Yesterday I started to convert to the well known religion Wicca. It's a matriarchal religion (worships a Goddess instead of a God) but there is a God, but he isn't as important. Its a bit like hinduism as well, there are lots of different Gods/Goddeses but they're all the same God/Goddess in the end eg There symbolic. Umm anyways I know quite alot of people here are wiccan and I was wondering if anybody could teach me a bit more about this.

tnx Galor

Hi Galor
First of all can I ask why you are converting to Wicca? I all ways ask that because many people that do convert do it for the wrong reasons (not saying you are) but you should consider your reasons before taking such a drastic move.

Here is a link that you might find helpful that I wrote a while ago I hope it helps you.

Paganism and Witchcraft

All the best
Faeden

Tnx! Umm I converted because I hate the way christians look down on animals like humans are more important, and Wicca is more nature-tuned, which I am.

Oh ok
Well good luck on your new path and remember always walk it with love in your heart, and it will always bring you joy.

Remember the church may have a negative view on animals, but not all Christians think that. you get good and bad in every religion.

I know that you mean though, I am a very strong animal lover, animal abuse is sick. One thing about most pagan religions is it does teach that all life is equal.

All the best
Faeden

K umm one more queston.

About this Book of Shadows thing... how do you plan it out? I've heard that if your wiccan you should keep a book of shadows to record your religious life.

PS Is that you in your avatar(?) lol

Hi

Yes that is me in my photo, why do you ask ?

You dont have to have a book of shadows, one of the things about being a pagan is that you dont have to do anything, you do what you feel comfortable with.

But most pagans do keep a book of shadows, basically all it is, is a magical diary with all your dreams and rituals and magical knowledge written in it and of your ideas and spiritual experiences you have learnt over time, it is never to be shown to anyone accept other pagans that you trust. More than not a pagan is either buried with there book of shadows, or its passed on down to there children.

All the best
Faeden

Well I want to have a Book of Shadows at least for my first days as a pagan.

umm PS I asked if that was you in your avatar because your in a army uniform and I thought that you said you were peaceful somewhere, correct me ifi'm wrong.

An army uniform I wouldn’t join the army if I was tied to the back of a truck and dragged naked through a field of broken glass and then bathed in after shave. War to me is the ultimate act of evil no matter what the reason. To support war could not possibly be any further from god.

It is good to have a book of shadows to begin with as you can keep track of what you want to focus on learning next.

Remember you can bring any other religious belief into paganism if you want, theirs no "you shall believe this or that" you can mix and match as there is no one "true way" Many pagans study the Kabalah which is Jewish, some have a very hinduic belief, many pagans believe in Jesus as an important and good spiritual entity (as I do) Just be your self and try hard to ignore the nasty extremists and turn the other cheek, dont lower your self to there level by attacking them and taking the bait, just walk away, and treat others how you would want to be treated. Good luck.

All the best
Faeden

I am 'nature-tuned' as you say, yet i believe in God. I am a hippie! Not really, just some people think I am.

lol starchild.

Btw, roflmfaomfg mean, where bannana stands for f***, roll on floor laughing my bannaing arse off my bannaing god!

Sorry i just had some random urge to say that

your a moron

...

And why do you call this person a moron?

Im sorry. Was in a bad mood and his post struck me as moronic. But I was in the wrong. Sorry Galor.

it's ok. Lol sorry I actually was being a moron I was hyped up because I realised it was my friends birthday lol

for a second there I though you were being racist

Ok I want to reveal to my family that I'm pagan but I din't know how they'll react. My family are christian (anglican and catholic).

Really, Christians are supposed to 'Love their Enemy'. A pagan is considered a conflicting religion among your parents? They do not respect you, they do not adore you as another religion, they do not accept the righteousness from God...according to the Christian religion.

Just go with it, explain why you believe in these pagan Gods, and why you chose to be a Pagan yourself. Hiding something that should be exposed is like lieing to someone all the same. Your parents should understand why you so believe in the Pagan religion. And as Christians, they shouls respect you.

Hi Galor

It depends on your circumstances, if your still living at home with your parents then id keep it to your self, they could make life very hard for you if you told them, because if they are fundamentalists they will not accept it no matter what, you will be the devil no matter how much you try and explain to them. Fundamentalists are brainwashed with fear, so even if they accepted you a little to them that would mean "the devil" is getting the upper hand, to me and you that’s obviously stupid, but fundamentalists are brainwashed with this kind of fear, its how they keep people in check and in control, if they question anything against what they have been told there brains are programmed to think that its "Satan" tempting them, so theirs no winning, you might have to keep it to your self if your still living at home.

If you are not living at home with your parents, then you are an adult and have the right to follow what religion you wish, tell them but dont tell them out right, brake it to them slowly, tell them you are interested in more spiritual things such as tarot and runes and meditation and slowly brake it to them, but its possible depending on how far gone they are that they will disown you, as I have seen it happen before, and they might say they dont want to know you until you stop your "satanic" ways. If your parents love you for real, they will accept you what ever religions you have chosen, that’s the thing with fundamentalists they are programmed to ignore love and to embrace hatred and ignorance.

Good luck on what you decide.

All the best
Faeden

Ok, erm my parents aren't fundamentalists but they do believe. I told my mum earlier and she just laughed and said stop being silly!

Everyone in the UK laughs at pagans! Better than the US, where racial attacks are carried out

I would just keep to yourself, that's what I did.... your spirituality is your own.... there really is no need to tell everyone.... you won't be lying if you don't tell them either. Like Faeden said as well.... there's nothing that you "have" to do or believe in in order to call yourself wiccan.... or pagan for that matter.

Ok, I'll keep it to myself. But on esbats and sabbats I dunno what to do, but to give you part 2 of my confessi...uh...are there any rituals or somtin you do?

Hi Galor

Theirs no end of rituals you can do on the pagan festivals, as a beginner you dont have to know how to perform complicated rituals, even as a long time pagan its not necessary to perform rituals at all. Many pagans including my self dont do spells, I have done when I started getting into the raising power side of it to see if it really worked (which it did) but I was happy that Paganism was of a good source and continued on with my study.

You can just light candles and incense at night in your room and meditate on that part of the pagan year… for instance at the summer solstice you might like to meditate and meet the oak king in your sacred place (maybe under a oak tree to intensify the experience and his connection with yours, grasp a acorn to even better form a connection with the green man) or on beltane (a festival of fertility) you might like to meditate in your sacred place ( you should have one for dream and meditation work) and meet the goddess that is pregnant at this time of year, and ask that she may bless someone you might know who’s pregnant, or a couple that are wanting a baby but are having trouble, the possibilities in ritual are endless. Remember to always cast a protective circle though, this can just be envisioning a brilliant bright white golden light around your self protecting you from darkness, in vision it with your minds eye, the more powerful you believe its there, the more powerful the light will be in protecting you from negative influences that might wish you harm you in your general life. In vision the light as being the unconditional love of the god and goddess for each other, and for all there children being you, your family, and all of life. In meditation or ritual you must always listen to what it is spirits have to tell you whether it be advice or warnings they will always be given, some might not be what you wanted to hear, but our guides and the god and goddess know best.

If you are suspicious that someone you meet in meditation might not be who they claim to be, confront it by ordering it to come forward and point a sword of light at it that you also in vision in your minds eye, and tell it to show its real identity in the name of god and goddess and of the light (any evil or nasty spirit will run a mile by the thought of having to tell the truth) and will not stay when confronted to tell the truth in the presents of god, if it stays then listen to what it has to say, and after you have finished make sure you give thanks to all that came to you, including the god and goddess, and then ground your self and take time out to recover and readjust to your earthly body.

If you have trouble learning how to meditate then constant practice is the key, some can do it better than others, but sooner or later your master how to do it.

You can do all these things in the silence of your own room, or when no one is in, if you are worried about others making fun of you or thinking your some kind of weirdo. Remember the best place to do these things is the countryside closest to nature, where you can find many places where no one will disturb you.

All the best
Faeden

My advice is, if you wish to practise a reliligion, it is a very prudent idea to research it thoroughly first and then decide if that's what you feel fits your needs.

After, learning about Paganism you may decide your not Pagan after all. And if you want your parents to respect your decision you can't be flip flopping .It would also pay to be able to defend what you believe , which you can't do adequetly if you are not fully informed .
So read , read , read. The library is one of the better places to start and then of course spiritualist book shops .

There is a huge pagan community among the british isles... just gotta know where to look.

Kismit's words are wise. Research world religions and pick the one you feel most in tune with. I'm a lost one wandering as you. Currently I am taking classes in religion and doing online study. Some sites I visit:

http://www.sacred-texts.com/index.htm

http://religioustolerance.org/

http://www.the600club.com/ - This one is Satanism and Occult. Learn the meanings of the names before you so quickly judge on them.

http://virtualreligion.net/vri/

http://www.refdesk.com/factrel.html

I hope these pages will aid you some in your search for meaning. I wish you great luck.

Same as you, Kratos apparently this is some stage of puberty I'm going through, but I really feel right as a Pagan Over my years I have become many religions, including atheist (which I am now...wicca had a more symbolic meaning to me.

Oh wellguys, tnx 4 ure help

I didn't know pagan was a race!

A race? where did you pick that up from?

Lolz pagan is a nature-centered, usually matriarcal religion. Lolz where did you get the idea that Pagan was a race?

Sorry just realised I repeated what you just said black ops lol

Audit: w00t!!! Just remembered how to edit! Umm anyways what I wanted to say was that Fæden, I rely on my parents to go to the countryside. Luckily I live in the suburbs near to a 34 mile strip of pure countryside (and a few hamlets). Pure BLISS!!! Just thinking about it makes me happy! Its one of those 'classic' countrysides (lots of different coloured fields ). Public aren't supposed to go on them, but hey, a section of broken fence leading to my idea of heaven is just waaaaayyy to tempting. Anyways when I go there I usually go with my family, and only in the summer, when the grass is really tall (taller than me!) Umm anyways, going off the point here. I don't think i can do rituals.

Being a pagan myself can I ask you how long you have been studying wicca for? I'm not wiccan persay but I do follow certain aspects of it. BTW the god is just as important as the Goddess, but some preffer just to worship the goddess, those are called Dianic wiccans. If your interested in that, I would suggest star hawk or Marrion weinstein to help you out

I have to agree with Kismit, but Hailo Hellfire has WONDERFUL words! I am so happy he has the tolerance ALL Christians should have, and I have to applaud him for his kindness!

I know what you mean by you're pointed and laughed at -- The other day someone saw the rings I was wearing (One of them being an iron cross and one of them being a pentagram with celtic knotwork around it) and they said: "....Oh, the star of satan and the nazi cross. Shouldn't be on the same hand...." Although that was rather outrageous, first of all saying it's the star of Satan then calling it a nazi cross (If my information is correct, an iron cross is like a medal of honor) I get over it, since although I look like a normal joe, people still call me a satanist the second they see anything relating to straying away from "God"

It's a cruel world

Anyways, my two cents is to make sure Wicca is the right thing for you. There are many types of pagans, including druids, odinists, satanists, etc. (The Church of Satan isn't evil, simply a heavily ridiculed group that adopted the name.)
Few interesting sites to look over:

Odinic-Rite
The Druid's Grove
Church of Satan: Interesting and Controversial

I bid you good luck on your religious quest

yeah ravencraft I think that genders are equal. I pretty much think that evry living thing is equal, regardless of race, religion or species. The only living things that aren't equal are living things that are evil, by evil I mean make it their sole objective to destroy everything that is good. And I have been studying pagan religions for about a month now and it really appeals to me

You said you were lured into Satanism. But there are many forms. One that comes to mind that is mostly referred to has actually nothing to do with satan, hell, or christians. Church of Satan is more on anti-religion then anything. As I said research and learn the names and what its all about before you so quickly judge.

hehe, why thank you . I did learn from a couple wisemen in these forums .

I am a wiccan/pagan and my parents know this because we come with a intresting family tree lot of our aunts,uncles and so on are wiccans.

This is, by far, the most interesting and enlightening thread I've ever read.

I never really knew what pagans were or did, until now, all I had were assumptions. I learned a lot just by looking throught this thread. Thanks a lot guys.

Hi Ya



Just goes to show, you can learn a lot when you listen

All the best
Faeden

Assumptions is a scary thing. Knowledge cures that. Glad this helped.

my brother has a book on wicca,collect some hazel sticks,i am a christian and i read the bible,but i cannot stop your free will,visit stonehenge because many wicca/pagan rituals were held there,but i wouldn't recommened camping near there as many have disappeared there without a trace,i would never worship satan,i'm on god's side,but good luck with your religion.

Spiritwolf... please tell me that little bit of saying that you don't worship satan, doesn't mean that you think pagans worships a christian "bad guy"

Hi Spiritwolf



Emmmmmmm Who told you that ? I do hope your joking, as if your not that just goes to prove your ignorance, and that you are a huge Lair. I have visited Stonehenge a number of times, and know all about its recent history, and theirs no reports of anyone going missing. You are not even allowed to camp near the stones. Please can you show me evidence of these bizarre claims, and may I ask what your going to say to god when he asks you why you told lies to people ? I didn’t think lying was very Christian????



And nor do the people that worship and still worship at Stonehenge, they are druids, Satan had nothing to do with Druidism. Druidism came about thousands of years before Satan was invented by the church.

Can I ask you how you came to the conclusion that Druids worship Satan? Have you studied Druidism? Or are you just taking someone’s word for it ?



Then why are you telling lies, and making up stories to make another faith look bad? Sound like your on Satan’s side, the great lair and deceiver.

I dont know if your post was just a joke, as it seemed to ridiculous to be true, so maybe your just making fun or something, but if you where being serious then I kind of feel sorry for you

Stonehenge is a place of peace and high spiritual energies, I know because I have felt it, and it was made by people that would have laughed at the idea of a stupid Satan or devil. The druids might not have been perfect, but then if you want to look at some other religious history they where no way near as brutal as some of the more modern faiths, in fact Druidism never destroyed the planet, nor did they go to war just because people had different beliefs than there own, can your faith put its hand on its heart and claim that?

Lying is not very nice.

All the best
Faeden

you'd be surprised by how many christians do have tolerance like Hailo's... it's just that the publicised christians (televangelists and fanatics that make it on the news) usually don't have that kind of tolerance. Since they are usually seen as the typical christian by non-christians, they think that all christians are like televangelists, or fanatics... this is not true. In fact, few christians are like that, but they give the other bunch of christians a negative stereotype in the eyes of non-christians.

Doesn't help that a few here act just like these tele-evangelists and such... So it's not just those over zealious types on TV.. heh

i wasn't meaning to say that only televangelists are like that, but the majority of christians i know are not like that.