Pagan Coffee Talk

What is a tradition? Part 2 of 3

Life Temple and Seminary Season 1 Episode 2

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Pagan Coffee Talk – Tradition, Ritual Timing, and Temple Structure

In this episode of Pagan Coffee Talk, Lord Night and the crew dive deep into what it really means to walk a traditional pagan path—without the fluff, the stereotypes, or the misinformation.

One of the biggest myths we tackle right out of the gate: the idea that traditionalists are rigid rule-followers who never deviate from exact dates or times. The reality? There’s a balance between honoring tradition and living in the real world. We break down how temples actually handle Sabbaths, full moons, and ritual timing, and why practicality matters just as much as spiritual intent.

From there, the discussion moves into the structure of a working temple—how rituals are written, why some teachings are openly discussed while others remain mysteries, and the difference between tradition vs. ritual. We also explore how training works within a traditional system, including degrees, coursework, and why progression happens the way it does.

We also get into some real talk about coven membership and loyalty. Can you belong to multiple covens? What happens when someone moves away and joins another temple? And where does respect between traditions come into play?

Finally, we pull back the curtain on how students are trained, why spiritual education should not have a price tag, and the importance of transparency—especially when it comes to relationships, personal growth, and the very real changes that come with walking a serious path.

This is an honest, unscripted conversation about how traditional paganism actually works behind the scenes—no gatekeeping, no fantasy, just experience.

Topics covered:

  •  Pagan Sabbaths and full moon timing (and flexibility in real life) 
  •  Traditional ritual structure and why consistency matters 
  •  The difference between tradition, ritual, and mystery teachings 
  •  Coven membership, loyalty, and lineage respect 
  •  Training, degrees, and writing your own rituals 
  •  Why we don’t charge for spiritual education 
  •  Personal transformation and the realities of walking the path 

If you’re looking for a grounded, no-nonsense discussion on traditional pagan practice, this episode is for you.

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Discord:  https://discord.gg/MdcMwqUjPZ
Facebook: (7) Life Temple and Seminary | Facebook

SPEAKER_01

Welcome to Pagan Coffee Talk, a traditional Wiccan podcast where we will discuss topics affecting the pagan community from a traditionalist perspective. The topics we discussed are picked from our magical hat, and the discussions are unscripted. The talk will be led by Lord Chase Mike Smith, elder of the high priest of third degree. And he's joined by Keegan, first degree priesthood. Pagan Coffee Talk is brought to you by the Welcome to Pagan Coffee Talk.

SPEAKER_03

I'm Keegan, and as always, Lord Knight. As a traditionalist, how strict are you with keeping the dates of the Sabbaths or the full moons and things like that?

SPEAKER_02

Not that strict. I'm more strict about okay, if everybody in my temple has agreed, which the majority of them have, we're gonna at least do full moons on the full on the day of the full moon.

SPEAKER_03

Right.

SPEAKER_02

And then I'm gonna set a time. Okay, it's gonna be at seven o'clock. If you're running late and you don't let us know, and you show up, you know, and it's five after, you're probably not gonna get in. If you're going to be, you know, 15, 20 minutes late, you're definitely not going to get in. You know, I I'm not going to stop the ritual, cut a door to out of ritual space to go to the back door to see who in the world it is. Right. That's not fair to those who showed up on time.

SPEAKER_03

Twenty minutes late, ritual's about over anyway, ain't it? Uh pretty much.

SPEAKER_02

Now, when we do Sabbaths, we try to do it to the weekend that's closest. Because those are a little bit more some of them are a little bit more grandiose than others. Right. Right. Like on all the grands, we normally do a feast, some type of feast, so there's food, drink, conversation, chill back, music playing.

SPEAKER_03

A celebration. It's yeah, it's a celebration. So you're not a stickler for keeping the dates though. Mabin's on you know, Monday or Tuesday, and that's when we're gonna do it. It doesn't matter.

SPEAKER_02

The closest we can get is that because sometimes it's hard to get everybody to take the same days off.

SPEAKER_03

Well I was gonna say I think a lot of people that don't know traditionalists have it in their head when it comes to the Sabbaths and um the full moons that there's no wiggle room. Traditionalists are strict sticklers for that. This is the Sabbath, come hell or high water, this is when we're doing the ritual. I've never seen that. I haven't either. I don't know where that comes from.

SPEAKER_02

I I don't either. Because I mean if you start to think about it this way, I got my first degree. When did I get my first degree, Oswen?

SPEAKER_03

There's an uh two hundred years ago.

SPEAKER_02

How old was I? I was still in my twenties, mid-twenties, twenty-five? I was around twenty-five. And I'm like almost fifty now?

SPEAKER_03

Two decades and a half ago.

SPEAKER_02

Right. And I have been around traditionalists all this time and interacted with other groups and stuff like that. I've never seen 'em do that because I'm sorry, there's this world we live in. It's called life. It's called life. I mean, don't get me wrong, if the temple has few people there and we can, we might add, hey, look, you know what? The actual Sabbath is on Friday. Can anybody can everybody take that day off?

SPEAKER_03

But there's nothing wrong with waiting until that Saturday.

SPEAKER_02

Right. And there's nothing wrong with, okay, you do the you've done this or you've come to a full moon, and then the next night you do your own ritual. You do your own. Yeah, I mean at home and in the privacy of your own home, if you want to do that ritual on that date, without a big trade, and do it by yourself, we're not gonna stop you. We're not gonna be sitting back going, oh no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. You can't do that. Right. There are some traditions that we do follow, like if you're a first degree and you're studying for your second, you're allowed the right ritual. We're gonna let you write ritual. Yes, the ritual has to be approved by the high priest or priestess, or both. The majority of the time we're looking over that is we're looking, first of all, at your ability to write ritual from a learning standpoint. Right. And we're also looking, okay, now I got neophytes that had just started, and they haven't quite learned this yet, which means if I let you do this ritual, they're gonna be confused. Or they're not gonna completely understand it.

SPEAKER_03

Right.

SPEAKER_02

We do the same thing with second degrees with less scrutiny, uh, because by the time you get second degree, you'll pretty much know what in the world you can and can't do because you've already gone through it enough. But yeah, if if you happen to be revealing a mystery that neophytes aren't ready for.

SPEAKER_03

So it has to accommodate everybody who's gonna be there.

SPEAKER_02

Right. It's rarely a oh no, I just don't like this.

SPEAKER_03

Coffee and donuts, I don't think so.

SPEAKER_02

Right.

SPEAKER_03

Well, one of those go ahead.

SPEAKER_02

Oh, no, no. Which I was gonna say, if you could put down as a topic, we can actually talk about writing rituals.

SPEAKER_03

I was gonna say, I don't even know if I'm allowed to even do anything about that.

SPEAKER_04

I don't know anything.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, I mean our regular Sabbaths and S Baths no, there there's no I don't want to say there's no mysteries there, but they're not things some of these are things we are allowed to talk about. There might be some details we might have to leave out during a podcast or a regular conversation, but I don't see a problem with that. Now, rituals we will never you'll never hear us talk about are our initiations.

SPEAKER_03

I was gonna say initiation maybe.

SPEAKER_02

Initiations. We do not talk about our initiations. Our our weddings rituals we'll talk about. Our rites we will not talk about. And which now everybody's going to be asking what in the world's the difference between a rite and a ritual.

SPEAKER_03

I think the bigger question is the difference between tradition and ritual.

SPEAKER_02

What do you mean?

SPEAKER_03

Well, tradition is something you do over and over and over. A ritual is something you do over and over, or the same the same way. Over and over.

SPEAKER_02

The same way. Well, there's certain aspects of our ritual we do over and over and over again. Hence, like the way we cast circle. The way I learnt to cast circle at through temple, and the way you learn how to cast circle through temple is the same way. Lady Alba's learnt it, all the other first degrees and second degrees learnt it, and we all know it. Now, what you do at home in the privacy of your own home, again, is your own business, how you cast circle, we're not gonna interfere with that. But the casting of circle is a traditional thing. When we come together as a group, this is the way we're gonna do it. Right. Again, we're not gonna sit there and tell anybody it's the way or the only way to do it, it's a way.

SPEAKER_03

It's our way.

SPEAKER_02

It's our way, is to keep everybody on that same page. If we think about it in the context of um Southern Baptist or Baptist, there's a certain rhythm to all Baptist churches. You go from one to another, and that rhythm's going to be there, which is the majority of the times come in, there's a greeting, then you you know, there's like a prayer, then there's a song, then there might be another prayer, and then there's preaching, then there's another song. Right. You see what I'm saying? There's a rhythm that right. Again, those rhythms are always the same way. The format is the same way. Every time you go in there, the preaching part, the message changes.

SPEAKER_03

But the setup is the same.

SPEAKER_02

Certain beliefs. A lot of us hold certain beliefs the same. Do we believe 100% the same thing? Not all the time.

SPEAKER_03

Little branches on the same tree.

SPEAKER_02

Same tree. But you know, the the core, the concept the majority of us agree on.

SPEAKER_03

Well, how do traditionalists feel about people being parts of or members of different covens? What do you mean that I've seen this a lot where I am part of this coven, I'm a member of this coven, but I'm a member of this coven too. And I'm a member of this coven over here.

SPEAKER_02

I'd get a little leery about that. Just a tad, because you know, you're splitting loyalties there. Now, with that said, am I going to sit here and get upset because person A wants to go visit another temple or something like that? No.

SPEAKER_03

No, I mean they're member they are members of them.

SPEAKER_02

I I would question that. Now, with that said, we do have people in temple that might move halfway across the country and join another traditional temple because there's nobody else like them around. And they themselves do not want to run and operate a temple. Now, when that happens, the protocol there is, for example, like you, let's take you as an example, Keegan. You wanted to, since there's nobody else in your area that's part of Life Temple and Seminary, you go and visit a different temple, it's a good feel, and you're like, Yeah, I'd like to join y'all. You would look at that high priestess and let them know who and where you're from, and they will contact us to verify your degree, your education, and stuff like that. And when you go into that tradition, you're automatically accepted as such. Well, majority of the times it's to participate, but again, if you were a person that did not want to run a coven or start a branch of Life Temple and Seminary in your area, I could see where in the world that would go. But, you know, at the same time, you're you're sort of breaking ties from us. You might not be breaking friendships, but you're breaking ties from us.

SPEAKER_03

Well, say someone lived on the East Coast. Right. And they moved to California. Right. And it was just not feasible, you know, to fly across the country. And so they found a coven, you know, in California.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, they could join that, they could join that coven, but in the process of joining that coven and going through that with their high priest and priestess contacting us to verify all that, you're sort of breaking ties with us. You're technically being taken off that membership list.

SPEAKER_03

So this let's belong to three and four covens is not something that you agree with.

SPEAKER_02

No, not necessarily, no. Because breaking that tie with us to join this other temple is you you're gonna get a call from one of our elders saying, okay, you know, we understand when you're doing this, you know, I hope you're happy with them. You know, we're still here, we're still your friends, but you call in asking me questions as your high priest, or it's probably not going to happen anymore. Now you call and tell me about your dog or your kids or stuff like that, you know, no problem. But the religious part. The religious part, I'm going to tell you, you need to go to your elders of that temple.

SPEAKER_03

Well, I'm I'm sure they wouldn't want back to their old high priest or priestess either.

SPEAKER_02

Right. Well, and because I'm thinking about it this way, is I wouldn't necessarily would want that the other way. Just like I would not want that high priest or priestess there to undercut what my teachings are, I wouldn't want to under undercut theirs. Right. Right. For those who have reached that third degree level, and so I got too much respect for them to do that to them.

SPEAKER_03

It's not scary person either. No, it's not fair. It's like getting high priest against high priest.

SPEAKER_02

Right. And it's not that's not fair. I mean, they're playing my real parents against my adopted parents.

SPEAKER_04

Right, right.

SPEAKER_02

You know, that's not fair. But I mean, no, don't get me wrong. Now, with that gone, like at second degree, most of our second degrees are allowed to teach. They're allowed to teach the material that's in life temple and seminary. Now, that person who left that temple and was out in California would be told, okay, we know you have the material, either A, you need to send it back or destroy it. You're you're no longer allowed to teach this to others. Does that make sense?

SPEAKER_03

So a something like that, void of the coven, would happen.

unknown

Right.

SPEAKER_02

Right. That's the only way it happens. Now, you know, if we're talking about a hiving off, no, there's not a void of coven. You're still part of Life Temple and Seminary. For example, you know, you get your second degree, then you get your third, and you want to sort of temple out where in the world you are. You're not void of us. I just branched off. You've you've branched off. You've run your own independent coven. We do not stick our nose in there. The main or the main coven that controls us, yeah, that council that we have, they're only concerned of have you broken any of the uh Lady Sheba laws or any of the Ba laws. So I could teach. So you could teach right. Egyptian and right. But as long as you're teaching the base teachings where we consider it pertinent to where, okay, even though y'all were doing Egyptian over here at your temple, y'all could come back to the main temple and still be able to function quite well. You know, y'all know exactly what's going on and why we're doing what we're doing. Right.

SPEAKER_03

As a traditionalist, when it comes to ritual, is there any time that you would change something? And if you were going to change something, do you just change it or do you have to call in a group of elders and go, okay, here's what we want to do?

SPEAKER_02

Give me an example of what you're talking about.

SPEAKER_03

Colors. If you just wanted to change instead of the basic pagan colors, you wanted to use your Celtic colors. Just something simple like that.

SPEAKER_02

From temple to temple, no. We would expect that all the temples would teach both colors. Does that make sense?

SPEAKER_03

Well, you're the parent temple, correct? Right. So if you wanted to change them.

SPEAKER_02

If I wanted to change them.

SPEAKER_03

Yes.

SPEAKER_02

Considering what my position is and what I do, uh, if I'm going to change a tradition, try to change or alter a tradition, I better have a good reason. Because I'm going to the council. Because when we're talking about that council level, that's something that affects all temples. Mm. Good answer. So I I have to have a really good argument, a good study, or a good reason behind doing this action. Does that make sense? Yeah, it's a good answer. I like it. I mean, I I really have to have my study down and proof and evidence of hey, guess what? We were wrong, it was really this.

SPEAKER_03

Has that happened?

SPEAKER_02

Not really. You know, the majority of the stuff that we debate on that level are more fine details. So nothing major. Nothing major.

SPEAKER_03

That would change your whole way of life.

SPEAKER_02

Well, like like for example, we do our initiations at a set point during the year. If we needed to change that for whatever reason, I better have some really good evidence of why it should be moved. This would be some groundbreaking, oh my God. I'd have to find some ancient stone tablet. And drag it with me. And it carbon dated and all this other stuff. You know, it's it's never uh just because it just feels right. It just feels right. I mean, I I think that's one thing all traditionalists have in common. I could be wrong, but most of the traditionalists I have met, like me, there's always the reason why. No, we might not always be able to tell you or straight out tell you, or just because you know, your Billy Joe, Jim Bob, that comes up out of the street and asking me questions. Well, what about this? What about that? What about that? I'm probably not going to be able to directly answer all your questions. I might eventually have to look at you going, that's a mystery. I really can't discuss that. If you get too pushy about it, I typically like to try to avoid it because you know most people get upset as soon as you sit there and go, oh, that's a mystery. I can't discuss it. Oh, you're hiding knowledge. You shouldn't hide knowledge. No, it's a traditional mystery. We're not allowed to do this.

SPEAKER_03

Well, it's a mystery religion.

SPEAKER_02

It's a mystery religion. Well, you know, you shouldn't have mysteries from payment. Well, take the classes. Right. You know, they're available to you. Yes, they are available to everybody. Believe it or not, our classes are free. We do not charge for class for spiritual classes. At Life Temple and Seminary, we do not charge for classes. You can come, yes, when you show up. There is an interview process, and that's just to see if there's a a good fit. Right. I've met with people and sit there by talking to them, I might look at them and at the end of it go, you know, I really don't think you're going to be happy in this organization, in this structure. There's this place over here or this place over here, you might fit in better.

SPEAKER_03

And does anybody else have to agree with that or just you if you are teaching this person?

SPEAKER_02

If I'm teaching this person, no, it's just me. At a third degree, I have that right.

SPEAKER_03

Do you have to let anybody else in the cupboard that you have a new student?

SPEAKER_02

Nope. Do you typically let others? I typically yet yes. I typically let others know. And it's normally after so long I've been teaching somebody. Probably about three months. Right. Three or four months. Um why is that?

SPEAKER_04

Why is it three months?

SPEAKER_02

Three to four months. I will call up the lady and say, Hey, guess what? I got a new student. This is who it is. But you don't have to. No, I don't have to. Just like she don't have to either, but You do. But we do just to keep each other informed. Because you're talking more alone like that random person. If I'm doing a full on class because we've had a a bunch of inquiries and stuff like that, and I'm gonna be having a class of 10, 20 people. Oh, she's gonna know from the start.

SPEAKER_03

The floodgates have opened.

SPEAKER_02

Oops, hey, guess what? I got like twenty people I gotta do class with. It's gonna be upfront and honest. Sometimes it don't happen that way. Sometimes it will just be one student.

SPEAKER_03

It's nice when it's just one student. At least from the student's point of view.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, but we can't do that for everybody, so you know, sometimes it just happens that way. It also depends on what area you're in. Any other questions.

SPEAKER_03

That you know of.

SPEAKER_02

That I know of?

SPEAKER_03

Yeah, that you know of.

SPEAKER_02

I know all traditionists you have to do some type of coursework. Is that's a traditional thing, is that you you have to do some type of coursework to get your first degree or to be considered for first degree. Typically that process goes like this is you contact a temple or you find a temple or you find us and you'll email us and talk to someone like Oswin, who will then set up an appointment to talk to somebody like me or Lady Alba or Lord Racelin to meet with, to study under, or to study with. We'll meet with you, do an interview. If we decide to teach you, we'll exchange informations then, and normally that first meeting is met somewhere out in public. We'll ask some questions, let you talk a lot, and then you'll start your classes. Now, somewhere in the point of that class, we'll start suggesting to you that you might want to fill out a letter or to write a letter to request initiation in the first degree if you want it. Because that choice, that first step, that first choice there is your choice. I've had a lot of people that have done classes and said, Nope, don't want to get initiated. All I wanted was this info, bye. And they leave and go on the merry way.

SPEAKER_03

And you were okay with that?

SPEAKER_02

Yes. Well, I have to be. That's the way our bylaws are set up. Because I think there's a lot of problems, is people think just because you take the first degree classes that you have to get initiated.

SPEAKER_03

Is your choice. Well, you don't want anybody to become a member that doesn't want to be. Right. I don't want somebody there that don't want to be there. Or feel like they should out of obligation. You know, I took the class.

unknown

Right.

SPEAKER_02

You know, I mean now with that said, over the years we've had people that have come and took the class, and we're upfront and honest with us to start with going, hey, I'm not going to be initiated. You know, somebody in my family is, I just want to learn more. We've had police officers come to us and go, I want to learn more about this religion because out of my job, we got a lot of these, and I'd like to know how can I put this? Yeah, are they devil worshippers or you know, are they doing something they're not supposed to, or are they part of this religion? Or am I dealing with a bunch of kids that have watched one too many horror movies?

SPEAKER_03

Do you give him the rundown or do you teach him the classes or how we teach them, we teach the classes.

SPEAKER_02

That's you know, that way they know. They know what questions to ask to figure out what these people are. That seems awful strange, I know, for some people, but that they'd care, you mean? Well, that they care or that we do classes that way, that we're letting you run free with certain information. But again, there's a re Sorry. There's a reason we call them first degree mysteries, and that you're not gonna learn a lot of these mysteries until you're after your first degree.

SPEAKER_03

And do you do that to be mean?

SPEAKER_02

No. We want to know if you're gonna stick around or not.

SPEAKER_03

And mysteries have to be revealed um through at a certain through a certain progression, yes. And you don't charge for classes?

SPEAKER_02

No, ma'am. Why not? It is the way our bylaws were set up when temple was set up, and Lord men truly believe that spiritual knowledge should not have a price tag attached to it. And which I believe the same thing.

SPEAKER_03

Is that just your tradition, or are most traditionalists that way?

SPEAKER_02

All I can speak about again on that is my tradition. The only time I would actually ever think about charging for classes is again if I had twenty-something people that wanted to learn all at one time, and I needed to rent a space to house all these people forever how long the class is. And even then, for the class. No, not the class itself. It would be, hey, look, we're having to spend this much to rent this conference room or whatever, and here's the price, and I rent this out all this time. Here's what I'm gonna need from everybody to kind of help reimburse that. Right. Again, we're not going to hunt for the most expensive or fanciest places.

SPEAKER_03

So just something with the roof over your head.

SPEAKER_02

Well, something affordable that we feel comfortable enough to start teaching these classes. Because to us, the safety of those taking the classes is just as important as anything else. Some people have certain careers and stuff, and then that they're afraid that if people found out that they're interested in this religion, that it might reflect badly on them. It's still taboo. It is, to a certain extent. So, you know, if you're a professional, if you're a doctor or a lawyer or something else where you're dealing with the public, you really don't necessarily want people to know that. Sometimes you might not even want certain family members to know your beliefs. Because their beliefs contrast with yours. Right. Now with that now, with that said, I'm going to be honest with you. If you come to me and your spouse doesn't know, I'm probably not going to teach you if you have a spouse or a significant other.

SPEAKER_03

Because of the drama associated with it?

SPEAKER_02

Because of the drama and the some of the stuff or lessons that you're going to be learning to do this group is not going to be subtle.

SPEAKER_03

Really?

SPEAKER_02

Really.

SPEAKER_03

It's totally good information.

SPEAKER_02

You know, some of the stuff we teach and to get you to do changes people.

SPEAKER_03

Uh-huh.

SPEAKER_02

And I d I believe it for the majority of people, it changes them for the better. For the majority. For the majority. And I'm sorry, these are not things that you can hide from somebody that close to you.

SPEAKER_03

So you wouldn't do anything or teach anybody that you thought was going to put Covenant at risk or in danger or anything like that. No.

SPEAKER_02

I mean, the last thing you want to do is teach somebody with an angry spouse who doesn't want them to following them over there for rituals and classes and coming in and interrupting them, find out what's going on and blow up. Right. Not going to do that. If you do not think your spouse ain't going to suddenly notice you going over to some strange guy's house once a month for several hours with a group of other people. Oh no, it's just the book club.

SPEAKER_03

Uh it's a Tupperware party.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, but I never see you read any books.

SPEAKER_03

But where's the Tupperware?

SPEAKER_02

It's not gonna happen. I mean, especially, you know, because I mean we have certain reading lists and there's certain books that are pretty obvious what they are. They're not recipe books. Yeah, I I see you're in a book club and I see you're reading drawing down the moon.

SPEAKER_03

Right. Right.

SPEAKER_02

What's this about?

SPEAKER_03

Um, a lady. She likes the moon. Pentagram on it, might give it away. Might give it away.

SPEAKER_02

You know, or when you start, you know, keeping notebooks and and notes and start doing things like, oh, you know, they've never meditated before, but now they are.

SPEAKER_03

Interesting.

SPEAKER_02

Interesting. I'm going to this book club. What's going on over here? I I mean, Keegan, let's just be honest. Could you have hidden everything you've gone through for through your studies so far? Could you have hidden all this from your husband? No. No. So I don't see you getting away with that.

SPEAKER_03

No. Absolutely not. And it's not just the books that you read or the person's house you go through every month. It is what you go through as a person. You can't hide that. No. Tell them that you're just having a mental breakdown.

SPEAKER_04

Well, I'm out of coffee. Oh, I've been out of coffee.

SPEAKER_01

Thank you for listening to Peggy and Coffee Talk. I hope you join us next week.

SPEAKER_00

We travel down the straddle and path the maze of stone and mire. Just hold my hand as we pass by a sea of blazing fire. And so it is the end of our days. So off with me till morning. And so it is the end of our day. So off with me till morning.

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