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Author Topic: Does anyone have any guidance or advice :-)  (Read 1311 times)

Seren Porffor

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Does anyone have any guidance or advice :-)
« on: May 22, 2016, 02:21:00 pm »
Hello everyone, I have recently started to follow the Pagan path ( although I know its been with me for a long time). Could anyone please give me any tips or assistance or recommend any book that could help me. I am a believer that there are spirits in nature and I feel I have a definite connection with Cernunnos and Rhiannon.   I celebrate the Sabbaths. I have an interest in Wicca but have not practised Magic. And I do believe that what you give out comes back to you. If anyone could please give me any assistance in what sort of Pagan I am, I would be very grateful as I would be to any other tips or book suggestions. Thanks everyone, sending blessings Seren :) x

MamaThistle

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Re: Does anyone have any guidance or advice :-)
« Reply #1 on: May 22, 2016, 04:27:55 pm »
Quote from: Seren Porffor;191682
Hello everyone, I have recently started to follow the Pagan path ( although I know its been with me for a long time). Could anyone please give me any tips or assistance or recommend any book that could help me. I am a believer that there are spirits in nature and I feel I have a definite connection with Cernunnos and Rhiannon.   I celebrate the Sabbaths. I have an interest in Wicca but have not practised Magic. And I do believe that what you give out comes back to you. If anyone could please give me any assistance in what sort of Pagan I am, I would be very grateful as I would be to any other tips or book suggestions. Thanks everyone, sending blessings Seren :) x


Hi, Seren!

I am fairly new to Paganism as well, but I have been researched Wicca/witchcraft for a couple years now. I ultimately decided this path wasn't for me, but I have read a few book so I'll give you my personal take.

If you are very green to witchcraft there are many beginner books out there (like Scott Cunningham). There is a lot of controversy on these type of books, many seasoned Wiccans don't care for them or find them harmful. I personally enjoyed Cunningham and thought a lot of his techniques were useful in general. I thought it was a good place to start, but his books give his interpretation of Wicca and should not be taken as all Wicca. Gardnarian Wicca, which is what I think most people think of when they think Wicca, is much different than what is represented in these book and they worship a specific, secret God and Goddess.

The path I'm on now I have been practicing folk magic, some of Scott Cunninghams books have been useful for that.

Now the best source, in my opinion, for someone who wants a more academic approach on pagans and witchcraft is "Triumph of the Moon" by Ronald Hutton. It has changed my perspective on a lot of things.

Now for the God and Goddess you mentioned, I am personally on a Gaelic Polytheism path so some of the books I have read have mentioned them, but not in great detail unfortunately.

Regardless here are some Celtic resources I have found useful:

http://www.maryjones.us/ctexts/index.html
http://www.paganachd.com/faq/ (If you are interested in Celtic Restructionalism)
http://www.tairis.co.uk/resources/reviews-other/ (this page is a review of books from a Celtic Reconstructionalisr pov, but my be helpful regardless)

I hope that helped a little but.
"Think like a wise man but communicate in the language of the people."

- W.B. Yeats

RecycledBenedict

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Re: Does anyone have any guidance or advice :-)
« Reply #2 on: May 22, 2016, 06:21:31 pm »
Quote from: Seren Porffor;191682
Could anyone please give me any tips or assistance or recommend any book that could help me.


I second the book Triumph of the Moon, that VelvetHammer mentioned.

Any translation of the Welsh collection of tales, Mabinogion, would be useful to you. Sioned Davies made the latest translation.
 
Quote from: Seren Porffor;191682
I am a believer that there are spirits in nature and I feel I have a definite connection with Cernunnos and Rhiannon.   I celebrate the Sabbaths. I have an interest in Wicca but have not practised Magic. And I do believe that what you give out comes back to you. If anyone could please give me any assistance in what sort of Pagan I am, I would be very grateful as I would be to any other tips or book suggestions.


Have you considerd to work with Pwyll and Manawydan as well? They are both married to Rhiannon at one or another step in the myths. Remember that Cernunnos isn't Welsh, but Gaulish.

Wicca is a word, that can refer to several different sorts of religions, the most narrowly defined one can not be practiced by anyone outside a witch-coven, and you doesn't seem to belong to a coven with historical roots in New Forest.

I am not exactly sure which sort of Wicca you are writing about, but I guess it is one of those using a wider definition of the word.

If Druidry is something to consider for you, I have two books to recommend. One is easy to read, and written by John Michael Greer: The Druidry Handbook. The other one is written by the same author as Triumph of the Moon, and called Blood and Mistletoe. Just remember that Greer's intention is not to reconstruct old Celtic religions, but to maintain 18th century Druidry. It is a tradition within its own right, and the oldest surviving modern Pagan religion (some would say spiritual path or philosophy instead of religion). It influenced the founders of Wicca.

anubisa

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Re: Does anyone have any guidance or advice :-)
« Reply #3 on: May 22, 2016, 09:17:32 pm »
Quote from: Seren Porffor;191682
Hello everyone, I have recently started to follow the Pagan path ( although I know its been with me for a long time). Could anyone please give me any tips or assistance or recommend any book that could help me. I am a believer that there are spirits in nature and I feel I have a definite connection with Cernunnos and Rhiannon.   I celebrate the Sabbaths. I have an interest in Wicca but have not practised Magic. And I do believe that what you give out comes back to you. If anyone could please give me any assistance in what sort of Pagan I am, I would be very grateful as I would be to any other tips or book suggestions. Thanks everyone, sending blessings Seren :) x

 
Hi Seren! I am a recommend Scott Cunningham's books. When I began the path his books helped incredibly. Wicca by Scott Cunningham is a great starter book. His sequel, Living Wicca, is a great companion as well. Amber K's True Magick is a great book as well. I love her. True Magick is basically a complete course for the beginner. I hope I have helped.
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Dynes Hysbys

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Re: Does anyone have any guidance or advice :-)
« Reply #4 on: May 23, 2016, 10:26:37 am »
Quote from: Seren Porffor;191682
Hello everyone, I have recently started to follow the Pagan path ( although I know its been with me for a long time). Could anyone please give me any tips or assistance or recommend any book that could help me. I am a believer that there are spirits in nature and I feel I have a definite connection with Cernunnos and Rhiannon.   I celebrate the Sabbaths. I have an interest in Wicca but have not practised Magic. And I do believe that what you give out comes back to you. If anyone could please give me any assistance in what sort of Pagan I am, I would be very grateful as I would be to any other tips or book suggestions. Thanks everyone, sending blessings Seren :) x

I'd suggest Marian Green's book "A Witch Alone" as a starting point for witchcraft studies.

If you wish to learn more of Rhiannon then the  Mabinogion is really all that you will find that has any age behind it.

There are many translations from the Welsh. It is a difficult collection of texts to translate as medieval Welsh is of course different from modern Welsh. The early translation from Lady Charlotte Guest is widely available as a free ebook. It does maintain the sheer poetry of the Welsh but it was  translated to meet Victorian standards of decency! Later translations are more accurate academically but lack the beauty of the original prose. The latest one by Sioned Davies (as mentioned above) does strike the best balance yet between the two.
« Last Edit: May 23, 2016, 10:28:30 am by Dynes Hysbys »

Jenett

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Re: Does anyone have any guidance or advice :-)
« Reply #5 on: May 23, 2016, 11:54:44 am »
Quote from: Seren Porffor;191682
If anyone could please give me any assistance in what sort of Pagan I am, I would be very grateful as I would be to any other tips or book suggestions. Thanks everyone, sending blessings Seren :) x

 
Hi, Seren -

One thing to keep in mind about a lot of Pagan religions is that how you identify your path often has more to do with how you do things than what you believe. It sounds like exploring religious witchcraft (a broader grouping that includes Wicca but isn't limited to it) might be helpful to you, as well as considering other things people have already suggested.

I have a website focused on material for people interested in religious witchcraft, and a bunch of it might be of interest to you, but I'd suggest looking at the following essays, particularly:

What is religious witchcraft and Different ways the word Wicca is used both cover things that often confuse people early on.

The Building your Practice section has a collection of essays that talk about different aspects of figuring out a path for personal practice.

Suggested reading : my current recommended starting book list with some alternate titles.

(I don't actually recommend starting with Cunningham for reasons linked from that essay, just because conversations in the community have continued to progress since he was writing, and that can sometimes make some things complicated to understand today. But I think he's a great resource once you've got a sense of today's conversations and use of terms.)
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HarpingHawke

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Re: Does anyone have any guidance or advice :-)
« Reply #6 on: May 23, 2016, 12:11:16 pm »
Quote from: Seren Porffor;191682


 
As far as Cernunnos goes, here's an article that might help you out. :)
"There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self." - Hemingway

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