Something to ask Guild Members

[Winter Black]

Hello and Merry Meet.
No, I don't have any Paganism or Magic-related questions. I'm quite advanced myself.
I was actually going to ask about something I have been brainstorming for a little while.
You see, I do know quite a bit about the History of Paganism and a lot of the histories of the different Countries where certain types of Paganism were practiced. I'm good with spells, and I'm excellent with summoning spirits and intangibles.
A little while ago I got this idea kicking around in my head about starting up a Message Board that was essentially like an Online Pagan School. We could educate people on what it was, teach people different things, and answer any questions they have. Kind of like this Guild, only on a much larger scale.

So, I was thinking, since I've seen my fair share of total non-fluff's and fairly advanced members, I was wondering if any of you would be willing to be moderators on that Message Board, should I choose to create it.
Of course, each subject would have its own forum, and so I would need forum-specifics... Like, someone who knows a lot about spell-crafting and the poetry used to call on the Gods would be put on as a mod for the Spells and Spellcasting forum; as such, someone who knows a lot about the different herbs and cooking would be put on as a mod for the Potions and Recipe's forum. Get the picture?
But I don't want to go to the trouble of making this board, only to not have any mods at all in the beginning.

And also, suggestions on different forums and sub-forums would be wonderful, too. I mean, I have some basics in mind, but... I need to know what should be taught according to other Pagans.

So, basically, if you would like to help me out, please let me know. And if you have suggestions, those would be wonderful too. Thank you very much, I hope to hear back from you soon.  

[WebenBanu]

You may want to look into The Pagan Circle Online Campus. I don't know much about it, but it sounds like what you're wanting to do.

There are already so many Pagan web forums out there, it makes me feel like a more valuable contribution would be to join up with one of the established ones and raise their quality of information, or expand their ability to reach people, rather than to spread our resources thinner by creating yet another group.

There are other Pagan schools online as well- the Crescent Moon School that Seraph mentioned, and I could have sworn there was another one (aside from Ardantane^_~) which looked really nice... one which I was actually considering for application back when I was Wiccan. Well, search WitchVox for Pagan schools and you'll find plenty of them. The main problem with online schools is that you don't really have a reliable means of knowing the quality of their information- unless you're already pretty experienced, in which case your need for instruction isn't as high as those who are just starting.^_^' At least a sponsorship mention on WitchVox implies that the schools involved have done some networking, and are pitching in to help the wider community in a recognizable way. What we really need is a standardized system for evaluating these schools, but it's nearly impossible to get a bunch of Pagans to agree on anything- which is why we still don't have something so basic.^_^'

Ever heard of The Witches' Voice? That's a good networking site to start from. I'm also a member of Eternal Fyre, a site which is attempting to bring a wide selection of NeoPagan Paths together in one community- I don't post there much, but they're a pretty nice bunch. Other than that, a simple web search will turn up many avenues for exploration- here's a webring as well, for Pagan Message Boards and Forums. And here's another listing, just for good measure.

So if you want to help the community, then I'd suggest pitching in with an existing group rather than re-inventing the wheel yet again.^_^ I'd also caution you about throwing out free and open classes, which is what it sounds like you'd like to do. Many aspects of magic and religion can backfire if a person really doesn't know what they're doing and/or has no personal guidance. Here on this board, we've covered a few very basic and overall harmless exercises, and I think that's great- but we haven't gone very deep, and I think that it's probably best that way. The decision to share magical instruction through such an impersonal medium as the internet is a difficult one. I do believe that people should have access to the system, but the question is how far do you go in monitoring your prospective students? On my own journal, I lock most of my posts involving explicit applications of magic so that I have to individually approve each person who gains access to them- and I still don't post many things, because I don't want to be responsible for people hurting themselves or others through inappropriate use.^_^'

Best of luck to you.^_^  

[Starlock]

We actually have something that serves some of that role right here on Gaia Online: The Celestial Academy of Gaia. It's a smaller enterprise right now, but in time the hope is for it to grow and provide some of the services you're talking about. It'd be great to have you if there's something over there you want to teach. It's meant to be a resource for Pagans, though, not so much other faiths.

And, as Wen already pointed out, there are some projects started already that are out there. Instead of creating another movement, I think consolidation of the effort would serve Paganism as a movement much better.