ofwoodandbone:

I try to keep the initiation questions to a minimum, but I think this is a good question to be answered. 
Initiation is, above all else, a death of the self, ego, and soul. When it begins, they accept that all that they are will no longer be. When they finish, they are made anew, with a new self, ego, and even a changed soul. 
When people make pacts with gods, bind themselves to them with dedications rites and baptisms, they wear oaths on their souls and selves. “I give all that I am to you.” 
What happens when that person no longer exists? What happens when that soul is transformed? The god no longer has claim on it. 
Some witches make this explicit in their initiation rites, denouncing God for connection with the Devil or whatever spirits that lead their tradition.

Now, as far as finding a teacher or other witches goes, this specific question has been flooding my inbox as of late. Evidently, a lot of witches are feeling very lonesome. 

Many rituals used by American witches to ask for initiation also doubled as a way to call witches to them. If they passed, if they became one of them, witches would come to them and invite them into their circles. 

Many of the witches who do things that others believe impossible, even other witches, live secretly. They don’t announce who or what they are. They simply do their thing. You’d be surprised how many of them are scattered and hidden. 

With concern to a teacher, witches haven’t needed people to teach them the craft. It certainly makes it a lot easier, but it’s not necessary.
I never had a teacher, yet I learned as much as I know now.
There are other things that will teach if they feel you are the right student.