Wiccan, or Pagan religions in a broader sense, isn't traditionally practiced alone, but can be. Atropos is right, in that most 'serious' practitioners do belong to covens, just the same as serious Christians belong to a church, but it's not necessarily a requirement for following the religion.

I'm no expert, but the Willow quote on that page does reflect pretty accurately a lot wrong with the way the religion gets practiced or picked up. It tends to be synonymous with hippies and people who think a rock is going to cure their cancer. What I learned of it when I did poke around was a lot more encouraging, and some facets of the religion do kind of stick to my miserable atheist ass now.

The few practitioners I've met that I've really gotten to speak to reflect closely what you sound interested in. It's a very different moral philosophy from most organized religions, and most of the practitioners I've spoken to do not really see the magic as the tools and the words, but how those tools and words focus you, ground you, and direct you based on centuries of precedent. Wiccan rituals were explained to me as basically a form of meditation. The props around it are there to help you set the mood. Granted, that's sacrilege depending on who you ask, and god damn yes this quartz has power apart from what you grant it.

That said, is it Wiccan you want, or a different or broader Pagan belief system? They come in every color, shamanic, Jewish, you name it, and Wiccan is a specific branch of those. The other thing to ask yourself is spiritually speaking, do you want to honor dieties, or earth? In either case there tends to be humanish figures to appeal to, but there are at this point more distinct subsets of the belief systems surrounding Paganism depending on whether you feel a greater kinship toward earth and nature or toward figures that represent facets of it, or human nature. If you do choose Wiccan, you then have to choose between the classic and neo-Wiccan versions, which are quite different.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Introducti … an_Studies

The directory of books at the bottom here is actually pretty interesting. For me, anyway, I'd start my journey here, with actually studying the religions, their origins, and how they've been used. Your mileage may vary, but books written by Pagans to sell the belief system tend to be very full of bullshit or full of conflicting ideas, and I've never heard practitioners ever agree on one, because they tend to be very wishy washy and new age, with an overabundance of political correctness.

Essentially, you asked about learning to be Christian, and I just dumped on you whether you want to be Catholic, Pentacostal, Protestant, or Greek Orthodox. So I'm probably not being very helpful, but if you get nothing else from me, I totally recommend any pursuit of the actual theological or historical studies of these religions. They're fascinating, and will inform how you develop yourself spiritually.

Drawing Down the Moon is 80BUX? Or is this the Aussie book? Because Drawing is a very well regarded text, and definitely a place to start.

That's true.  It's probably easier to revere nature when nature is not actively trying to kill you.    I'm no Wiccan, but I have friends who are, and they tell me that -- while the religion certainly has universal tenets -- some aspects of its practice, like what you call the God or Goddess, vary according to what feels right to the practitioner.  If other Pagan belief systems are similar, I can easily imagine that your practice might have to adapt to your culture and place.  It might be worth looking into Aboriginal religious practices.  They were animists, weren't they?  How did they manage it, in a place where poisonous snakes cover the ground like a woven blanket?

I was trying to remember who it was that I was absolutely sure no one should ever read. Raven Silverwolf. I mean, even the name doesn't inspire much confidence.

Okay, as a long time Wiccan: hell yes, great links.

Drawing Down the Moon is an excellent anthropological book, flawlessly researched. To this day, even if much is debunked, Margaret Murray is a great way to look into the early days of Paganism. I can also recommend Wicca: A Guide For The Solitary Practitioner and its companion, Living Wicca by Scott Cunningham highly for going it alone. Though I do not agree with his Standing Stones section, it's an interesting way to get started and have a look into a nearby coven.

As for groups, there are those that teach. WitchVox is reasonably well updated and has a tonne of resources.

Another great place to learn-online!-would be Witch School, which has a very philosophical bent on Wicca though the tests can be a little frustrating. It is very much a school and a membership is well worth the money as likely one of the most reputable online learning communities. They also have physical campuses and are a legally recognized non-profit "church" entity.

As for the interest, merry met! Wicca is a wonderful thing to be and it has brought me a lot of joy over the over a decade I've been a Wiccan. While there's a bit of disdain about FBs, it's pretty much died down to jokes though a lot of covens turn away teenagers, as not to get into legal hot water. Wicca has changed a lot since its foundation in the fifties-startlingly so.

The founder of Wicca, Gerald Gardner was uh. A homophobe, probably a dirty old man and an amateur anthropologist who traveled to places such as Madagascar in his search for spirituality. Thankfully, the first thing is not generally a common attitude among Wiccans.

Things that you can be assured all Wiccans share, more or less*:

* Wiccans generally believe in an immediate, omnipresent godhead divided by opposites-usually male and female. Sometimes they're different things to one another and each have many names, many faces but with the same divine nature.

* Wiccans believe that every person has a part of the divine within them, but this may mean various things to different groups.

* Most Wiccan groups believe that there is no true path to wisdom, that Wicca is not the "one true path" but one of many.

* Wiccans approve of being sexually liberated but they do marry (handfasting), divorce, have people who offer themselves freely, those who abstain and many things in between. They do agree however on safe practices.

* A good number of Wiccans do approve of Jesus, though a number of them are bitter about the church. Many understand that these two aren't related.

* Some Wiccans like to use pantheons! There's a great deal of Wiccans who may prefer the Nordic gods, Egyptian or others still.

* Wiccans live all over the world-Morroco, Spain, Antigua, United Kingdom, France, South Africa-and more!

* Circles generally should be headed by a high priestess and/or a high priest though some may take turns.

* A witch does not make a witch-faith and action does.

* Traditions that believe in various philosophical points, practices and so on are varied as Christian churches are with often as much or more difference-Gardnerian, Alexandrian, Dianist, Correllian and Eclectic traditions are likely some of the largest Wiccan Traditions out there.

* While not specifically Wiccan, Covenant of the Goddess on the west coast is likely the biggest organized group of Pagans in the world and most certainly in the United States. They do outreach and legal advocacy as well as a yearly convention where lots of things can be seen, sold and bought.

* There are two documents generally held to be important to Wiccans. While neither are given the sort of status as the bible, they have shaped the religion as a whole and are widely quoted. The Wiccan Rede and The Charge of the Goddess are the texts to read if you read no other.

* Wiccans are not always witches and witches are not always Wiccans.

* Many traditions hold there to be three degrees of initiation as a priest/ess. The minimum for the first degree is traditionally a year and a day of study. Often, it takes more so be patient.

* Many Pagan Holidays also match up to modern celebrations, such as Halloween, Easter, Candlemas, May Day and (nearly) Christmas but are most certainly adaptations of one another by this point of time.

Some exceptions and fiddly things:

* Diana Traditions only worships a goddess and welcomes only women.
* There are traditions that trace back to Gerald or earlier with independently founded traditions.
* There are three versions of the rede, one in prose, one in rhyme and the shortened version which states "An'/If it should harm none, do as you will."
* The tools are not necessary, you can point for a phallic symbol/knife/athame or cup your hands for the yonic symbol/cup.
* Though Wicca was originally claimed as an "old religion", this claim has been largely debunked. Some covens will still state this fact but Wicca is a reconstruction using various facets of folklore and folk practices discovered by Gerald. It does not draw on millenia-old tradition.
* Asatru is not Wicca nor is it a Pagan faith, it is considered a Heathen faith as it's not a reconstruction but based on historical facts on Nordic tradition and Nordic traditional texts such as the Eddas, which still survive.
* There is an Isis-worshipping faith. Temple of Isis is friendly to Wicca but is not Wicca.
* There are over a thousand Wiccan pilots! There are also numerous Wiccan service men and women in the armed forces.
* Harm none does not mean you cannot defend yourself.
* There's still a lot of misinformation and prejudice against Wiccans, Witches and Pagans.


I hope this was helpful!

Happy Imbolc, everyone! Imbolc is one of the four Greater Sabbats that occur between the Solstices and Equinoxes. On Imbolc, we celebrate the thawing of winter into spring. So, I'm defrosting my fridge, which seemed appropriate. And because I live in the heart of a city, far away from things like new lambs and calves being born.

Last edited by Dreaded Claymore (02-01-2015 11:25:34 PM)