The Nine Conversations

Being a gothi/gythia is a serious undertaking. There is so much to learn over a lifetime, but there are many people who want to follow that path. That is why there are so many questions about it.

Over the years, I've had many conversations related to this subject. I wanted to gather all of that information to make it available to persons visiting this website in search of answers. As I compiled the necessary bits, it was clear that a dry explanation would be very lengthy and still never communicate everything. What's more, there are many existing books that already provide good details for many of the subjects involved.

Instead, I've prepared Nine Conversations. The conversational nature of these items helps convey the information better than an academic discourse possibly could. The conversations follow a character called Younger who is just starting out on the path to become a gothi. Here, "gothi" is used to keep things simple; the conversation does not make reference to gender or sex.

Younger seeks advice from another character called Elder. In general, Younger asks common questions from those starting out, and Elder answers in a guiding way. At the end of each conversation, there is a list of "recommended reading" items pointing to books that can give far greater detail on the topic of the conversation. Following that, you will find a list of the important points from the conversation.

The conversations, the questions and answers, all of these come from my own experiences. As such, you will probably find people out there who disagree with me. I recommend that you find out what they have to say, compare it with what I've said, and then make up your own mind.