Q&A- You got Questions, We got anwsers ^^

[Nihilistic Seraph]

You can't go wrong with Cunningham.

Wicca for the Solitary Practitioner Scott Cunningham

Living Wicca Scott Cunningham

I like how in the intro to Living, he make a note of apology to "certain tradition who have been offended by my views of Wicca" or something to that effect whee  

[Jameta]

I also enjoyed The Craft by Dorothy Morrison; its a great basic book, especially if you want to strengthen your skills instead of casting spells. I refer back to it a bit (although I cross-check the references with other specific-reference books).

As for history, it is recommeneded that everyone looking into Wicca read Gerald B. Gardner's Witchcraft Today. While you may not agree with what he says, its still good to review and have in mind.
And I should really take my own advice.  

[WebenBanu]

Renaela

So Im really looking for any suggestions you guys can give as far as going about the whole process of getting more into Wicca, any books you think would be helpful. I really want to ground myself in the history of it, and understanding certain aspects of it (casting a circle, calling the quarters, the proper way to go about spell casting, does it REALLY matter if you do certain spells when the planets, etc, arent in proper allignment.) Ive definately got a lot of questions, and, as aforementioned, any information that can be provided to me in regards to books to read, or sites to check out, would be really greatly appreciated.

Well I'm really curious as to who wrote the book you were originally reading, but if you've been told not to mention the name, then you probably shouldn't.^_~

Personally, I liked Raven Grimassi for an explanation of Wiccan theology and magical theory. His history is all theoretical and may be questionable, though, so I suggest that you stick to theology and theory. Basically, Wiccan history is the history of Gerald Gardner. He publicized (and most likely, created) it back in the 1950's after the last witchcraft laws were repealed in England, and released it as the continuation of an "ancient religion." Soon after, Marija Gimbutas- an archeologist- published her theories on an ancient European "Goddess culture," which seems to have been immediately claimed by those early Wiccans as their tradition's point of origin. Gimbutas' ideas have since been called into question by the rest of archeological society (and some Pagans), but they were cutting-edge archeology at the time. It provided historical validation for a lot of Pagans, at the time, and many are tenaciously refusing to let go.^_^'

Suffice to say that magic and gods and goddesses have existed for a very long time. However, simply because Wicca involves all three and borrows from a variety of old religious and magical constructs does not mean that it's just as old as they are. That seems to be where much of the confusion over Wicca's age lies.

Nihilistic Seraph

You can't go wrong with Cunningham.

Well, you can, actually, but I loved Cunningham as well when I first started.^_^ I still like his reference books and recommend them to anyone's magical library. Bear in mind that I have a very special fondness for Cunningham, and credit him for much of my early Wiccan education. However. The main concern that I have over Cunningham today is that he seems to have been the main instigator in the development of "do-it-yourselfer" self-taught "traditions" of Wicca, which mostly have very little grounding in actual Wiccan myteries and education, and even less experience with which to be designing new expressions of the religion about which they actually know very little.^_^' And then those people start writing books and proclaiming themselves to be "experts" who can tell other people how unnecessary it is to have a full magical/religious education before hiving off on their own and continuing the cycle. Cunningham seems to be a point of origin for people who think that Wicca is a "do whatever you feel like" sort of religion- most of those folks would be shocked spitless if they ever came across Gardner's BoS. rofl Cunningham was trying to loosen up a sense of restriction on Wicca in a time where there simply weren't enough covens around to educate all the new seekers. Unfortunately, that lead to our current situation- which is that there still aren't enough covens to train neophytes, and now we have the extra added burden of figuring out who actually knows what they're teaching and who just took a page out of Cunningham's book and decided to found their own line.^_^'

So, I'd say that Cunningham's an interesting read. But he should only be attempted by those who can understand the implications of self-dedication, education, and training as outlined above. While I do not disdain self-dedication itself (I did it, when I was Wiccan^_^), I think that it's important to realize that it is a patch to place over a tear in the fabric of Wiccan society- and not a certificate of degree.  

[Nihilistic Seraph]

Hmm, I hadn't thought of that, good point.  

[Kuroyue]

AxeFalador

Merry meet. I'm new to the guild and new to Paganism. So as you can guess, I have lots of questions. But right now, only one.

I'm particularly interested in Dragon Magick, and have been wondering how I could possibly tie in Pendulum Divination into Dragon Magick. I'd like to hear your suggestions and ideas. Thanks in advance. 3nodding

I'm an atheist, so is the rest of my immediate family. But I hold such an avid interest in the Wiccan/Pagan religion that I really want to join...But I'm underage, and I hardly think that my family would approve.

ANYWAY....I'm also interested in Dragon Magick. In fact, I have a book on it (very thick) that tells you about their disposition, history, how to call one, etc. Heck, I even TRIED it. Now I have two guardian dragons on my shoulders every day that I'm not even sure if they're just fragments of my imagination or not... This book is called "Dancing with Dragons" by D.J. Conway, you may be able to find this book in Barnes and Nobles. However, a few words of warning in advance: you'll need to be able to access the astral in some way, or else you might not be able to perceive the presence of dragons, because they reside in the astral realm. This is the main reason why I'm trying to learn how to astral project. Also, there were some comments that I noticed...Some people thought it was excellent and they were just so glad that they could finally meet a dragon, but others called it a ripoff of wiccan spells and stuff...

Yah, it's your choice whether to get this book or not, but I will tell you, it is very informative. smile Also, you'll need tools for spells like sword, dagger, mirror, altar,...but those can be replaced with something similar.  

[Nihilistic Seraph]

Suzuroi

ANYWAY....I'm also interested in Dragon Magick. In fact, I have a book on it (very thick) that tells you about their disposition, history, how to call one, etc. Heck, I even TRIED it. Now I have two guardian dragons on my shoulders every day that I'm not even sure if they're just fragments of my imagination or not...

Depends. Do the dragons have reason to sit on your shoulder all day and do nothing but watch for you?

Quote:

This book is called "Dancing with Dragons" by D.J. Conway, you may be able to find this book in Barnes and Nobles.

I've heard a lot about Conway, both food and bad, so I can't say.

Quote:

However, a few words of warning in advance: you'll need to be able to access the astral in some way, or else you might not be able to perceive the presence of dragons, because they reside in the astral realm. This is the main reason why I'm trying to learn how to astral project. Also, there were some comments that I noticed...Some people thought it was excellent and they were just so glad that they could finally meet a dragon, but others called it a ripoff of wiccan spells and stuff...

Good luck with that, Astral Projection is extremely hard. i tried every night for over a month straight and got...parts of my extremeties out?

Quote:

Yah, it's your choice whether to get this book or not, but I will tell you, it is very informative. smile Also, you'll need tools for spells like sword, dagger, mirror, altar,...but those can be replaced with something similar.

Or done away with completely and re-formated to your own uses, but hey, to each their won.  

[Goddess Hekate]

Nihilistic Seraph

I've heard a lot about Conway, both food and bad, so I can't say.

rofl
food and bad? Now really never heard of someone being refered to ads food or just bad. New trend?  

[Mina Beltara]

A good theory book that I've picked up to read has been The Elements of Ritual by Deborah Lipp. She talks about the history of why we call things to a circle and the roles they play.  

[Siofra Da`Halbria]

Jameta

Nah, just because you look one way doesn't mean you are something. Unless they're flamboyant about it, aka, having a giant pentacle hanging from their neck. sweatdrop Get to know him a bit more for his personality before you ask about his faith, IMO. 3nodding

Very true. I remember last year there was a guy named Daniel in my American History class. He was quiet, hardly ever talked to anyone but me. He dressed in normal clothes, t-shirts and jeans. He talked about joining the Marines. You would have never guessed that he was a Satanist.

After sitting next to me for half the school year, he told me, and I was just like "Oh that's cool. I would have never guessed. I'm a Wiccan." I mean, what could I say? It's kind of refreshing to meet a non Christian. Here I am, one of only a few pagans in my school, with tons of people thinking I worship the Devil and hex people (even though I debate the badness of that with them) and I meet someone who really does worship the Devil! It was beautiful.

We never really talked about religion for the rest of the year. It just wasn't that important. I didn't really care that he worshipped Satan. It's not like he tried to convert me to his side like all the Christians do. I never tried to convert him to Wicca. If he was/ still is happy worshipping the Devil, I think he should go right on ahead doing it. I think he said something about becoming a vet too. I can't remember exactly.  

[T-kal Thornside]

does anyone know anything about the Great Olde Ones? I've been meaning to do some rituals but I need some methods. I already have a ritual for Calling Cthulhu....  

[Jameta]

Bayne Wraithson

Does anyone know anything about the Great Olde Ones? I've been meaning to do some rituals but I need some methods. I already have a ritual for Calling Cthulhu....

Myself, not particularly. I thought Cthulhu was fictional; then again, I've been wrong before.  

[Nihilistic Seraph]

Goddess Hekate

Nihilistic Seraph

I've heard a lot about Conway, both food and bad, so I can't say.

rofl
food and bad? Now really never heard of someone being refered to ads food or just bad. New trend?

Good! Good!

Damn typos, and f being right next to g...  

[Nihilistic Seraph]

Jameta

Bayne Wraithson

Does anyone know anything about the Great Olde Ones? I've been meaning to do some rituals but I need some methods. I already have a ritual for Calling Cthulhu....

Myself, not particularly. I thought Cthulhu was fictional; then again, I've been wrong before.

Depends who you ask. The orinigal idea of Cthulu was created by HP Lovecraft, but I've heard a lot about summoning anything out of the potential of the Infinite of the Divine. From Cthulu to SpongeBob...

Why you would want to summon Cthulu on the other hand...  

[Mina Beltara]

I have an animated gif of Hello Kitty Cthulu.  

[WebenBanu]

failesaich

A good theory book that I've picked up to read has been The Elements of Ritual by Deborah Lipp. She talks about the history of why we call things to a circle and the roles they play.

Thanks for the recommendation- that sounds like an interesting book. I've always loved reading the mechanics behind things such as magic and ritual- modern instruction texts frequently get tunnel-vision on the "how to" parts, and leave out the "why."

Nihilistic Seraph

The orinigal idea of Cthulu was created by HP Lovecraft, but I've heard a lot about summoning anything out of the potential of the Infinite of the Divine. From Cthulu to SpongeBob...

SpongeBob? Now that's just scarey. eek

failesaich

I have an animated gif of Hello Kitty Cthulu.

I have a Hello Cthulu sweatshirt.^_^ I got it at Cafepress.com- unfortunately the particular image which I have isn't there anymore, and I like it better than the ones which are currently available.