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Death is a common theme in initiatory rites.

In the usual initiation rite, there is a ritual death and rebirth. The initiate dies to his old life and is reborn to a new life as an initiate. With this ritual death and rebirth comes, if the initiate has been properly prepared, a significant change in consciousness and awareness. The initiate emerges transformed -- transfigured. This is not unique to Wicca, many mystery religions use the death and rebirth motif in their initiation rites. There is even speculation that the three days Lazarus spent in the tomb was a rite of initiation.

As the wheel of the year turns toward the dark time, it is natural to turn one's mind to the realms of shadow and darkness. The God has been sacrificed for the good of the world, and now dwells in the underworld as the Lord of Death and Resurrection. The life force is visibly ebbing in the world as nature shuts down for the winter.

I've been thinking lately of the relation between death and initiation.

In the movie "What About Bob", Bob, the overly dependent patient of a psychologist drives his poor therapist well over the edge. His therapist eventually ties him to a chair under which he's placed enough explosive to blow him to bits. Somehow, he escapes, but the experience of staring death in the face changes him. As a result of this change, he becomes much more self-reliant and is healed of his psychological problems. He also writes a book called "Death Therapy" and becomes quite famous on the talk show circuit.

In another book, "A Rage for Revenge", the main character undergoes what is called "mode training". In this training, he is forcibly introduced to the certainty of his own death. We follow him through the five stages of death, as defined by Elizabeth Kuebler-Ross: denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance. In the course of this training, he learns to choose which mental state he will operate in, and to function independently of pre-programmed mental states.

Recently, a friend of mine was forced to move out of a house he had owned for some years, abandoning most of his possessions. He reflected on the change in perspective that resulted from shedding his possessions, and commented that death, the shedding of the physical body, would be a more extreme form of this.

Death is a powerful force in our lives. It drives us to do something with the amount of time we have -- to do something that will make a difference after we're gone. It reminds us that there is a time limit on what we can achieve. It also spurs our quest for something more, for something that exists beyond that final deadline. Often this quest leads us into spiritual explorations, and it is in the course of this quest that we encounter the concept of initiation.

Given the parallels between initiation and death, it's worth reflecting on one more parallel. The five stages of death apply to initiation as well.

In the first stage, we have denial. There is no deep Mystery, nothing to be initiated into. What we see on the surface is all there is, and anyone who thinks there's anything deeper is a superstitious fool. The secularist -- the philosophical materialist -- denies the existence of any force or presence beneath the surface of nature. Rites of initiation are childish games at best, and dangerous hazing at worst. The religiously or spiritually inclined acknowledges this presence, but can't or won't believe that anything more lies on the other side of the initiation experience. There are no Mysteries. In either case, initiation is a childish game at best, and dangerous hazing at worst.

In the next stage, it has become apparent that initiation does lead to something not readily available elsewhere. Often the response is one of anger. The initiate, bound by oaths of secrecy, "thinks he's better than everyone else", or is "holding out" or just "teasing us with his so-called secrets". The very idea of initiation is "elitist". The notion that some people might not be "proper persons, properly prepared" is "judgmental". In a way, this represents progress. The non-initiate recognizes the existence of the Mysteries, and that their attainment is something to be desired. He has become a seeker. The anger he feels is over being told there may be some question as to whether he is a "proper person" or is "properly prepared".

Anger having failed to shake loose the secrets and Mysteries, the seeker turns to bargaining. Surely the secrets can be found in a book somewhere. Or maybe some other path has something equivalent to the Mysteries, without requiring the tests leading up to and including initiation. Or maybe someone will be persuaded to leak the secrets. Bargaining fails because of the underlying truth behind the Mysteries -- they can never be told in words. "The Tao which can be named is not the Eternal Tao", and the Mysteries which can be explained are not the Mysteries. Bargaining, even when the seeker finds everything he seeks, in books or from informants, fails for this reason.

Anger burns itself out eventually. Without the energizing nature of this emotion, the seeker moves into depression. The training period is long, and the process of finding a teacher was equally long. Or maybe the teacher continues to elude the seeker. How can the Mysteries ever be attained if they can't be explained? If the seeker were a "proper person", wouldn't there be some progress by now? Is it worth continuing? Here we have the Samhain of the seeker's quest, the time when the light is fading and all hope is dying. The seeker has entered the dark night of the soul.

The seeker who perseveres emerges from the darkness into light. The time for Initiation comes, and the seeker is reborn into a new life. Propriety of person and long training come together to ignite the spark in the heart of the seeker. He opens up to the divine flame and accepts the Mysteries as They accept him. The family of the hidden children of the Goddess welcomes a newly born member.

This is not the end of the story because the story has no end. The wheel turns, and each part of the cycle comes round again and again. Every seeker will visit these stages of denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance time and time again. But with each visit, experience adds to experience and wisdom deepens. The wheel turns, but it turns because we're moving. The wheel rolls forward.