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I was just playing around online because, for some odd reason, I started thinking about coding a random craft name generator. Honestly it would be mostly for fun, but it got me to thinking about the whole issue of Wicca and having a “craft name.”
I used to be Wiccan, once upon a long time ago. As part of my training I was required to choose a craft name. At the time, I was totally into Wicca and I chose a name without hesitation. I was Ariana RavenWind in my online Pagan circles. As I grew older and my spirituality shifted and developed, I dropped the name, as I had no attachment to it anymore. I’d call myself an eclectic spiritualist now, since there’s no real name for what I practice, and I’ve never felt the need for another fake name.
Now, I don’t mean to knock Wicca in any way, so let’s just get that settled. I do, however, have a lot of problems with it. The craft name is one of them. Okay, I get that having a name to call yourself during spiritual practices and to use online to maintain anonymity can potentially have its uses. Overall though, I don’t really see any point in it. You are who you are, and the powers that be know who you are. Having a fake name doesn’t really make you more connected or make them hear you any differently.
For me, I think it actually would distance a person in a way. It’s like you’re splitting yourself in two. There’s the “normal” you, and the “spiritual” you. You go by one name in the light of day, and by another in the secrecy of your spiritual space. It’s like being a superhero with a secret identity, and you’ve likely seen enough movies to know that that never works out as well as they want. By dividing yourself into two aspects, no one ever gets the whole you.
In my mind, I want to give all that I am to my deities. Ariana RavenWind was my spiritual side, the Wiccan side, but it wasn’t who I lived as. Briana Blair is a whole person, and lives as both a mundane and spiritual individual, as situations require. Maybe I just think about it oddly, but I have never really believed that coming up with some sort of flower child name does anything for one’s spirituality. I did it in my youth because at that time, I didn’t know there were other options, and I was told it was a required part of the process.
Now, for those who feel it is a needed or wanted part of your path, by all means, go for it. However, I do encourage you to think about it. If no one had ever told you that it was a required or expected part of your spiritual practices, would you have ever come up with another name for yourself? I don’t think many people would, which strengthens my belief that it’s a practice we don’t need to adhere to.
