An initiation is a passing down of lineage. That is why one can not self initiate.
OK, so I have a question here that I'm a little hesitant to ask: no matter which way I'm trying to phrase it, it's coming across as rude or confrontational, yikes!
![hairpull :hairpull:](https://www.paganjourneys.com/Smileys/funsmileys/hairpull.gif)
I'm just going to go ahead and ask it, and heavily disclaim that I only ask out of honest curiosity. It isn't meant to hurt or rile anyone up- incredibly sorry if that's what I end up doing anyway.
From what I know, an initiation into a Wiccan coven is about lineage, like GW points out: so in very practical terms, being initiated into a Gardnerian coven (for example) would mean getting access to the Gardnerian way of doing things, the BoS's and rituals and so on....outsiders would not have access to the same materials or training. (In fact, a time honoured way of making sure that only initiates knew the full details of a ritual or system was to deliberately mess up a few details in publications meant for the general masses)
So from this specific knowledge, the initiate would get the privilege to call himself/herself a "Gardnerian Wiccan".
My question is this: would you say there are observable differences between the "skill sets" of people who are initiated properly into a wiccan trad versus the ones who come from a wiccan-like path but aren't actually initiated. In the context of energy work, I mean.
Edited to add: I realised while typing this that I'm making the basic mistake a lot of folks make, in that I'm assuming all wiccans necessarily practice Wicca for the witchcraft.
![whistle :whistle:](https://www.paganjourneys.com/Smileys/funsmileys/whistle.gif)
Regardless, I'll let my post stand anyway.
![smile :)](https://www.paganjourneys.com/Smileys/funsmileys/smileguy.gif)
I guess what GW said corresponds exactly with the sacred thread ceremony of Bramhin hindus; so I'm trying to make sense of that through this context.