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Author Topic: New to paganism  (Read 1364 times)

Pkboo

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New to paganism
« on: January 02, 2017, 09:15:16 pm »
Hi I am new here and new to paganism. I have done a little bit of poking around about Druidry and Wicca. I kind of feel druidry is a better fit for me but at same time I wicca is an option as well. Only thing bout Wicca is the do no harm part of the rede. I don't really see my self doing hexes etc, but at the same time I am not entirely closed off to them. I don't really believe in gods that they are worshiped in Christianity and other religions that have similar god(s) but more that gods & goddesses are kind of like guides if that makes any sense. I feel that the 4 I can related to the most at the moment are: Artemis, Athena, Bel & Odin. From what I have read I know its preferred to have them all from the same pentathlon but as I was looking into the different ones those are the ones that clicked and felt right. I do have a one book on druidry and one on wicca. I havent gone through them yet. Mainly since I don't really know where to start with everything mainly because I dont have the money to go out and much of anything since I am a college student and I only work a few hours a month if I am lucky.
« Last Edit: January 02, 2017, 09:18:19 pm by Pkboo »

Darkhawk

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Re: New to paganism
« Reply #1 on: January 02, 2017, 10:33:36 pm »
Quote from: Pkboo;200829
Only thing bout Wicca is the do no harm part of the rede.

 
I really need to write up a stock comment on this that I can just copy-paste, huh?

There is no "do no harm" part of the rede.

The rede is "An it harm one, do as you will."  This is a conditional statement - "an" means "if".  Setting aside any faffing about over True Will, the whole point of this sentiment is "If it doesn't do harm, it's okay."

It says absolutely nothing about any other circumstances.

"An it harm none, do as you will" is syntactically equivalent to "if it doesn't rain, we'll have a picnic."  It doesn't say anything about what happens if it rains.  it doesn't even say that we won't have a picnic if it does.  Just: if it doesn't rain, we'll have a picnic.
as the water grinds the stone
we rise and fall
as our ashes turn to dust
we shine like stars    - Covenant, "Bullet"

Pkboo

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Re: New to paganism
« Reply #2 on: January 02, 2017, 10:46:20 pm »
Quote from: Darkhawk;200832
I really need to write up a stock comment on this that I can just copy-paste, huh?

There is no "do no harm" part of the rede.

The rede is "An it harm one, do as you will."  This is a conditional statement - "an" means "if".  Setting aside any faffing about over True Will, the whole point of this sentiment is "If it doesn't do harm, it's okay."

It says absolutely nothing about any other circumstances.

"An it harm none, do as you will" is syntactically equivalent to "if it doesn't rain, we'll have a picnic."  It doesn't say anything about what happens if it rains.  it doesn't even say that we won't have a picnic if it does.  Just: if it doesn't rain, we'll have a picnic.

 
to me the way it actually is written and the way I wrote it means the same thing

Darkhawk

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Re: New to paganism
« Reply #3 on: January 02, 2017, 11:15:18 pm »
Quote from: Pkboo;200833
to me the way it actually is written and the way I wrote it means the same thing

 
Your reinterpretation, however, is not the Rede.

The Rede is arguably badly written in that it allows such misinterpretations to be made, but that is still not what it says.

The word "Rede", by the way, means "advice".  So the whole thing is, basically, "So a bit of witchy advice: if it doesn't cause harm, it's okay."
as the water grinds the stone
we rise and fall
as our ashes turn to dust
we shine like stars    - Covenant, "Bullet"

Jenett

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Re: New to paganism
« Reply #4 on: January 03, 2017, 12:14:12 pm »
Hi there!

Quote from: Pkboo;200829
Hi I am new here and new to paganism. I have done a little bit of poking around about Druidry and Wicca. I kind of feel druidry is a better fit for me but at same time I wicca is an option as well.


One thing that might be helpful to you is to know that there's a whole scope of religious witchcraft out there that isn't Wicca. So you definitely have more than two choices. I have a site with a lot of intro information about religious witchcraft (and some more about Paganism in general) you might find helpful in sorting out terms and concepts and options: I'm linking to several specific essays here, but you may find browsing the site handy.

(Also, people use the term Wicca in all sorts of different ways, and some of them are mutually exclusive.)

Quote
Only thing bout Wicca is the do no harm part of the rede. I don't really see my self doing hexes etc, but at the same time I am not entirely closed off to them.


As Darkhawk said, the rede is a) advice, and b) only speaks to part of how we choose our actions. Many witches also follow the idea of "You must be able to hex in order to heal."

There are a bunch of different ways witches look at their ethics, only one of which is the Rede. Other things many witches consider include the Threefold law (interpreted different ways), the Charge of the Goddess, and an ethic of self-responsibility. There's examples at that link of different ways to think about applying ethical questions. (I hope to get some more written in the not too distant future.)

Quote
I feel that the 4 I can related to the most at the moment are: Artemis, Athena, Bel & Odin. From what I have read I know its preferred to have them all from the same pentathlon but as I was looking into the different ones those are the ones that clicked and felt right.


Many people have religious practices that include deities from different pantheons. The question is mostly in how they get along, if the practice you're using are pleasing to them (or at least neutral), and suit the work you're doing with and for them, and if there are any issues that need to be sorted out.

Some of it is like inviting people to a party: sometimes you can invite people from the same pantheon ('family' in an extended sense, usually) and people will have other people they really don't want to be in the same room with. Other times, you could invite half a dozen people you know from really different parts of your life, who have no connection to each other besides you that you know about, and it's a great time. It all depends on the specifics.

In terms of ritual practice, there are also things that change depending on what your practices are. Traditional Wiccan ritual and its immediate cousins often rely on the Great Rite in some form as a central ritual piece, and that is formed around two deities who are lovers and family to each other in specific ways (because traditional Wicca works with two specific deities - their names aren't shared in public, but they're unique individuals and have their own relationship with the other.)

If you decide to move away from that model and work with different deities, or deities who are not lovers (among other things), you would likely want to adapt that piece of ritual or find something else that works for it, or do something else entirely. All of these are common options for different people.

Quote

Mainly since I don't really know where to start with everything mainly because I dont have the money to go out and much of anything since I am a college student and I only work a few hours a month if I am lucky.


I have recommendations for getting started for a very small outlay of money (many of them are things you may already have, barring books) over a few months. If you want to make the most of your book money, here's my list of recommended titles and why, and the order I suggest focusing on different topics. While buying books new helps support authors and publishers in making new awesome books available, you should be able to find most of them used, and some of them may be available through libraries.

(If you need help figuring out what might be available in your library system, I'm always glad to help with that - I'm a librarian - if you let me know what library system you have access to. I'm glad to do that by PM or email, too. Books about Wicca/Witchcraft/Neopaganism vary a lot in different libraries, but there are often some that are worth checking out, and there will definitely be books about things like mythology, folklore, seasonal celebrations and foods, and related topics that can help whatever you decide on for a practice.)
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