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Where did your practices (and specific beliefs) originate?

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    Where did your practices (and specific beliefs) originate?

    Where did your practices (and specific beliefs) originate? Where they learned from someone else, learned through study, created through your own inspiration, or any other way?

    If you're a recon: How do approach the issue of adapting rituals for modern and personal use?


    Mostly art.

    #2
    Re: Where did your practices (and specific beliefs) originate?

    Presuming that my profile is accurate, I would build a Jedi path off of pieces of Star Wars fiction. Primarily, drawing from Legends material because

    A. The movies don't spell out a lot so you need additional sources to do much
    B. I've largely avoided Disney's exanded universe and the earliest that I'm likely to seriously look at it is after Episode 9.

    Since we all know that my claim of Jedi is fiction and that I'm an extradimensional horror farming human souls for pizza ingredients...

    Various alternate dimensions that humanity should avoid.
    Last edited by MaskedOne; 13 Feb 2019, 10:33.
    life itself was a lightsaber in his hands; even in the face of treachery and death and hopes gone cold, he burned like a candle in the darkness. Like a star shining in the black eternity of space.

    Yoda: Dark Rendezvous

    "But those men who know anything at all about the Light also know that there is a fierceness to its power, like the bare sword of the law, or the white burning of the sun." Suddenly his voice sounded to Will very strong, and very Welsh. "At the very heart, that is. Other things, like humanity, and mercy, and charity, that most good men hold more precious than all else, they do not come first for the Light. Oh, sometimes they are there; often, indeed. But in the very long run the concern of you people is with the absolute good, ahead of all else..."

    John Rowlands, The Grey King by Susan Cooper

    "You come from the Lord Adam and the Lady Eve", said Aslan. "And that is both honour enough to erect the head of the poorest beggar, and shame enough to bow the shoulders of the greatest emperor on earth; be content."

    Aslan, Prince Caspian by CS Lewis


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      #3
      Re: Where did your practices (and specific beliefs) originate?

      My practices are a combination of teaching myself and learning from others. Some were not Pagan at all but I learned the importance of faith from them. My Nan who is in extremely devote Christian and from her I have learned that faith, and grit can get you through just about anything. My first teacher was a old grouchy queen, his description not mine, who was raised Gardnerian Witch. He was a friend of my mother's and took me under his wing.

      From there I continued to read everything I could get my hands on and have continued to meet different people who have helped tweaked my religious views and practices.
      "If you want to know what a man is like, take a good look at how he treats his inferiors, not his equals." -- Sirius Black

      "Time is an illusion, lunch time doubly so."-- Ford Prefect

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        #4
        Re: Where did your practices (and specific beliefs) originate?

        I think it would take pages to accurately answer this one.

        Short form though core originated from familial influences from immediate family and neighbor family influences. That was a combination of Granny, Folk, Shamanic and Stregian (neighbor) type influences. The Recon / Hellenic came from I suppose you could say direct Divine intervention. That would be having a deer come face to face with you on a mountain trail as a pre-teen while alone and hear a voice say "I am Artemis and you are mine!" Hekate would come a bit later as I got a bit older.

        Over time I meet other teachers who were either parts of other groups or individuals who taught me or influenced me. That was also combined with things I learned via my own research and guidance from guides and other sources. By other sources for instance the shamanic side says that also includes such things as the spirits using death as part of the selection process along with illness.
        I'm Only Responsible For What I Say Not For What Or How You Understand!

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          #5
          Re: Where did your practices (and specific beliefs) originate?

          i started with basic wicca,but found my internal connection from family stuff,not while my gm was alive but from her spirit for direction,that was my real start of my path above Wicca,Wicca was just a starter kit kinda to get me into the path of the spirit
          MAGIC is MAGIC,black OR white or even blood RED

          all i ever wanted was a normal life and love.
          NO TERF EVER WE belong Too.
          don't stop the tears.let them flood your soul.




          sigpic

          my new page here,let me know what you think.


          nothing but the shadow of what was

          witchvox
          http://www.witchvox.com/vu/vxposts.html

          Comment


            #6
            Re: Where did your practices (and specific beliefs) originate?

            Originally posted by volcaniclastic View Post
            Where did your practices (and specific beliefs) originate? Where they learned from someone else, learned through study, created through your own inspiration, or any other way?

            If you're a recon: How do approach the issue of adapting rituals for modern and personal use?
            I started dabbling as a teenager and was self taught for nearly a decade. During my teen years I did a bunch of spirit guide type stuff, playing on ouiji boards, ghost hunting, etc. I did my first ritual with a friend in my living room while my parents were gone. I'm fairly sure it was a Wiccan ritual, but I don't really remember the details. I know we were consecrating some of our altar items.

            I hopped on here when I was 19 (?) it was shortly before the crash, and conversation on here helped me to think about things more deeply. I think this forum maintains an amazing balance between being spiritual and still thinking critically about things. And I learned how to do that here.

            I also took classes on Buddhism, Islam, and African art in college that influenced my beliefs. I practiced Buddhist meditation whenever I was in a class on the topic. I studied African mythology and religion because their art is so tied into their beliefs. Islam was interesting because it opened up my perspective on the Abrahamic traditions. I also learned a few verses from the Quran that I really came to enjoy.

            I was pretty much not practicing for a few years. 22-24ish? Then I joined the local CUUPs group and started doing public rituals. I led several, was a co-lead for the program for awhile, helped teach a Witchcraft 101 class, and taught classes on African traditions. Most of the rituals they did followed a Wicca 101 style (call the elements, raise energy, direct energy, grounding, dismiss elements), but we did have a few folks host some cool ones, like a Celtic style ritual which was nice. I was the chair for the RE program for a year, and helped with adult religious education through the UU.

            I've also had the privilege to participate in some awesome festivals. We go to Lammas Fest in Coralville, Iowa every year. It's a small festival, I think about 150 people show up, but it's great community. There are always some cool workshops that happen, fire spinning, and rituals. I have also attended Pagan Spirit Gathering for two years. There are always interesting workshops and rituals at PSG, but the feeling that you're surrounded by people like you and that you're safe is what really sticks with me. At smaller festivals I've been to, there just isn't the seclusion and buffer from the wider world. There are usually folks in the next camp area over that aren't pagan. There's always the niggling worry that someone will crash the party in the back of your mind. The community and seclusion of PSG really do make you feel more secure.

            The most spiritually profound thing I experience at PSG was the Hunt. And the Hunt is hard to describe. It's one of those mystery traditions and part of the reason that it is is because when you try to put it into words nothing really lives up to the experience. It made me stronger in my faith and helped heal some old wounds though.

            So, I've drawn from all over the place. Myself, others, books, here. And it's build into a path that works for me and is unique. Which is why I generally call myself an eclectic witch when people ask what I am.
            We are what we are. Nothing more, nothing less. There is good and evil among every kind of people. It's the evil among us who rule now. -Anne Bishop, Daughter of the Blood

            I wondered if he could ever understand that it was a blessing, not a sin, to be graced with more than one love.
            It could be complicated; of course it could be complicated. And it opened one up to the possibility of more pain and loss.
            Still, it was a blessing I would never relinquish. Love, genuine love, was always a cause for joy.
            -Jacqueline Carey, Naamah's Curse

            Service to your fellows is the root of peace.

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              #7
              Re: Where did your practices (and specific beliefs) originate?

              When I was 18/19 I was involved in the student pagan organization at my college, and they formed a lot of my early influences. I draw from all my past experiences and make what feels doable and true to me. I wish I could be recon but I just can't, but I analyze them to see what rings true to me and what is practical. I'm very much eclectic and solo.
              ~Rudyard Kipling, The Cat Who Walks By Himself

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                #8
                Re: Where did your practices (and specific beliefs) originate?

                I don't remember exactly what first sparked me onto the path of paganism.

                As a kid, I saw a lot of ghosts, as did my siblings, and my mother, and my grandmother. I never grew up with any religious influences, so much so that I wasn't aware Christianity existed until highschool. I was vaguely aware of Mormonism, because of some neighbours, but I thought they were a little crazy, and didn't really understand the concept of belief. When I did finally learn about monotheistic religions, none of them made very much sense to me. My brother was in cubs as a kid, and his meetings were held in a church basement. I would have to walk him there and drop him off, but I distinctly remember a strong sense of foreboding every time I entered the building. I just did. not. belong.

                I think it was that lack of belonging that led me to the natural world. I felt most at home stealing apricots from my grandmother's neighbours, or digging up worms, or staring into the night sky until I could hardly stay awake.

                At 13 or 14, I got my first book in witchcraft. I still have it today for sentimental reasons, and it's total garbage. 0/10 would recommend it to newbies. It had this ritual in it where you envision yourself wrapped in a cloak of stars, and by doing so, you'd be protected from the harm of the world. Spoiler: it didn't work. 13 and 14 were really shitty years for me. I had this makeshift altar that I kept on my dresser, and I still remember it, despite all the altars I've had over the years. It was four candles from the dollar store, with the elements carved into the bottom, and a craft store mirror in the centre.

                From there, my path is like most peoples. I first discovered wicca, and I tried it over and over again, dedicating and rededicating myself to the path, but the path never felt right. Why am I cutting the air with my pocket knife? What was deosil, anyhow? Mostly, my teenage years can be described by magic. Casting spells over and over, creating talismans, looking for the best tools for the craft, learning about some herbs, but mostly not learning anything of value at all. Trying constantly to connect with the divine, but rarely succeeding. I felt like a fake. It felt hollow.

                Eventually over the years, I learned to shed Wicca, and slowly came to where I am today, which is deep and sacred reverence for the natural world, minimal magic (but still some), very little supernatural, and a strong belief in myself (which is more magic to me than anything else).


                Mostly art.

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                  #9
                  Re: Where did your practices (and specific beliefs) originate?

                  i can relate to the spirit stuff Vol, my first book was the witches bible complete as an intro to the basic craft,then i grew from there.
                  MAGIC is MAGIC,black OR white or even blood RED

                  all i ever wanted was a normal life and love.
                  NO TERF EVER WE belong Too.
                  don't stop the tears.let them flood your soul.




                  sigpic

                  my new page here,let me know what you think.


                  nothing but the shadow of what was

                  witchvox
                  http://www.witchvox.com/vu/vxposts.html

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Re: Where did your practices (and specific beliefs) originate?

                    I get my information from the Edda and other text, authors who practice and most of my rituals from the Urglaawe facebook site. They are very open and share a lot. Since my family is German and not Norse and my main goddess is Holda they are a more accurate source for information. I have also started watching videos by Arith Harger.

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                      #11
                      Re: Where did your practices (and specific beliefs) originate?

                      Since I was a kid I had a fascination with India and what I came to know as Hinduism. In fact, as a 10 year old in 5th grade, I remember writing a little story for class about the god Indra and a visit he made to Earth. I have no idea how I knew about him. I learned more in high school, having joined an after school yoga/TM group. One thing led to another and I started learning about Hinduism. There was no internet in the 70s, just libraries, which is where I got most of my knowledge of Hinduism and India. I was still a practicing Catholic, but I believed in the gods. Gradually I drifted away from Christianity and adopted Hinduism. And now we have the internet, which actually did me more harm than good. Too much conflicting information, and if you're not raise in a particular culture or tradition, it's pretty hard to sort it all out.
                      śivāya vishnu rūpaya śivaḥ rūpaya vishnave
                      śivasya hridayam viṣṇur viṣṇoscha hridayam śivaḥ

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