Hey, I'm new. I would love some guidance.

[serbus]

Hello, I'm new to the path and I have a few questions.

First let me tell you a bit about myself:
I have always been a very religious person and it is my strongest moral that spirituality is the key most important thing for a person to have to be happy. I grew up in Logan, Utah; a very small town at the time. I was born into the LDS church (aka: Mormon) and I have a loving mother, 2 younger sisters, and 2 younger brothers. I am the oldest granddaughter on my fathers side, and somewhere in the middle of 500 grandchildren on my mother's side (Yes, I'm serious... 500).

My mother was born catholic, but was innactive. She converted to Mormonism when she was adopted into her mormon family at 16. She was abused much throughout her life and used religion as a lifeline. My mother is my idol, and the most amazing person I know.
I was extremely active as a Mormon, I even led a large number of youth groups throughout my life within this religion. I had never had a bad experience with it until I was 19... I won't go into that.

I left Mormonism 3 years ago now, despite the fact that I know much of what I experienced spiritually was real. I know that all Gods work in magickal ways and I have no doubt that the Mormon God exsists. I also know that he does not hear me. I was also abused in my life and much has happend to let me know that few of my prayers reached this God.

About 1 year ago I felt that I had spent enough time mourning my olde beliefs (something that I felt was necessary considering the amount of devotion I had to that God) and I began exploring alternative paths. The thing I think is most irronic when I look back at this time is that I decided on Paganism the night of Beltaine. I know for a surity that this is something I want to do; I can feel it, and I am ready for it.

Since the time of my apiphany I have burned many candles (that being the most comfortable spell for me right now), done an a** load of research, and improved my life a great deal spiritually. I meditate a lot, and practice empathy and a mind reading of sorts (it's more like I know what people are thinking more than half the time when I'm around them; don't worry, I won't intrude into your private thoughts). I've only ever cast circle once, and I'm sure that I did it wrong, but at the time it was the intention that mattered. I don't want to cast again until I have a support group so that I have a mentor to guide me. I have prayed to the Goddess and felt her spirit around me. She is a lot different from my previous God and it's taken some getting used to.

So here are my questions:
I know that the Goddess goes by many names, I would like to find the aspect of her that most suits me personally. Could I get some suggestions?

My family knows that I am pagan and they all accept me, but they still have misconceptions about much of it. What do I tell them when they ask me for more information? I'm still learning and I don't think I'm the person they should be asking.

I'm ready for more advanced spellwork and worship than just candles. Do you have any suggestions on how I can advance my knowledge and increase my tallents without intruding on someone else's BoS?

Does anyone here live in Utah? Please PM me if you do so we can talk privately... I really need a local social group. I feel so alone here.

I am Native American through my mother's bloodline (Mohawk and Cherokee). I would like to learn more about my ancestors, especially the Moheakan side. If anyone else here is Iroque or one of those 5 tribes (Northern NY area) I would be ecstatic to talk about it.

I want to learn more about herbs and remedies. Please send some suggestions my way that would be good for newbies. What plants are easiest to grow in a desert like Utah?

Thanks everyone for reading this, I know it's long.
-Teshia Lyndall  

[Nihilistic Seraph]

Deities - Read the mythologies. If you're looking at Celtic, go read The Tain, The Book of the Dun Cow, etc. Read the Eddas, read the Odyssey, the Illiad and the various plays of Ovid. Read the Epic of Gilgamesh. Read and make your own judgements, and for fun comparitive mythology, try and see in how many places the Orpheus-style myth pops up in the different cultures (I've seen the theme twice in Japanese mythology)

Parents - Tell them the truth. Tell them what parts of it bring you joy and happiness.

Spellwork - Buy a couple spellbooks that talk about what essentially constitues a spell, and then make your own. It's your own mind you're working with, so the best spells are those you make yourself.  

[Advent Shadow]

Well, Seraph said everything best (as I've noticed happens quite often), so I've really nothing overly helpful. *frown*

Still, I'd suggest you take a look at many different panteons, and find the one you've the greatest lean towards. I, myself, work with Greek mythology. I can't think of any logical reason, other than I feel a strange bond with it. Other than that, when I speak with the God and Goddess, I just call them by their titles.

As far as explaining your path... Well, it's a matter of understanding just what you're doing. I agree with Seraph about explaining what brings you the most joy, and whatnot, but sometimes people will press the matter, and it's good to have a little spare info on the side, to sate their curiousity.

Mmm... Magick. It's the bread and butter of my life... Aside from my unquenchable thirst for knowledge and understanding. I agree (once more) with Seraph. Pick up a couple of books. Just things to give you an idea of what you might be shooting for, and to give examples of how you might set something up. Just be careful in what you buy, as some books are aimed more at selling, than at really helping. Once you've got a grasp on what you want to accomplish, the rest comes from inside. You are the one making the magick, so as long as you have faith in what you are doing, most anything should work just fine.

But I digress... Welcome, and may your path be illuminated in all manners of speaking.  

[Nihilistic Seraph]

Aww, shucks.  

[patch99329]

I think advent and seraph covered everything smile
Congrats on finding your path!

As for the herb thing, good starter herbs are things like sage, basil and mint smile Easy to grow and use.
I also suggest you head to your local libray..it should have TONS of information about herbs and edible plants that grow locally smile  

[Starlock]

arrow I know that the Goddess goes by many names, I would like to find the aspect of her that most suits me personally. Could I get some suggestions?

First, I suggest taking a look at the sorts of things you value in life. Do you find enjoyment in the craft of writing? What about spending time outside in the garden? Perhaps sports are more your thing? Make a list if you like. That list will tell you something about the aspects that might resonate best with you. From there, you could look for Gods and Goddesses that hold domain over the things that interest you and learn about them.

arrow My family knows that I am pagan and they all accept me, but they still have misconceptions about much of it. What do I tell them when they ask me for more information? I'm still learning and I don't think I'm the person they should be asking.

Some good general resources to check can be found at these websites. They're put together well and offer a fairly good introduction to anyone interseted in some basic information.

Religious Tolerance on Neopaganism
Belief Net on Pagan and Earth-Based Religions

Wikipedia is also fairly decent, but depending on what edits are up there at the time, things can be a bit screwy there.

arrow I'm ready for more advanced spellwork and worship than just candles. Do you have any suggestions on how I can advance my knowledge and increase my tallents without intruding on someone else's BoS?

It's said that the advanced stuff is simply more extended applications of the basic stuff. What one considers 'basic' and 'advanced' seems to be a bit subjective as well. I consider candle magic less basic than some other disciplines. The basic basics would be learning how to just sense energies and get comfortable manipulating them. From that standpoint, candle magic is actually a bit more advanced. Anything basic can become more 'advanced' as one learns more about it and understands more of the subtle nuances of the discipline. Does that make sense?

arrow I want to learn more about herbs and remedies. Please send some suggestions my way that would be good for newbies. What plants are easiest to grow in a desert like Utah?


I really suggest knowing some basic botany, specifically how to identify plants. This is a MUST especially if you are going to be harvesting anything from the wild. You need to be sure you're getting the right plant; as much as Gaia makes healers, it makes killers too. Elpel's "Botany in a Day" is a good book to get a feel for plant families and it also has some herbal remedy information in it (aka, it'll advise you of which families to maybe steer clear of because there are lots of poisonous members).

Steer clear of the New Age section. Go for sound sources from people who are actually botanists, ethnobotanists, or know something about medicine. Some 'remedies' that are out there are unsubstantiated by science or outright deceptive. You may want to work more with those herbs whose properties have been verified and more intensively studied (such as echninacea, garlic, aloe, etc) at first. There's a ton of stuff here and it's easy to get overloaded, so it makes sense to start with a few well-studied herbs than drown in a sea of hundreds of potential remedies.

My botanical knowledge is focused on the Midwest, so I'm afraid I can't give much advice for your area. Aside from growing aloe, I'm not sure what other desert medicinal herbs there are. Many of the herbs used in cooking, medicine, or food aren't exactly found in the desert. You can grow herbs indoors though.  

[serbus]

Wow, thanks everyone for the great responses. I will be heading over to my library on my break today. Currently I'm leaning more toward a Celtic approach. I've always believed that everything has a spirit, and many of the spirits I've known have a tendancy to remind my of Celtic Mythology. I also believe strongly in the Greek Goddess of Fate, and she is definitely one of the greater influences in my life. As for a list of things I enjoy:

Writing, art, reading, talking, family, peace and quiet, nature, computer science, puppies, learning, gardening.

Quote:

It's said that the advanced stuff is simply more extended applications of the basic stuff. What one considers 'basic' and 'advanced' seems to be a bit subjective as well. I consider candle magic less basic than some other disciplines. The basic basics would be learning how to just sense energies and get comfortable manipulating them. From that standpoint, candle magic is actually a bit more advanced. Anything basic can become more 'advanced' as one learns more about it and understands more of the subtle nuances of the discipline. Does that make sense?

Thank you, that actually helps a lot. Learning from experience is a good way to learn. I will try to extend my current understanding to encompass a wider degree of spellwork.

As for herbology: I had an aloe once, but then she exploded... yes, litterally (she got root rot, then one day... POP!) I had her for a good 3 years though. I will start with aloe, sage, and basil (I've done sweet basil before).

Thank you everyone for all the resources! *writes everything down in BoS* I will look up those books and try to learn more about local plants. Maybe I can get some of the people at work into some gardening. I think it would be fun to do this with other people.

This is an awesome community, plan on seeing me more in the future biggrin You guys have been very welcoming, and it makes me feel at home heart

-Teshia  

[Starlock]

We try. smile  

[serbus]

Well, here's an update! I've decided on a few things, but they're still up in the air in case I want to change them later. I read a few books, and most of them seemed to be very similar to the plethora of cheesy websites available on the internet. I was about to give it a rest when I found a very intriguing book about runes. This finally led me in a direction that I felt was appropriate.

So I'm going to start learning about runic divination, and I've already learnt a lot about olde Norse linguistics (this is very exciting for a language nut like myself)! I'm going to worship Odin as my main God for a while, but I'll probably move on to someone more feminine like Freya, and the Norse Fates who also interest me (instead of the Greek derrivatives).

I also managed to find a good book about herbology. It has a ton of information about what kind of wild herbs there are in Northern America as well as information from doctors, and traditional herbalists. It even has little tidbits about the mythology of each plant and a lot of pagan references. I've already discovered that many of my local weeds are actually edible and can make a delicious salad or sandwich (this is a plus because I currently have no money for food... yay for dandilions! my belly is full for once!).

My mother has been extremely patient with me, and is no longer asking me to go back to church. This actually happend a lot soon than I expected. I think that she has watched my actions, and realised that I don't condone her religion, and in fact welcome it. So she has returned the favour... this has been the greatest success for me. Her actions have made me gain a lot more respect for my mother, and I'm very excited that I have someone so close to talk to about my religious practices.



I feel like such a newb. I am bursting with so much appreciation and love that I just want to jump in the air and tell everyone why I'm so happy! Fortunately I have done well to practice restraint because I know that such an outburst may cause a negative reaction here in Utah. I just hope that I still have the same spirit in a year, and two years after that, and ten, and twenty, and so forth. I feel even more happy than I did when I first decided on a Pagan path (which I didn't think was possible). Thank you everyone! I'm so happy!

-Teshia