The Cauldron: A Pagan Forum

Hello all

I know paganism is a very broad area that covers many religions so I would like to narrow down what I should study based on what I am drawn towards and would like you advice on this

-I'm very drawn to Mother Goddess and Father God (Mother Earth/Horned God?)
-I'm open to the idea of being in contact with other gods or goddesses but I'm primarily interested in the duo theology--how does one go about contacting other gods/goddesses/Father God/Mother Goddess?
-I am beginning to understand a little bit more about spells and magick and am looking for some beginner spells or resources to spells and/or prayers that can aid me into a straighter path...as well as peace through anxiety and depression---However, I still don't know much about magick or spells, so any help with that would be great as well
-I love the idea of being around nature and worshiping nature/stars
-I believe in an afterlife, growing more open to the idea of reincarnation
-I believe stones and herbs can aid in promoting a positive environment and healing
-I would like some guidance on meditation and mindfulness
-I would like to set up an altar to create a positive and sacred space for me to pray, meditate, contact God/Goddess etc...I don't know much about this either and wondering how to do this and the necessary things I need to know about it
-What about things like "witch names" or "animal totems"? Curious about that as well

Based on what I am drawn towards, what should I be studying? I appreciate all suggestions! Thank you so much

My comp is running slow so I can't pull up the link, but the belief-o-matic religion quiz matches your beliefs with religions and provides you a complete list of results. I used to research the top ones that I was paired with and then go from there.

Looks like I wound up with "Neo-paganism" ... I'm still not sure where to go from there ^_^

I'd recommend reading Jenett's Seeking site for some suggestions.

 
To expand on that - one of the things that's true for a lot of religions under the Pagan umbrella are that it's not shared *beliefs* that matter as much as shared practices (especially if you're at all interested in doing things with other people now or eventually.)

There's a couple of lists of questions on my site about how to narrow down some things about practices and see what might be available near you (for values of 'near'). We're also in Pagan Pride season, and if there are events you can get to, that can be an easy way to get a taste of a lot of different kinds of practices in one place.

(Pagan Pride events are free and open to the public, and while the majority are in the US, there are some in Canada and other places around the world - http://paganpride.org will help you find if there are any near you. They're required to have a ritual and some sort of charitable donation, but many of them also have vendors, workshops, musical performances, and other events. Even if you can't get to one, looking at the lists of people and groups at the ones nearest you can give you some ideas.)

Huh. Sorry! I remembered it being more detailed than that.

 
Unfortunately, that sort of quiz thing is usually written by someone who's heard of paganism enough to include it but not enough to distinguish between read-a-book Wicca and Asatru.

Hello all

I know paganism is a very broad area that covers many religions so I would like to narrow down what I should study based on what I am drawn towards and would like you advice on this

-I'm very drawn to Mother Goddess and Father God (Mother Earth/Horned God?)
-I'm open to the idea of being in contact with other gods or goddesses but I'm primarily interested in the duo theology--how does one go about contacting other gods/goddesses/Father God/Mother Goddess?
-I am beginning to understand a little bit more about spells and magick and am looking for some beginner spells or resources to spells and/or prayers that can aid me into a straighter path...as well as peace through anxiety and depression---However, I still don't know much about magick or spells, so any help with that would be great as well
-I love the idea of being around nature and worshiping nature/stars
-I believe in an afterlife, growing more open to the idea of reincarnation
-I believe stones and herbs can aid in promoting a positive environment and healing
-I would like some guidance on meditation and mindfulness
-I would like to set up an altar to create a positive and sacred space for me to pray, meditate, contact God/Goddess etc...I don't know much about this either and wondering how to do this and the necessary things I need to know about it
-What about things like "witch names" or "animal totems"? Curious about that as well

Based on what I am drawn towards, what should I be studying? I appreciate all suggestions! Thank you so much

With at least some of your criteria mentioned, I guess that the following traditions are worthy to consider:

* Eclectic Wicca of the sort presented by Scott Cunningham
* The 1743 Witchcraft of Joseph Bearwalker Wilson
* RDNA and its several daughter organizations
* Some (but probably not all) forms of British Druidry

To provide a correction that will help with searching: it's 1734, not the one given (easy typo!) For the curious, that's not a date, it's a number symbolically relevant to the tradition.

Thank you for the correction. The mistake was entirely non-intentional. I didn't notice that I had switched the figures.

I thank you for this :) I was looking a bit more into Wicca and Druidry because that seemed most appealing to me ^_^

 
I love Druidry! I just finished my Bardic level through OBOD. If you look into them and have any questions feel free to ask here or in a PM. :)