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Where did you start your path?

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    #91
    Re: Where did you start your path?

    Originally posted by thalassa View Post
    When did you first *discover* paganism?
    Did you read a book, or meet someone that told you about it?
    How long did it take you to figure out that *this* (whatever the heck that *this* was for you) was what you were looking for?
    Do you still follow the same tradition?
    How have your beliefs changed?
    What (in your estimation) is the dumbest newbie thing you did or thought?
    My path came from the time I spent in the woods, fields, swamps, waterways, gardens, corrals, etc... Since I had to make up the name for it (tracker witch), I've never read or met anyone who follows the same path. The name of my path changes all the time--mainly because someone else tells me I'm not "that" kind of witch. Like one time I called myself a hedge witch. Then I was told I wasn't. I can't change so the title did. Cottage witch--nope I wasn't. So the title changed. Green witch--nope, I ate meat, not a green witch. The title changed. Secular witch--that one has stuck but it more describes what I don't believe in instead of what I do. Tracker or redneck witch are the terms I use now.

    Dumbest newbie thing I did...I've done so many...Tried canoeing through a culvert during spring run off (Hey, I know Water). Fell into a ravine during a snow storm (Hey, I can read the energies and know where I am). Took in a crazy cat--no really, a Vet told me it was brain damaged (Hey, all animals are good if you can get past their pain). Burned my eyebrows in a garden fire (Hey, fire is a cleansing spirit that if I'm careful I can control). Lost over half my flock of sheep to a wolf pack before I got my guardian dogs (Hey, wolves are spiritual animals that only eat the weak and sick). My newbie mistakes sometimes send me to the hospital or cost me a lot of money but they give me great stories to tell and those lessons I learn really, really well.

    I'll make plenty more before I die (or before one of them sends me to my grave). I love my life.:^^:

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      #92
      Re: Where did you start your path?

      I first learned about Paganism/Wicca/Witchcraft when I was about 12 or 13 years old. I was a fan of the show Sabrina: The Teenage Witch and I was looking up information about it on the internet. Along with the results for the show, results also came up about Witchcraft. Well, I was fascinated. I didn't know any of that was real. So read I about Witches and Wiccans and printed off some pages of it. I took the pages with me to where my mom was and she saw them and asked me if I was reading about that. Since I was so young, I didn't really understand how Wicca was of any significant importance to me, so I answered no and wound up throwing the pages away. It was just something I had found interesting. But it did stick with me.

      When I was 15 or 16 years old, I started thinking about what I had "discovered" when I was younger. I started actively looking into it. Everything I found just clicked; I had a feeling of "coming home." I read everything I could find on the internet, I bought books, I started a Book of Shadows, and I even bought/made a few ritual tools. I kept to myself about it, not telling my grandmother or grandfather. After a while, though, I felt bad hiding it and decided to tell my grandmother. She wasn't thrilled about it, but she allowed me to continue reading about it (she didn't want me doing actual rituals).

      During this time, my grandparents and I lived in an apartment upstairs in the home of an uncle and aunt of mine (my grandparents' son and daughter-in-law). They were very "Christian" (not in the way they should be; they had the holier-than-thou, I'm right and you're wrong type of attitude). Because of this, I made sure they didn't find out about what I was reading about. Well, I had given an old notebook to my half-sister (who my uncle and aunt had guardianship of at the time). I thought I had removed all the papers that I had written on before giving it to her, but I missed one and my uncle found it. It was a web address for a Witchcraft site. My uncle didn't know who had written it, but he pitched a fit, saying he "won't allow Witchcraft in his house."

      After this, my grandmother was worried that my uncle would go through our belongings while we were gone and find my books. She figured he would throw us out if he found out. She got me to get rid of all my stuff. After that, I tried to ignore my spirituality, even claiming atheism for a very short period. After a while, though, I decided to try to be a "good Christian" and tried to read the Bible. I never did finish it. I got rid of it and once again ignored my spirituality.

      After I graduated high school and my grandfather passed away, my grandmother and I moved out of my uncle's house and we started renting a place. Throughout this time, I felt like something was missing, but never delved into it too much. I finally realized that I needed something to believe in, so I finally started looking into Paganism/Wicca/Witchcraft again, since I was finally in an environment that was safe for me to do so. I had that "coming home" feeling again. Things felt right.

      I have been reading/researching things for a bit, but, being a procrastinator and someone who has trouble stepping out of their comfort zone, I haven't done much else. As I've gotten older, though, I have begun to feel a greater need to practice my spirituality instead of just sitting and reading about it. So, I'm currently working on that.

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        #93
        Re: Where did you start your path?

        Originally posted by thalassa View Post
        When did you first *discover* paganism?
        Did you read a book, or meet someone that told you about it?
        How long did it take you to figure out that *this* (whatever the heck that *this* was for you) was what you were looking for?
        Do you still follow the same tradition?
        How have your beliefs changed?
        What (in your estimation) is the dumbest newbie thing you did or thought?
        I discovered it when my Evangelical Uncle would always criticize something negatively as "Pagan".
        I'm sure, but it just felt right. And I was looking for something that would connect me to the world beyond and a faith that did not denigrate my sexuality.
        I do not.
        My beliefs have gotten much darker, and I've become so much more focused on the divine feminine and focusing meditations on making this side stronger.
        I thought I would have to wear Medieval clothes when I first discovered Paganism. Lol. I wasn't turned off by this premise, either.

        Comment


          #94
          Re: Where did you start your path?

          Originally posted by thalassa View Post
          When did you first *discover* paganism?
          Did you read a book, or meet someone that told you about it?
          How long did it take you to figure out that *this* (whatever the heck that *this* was for you) was what you were looking for?
          Do you still follow the same tradition?
          How have your beliefs changed?
          What (in your estimation) is the dumbest newbie thing you did or thought?
          I spent my younger years going to church with may Nan, who is a very spiritual woman and I'd like to think I learned the importance of faith from her. God she taught me can fix and do anything. All you have to do is talk to him. Give him your worries and pains she would say. At four we moved two hours away from my family and my parents soon divorced after that. My father was awarded custody of my little brother and I. My dad is not the church going type and what faith my mother had she lost with her next marriage.

          From seven on I spent every spring and fall at Renaissance fairs and from those people I learned about the Goddess and God as well as the wee folks(to be honest I really didn't know what I was learning at the time). My most favorite people were my mothers closest friends all either right off the boat or first generations in America from England and Ireland. My faith came from them.
          As I grew older my Aunt decided I needed God in my life and made it her mission to "save" me since she couldn't "save" my mother. My Nan said my mother had learned to much about the world and it had caused her not to believe in God any more. So from 13 until 15 I was brought to church every Sunday and for the life of me it could never take hold. I did as Nan said and I talked to God, I asked for forgiveness for sins that I wasn't sure how I had committed but apparently I had, I prayed for God to save my mother from her abusive marriage, I was even baptized. But nothing felt right. The only time I felt at peace and comfortable was when I was at the Renn fairs with those people I had grown up with...

          At 15 I learned to think for myself again and my mother had some reading materials on paganism. Mom also made some new friends who were very openly pagan and I was drawn like a flame to a moth. So I researched, read, and asked questions. For an entire year I did nothing learn what I could and I finally felt like I had come home. So on my sixteenth birthday when everyone at my dads had gone to sleep I snuck out the back door and did my dedication ritual, that will be twelve years ago in September.

          My Aunt still tries to "save" me and will tell the world its just a phase I am going through. But Nan is right I can and do talk to my Goddess and God everyday. I give them my fears and my worries. I give them my love and happiness. I give them my hopes and dreams, and though I may not understand the path they put me on I know there is a reason for it and to wait and it will all turn out alright.
          "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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