Online Wiccan colleges?

[Hecate Moonsong]

I've quite frequently seen different online schools for Wiccan study and I was wondering if they're any good, or something worth doing? Has anyone attended one of these online studies before? Are some of them gimicks and what's the best way to determine quality versus money making? Anyone heard of "The College of the Sacred Mists" at workingwitches.com?

[yavanna]

I'm looking forward to responses to this question too. I've looked into the Correllian (sp?) witchcraft college, but I'm not sure about it yet...

[juliaki]

A couple of years ago, I was looking to see what sort of online training was available. Overall, I was very dismayed with the quality, consistency, and availability of online training programs.

Quality: Most of the classes that I found were taught by people whose only qualifications were that they had read some books. The material they were teaching was just stuff that they had cut and pasted from web sites or notes they had taken from books that I already had on my bookshelf.

Consistency: Some of the classes that I saw seemed to start up just fine and then disappeared after a few months.

Availability: A lot of the groups that provided teaching arrangements that sounded more reputable didn't offer online teaching, because they said (and lately I've found it to be true based on my own experience) that there are certain "other things" that happen with material that is presented in person that can't be approximated online. For instance, all the classes I attended over the past two years have been held in circle, which provides some substantial benefits.

There may be some good ones out there, but since I've got the option now for in-person training, that is what I have chosen to go with. In the time when that wasn't an option for me, I found that reading material on my own and then asking questions in online community provided more than the "online schools" that I tried.

[RedRaven]

youll be learning the same stuff in books as you do at those online schools, my advice, if you are a beginner then just buy a book or two and ask questions to people you know and on messageboards, it will save you money. if youre beyond beginner then I doubt you`ll learn anything new

[KEishin]

My advice? Save your money.
As said above, the *ahem* "teaching credentials" of the vast majority of those groups are slim to none. Plus many of them who offer "Ye Olde Wikkan Secretes" are lying out their every orifice and deserve all the ridicule they get.

That said, I personally know a few former Correlian students who later went onto group study. They all had good foundations with which to start group training.

I would suggest reading lots of books; if you lack for titles or subjects, do a few searches here. If you so prefer find a community study group. They ARE out there, but you have to keep your eyes open to see them.

[yavanna]

That said, I personally know a few former Correlian students who later went onto group study. They all had good foundations with which to start group training.

Interesting, I'm not so much interested in the free intro class, rather the more indepth classes they offer. Though the classes here on the CoT are working out really nicely for me so I -probably- won't join up.

Thanks for the info!

[Elderbush]

This is a very difficult question to answer because the training different groups offer differs so widely. The first and best step is to learn with a local group, if there is a reputable one led by experienced teachers who are teaching the kind of Wicca (or whatever religion) that you want to learn about.

That option is unfortunately not available to everyone. I did not have that option myself and joined an online group, UEW, which is free and matched up with the direction that I was going in. The people I met in it were people I could respect. About a year ago the ciriculum underwent a major overhaul so now it is much more in depth and demanding.

The benefits of taking a course online is that one is required (in my experience) to write essays about what you are reading and learning. The teachers and other students comment on your work (as you do theirs) and everyone learns more. I know that I might have misunderstood some things if I hadn't had others to explain and give examples and discuss it with me.

To sum up, look at the different groups that you are interested in, ask questions, see if their tradition is one that interests you and investigate. You may be glad you did.

[LadyCelt]

I don't know of it as a colleg per say, but go to

http://www.witchschool.com

you can take some classes for free and others if you do the 5 dollar a month option I do or 30 dollar lifetime membership