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Sanguina Cruenta
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Eloquent Bloodsucker

PostPosted: Fri Sep 04, 2009 2:34 pm
Unusual Inescapable Me
I meant more of the spirits that dwell in the trees and such. I just wasn't really sure how to explain it. confused Ahhh I'm still confused as to how to say it.


That's not really anything to do with hedgecraft. Green witchcraft, maybe.  
PostPosted: Wed Sep 09, 2009 7:28 am
I've been raised as a christian and it was just stuck in my mind. However, I had this keen thrill and fascination for magic and creatures not in my grasp. As many know, magic or witchcraft is horrid for a christian to even consider. So, it was around the time when I was 14 that I had my interests set on Wicca and Paganism even though I didn't study it. I was a bit afraid of what my mother would think of that and never said a word to her about it. In the month of January, I started my practices with Wicca and it was my boyfriend that got me into this religion. I felt so at home the more I studied and learned about it. It's been 8 months already and I feel so alive, yknow? It's like I've come home or like I've been accepted into something so much more. Like this part of me has been missing for a good part of my young life, haha.

Anyway, I do call myself a Wiccan and I feel really good about it. But, I'm 17, a few months away from my 18th birthday in January so then I'll be initiated properly as a Wiccan. I've already made a coven, however, with my mate, his mother, and a very dear friend of mine whom I consider one of my elder brothers. With my Momma's {my mate's mother} help, I've recently been expanding my empathy skills and learning how to control them properly, although, I did have something of an empathy attack. I was reaching out too far and too much which resulted in a way of emotions to crash on me. I didn't know how to handle that one. Making the decision wasn't hard at all to become part of this religion and it just feels right.

Blessed Be!
~Arrielle~
 

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Morgandria

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PostPosted: Wed Sep 09, 2009 9:48 am
Autumn Nightclaw
I've been raised as a christian and it was just stuck in my mind. However, I had this keen thrill and fascination for magic and creatures not in my grasp. As many know, magic or witchcraft is horrid for a christian to even consider. So, it was around the time when I was 14 that I had my interests set on Wicca and Paganism even though I didn't study it. I was a bit afraid of what my mother would think of that and never said a word to her about it. In the month of April, I started my practices with Wicca and it was my boyfriend that got me into this religion. I felt so at home the more I studied and learned about it. It's been 6 months already and I feel so alive, yknow? It's like I've come home or like I've been accepted into something so much more. Like this part of me has been missing for a good part of my young life, haha.

Anyway, I do call myself a Wiccan and I feel really good about it. But, I'm 17, a few months away from my 18th birthday in January so then I'll be initiated properly as a Wiccan. I've already made a coven, however, with my mate, his mother, and a very dear friend of mine whom I consider one of my elder brothers. With my Momma's {my mate's mother} help, I've recently been expanding my empathy skills and learning how to control them properly, although, I did have something of an empathy attack. I was reaching out too far and too much which resulted in a way of emotions to crash on me. I didn't know how to handle that one. Making the decision wasn't hard at all to become part of this religion and it just feels right.

Blessed Be!
~Arrielle~


It sounds very much as if you're earnestly interested in Wicca - or at least in neo-pagan witchcraft. Unfortunetely, what you're currently practicing can't be called Wicca - just being 18 isn't enough.

Unless I am missing something, no-one in your coven is a lineaged initiate of a valid tradition, let alone a 3rd degree able to initiate otehrs into Wicca proper. Your coven is missing both access to the Mysteries, and access to the actual proper practice of Wicca, its' orthopraxic core. Because Wicca is a initiatory, Mystery-based, orthopraxic fertility witchcult, one cannot learn its' ways until after initiation.

Its' oathbound nature means no books or websites are published containing actual Wicca - books on the shelves or websites online are typically what's considered 'outer-court' by Wiccans: generically neo-pagan information that may provide a foundation for an initiate's future learning, but is not itself actually Wiccan. Unfortuntely, many unscrupulous publishers and authors continue to call their books 'Wicca'; it's intellectually dishonest, but 'Wicca' sells. This practice allows misinformation to flourish about Wicca, though, which leads to conversations like this.

Wicca is a lifelong commitment: a calling to be the priest/ess of two specific Deities, whose names are known only to their in initiates. It is not something to be entered into lightly. To be a Wiccan - indeed, Wiccan is a title - it must be earned, bestowed upon you by your peers after doing the work to earn it, and the right to access Wicca proper. And I assure you, as someone who has done the work...it comes after years, not months.

Wicca may not be the path you think it is - and you may discover that you are called to a different faith. But you won't know that if you rush into it and don't take the time to explore what other pagan religions exist. Wicca is not the only one.

What you currently practice now isn't invalid as a path. It's perfectly fine if you enjoy it and wish to continue. But strictly speaking, it isn't Wicca. It doesn't qualify as such on several points. But there's nothing wrong with being an eclectic neo-pagan witch. smile  
PostPosted: Thu Sep 10, 2009 5:37 am
Morgandria
Autumn Nightclaw
I've been raised as a christian and it was just stuck in my mind. However, I had this keen thrill and fascination for magic and creatures not in my grasp. As many know, magic or witchcraft is horrid for a christian to even consider. So, it was around the time when I was 14 that I had my interests set on Wicca and Paganism even though I didn't study it. I was a bit afraid of what my mother would think of that and never said a word to her about it. In the month of January, I started my practices with Wicca and it was my boyfriend that got me into this religion. I felt so at home the more I studied and learned about it. It's been 8 months already and I feel so alive, yknow? It's like I've come home or like I've been accepted into something so much more. Like this part of me has been missing for a good part of my young life, haha.

Anyway, I do call myself a Wiccan and I feel really good about it. But, I'm 17, a few months away from my 18th birthday in January so then I'll be initiated properly as a Wiccan. I've already made a coven, however, with my mate, his mother, and a very dear friend of mine whom I consider one of my elder brothers. With my Momma's {my mate's mother} help, I've recently been expanding my empathy skills and learning how to control them properly, although, I did have something of an empathy attack. I was reaching out too far and too much which resulted in a way of emotions to crash on me. I didn't know how to handle that one. Making the decision wasn't hard at all to become part of this religion and it just feels right.

Blessed Be!
~Arrielle~


It sounds very much as if you're earnestly interested in Wicca - or at least in neo-pagan witchcraft. Unfortunetely, what you're currently practicing can't be called Wicca - just being 18 isn't enough.

Unless I am missing something, no-one in your coven is a lineaged initiate of a valid tradition, let alone a 3rd degree able to initiate otehrs into Wicca proper. Your coven is missing both access to the Mysteries, and access to the actual proper practice of Wicca, its' orthopraxic core. Because Wicca is a initiatory, Mystery-based, orthopraxic fertility witchcult, one cannot learn its' ways until after initiation.

Its' oathbound nature means no books or websites are published containing actual Wicca - books on the shelves or websites online are typically what's considered 'outer-court' by Wiccans: generically neo-pagan information that may provide a foundation for an initiate's future learning, but is not itself actually Wiccan. Unfortuntely, many unscrupulous publishers and authors continue to call their books 'Wicca'; it's intellectually dishonest, but 'Wicca' sells. This practice allows misinformation to flourish about Wicca, though, which leads to conversations like this.

Wicca is a lifelong commitment: a calling to be the priest/ess of two specific Deities, whose names are known only to their in initiates. It is not something to be entered into lightly. To be a Wiccan - indeed, Wiccan is a title - it must be earned, bestowed upon you by your peers after doing the work to earn it, and the right to access Wicca proper. And I assure you, as someone who has done the work...it comes after years, not months.

Wicca may not be the path you think it is - and you may discover that you are called to a different faith. But you won't know that if you rush into it and don't take the time to explore what other pagan religions exist. Wicca is not the only one.

What you currently practice now isn't invalid as a path. It's perfectly fine if you enjoy it and wish to continue. But strictly speaking, it isn't Wicca. It doesn't qualify as such on several points. But there's nothing wrong with being an eclectic neo-pagan witch. smile


Hm, forgive if I sound a little tempered with my response to this seeing as you're entitled to your opinion, but some of the comments upset me a bit. Firstly, not that I'm saying this was your intention, but you make your statement as though you're talking to a child who doesn't know what she's getting into. I'll inform you that I know -exactly- what it is that I'm getting into and everything that you've just told me, I have already known.

Another thing that upset me a bit was the jab of stating that what I'm doing and what I am is neo-pagan. I disagree with you on that one. I'm not, nor is my mate, his mother, and my sibling neo-pagan. Assuming that we are is an insult, especially to my momma who's been doing this all her life. That's all I have to say about that. As for us not being a coven? What is it that determines an actual coven? For us, it's really like a family, which we are, but also, we are an actual coven, Miss.

Hm, I think I should have said that I'm a beginning Wiccan. I know that it comes with years instead of months, so please, just because you've done that work and all, don't tell me that I'm not a Wiccan. And I assure you, I haven't rushed into anything. I've been taking my time, gathering information, learning from my mate and his mother, and taking it all in the best that I can. So, I don't see where you get that I'm rushing anything.
Another than those things, I thank you for your advice and reply to what I had said previous.

Blessed Be
~Arrielle~
 

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PostPosted: Thu Sep 10, 2009 12:02 pm
Autumn Nightclaw

Hm, forgive if I sound a little tempered with my response to this seeing as you're entitled to your opinion, but some of the comments upset me a bit. Firstly, not that I'm saying this was your intention, but you make your statement as though you're talking to a child who doesn't know what she's getting into. I'll inform you that I know -exactly- what it is that I'm getting into and everything that you've just told me, I have already known.

Another thing that upset me a bit was the jab of stating that what I'm doing and what I am is neo-pagan. I disagree with you on that one. I'm not, nor is my mate, his mother, and my sibling neo-pagan. Assuming that we are is an insult, especially to my momma who's been doing this all her life. That's all I have to say about that. As for us not being a coven? What is it that determines an actual coven? For us, it's really like a family, which we are, but also, we are an actual coven, Miss.

Hm, I think I should have said that I'm a beginning Wiccan. I know that it comes with years instead of months, so please, just because you've done that work and all, don't tell me that I'm not a Wiccan. And I assure you, I haven't rushed into anything. I've been taking my time, gathering information, learning from my mate and his mother, and taking it all in the best that I can. So, I don't see where you get that I'm rushing anything.
Another than those things, I thank you for your advice and reply to what I had said previous.

Blessed Be
~Arrielle~


0) Off the top - PLEASE do not use 'Blessed Be' as a causal greeting. This is not what the phrase was intended for, and you are using it completely inappropriately and out of context. It's ritual language - it doesn't belong out of ritual.

1) I never said what you were doing was wrong. But - factually, none of it qualifies as Wiccan. There are requirements that need to be met, as laid down by the founder of the religion - and if you don't meet them, you can't be Wiccan.

Don't mistake my post as a moral judgement upon you. It isn't. It's simply factual. I am not trying to belittle you or talk down to you.

2) Assuming 'all your Momma's life' began in the 20th Century, she's still a neo-pagan. You most certainly are a neo-pagan. I'm a neo-pagan. Wicca is a neo-pagan faith - so even if you believe you are currently not a neo-pagan, if you do ever become a proper initiate, you will be.

Why do you think you're not a neo-pagan? What about your practice qualifies as anciently pagan, and has survived from ancient times to modern practice in an unbroken lineage?

3) You're a coven - I'm not debating that. A coven is just a group of witches. Being in a coven does not automatically make one Wiccan, or one's practice Wicca. There are plenty of non-Wiccan covens.

4) If you honestly believe that after 6 months of being a 'beginner Wiccan', that you're anywhere near ready to become an initiate - I really do think you're rushing!

Let me put that in perspective for you, though:

I was a Seeker of Wicca - looking for a coven - for 15 years. I met many groups along the way, didn't really have the perfect fit with any of them, and kept going. I tried out other pagan faiths in that time, as well, knowing perhaps Wicca wasn't the exact faith for me.

I finally found a coven, whom I am an initiated member of at this point. And I worked with them, and learned, and earned my way to initiation, over 5 years. And I still didn't feel ready, and initiation still knocked me on my a**, and it's still changing me, years after the fact.

6 months? That's not even enough time for my coven to have given a new Seeker the basic Pagan 101 teachings we have. That takes at least a year. And it's never sooner than 2 before a person is ready for initiation.

So while I believe you are eager and earnest, I still in no way think you know what you're getting into completely, or are ready for it. My experience tells me otherwise.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Let's dissect what Wicca is from the very basics. Because I don't think you have been taught what Wicca properly is. I'm not trying to insult you, or talk down to you - I am trying to give you correct information. I am an initiated Gardnerian - and part of my oaths means I must defend Wicca from the spread of falsehood and misinformation about it, lest it cause harm later on down the line to one of my Brothers or Sisters of the Wica.

Wicca is:

an Orthopraxic, Oathbound, Initiatory, Mystery-based, Experiential, Coven-based, Fertility-focused, Dithesitic Witch-cult whose members are all Clergy within a Lineaged Tradition.

A mouthful, if there every was one! Let's break it down farther into individual components.

Orthopraxic:
There are two kinds of religion.

One is orthodoxic - meaning 'correct belief'. If you believe the right things, you qualify as a member of that faith.

The second is orthopraxic - literally, this is 'right practice'. If you know the right way to do things within that faith, and you do them, you're a member of that faith.

Wicca is Orthopraxic. What allows a person to qualify as Wiccan is knowing the correct practices: how to use the tools, hw to properly cast and consecrate a circle, how to invoke Deity, etc. If you change any of this orthopraxy far enough from its' core, then it ceases to be Wicca.

Only initiated Wiccans will know this proper practice, because....

Oathbound:
...Wicca is oathbound.

What this means is every person who has become a Wiccan, in the proper way, has sworn an oath never to reveal the orthopraxy of Wicca unless that other person is 'a proper person, properly prepared.' This means, in essence, that a coven will only teach the orthopraxy to those who have been 'properly prepared', ie. have become an initiate, and have sworn the very same oath.

This oath is fearsome. It is not undertaken lightly, and those who break it are cast out and reviled, for good reason. Because of this, even people who choose to leave Wicca, are still expected to uphold this oath.

The oath also means you may not publish Wiccan practices in books, or other media, where it would be viewed by non-initiates.
No book at the bookstore, no website online, has ever had a single scrap of actual Wiccan material.

What you generally see are generic pagan teachings, with a vague Wiccan flavour - we call it 'outer court'. Outer-court teachings vary from coven to coven, but they're the basic info taught to a Seeker as a foundation to learn Wicca on after initiation. It isn't and shouldn't be considered Wicca in and of itself - but it is still useful.

Why do people publish things in the name of Wicca, when it isn't? Simple: money. People want Wicca, so they give them what they want. 9 times out of 10 those people are in no position to realize they've been misinformed or misled.

Initiation, Mystery-based, and Experiential:
We'll tackle these three together.

Initiation is VERY important in Wicca. Without this event - without experiencing this ritual - you'll never fully understand Wicca, even if you were to somehow gain access to Wiccan material without being an initiate. Without initiation, you have no access to the Mysteries.

Mystery-based paths have existed for thousands of years. A Mystery is just an experience that changes your perception and understanding of events and objects and energies - and there are plenty out there that are easily available to everyone. A Mystery is always the same event: what varies is how an individual experiences them. Even experiencing a sunset will be a different Mystery every time, depending on environmental conditions, season, location, and the person themselves.

Some Mysteries, however, are shaped and built around specific events, to build a consistent framework for the experience - historically, the Eleunesian Mysteries come to mind. The Wiccan Mysteries are the same way. The ritual, done properly, by people qualified to perform it, builds this framework. Each initiate will have a slightly different experience - but the Mysteries themselves are the same, inside that framework. Obviously, if you change the framework, you will access Mysteries, but they will not be the Wiccan Mysteries.

Without experiecing the Wiccan Mysteries properly, you will always lack the proper context to understand the orthopraxy of Wicca. It's why you can't be a Wiccan alone, you can't teach yourself, and you can't learn it from a book or online. Without that initiatory experience of the proper Mysteries, you're lacking a key that will allow you to unlock the meaning and understanding of the rituals practiced by Wiccans.

Initiation is always practiced cross-gender. A woman is initiated by a man, and a man by a woman. If you run across someone who says they were initiated by someone of the same sex as them, it was not a valid Wiccan initiation.

Coven-based:
One can't be a Wiccan alone. Aside from the fact that one can't self-initiate...

The rites of Wicca, recorded in the Book of Shadows each coven keeps a hand-copied version of, basically define what Wicca is. These rites were never meant to be practiced alone. They're based on having a full coven of initiates to perform properly.

Solitary Wiccans really don't exist. You can have initiated Wiccans who are unable to practice with their covens: they moved, they're away, they got sick, etc. But what they do on their own is neo-pagan witchcraft, heavily flavoured by Wicca, performed by a Wiccan - it's not proper Wiccan practice.

And finding an actual, lineaged coven (we'll talk about lineage later) can be a lot of work - travel, time, money, energy. And those sacrifices to attend a group are expected. It's considered normal. People who complain about not finding a coven in their area so they can learn properly, are typically looked at with some disdain, especially by those Wiccans who travel considerable lengths to their own covens.


Fertility-focused:

Wicca is a fertility cult. It's not a Nature cult, or an 'earth-based' path. We don't worship Nature. We honour fertility! Fertility is one specific aspect of Nature; so while we may see and appreciate fertility reflected in the cycles of Nature.

And naturally, fertility means sex. It's very difficult to have one without the other. Wicca does contain sexual context, and activity, within its' rites. Many people assume that means actual intercourse, but there are many levels of sexual activity - and indeed, a non-Wiccan would probably miss some of the sexual nature that Wiccan ritual contains (even in an outer-court situation), because it can be incredibly subtle, or easily overlooked if you're lacking the contextual knowledge initiates have.

Wicca is not a good faith for anyone who has issues being openly sexual with other people. Wicca's sexual basis is also why Wicca does not initiate minors - and in fact refuses to even start teaching the basics to a person until they are 18. This is not open to interpretation or debate: it is a part of the laws of the Wica, which are known as the Ardanes.

Ditheistic:

Wiccans believe in a pair of deities, a God and a Goddess. Wicca is, contrary to many depictions, a hard polytheistic religion. Wiccans believe that their gods are distinct and individual - not facets or aspects of an overarching, singular God or Goddess. Their actual names are oathbound. They are not archetypes, though - they are a specific God and Goddess. The terms 'Lord' and 'Lady' are simply honorifics - used to refer to the Gods of the Wica around non-initiates without breaking ones' oaths, not to indicate that they are soft-polytheistic in Nature.

The Wiccan gods do not mind if a Wiccan has existing relationships with deities from pantheons outside the faith. But one cannot use whatever pantheon they like in the place of the Lord and Lady - it alters the orthopraxy too much. So things like "Celtic Wicca", or "Norse Wicca", or "Egyptian Wicca"...just aren't Wicca at all.

Witch-cult:

All Wiccans are also witches. Nothing too scary in that. 'Cult' simply means religion, in this instance.

Clergy:

All Wiccans are initiated priesthood of the Lord and Lady. There is no exception to this. Once you are an initiate, you are their priest or priestess. It is a HUGE, life-long commitment, and an event that completely changes you. Becoming an initiate doesn't make you part of the 'cool kids', or some sort of clique. It's not a mark of status, or some kind of diploma - being a Wiccan initiate is a full-time job. It turns your life upside for a while. It creates a lot of extra work and responsibilities for you - The Gods will have their own needs, but so will the people around you. You get those late night calls from coveners whose lives are coming apart and need advise, or help, or a listening ear. You're there when someone dies, and people need help. You're there to teach new Seekers, and guide them into the path.

Frankly, a teenager isn't ready for this level of committment or change. Frequently folks in their twenties aren't either. You need to have a stable life, under your own authority, and being responsible for your own self. This is on all levels - mental, physical, and emotional. The changes initiation brings will rock the foundation of a person's life - and if that life is already in change, or flux, then it's disastrous.

Finally...

Lineaged Tradition

Wicca was founded by a man by the name of Gerald Gardner, somewhere between the late 1930's and the mid 1940's. Gardner was an initiate of a coven in an older, extant witch-cult - the New Forest Coven. He wished to preserve aspects of this witch-cult, and mixed in parts and practices from other faiths as he saw fit. and created what we call Wicca. Gardner himself was the first to use the word 'Wicca', although there are similar words from older languages.

Thus was born the Gardnerian Tradition of Wicca - the very first tradition of Wicca, and one that is still going strong today.

Other traditions were born out of this first one, each defined by its' own particular quirks or flavour, and yet also defined by the fact that they retained the orthopraxy of the Wiccan faith in their practice, and that their initiatory lineage links them back to Gardner.

That being said, there aren't as many traditions in existence as there claims to be. Legitimate forms of Wicca are: Gardnerian, Alexandrian, Mohsian, Central Valley, Silver Crescent, Kingstone, Daoine Coire, Assembly of Wicca, and Majestic. Some Blue Star and Georgian covens may have lineage as well, but it depends on the priesthood and elders of each individual lines of initiates. This group of traditions is collectively known as British Traditional Wicca, and they are the only legitimately Wiccan traditions. Traditions outside this grouping may not maintain the full orthopraxy of Wicca.

Initiatory Lineage is very important. It is how Wiccans are able to determine if someone is legitimately a Wiccan, or not. Remember back when I was talking about cross-gendered initiation (man to woman, woman to man)? If a person was initiated by the same sex, or they cannot trace their lineage to Gardner-

Example: Lord Y was initiated by Lady X. Lady X was initated by Lord V. Lord V was initiated by Lady T. Lady T was initiated by Gerald Gardner

- then a person cannot legitimately claim to be Wiccan, and any person they initiate likewise cannot claim to be Wiccan. It's really that simple. It's not a blood lineage, either - you do not have to be related to Gardner by blood, and the idea of families passing on Wiccan initiation amongst its' members violates the Ardanes, the laws of Wicca.

Some people complain, as I mentioned before, that it's difficult to find lineaged groups - that they have no choice but to learn from books or online or people who aren't initiates. It's true. It can be a real search - for the simple reason that Wicca is not for everyone. It isn't interested in numbers, or reaching everyone; there are built-in quality controls.

Wicca's membership are specifically called by the Gods of Wicca to be priesthood - a role not every person interested in Wicca is qualified for. Those who are legitimately called end up finding a coven and becoming initiates, no matter the cost or effort. There are plenty of other paths available under the pagan umbrella that will better suit the people who don't. Unfortuntely Wicca is popular, and better known than other pagan religions, and people become fixated on it and nothing else...which leads to many of the problems I've already mentioned.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

So - those are the facts! Understand that I'm not making a judgement call on you or your friends, or that I'm calling your path, whatever it may be, invalid. All I'm trying to say is that your path, factually speaking, is not Wicca.

Ask your 'Momma' what her lineage is. Ask her who her initiator is. Any lineaged Wiccan will be able to tell you, in some form, their lineage - it's called 'seeking a vouch'. It's how Wiccans keep track of one another, and make sure people who aren't Wiccan aren't out there doing immortal and illegal acts in our name.

If she can't tell you, won't tell you, or isn't from the traditions of Wicca I listed above, she isn't a Wiccan.

If you're interested in Seeking BTW properly, I suggest you check out a mailing list called Amber and Jet - it exists precisely for guiding Seekers to covens in their area, and for answering questions. It's populated by priesthood and elders of Wicca - it really is a fantastic resource.

If I can help you in any way, please ask.  
PostPosted: Thu Sep 10, 2009 12:39 pm
Autumn: Is it possible that you belong to a hereditary tradition of witchcraft that has been mislabeled as Wicca?

I am wondering too, why you see "neo-pagan" as an insult. We're all neo-pagans here of one variety or another. No one that I am aware of is a meso-pagan O.o  

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PostPosted: Thu Sep 10, 2009 1:05 pm
You describing "clergy" is exactly why I currently refuse to even think of being a priestess of anyone in any path. I'm not ready for that kind of commitment. And I can't guarantee that I'd be able to drop everything if a god/dess asks something of me.

Reading about Wicca, I've come to understand more than I originally did. Some things came out of nowhere and hit me and then it suddenly made sense (to me at least, can't say it'd make sense to others). I can definitely say at this time in my life, Wicca is not for me.


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PostPosted: Thu Sep 10, 2009 1:15 pm
Morg - excellent post. Thank you for putting it together!! heart  

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PostPosted: Thu Nov 26, 2009 10:48 am
well i have been on this path since i was a little girl and im 13 now. in my home i was aloud to choose my religion and i chose Wicca when i was about 5 or 6. my mother is Protestant, my sister is Atheist and my dad was Catholic before he died  
PostPosted: Thu Nov 26, 2009 11:43 am
xXOnYx MoOnXx
well i have been on this path since i was a little girl and im 13 now. in my home i was aloud to choose my religion and i chose Wicca when i was about 5 or 6. my mother is Protestant, my sister is Atheist and my dad was Catholic before he died


With all due respect, this is absolute nonsense.

Wicca does not initiate minors. It is expressely forbidden by the Ardanes, the laws of the Wica. And if you have been initiated,
then there is a group of adults somewhere who need to be charged
for sexual abuse of a minor.

What you practice is more than likely the ecclectic neo-paganism available to the public that has misappropriated the name Wicca.

AND -

I venture to say NO child chooses their faith at 5 or 6. I feel you are trying to validate yourself and your path by making yourself seem experienced and wise, when frankly it's highly unlikely, and you
are not versed the path you claim to be a member of.

I'm sure you're very sincere in your desire to be a Wiccan. Unfortunetely, Wicca is not what you think it is, and attaining membership in the Wica is not as easy as deciding you 'believe in Wicca', and have some sort of backstory for it.  

Morgandria

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PostPosted: Sun Jan 03, 2010 10:43 pm
I first became interested in "Wicca"(witchcraft really) when I was in middle school at the time it was considered "cool" by the crowd I hung out with. Actually it's rather funny because we had our own made up coven "The Wobbits" and everything. I feel silly now looking back at it. As I got older my friends drifted away from it but it stuck with me. Then I did serious research on Wicca and decided it wasn't for me. I consider myself an eclectic pagan now and I'm working on my own path until I find something that fits me and feels right.  
PostPosted: Wed Jan 06, 2010 12:58 am
Well, when I was still in elementary school i became a helper at my school's library. My main job was to place new and returned books to their proper places amongst the shelves. When you work in a library or bookstore, you quickly become aquainted with the books around you. One day when I was placing new books on the shelves, I came across a book about greek mythology. It caught my attention and I decided to read it. I became enthralled with the stories of myth and began to read more books on greek's history and mythology. Now, I come from a Christian based family but have always felt out of place with the religion. The more I read about the gods and goddesses of myth, the more interested I became.

My mother, noticing my new interest and my trouble with Christianity, suggested that I should read up on other religions. Taking her advice, I began to do so. I read as many things I could: Buddhism, Hinduism, Judaism, Christianity(I thought if I knew more I would feel more at peace with it), Paganism, wicca, etc. When I began to read about paganism I felt as if I was relearning something I have always known. My parents, though both Christians, were completely understanding and encouraged me to learn as much as I could. My mother even went so far as to learn some herself. Though I had my family's acceptance and support, I still felt uneasy about discussing my new interests and beliefs with anyone else. I began to study the religion solo for the next 10 years.

I also began to notice things around me and felt more intuned with nature. I began to expand my studies to stone/crystal healing, herbalism, and meditating on a regular basis. One day, my mother presented me with a deck of tarot cards(I have a love of cards in general and have always had a penchant for feeling minor things about to happen or have happen amongst my friends and family. exp: when my older brother got in a bad argument with my mother before running away, i could feel the bad vibes before i even entered the house after getting home from school and knew it had something to do with my brother. I immediately went in and held my mom while she cried.). Before attempting to do a reading, I studied about the history and practices of tarot cards. After a couple of readings, I began to feel like it was second nature to me.

I do not think I have learned everything there is to know and am no where near being considered an expert, so I hope that I am able to learn more about my chosen path through this guild. If anyone has any advice or suggestions, I warmly welcome them. ^_^
 

StarGoddessSiren


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PostPosted: Wed Jan 06, 2010 1:45 am
GoddessDementia
Paganism/wicca


Please try to avoid doing this. The two aren't the same thing.

Quote:
After a couple of readings, I began to feel like it was second nature to me and knew that I had finally found my path.


How is the tarot related to your path? I mean, you say you found your path but give no indication in this paragraph what it is...?  
PostPosted: Wed Jan 06, 2010 1:49 am
Well the event in my life that triggered me to seriously start questioning my religion was my Dad's injury. In 1996, he dove into a 4 ft. swimming pool and broke his neck. All I knew about Pagan religions and witchcraft were the standard myths. I was willing to damn my soul to hell to be given the power to make my dad better and even heal my mom.

It was at this point in my life when I started seeking. Surprisingly enough, I found the inner strength I was seeking in the religion I was wanting to leave so desperately because I thought it was hindering my inner strength.  

rmcdra

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StarGoddessSiren

PostPosted: Wed Jan 06, 2010 2:10 am
Sanguina Cruenta
GoddessDementia
Paganism/wicca


Please try to avoid doing this. The two aren't the same thing.

Quote:
After a couple of readings, I began to feel like it was second nature to me and knew that I had finally found my path.


How is the tarot related to your path? I mean, you say you found your path but give no indication in this paragraph what it is...?


First, I apologize about placing paganism and wicca together. It was not my intention to imply they were the same thing. I will refrain from doing so again.

Second, I worded that horribly. I only meant that tarot reading felt natural for me and that everything as a whole (everything I have studied thus far) has made me feel as if I am on the right track to finding a religion that is right for me.

It is late and I have been up most of the day and night, so I apologize for my mistakes. I will try to be clearer in future posts.
 
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