If you wish to walk the Wiccan path, basically speaking you don't need a teacher, but if you want to be more serious about it, it is advisable. A teacher can answer your questions, he/she can help you to understand the teachings, because he/she had years to experience and learn before you. Naturally, you can be a serious Wiccan all by yourself, but if you have the possibility, it is always a good idea to at least talk to more experienced people.
It is never an easy task to find a reliable teacher. Unfortunately there are many out there who claim to know a lot, but in reality their knowledge is rather limited. Speaking from personal experience, this may also be true even to some people who are quite famous in the Pagan community. A good teacher is confident, doesn't brag, and treats his/her student like people. When teaching, he/she is consistent, and what may be the most important of all characterstics: he/she also practices what he/she teaches. One should always avoid a teacher who doesn't seem to be sympathetic as a person. Wicca is traditionally not taught for money, so we should also keep this in mind when we are looking for a teacher.
In Wicca there is no central authority - I often say that this is it's greatest blessing and curse at the same time. A blessing, because this provides us with the maximum amount of personal freedom; a curse, because thanks to this anyone can just go out there and claim to be a Wiccan teacher - and they do this a lot of times after just reading a couple of books. So if you are looking for a teacher, you better watch out if you want to find the right person.
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