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Author Topic: Beginner... looking for some direction  (Read 1287 times)

pennylane

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Beginner... looking for some direction
« on: August 01, 2013, 07:37:21 pm »
Greetings all -

I am beginning to study Paganism, with a particular interest in Wicca/Witchcraft.  I feel this is the direction I am supposed to head on my spiritual path.  I have scoured the internet, researched, and read several books but I am feeling a bit overwhelmed.  I am learning about wicca, but am not sure how to actually start putting my learning into practice.  There are so many tools, spells, recipes, herbs, materials one needs to gather, it's hard to know where to start.  A lot of books I have been reading seem to delve right into the complicated parts without showing me where to begin.

I would greatly appreciate any insight/help/recommendations/knowledge you have to offer and share with me.

Happy Lammas to you all,
Penny

MadZealot

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Re: Beginner... looking for some direction
« Reply #1 on: August 01, 2013, 08:09:35 pm »
Quote from: pennylane;117600
I would greatly appreciate any insight/help/recommendations/knowledge you have to offer and share with me.
Howdy!

Great timing.  There's talk about putting together a Wiccan beginners' reading list in this thread, and plenty of titles are recommended there.  
There's also TC's Pagan Primer page.  There you'll find relevant FAQs and beginner-oriented articles.
Have fun!
« Last Edit: August 01, 2013, 08:10:14 pm by MadZealot »
You have my sword
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And my... um... slacks.

TheHumanAxiom

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Re: Beginner... looking for some direction
« Reply #2 on: August 02, 2013, 01:56:16 am »
Quote from: pennylane;117600
I am learning about wicca, but am not sure how to actually start putting my learning into practice.


Welcome! I'm also just beginning to practice what I've learned! I think it helps to start small and simple. I have personally found Jenett's site for beginners/seekers very useful. That link goes straight to the page she has on beginning practices.

You may want to begin with breathing exercises, centering, grounding, cleansing and shielding. Have you done these yet? If not, my understanding is they are very basic and useful skills to have in any future energy or spellwork! I think of those skills as the building blocks that will lead to other more complex tasks, like casting a circle. Also, some are explicitly called for - the ritual outlines I've seen usually mentioned grounding at the end.

As for myself, I do not always take the best care of my body and health, so I've set that as my first goal - taking care of myself as a spiritual act, so that I can be fit for other spiritual work. I also do a small, informal devotional each night where I light candles and speak generally to deity about my progress with self-care. Afterwards, I do 10 minutes of mindfulness meditation (just focusing on my breath). Right now, that is all I do, but I plan on moving onto those basic skills next. Hope that helps!

pennylane

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Re: Beginner... looking for some direction
« Reply #3 on: August 02, 2013, 09:46:32 am »
Quote from: TheHumanAxiom;117641
Welcome! I'm also just beginning to practice what I've learned! I think it helps to start small and simple. I have personally found Jenett's site for beginners/seekers very useful. That link goes straight to the page she has on beginning practices.

You may want to begin with breathing exercises, centering, grounding, cleansing and shielding. Have you done these yet? If not, my understanding is they are very basic and useful skills to have in any future energy or spellwork! I think of those skills as the building blocks that will lead to other more complex tasks, like casting a circle. Also, some are explicitly called for - the ritual outlines I've seen usually mentioned grounding at the end.

As for myself, I do not always take the best care of my body and health, so I've set that as my first goal - taking care of myself as a spiritual act, so that I can be fit for other spiritual work. I also do a small, informal devotional each night where I light candles and speak generally to deity about my progress with self-care. Afterwards, I do 10 minutes of mindfulness meditation (just focusing on my breath). Right now, that is all I do, but I plan on moving onto those basic skills next. Hope that helps!

 
Thank you so much -- these are such great suggestions. I'm definitely going to check out Jennett's website, and try starting on my breathing/meditation. Thanks so much for your help!!

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