Newbe here needing help

[Dain Maxwell]

um
Hi, new person here, and need some help.
I'm new to the pagan path, and am looking for a teacher or teachers to help me.
I am a believer of the God and the Godess,and a practitioner of magic, if you would like to help me in either path I would greatly appreciate the help
^_^
thanks and blessed be  

[Atma311]

We're all teachers and students here. Why not try asking some specific questions? That way, we can all try our best to help out 3nodding  

[Dain Maxwell]

sort of got tossed into the deep end and trying to swim
the only specific questions i have are regaurding a fictional school of magic i'm creating,
which is the easier of the two things i'm doing/trying to do
hmmmm well...
where's a good place to start? like in research?  

[Starlock]

A fictional school of magic? Depends on what it's for. Is it for an RPG you're creating to play with your friends or for something else? For something like that, I find the best place to start is with a firm understanding of 'real' magic as there's already a system out there where you can draw inspiration from. There's a few basic aspects one needs to consider with fictional magic systems:

1) Who is capable of preforming magic? Can anyone do it? If not, is it an inborn trait? Learned from elite schools?

2) What is the source of power for the magic? Does it derive from the inner energy of the practitioner? Is it drawn from some mystical external Force? Does it come from a Deity or set of Deities?

3) What are the 'laws' of this magic (to know this, the above should already be answered)? What are things it can and can't do? Does it always have to use material components? For this, take a look at Bonewitz "Real Magic" for inspiration.

4) If this is for an RPG specifically, is the system workable in terms of game mechanics? Is it too complicated or too simple? Is it fair and balanced in relation to other abilities in the game?  

[Dain Maxwell]

not for an rpg
for a book. i'm a writer how good a writer has yet to be seen
1) about 2% of the world population can preform some form of substatial magick, every living thing has magick but only that 2% have enough that it requiers special schooling
2)according to the way i set the world up wizards strictly use inner personal magic, sorcereres use outside sources (charmed objects, familliars, stones, or plants, or elemental beings) and witches can use both. since magick users come from many different religious backrounds i've decided that the individual would believe what they wished, wiether to beleive that their power was a gift from whatever god they believed in or whatever.
3)the laws? i can't think of a quick way to explain, but here goes an attempt: Magic can only do so much, for example too much healing magick anf the patient develops immunity, a wizard can only use as much magick as he has in excess ('magick is basically what causes things to be living in the first place) as to things it can and can't do, i'm still hashing things out. material components? i don't know, which is why i'm asking for help
i want the magic to be more similair to what we have in the real world as opposed to something like harry potter  

[Dain Maxwell]

finally came up with some questions about my path
umm, here goes
how doew one find an animal guide?
i did this meditative thing with this shaman guy i knew
and i got a sort of vision of a snake wrapping it's self around me in a cone like shape, not crushing or anything, what does that mean, i also saw an owl and some other animals but i don't remember them realy just the snake and the owl
also, is there anything that i can do in my daily life fo reflect my desire to be a wiccan
or at least something like a wiccan
i believe in a God and a Godess and i believe in magic,
also i beleive that each person has their own religious path
is that wiccan or is it something else?  

[Starlock]

Magic more similar to what it is in the real world? Truly that depends on who you ASK in terms of what magic is and how it works. There isn't any 100% consensus. For example, on the first question I posited, you'll get some people who insist magical ability is hereditary or inborn and one cannot learn it and other people who insist magical ability can be learned by anybody (to name just two views on it). Some believe the source of magic is uniquely human and only human, others think it is Divine and within all things, others still will say it's simply supernatural. Some will say magic works based on the laws of contagion and sympathetic magic only, others will use more elaborate systems or no system at all. So what is magic in the real world? Really? Depends on who you ask. But as the writer, you get to design it how you want and not worry about all the other opinions unless you want to. whee

Hopefully someone else will chime in about animal guides. I work with nonhuman animals, but none of them do I consider 'guides' in the more Shamanic or Native American sense of the term. I simply learn from them and feel a connection to them. Some people would call that a guide, I s'pose. I often find it best to put off trying to label experiences off the bat. Just deal with it on its own terms and let it develop on its own. At some point after working with an animal for a long enough time, you might one day say to yourself 'hey... I guess this creature really is a guide to me.' It's the relationship that matters more than what you call it; the main use for such labels is in communicating with others, not in how you experienced something.

As for being Wiccan, that depends on who you ask. There's a couple very different general types of Wicca. There's the more traditional forms, which require proper lineage and initation, and the more progressive forms which although they may involve initiation, tend to allow for self-initiation or dedication as well as more flexibility in terms of beliefs. Some find only the traditional forms to be real or valid Wicca, but they're in the minority. The rule of putting off trying to pigeonhole experiences might also apply well here. Take some time to study the variety of practices described as Wicca. That'll help you formulate your own take on what Wicca is for YOU if that's the path you feel you're following. From what you wrote, I can't say if you're there yet or not. Even if I said 'you're not Wiccan' it's not really up to me to decide that for you anyway (unless you did something really silly... such as you're really a practicing Christian and start calling your Christian practices Wicca... heheh).  

[Dain Maxwell]

i meant how it is used, for example wiggling your noes like in bewitced vs working a spell in real life,
in the worl i'm creating everything is magick, it is what causes things to exist in the first place, it is sort of like primordial energy (i think that is the word i may be wronge)
it is what dieties and souls are
also
there are three ways of using magick,
one way uses magic that you have inside your body, this needs to be recharged after major workings
the second uses magick only from outside sorces, a familliar a book that has absorbed magick other people (this is illiegal) or anything that can hold magickal energy
the third way is to be able to use both inside and outside sources
as for people who say all magick is hereditary
they would not be able to explain me
i have the ability to see the furture (something i ended up supressing after a death prediction came true. i will explain if you want. it really shook me to have something like that happen to me, and to theboy who died)
also i've been able to perform simly spells without really understanding what i was doing.
i've used the title witch for about 7 or 8 years, though i wasn't wiccan, only recently did i think of combinding my faith, such as it is, ad my ability to do magick  

[KittannLittle]

dain_maxwell

finally came up with some questions about my path
umm, here goes
how does one find an animal guide?
i did this meditative thing with this shaman guy i knew
and i got a sort of vision of a snake wrapping it's self around me in a cone like shape, not crushing or anything, what does that mean, i also saw an owl and some other animals but i don't remember them realy just the snake and the owl
also, is there anything that i can do in my daily life fo reflect my desire to be a wiccan
or at least something like a wiccan
i believe in a God and a Godess and i believe in magic,
also i beleive that each person has their own religious path
is that wiccan or is it something else?

The snake and the owl are both animals of wisdom, it may mean that you are heading toward someone with great wisdom or more likely you have great wisdom locked up inside you. They could both be your spirit guides. Meditation is the key to determining this, seek them out and ask them questions.

Wicca is a form of paganism what you believe is pagan whether its wiccan or not requires you to do some more research into wicca and what you believe. Wiccan have a specific code that most pagans follow. There are also many branches and traditions of wicca. If you are wiccan you may class yourself as eclectic wiccan from the sound of things.

As for outward expression just care for the Earth, be thankful for all you have, be considerate of others regardless of their race, colour or creed, try to help where ever you can, don't force your beliefs on to others as being utter fact. All pagans believe in these principles, or most that I know.

Some other outward expression that I personally think are important; being educated - I don't just mean through school, I mean try to learn what you can from everywhere, every situation, every book, every piece of advise. This is so when you give an opinion you have knowledge to back it up.
being wise - learn from your own mistakes and more importantly learn from other peoples mistakes, apply knowledge effectively.
being honest - lies may save someone's heart or pride but in the end its still a lie, tact however is a lie well used but I still think of it as a lie, being diplomatic however isn't a lie. Pure honest is better but can have disastrous consequences.
example - A relative gives you a book for your birthday. You have already read the book and even own it. They ask you if you like it and if you already have it.
Tact - No, I haven't, its a lovely present.
Diplomatic - It's a lovely gift. I have the entire series. (this is a trick of words, the relative will believe they have helped you complete the collection, very close to a lie but not actually lying)
Honest - Oh I already have this one. (no one will know what to say or do, your relative may even see it as a personally attack and wonder what they did wrong for you to embarrass them so)

Sorry for going on i@m in a writing mood.  

[Dain Maxwell]

thank you for the information, it should help me alot
also no need to apologize, i asked and you gave good answer's
i understand abou tact and siplomacy, i have no tact and tend to be completely honest to people if given a chance
i've had the disasterous consequences a time or ten  

[Shinigami-Rem_Death-Note]

dain_maxwell

um
Hi, new person here, and need some help.
I'm new to the pagan path, and am looking for a teacher or teachers to help me.
I am a believer of the God and the Godess,and a practitioner of magic, if you would like to help me in either path I would greatly appreciate the help
^_^
thanks and blessed be

me too. I'm sorta new to the pagan path but I do have a few places where I can get supplies for spells and stuff. the things I need help with is learning the main definition of what pagans do. You see I'm not sure if I believe in god or not so I decided not to be a christian but I still believe in Jesus so now I'm a christian again. My mum doesn't understand what paganism is because it's such a minority religion. So I thought of teching her the basics of what it is so that she would let me have both christian and pagan beliefs. make sense? confused  

[Dain Maxwell]

^_^
i have questions! finally!
ok here goes,
i want to be i wiccan like pagan, by this i mean that i believe in a God and a Goddess and that i perform magick and do rituals to celebrate the eight holidays, but i'm not sure i want to be classified as wiccan
first question: is that really possible? i have no problem with wiccans but i'm not sure that that path is for me
scond question, i am looking for spiritual guidance, i want to induce a trace to see if i can get some, but i have trouble meditating
the only time i ever managed is when i had this weird drum beat playing in the background, it got interrupted then i had to give back the cd and now can't find anything similar
is there anywhere i can get something like that? online or anything,
if not, what are other ways to induce a trance?
about my school, i still haven't found a good place for it to be, i don't want it to be in sedona arizona cause there is already a book about a magic school there
can anyone think of a few good places to put a school of magick, it needs to be somewhere where the four would be present, so near a river, stream or lake and near mountains or forests or rock formations, air and fire are already acounted for since i'm counting the sky and sun, if this is a bad idea tell me please so i can restructure things, i welcome comments suggestions, i do take criticism pretty bad(i take it personal and sometimes get hurt by it) but that's only because some unfortunate events i had to live through and will try not to let any comments get to me and remember that the person is trying to be helpful, so if one of my ideas is stupid, crazy, or needs improvement tell me please
also i'm a much better writer than i am a typer since i hand write most everything, i know my posts look pretty bad