Looking for a little Direction

[Belle]

Hello all!

I'm new to the board and would like to start out by saying Hi to everyone!  I've been creeping around in the shadows for a few days reading various posts and articles on the site & looking for answers to some beginner questions. You guys seem like a really friendly and helpful lot so I thought I'd just toss them out and see if anyone could provide some answers or point me in a good direction.  

I'll start with my background - I was raised Catholic, switched to Baptist as a teen and suddenly had more questons about my faith and religion than was good for my adolescent brain! lol  I walked away from pretty much everything for some number of years even though I maintained a faith and belief in a higher power.  In my mid-twenties I started hearing a lot about Wicca and began reading up on it.  Parts of it appealed to me - strong connection to nature, I kind of liked the femalecentric aspect of it and while I initially thought the ritual part would appeal to me I found that it was actually the turn-off as it suddently felt overwhelming and distant and too "Catholic".  I wandered away from my faith for the last few years and felt I was somewhere between atheist and agnostic.  I now feel like that was part of my path and that I kind of needed to "kill off" the nigglings of Christianity that still remained.  Over the past year I've slowly started to rebuild my faith and am back to the problem of I don't know exactly where I fit - or even if I fit (which is ok too).  This past Saturday I woke up and knew it was time to get out of limbo and take an active role in trying to figure it out which lead me here and of course the local library.

As I said before, I believe in a higher power.  I lean more toward monotheism but certainly don't rule out the possibility of polytheism.  The one thing that has always been a staple of my faith is my love and appreciation of nature and a belief in animism and the feeling that everything that nature has to offer is a gift from the god(dess).  I believe that all of those gifts contain properties to help us in life if we let them.  This has recently brought me to wanting to make lotions and soaps that contain essential oils of various herbs and plants.  I've been reading a book by Scott Cunningham - The Complete Book to Incense Oils and Brews and am about ready to give it a shot (wish me luck! lol)  I've also begun reading A Witch Alone by Marian Green (a book I saw recommended on this site) and it really speaks to me and is showing me a path that I'm really interested in pursuing - so far nothing has presented a turn-off, it just fits and feels right and good.  I also have a very strong belief in reincarnation.  I've also always kind of felt a strong connection to the Celts and Norse - which is where my ancestors are from.  I don't know if that just makes up the person I am or if it will ultimately fit into my faith.

With all that said, I guess my question would be - Where do I fit in?  Is there a particular path - I guess with a name - that I should be studying or at least looking into further?  I think the reason for this question is that I have yet to find a diety(s) & that is somewhat confusing for me.  I know I may never meet one and that is ok too, its just really a point of confusion for me now and I don't want it to derail me.

This leads me to the last part of my question.  I saw a psychic last year who said her spirit guide was actually urging her to walk me through a quick meditation so that I could meet my spirit guide.  She walked me through walking up a set of steps and guided me through a door to outside - all was well up to that point.  She then began to describe the outside, where it was supposed to be sunny and bright but for me it was dark with a large moon glowing across a pond.  She described that my guide would be a person that came out of a bright light for me, however it was actually a wolf that came through the forest.  When we were done I kind of nervously told her that I think I messed up because of what I saw.  She smiled and got a book out on animal guides and told me that I had met my animal guide and that was just as special as a person.  When I meditate now, I have no problem seeing my wolf, the love that is present between us is like nothing I've ever experienced.  At times my wolf will kind of morph into a man that appears to be american-indian.  I've talked to the woman since then about this and she said she felt that was normal with that particular animal.  So, my next question would be is this who I should direct my "prayers" to?  

Thanks in advance for any insight given.

[GaiaDianne]

Hello all!

.....With all that said, I guess my question would be - Where do I fit in?  Is there a particular path - I guess with a name - that I should be studying or at least looking into further?  I think the reason for this question is that I have yet to find a diety(s) & that is somewhat confusing for me. ......

.....When I meditate now, I have no problem seeing my wolf, the love that is present between us is like nothing I've ever experienced.  At times my wolf will kind of morph into a man that appears to be american-indian.  I've talked to the woman since then about this and she said she felt that was normal with that particular animal.  So, my next question would be is this who I should direct my "prayers" to?  

Thanks in advance for any insight given.

 

GAIADIANNE REPLYING:

Hi and Merry Meet, Belle --

I noticed that you posted this a few weeks ago and didn't get many replies; I'd like to offer some suggestions that i hope might be helpful.

First, may i say that i understand how difficult and even overwhelming it can seem to be looking for a spirituality that "fits", from all the various possibilities out There.....

Let me address Wicca first, since it's often the most popular kind of Paganism and because of this popularity, there are a lot of mis-conceptions and errros floating around about it.  

 I think it's important to realize that Wicca is not just "whatever someone makes of it" or "whatever they want it to be"; rather, Wicca is just one of many different kinds of Pagan religions, and it is a very specific religion that isn't suited to everyone, not even to every Pagan.  (Traditional) Wicca is a training-and-Initiation-required, Mystery (and polytheistic) religion of myth, symbol, ritual and personal experience, whose practitioners are Priests and Priestesses to the Gods and Goddesses.  IOW, the focus of Wicca is *service* to the Gods, as a Priest or Priestess.  

There are many, many other kinds of paths that honor Nature and seek to harmonize with Natural energies and cycles, and many of those also use Magick.  YOu can get an idea of just a few by checking out some of the SIG's on this Board.

I think it's also important to note that one need not necessarily settle on a particular path at the "Introductory" stage.  Perhaps you can let yourself investigate, research, etc, rather than insisting on making a lot of decisions right away.....

 There are some very basic practices that one might focus on.  For example, what i call the "Essential Skills" (Centering, Grounding, Meditation, Cleansing, Shielding, etc) --  are common to (and virtually required by) many different paths, and can help a person quiet all the "voices" and go within for Guidance.  For more on these Skills, please see my article, here:
http://www.ecauldron.com/forum/showthread.php?2340-Basic-Skills-Centering-Grounding-Cleansing-Shielding-Imagination.

You might want to get an idea of what the various options are -- The Pagan Classic, "Drawing Down the MOon" by (NPR Radio Journalist and High Priestess) Margot Adler is a great resource in this regard -- see http://www.amazon.com/Drawing-Down-Moon-Witches-Goddess-Worshippers/dp/0143038192/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1335199538&sr=1-1

Also, check out the discussions on good and not-so-good books and resources.

*     *     *     *
 
Now, about your wolf:  I don't know much about Native American religions -- except that there were over 500 different Nations, cultures and religions among them, and many of their beliefs and practices differred or even conflicted with each other.  Beware any New Ager who "adopts" Native religion -- they generally don't know what they're talking about and just make up a lot of NewAge gobbly-gook that offfends and insults authentic NA's.  If you want to explore NA beliefs or practices, be sure you find a good, authentic NA teacher .....And you may want to check out the following articles to make sure you know what to avoid:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plastic_shaman  
http://www.newagefraud.org/
http://www.williams.edu/go/native/natreligion.htm
http://muse.jhu.edu/demo/american_indian_quarterly/.../24.3aldred.html
http://www.religiousforums.com/.../19940-plastic-shamans.html
http://www.search.com/reference/Plastic_shaman
 

I hope that's helpful -- Good Luck and Blessed Be - Gaia

[Aubrey_Rose]

Hello all!

With all that said, I guess my question would be - Where do I fit in?  Is there a particular path - I guess with a name - that I should be studying or at least looking into further?  I think the reason for this question is that I have yet to find a diety(s) & that is somewhat confusing for me.  I know I may never meet one and that is ok too, its just really a point of confusion for me now and I don't want it to derail me.

This leads me to the last part of my question.  I saw a psychic last year who said her spirit guide was actually urging her to walk me through a quick meditation so that I could meet my spirit guide.  She walked me through walking up a set of steps and guided me through a door to outside - all was well up to that point.  She then began to describe the outside, where it was supposed to be sunny and bright but for me it was dark with a large moon glowing across a pond.  She described that my guide would be a person that came out of a bright light for me, however it was actually a wolf that came through the forest.  When we were done I kind of nervously told her that I think I messed up because of what I saw.  She smiled and got a book out on animal guides and told me that I had met my animal guide and that was just as special as a person.  When I meditate now, I have no problem seeing my wolf, the love that is present between us is like nothing I've ever experienced.  At times my wolf will kind of morph into a man that appears to be american-indian.  I've talked to the woman since then about this and she said she felt that was normal with that particular animal.  So, my next question would be is this who I should direct my "prayers" to?  

Thanks in advance for any insight given.

 


Okay, now, I'm not an expert. But here is my opinion... Not everyone has a "name" for their belief systems. Thats partly why the way we all believe is so great! For instance, I believe is God, and Jesus Christ. But I also Pray to and Worship my Goddess, I have had trouble finding a name for her, so for the sake of understanding she is "mother earth". I love the earth, and nature, and everything about it. I believe everything has a soul. I also love to have rituals honoring the moon, and the seasons, and play with herbs, and oils, and have an altar.
So I vary from todays Christian society in a rather large way. (Or so people think)

I don't have a name. I'm greenish-paganish-christianish. Awesome right?

You'll find the more people you talk to here, the more that are like me. They don't have a particular religious "Title", Though some do.

As to who to pray to? Thats entirely up to you. Part of the reason my goddess doesn't have a name is because I don't know what her formal name would be! I know she is here, I can feel her around me. But I have never read, or been told of any title. You can pray to whomever you want. If you feel like talking to this wolf helps you spiritually, thats awesome, do it. If you think he is just a guide, and you want to talk to someone more concrete, you will have to do your own research and meditating for that. There are to many gods to name them all.

Hope this was helpful!