of your development. With the right choice of names, you can heighten this experience and make your Pagan beliefs an integral part of who you are.
Old Ways: A Journal of the Craft In the Modern Age
can be found on-line at
http://www.oldways.com
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