Our Student Spotlight shines this week on Darryl McGlynn. Darryl has completed Witchcraft III in the online Mystery School and is enrolled in Witchcraft IV. His mentor, Silver Lyons, said in her recommendation: “Darryl has been, truly, an ideal student: curious, determined, motivated, disciplined. He’s a seasoned practitioner on the path, but came into WI with a permissive willingness to return to the beginner’s mind, allowing himself to be open to not only furthering his practice, but to deepening his own inner flame as he opens the way to the teacher’s path. Darryl embodies the magick of Witchcraft by molding and shaping himself into alignment with his True Will. I’m a better teacher and mentor from working with him.”
Thank you, Silver, for the nomination, and thank you, Darryl, for sharing your spiritual journey with us.
Tell us a little about yourself, please.
I was first introduced to the pagan path in 1993 when a friend of mine asked me to take part in a Samhain ritual. Though back then I did not know the term Samhain, I went because he was my friend. That night was the first of two moments that changed my life’s path. From that night I started to research and purchase many books on the pagan path. I am more of a doer than reader. I like to learn new techniques, but I learn them and then use them. I studied and practiced for many years, and then in 2001 I sort of “died off.” Things just felt like they were not working properly. I continued to practice but felt like I was being pulled in a different direction. So I called to the Divine and asked to be shown how to fix this feeling. This is the second moment that changed my life. This happened in 2007 when I went to my local book store, Chapters/Indigo and, like usual, l I went to the Spiritual/New Age section. I turned the corner and off the shelf fell a book. It landed right at my feet; it was The Temple of High Witchcraft. I thought I this was a sign, so I purchased it. As I started to read it I found out that it was the fourth book in a five-part series. So I purchased the first book and started to read and learn. Purchasing The Temple series was the second moment that changed my life.
Today I work within my community, giving back. I am a member of a group called SiMuCOR, which is a coalition of old religions that gather at the sabbats and hold semi-public ritual celebrations. We also host monthly pub moots and other various events. I also hold various workshops at different pagan events in my area.
Outside of my spiritual practice, I work in the security industry. I am in charge of audit and compliance for a tracking system of 113 units deployed across Canada. In my personal life, I just recently purchased my first home in Orillia. It is a little hobby farm where my wife and I can keep our six horses. I love fringe science shows like Marvel’s Agents of Shield and Revolution. I also enjoy fantasy shows like The Walking Dead and Falling Skies.
What class are you currently taking with the Temple? Can you tell us about the experience?
I am currently waiting for Witchcraft IV to begin. WIII has been a hard year for me. Seems like I breezed through WI and WII, but WIII was the universe fighting back, I guess. I think the shadow work is the most difficult for me. The healing and journeys are amazing, but the distilling the shadow exercise proved to be a struggle. Thankfully my mentor, Silver, had my back and aided me when I needed it. I usually do not have much time to respond to every email I get since many of them are for work, but I do read all the feedback Silver gives me and take it to heart.
What drew you to the Temple’s mystery school?
As I read through the Temple series, I fell in love with Christopher’s writing and teaching style. I love that I get all the info needed to complete my monthly studies, and I know exactly what is expected of me to finish. I also love the idea that there is no specific time limit, just hand it in before the end of the month. LOVE THIS! That is the main reason why I decided to join the Temple Mystery School.
How do you use what you’ve learned in your daily life?
Like I previously stated, I am more of a doer than anything else. Everything I learn, I do my best to incorporate it into my daily life. After reading The Three Rays of Witchcraft, I started to call on the three rays in some of my rituals. After a while I noticed that the rituals that I called on the rays were more powerful and profound for me. I love the visualization of the “namer / shaper / watcher” self and use that in my everyday practice, either as a priest administering to my pagan community or at work as a supervisor. Yes, I use this idea at work. I have security guards that ask me all kinds of questions, and sometimes these little tidbits of information come out. I can remember one time I was leading ritual and I started to listen to myself speaking and thought…”WOW! Do I ever sound like Christopher?”
I also use meditation a lot. So much that I teach it to anyone that asks, on the spot. I truly believe that a simple breathing meditation for 5–10 minutes daily, would allow a person to be healthier and happier.
One powerful teaching that I started to use in my life on a regular basis came from my mentor Silver. She speaks these words often and now I find myself speaking them also. They are, “Did you journal about it?” She has been on me from the beginning about journaling, and now I use this in my everyday life.
What’s next for you as a student/member of the Temple?
Currently I am looking forward to WIV and continuing on to WV and then applying to the ministry. I would like to help the Temple’s ministry in any way I can. But I do want to focus on the mystery school first. I have learned to not bite off more than I can chew. Outside of the mystery school, I have held a Temple table to help promote the Temple in my area. I do look forward to holding another one. But for now it is all about finishing the mystery school, then moving on to help the ministry as much as I can. I am also hoping to attend and maybe teach a workshop at Templefest 2014. I just need to make sure I can get the time off, since I am on call 24 hours.