I'm not sure if anyone else who is an HPs ever tells the general populace how bad it can suck, but I'm going to. It sucks. Let me tell you why:
1) People come to you when they want something: of course they do! Tis your job fair servant of the Goddess! But I am human, like all of us, and the funny thing is that people often forget that when they're lining up day after day to ask how to celebrate the esbats & the sabbats the right way, to ask you how to translate their latest astrological transits, to ask if you've spoken to their dear aunt rita lately. You get the idea. You start to feel like a dispenser after a while instead of a human. Is service noble? Sure it is! Does it suck sometimes, absolutely!
2) People put you on a pedestal made up of their own issues: Is it my role to be the whipping post, the target for target practice as they shoot at their fears? You bet it is!! If I say one word incorrectly, don't frame all of my advice in loving words, don't offer up hours of support for some emotional crises then I am a selfish, egocentric, power hungry bitch who is just in this for the fame. WHAT?? Oh yeah, it's awesome when you take one of our 10 vacation days to go and be "of service" to someone and wind up at the end of the day being the target for their aggression and judgement because they wanted you to behave a certain way or make them look impressive. Oh the joys.
3) The energies of the divine spirit move as they will, even when you're in traffic! Yep! Do we learn how to ground out and handle it? Yep. Is is scary as hell the first time you zone out at a stoplight and have some rude asshole in the back of you honk their horn? oh yeah! As a servant of the divine, I have been hollowed out to receive their will. They operate on a totally different timeline than humans do, so they tend to send messages at odd times. IT's not deadly, just a little unsettling until you get used to it.
4) Me time often times turns into WE time. When you are lucky enough to find another Wiccan Priest or Priestess who is emotionally mature enough to recognize that you're human and like company and a compassionate listening ear, often times your conversations turn to their challenges and issues faster than you can say "I was reading my cards..." True, you are lucky enough to have someone to talk to, yes they do care about you enough to listen. But at the end of day it's a lonely place to be in service to the Gods and feeling like the burden of translating the messages the right way in bumper to bumper traffic is never going to lift.
Now that I've vented about how much being an HPs sucks, I will talk about why it doesn't suck
to ensure balance.I get to listen to spirits. It's cool, they tell the truth (from their point of view). They tell me things that no one expects me to know. It's like being in my own private club. Other religious leaders (Spiritualists mostly) get to talk to spirits too.. but not many other religions encourage it. I think that's cool.
I get to write rituals. While it is work, channeling divine will into writing rituals is a very satisfying experience. I love watching what comes out because automatic writing (after a fashion) is a very enlightening experience.
I am changing the world, really. Magick is about will, and love.. knowledge, and secrecy. We learn all these cool things, and then we get to start practicing them. And because practice makes perfect we earn the gift of magick through watching our own power develop. It really is an amazing process to watch yourself and others transform as adults into peaceful, balanced people who can change their lives and are comfortable doing so instead of standing around complaining about it like a victim.
