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    #16
    Re: Where did you start your path?

    When did you first *discover* paganism?
    December of 6th grade, I think?

    Did you read a book, or meet someone that told you about it?
    I was staying with my Mom at my Aunt's house for part of Christmas vacation. My cousin was away, so I was sleeping in her room. I found a book on Wicca, and spent a good portion of the night awake reading.

    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?
    Not long at all. I started to feel that as I read that first book, and with a bit more studying I was sure that this was where I should be.

    Do you still follow the same tradition?
    No, it was a book on Wicca I was reading, and I haven't been Wiccan in a long time. There's still some Wiccan influence in my path, but a lot has changed.

    How have your beliefs changed?
    Some things have flat out changed. There has been a lot of evolution in my beliefs, and building on the basic things I believed then.

    What (in your estimation) is the dumbest newbie thing you did or thought?
    I don't really know. I'm sure I believed in a lot of silly or just plain wrong things when I was new. I think my dumbest mistake was not keeping better records of my spiritual growth, though! That's one thing I recommend to every newbie now.
    Hearth and Hedge

    Comment


      #17
      Re: Where did you start your path?

      [quote author=thalassa link=topic=288.msg3008#msg3008 date=1287143440] When did you first *discover* paganism? [/quote]
      I discovered it when looking for a better form of christianity, back when I realized that I wasn't going to find a mainstream christian path for me. Like when I was 15-17-ish. Forgot exactly.

      Did you read a book, or meet someone that told you about it?
      Might've been the internet. Though I don't really remember where or when exactly.

      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?
      I've since become an atheist. I've realized over the summer this year, that I just needed to come to terms with the fact that I was just pretending, and didn't truly believe anymore, and couldn't justify the other path (Babylonian pagan for like 3 years prior).
      I was Hadad2008 when I joined Feb 2008.
      I became Abdishtar this spring.
      Then, after the Great Crash, I was reborn as Spartacandream!

      Comment


        #18
        Re: Where did you start your path?

        When did you first *discover* paganism? Did you read a book, or meet someone that told you about it?
        I guess both. The shop owner took one look at me and could tell I was searching and asked what I believed. I had the basic foundations for Wicca/Paganism but didn't know what they were so he led me to the section that would help.

        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?
        A couple chapters. I was hooked. :

        Do you still follow the same tradition?
        Yes and no. I still have the same beliefs but I explore them differently. As a lot of us have admitted I started out as a fluffy. I'm a lot more spiritual now and less in-your-face-I'm-a-witch-deal-with-it!

        How have your beliefs changed?
        I have more faith in God. At first it was hard for me to go back to worshiping a God again (I was pretty angry with the Christian one) but I understand there is a duality in everything and though I think I focus more on the Goddess, I include the God too. I have to learn to trust him again even if he wasn't the same one I was mad at. (Hope that makes sense) :P

        What (in your estimation) is the dumbest newbie thing you did or thought?
        Oh man this is embarrassing. :-[ I went on Myspace to the forums and started a thread about my new-found Wiccan beliefs...man did I get ripped a new one.. I was soo fluffy it's embarrassing... :-\
        ~Earth My Body~Water My Blood~Air My Breath~Fire My Spirit~

        Comment


          #19
          Re: Where did you start your path?

          Discovery?

          I was raised Catholic, but I always felt more at home in the forests, fields, and empty lots than I did in church - I like the hidden places where people don't usually go. Back then, there was no internet, and "pagan" generally was used in the media as a code word for "swinger," but I liked the old mythologies better than Christianity, and went with those.

          Read a book?

          The first book about "paganism" (the way we use the word here) that I read was Margot Adler's Drawing Down the Moon. It opened my eyes to the fact that there were other people like me around - not a lot like me, but somewhat like me. Before that, I had read conjure books and things like Solomon's Key without being particularly impressed.

          Figure out that this was for me?

          I was already there, so there really was no figuring.

          Same tradition?

          Yes and no. I was a generalist - I liked a lot of different mythologies, but didn't actually follow any. I liked them in the same way that Joseph Campbell liked them - in the sense that they conveyed meaning, but weren't literally true. Eventually I settled on Alchemy as a discipline and practice - in Alchemy, that's how all myths are read.

          Beliefs changed?

          Yes. They change constantly. Everything I learn changes what I believe, and every new belief changes the meaning of everything which came before. There's no end to it, as long as I'm alive.

          Dumbest thing?

          Avoiding talking to pagans because I thought they were a bunch of tree hugging fruitcakes (this was back in the heyday of "New Age" thinking). Very nice to know that that one was wrong ;D.
          Every moment of a life is a horrible tragedy, a slapstick comedy, dark nihilism, golden illumination, or nothing at all; depending on how we write the story we tell ourselves.

          Comment


            #20
            Re: Where did you start your path?

            Discovery: I'm not really sure. If I had to pin it down I would say it's been a gradual awakening that began 2 years ago.

            Book: As I started thinking seriously about religion this word kept popping into my head. That word was pagan; sometimes it was goddess, but mostly pagan. That lead to a few nervous internet searches. That lead me to some confusing information that prompted a fearful bookstore search. I found a book, Exploring the Pagan Path. It had a lot of different information, some of which I skipped, but it was what I needed.

            Is this for me?: After reading that book I just thought, "This or some version of this is what I've been looking for."

            Same tradition: I haven't really settled on a tradition yet ; I'm a very green newbie.

            Changing of beliefs: They haven't changed in the time I've been exploring this path. Though they have acquired a name which makes me very happy .

            Dumbest thing I've done as a newbie: I don't know if this qualifies or not since I started it before my full awakening, but studying the bible with jehovah's witnesses feels pretty stupid right now.

            Comment


              #21
              Re: Where did you start your path?

              On Vancouver Island where I grew up, lots of people are pagan. Lots and lots. Like it's still a minority, but it's no rare thing and a lot of people are pretty open about it (though not everyone). I was always a little curious about it but was more involved in Buddhism when I was a teen (which lots of people on VI are also into, and lots here in Berlin too, but I've decided is just not for me). When I was a kid though I just clicked with nature and I'd just mix little herbal things on my own (most of which were crap) and "listen" to nature around me if that makes any sense.
              I also read a lot about mythology and legends from all over the world (but mostly Europe) for most of my life. I started really young, because I really loved folk tales. I used to read Andrew Lang's collections and the Grimms brothers and collections of Greek myths when I was like 9 at my Oma's. When I got older I kept reading, and I did some Greek mythology stuff in university (though it was not my major).

              But I officially got into paganism a couple of years ago. I decided I was done being agnostic and that this was what I believed in. Nobody was surprised haha.

              Oh, and dumbest thing I did as a newbie? I don't know about what I thought, but I definitely did a couple of questionable things. I've told this story a few times, but when I first started spellworking, I did an attraction spell and I was not specific. It did NOT go well. One guy called/texted me like 15 times over the course of a night, and one of my best male friends showed up wasted at my house, pretty much desperate to hook up. He was too drunk to send home, so I put him to sleep on my couch. He peed on my floor. Kids, attraction spells are NOT for beginners, and you always have to be REALLY specific!

              Comment


                #22
                Re: Where did you start your path?

                [quote author=thalassa link=topic=288.msg3008#msg3008 date=1287143440]
                When did you first *discover* paganism? [/quote]

                Like most people, I was about 12 or 14 at the time. Prior to that, I didn't know it existed.

                [quote author=thalassa link=topic=288.msg3008#msg3008 date=1287143440]
                Did you read a book, or meet someone that told you about it? [/quote]

                I read a book called Maiden Magick by C.C. Bronwyn. Let me tell you, the book itself is complete rubbish, but I've kept it all these years as a reminder of how I came to discover paganism.

                [quote author=thalassa link=topic=288.msg3008#msg3008 date=1287143440]
                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? [/quote]

                I think I first figured it out when I was about 17 or 18 - like I said previously, I discovered paganism around 12 or 14, but after some research, I left it behind - mainly because all I had discovered was "teen magick" and wicca, and neither really rang any bells for me. I went back to atheism for a while, simply because it was that time of my life, and I didn't really care about much. Even so, I didn't really feel 'comfortable in my skin' about paganism, so to speak, until sometime in my very early 20's.

                [quote author=thalassa link=topic=288.msg3008#msg3008 date=1287143440]
                Do you still follow the same tradition? [/quote]

                [quote author=thalassa link=topic=288.msg3008#msg3008 date=1287143440]
                How have your beliefs changed? [/quote]

                Yes and no. I gave up on a lot of the magical aspects, though there are a few I still believe in, and I became more pragmatic. I realized I don't need deities to be pagan, and that I'd rather worship directly from the source, than go through a deity. So now, I'm only very loosely termed a pagan, because basically all I do is worship nature.

                [quote author=thalassa link=topic=288.msg3008#msg3008 date=1287143440]
                What (in your estimation) is the dumbest newbie thing you did or thought?
                [/quote]

                This might offend, but thinking that wicca was the end-all-be-all of paganism. Thinking that spellcraft was all about the correct shade of blue, and that I must bless this, and consecrate that, etc.

                To be honest, I'm glad I realized it's all in the intent. Because I FEEL SILLY following rules.


                Mostly art.

                Comment


                  #23
                  Re: Where did you start your path?

                  [quote author=thalassa link=topic=288.msg3008#msg3008 date=1287143440]
                  When did you first *discover* paganism?[/quote]

                  My parents were non-religious, free-thinking, ex-hippy types. I was the youngest child of three girls, and my mother's last kid - my sisters are 13 & 11 years older than I am. When I was about 3 or 4, my oldest sister gave me a pentagram to protect me, and when I was about 5 she started telling me about Satanism (she was a card-carrying member of the Church of Satan of Southern California). Both of my parents liked to read, primarily horror, sci-fi and books on the occult, and my mother used to watch anything about UFOs, cryptozoology, weird tales, that whole genre. My father had spent his early years in the bayous of Louisiana, so from him I got the first taste of hoodoo, Vodou, tales about loup garou & Marie LaVeau. We had a neighbor that would babysit me on occasion & she was Santerian. We had a ouija board that was said to be possessed by an evil spirit, most of our homes were haunted... and as I've said before, this was the mid-70s, or as Hal Sparks referred to it, "the great witching of America". It was ok for me to go to church with friends, but Sunday school and Christianity in general never sat well with me as a kid - I was kicked out of one because I asked the teacher why they hung a hippy up on the cross.

                  When I was 10, my mother died from a long battle w/lung cancer and organ failure caused by extensive chemotherapy. I was sent to live w/an older cousin of mine who was completely addicted to psychics. Astrologers, Tarot readers, astral readers, palm readers... If someone read fortunes, there was my cousin, spending money. One day she brought home Ralph Blum's Book of Runes, complete with a little bag of ceramic rune stones. When I read the book, which has a lot of poetry in it, mostly about the Norse gods, it struck me that I'd been believing these things all along, but never knew it could be a religion, or have a name other than 'occult' or 'spooky stuff'. The runes set me on a path of learning of which I still haven't reached the end.

                  Did you read a book, or meet someone that told you about it?
                  After Ralph Blum, I read everything I could get my hands on about Paganism and witchcraft. Of course, in the early 80s I was surrounded by a lot of New Age things, and most Pagan books were of the Necronomicon/Satanic Bible variety. All these lurid covers with strange sigils and Baphomets on them. Great stuff, really. I was a 'witch' long before I was Pagan.

                  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?
                  It's always been a part of me, it's always felt right. I'd never say that I was from a hereditary line of witches or anything goofy like that, but my mother's family in Tennessee still wildcrafts and uses folk rememdies like 'stumping' a wart. There's a lot of hoodoo going on in my aunts' kitchens, and the rest are Pentecostals. I also remember reading mythology as a kid, and setting up altars to various deities that I'd read about. I didn't see Them as fictional - Persephone, Demeter, Thor, Odin, Anansi, Coyote, Ra, Bast, all of Them felt as 'real' as Christ or God. I talked to Them, I made offerings to Them.

                  Do you still follow the same tradition?
                  I've been through a lot of different 'formats'. I went from being a spell-crazy witch to practicing ceremonial magick to being a Norse Wiccan and an Alexandrian Wiccan. I've worked with shamanistic technologies and studied the African Diaspora along the way. I've just let my spirituality grow within me. I feel that my spirituality has matured quite a bit over the past 25 years or so. I'm content to consider myself an eclectic urban Pagan.

                  How have your beliefs changed?
                  I can find more reasons to not do a spell than to actually do one. I don't know if that makes me smarter now or if it just means I'm lazier. I'm also not quite as militant and activist about my spirituality. I used to drag it out into public and hit people over the head with it. I don't try to hide it, but I'm not airing any infomercials, either.

                  What (in your estimation) is the dumbest newbie thing you did or thought?
                  When I was a kid in Tennessee, I worked for several months on an elaborate ritual to summon Satan and ask Him to make me a famous guitar player, just like He did for Robert Johnson and Jimmy Page. Satan never showed up.
                  The forum member formerly known as perzephone. Or Perze. I've shed a skin.

                  Comment


                    #24
                    Re: Where did you start your path?

                    [quote author=thalassa link=topic=288.msg3008#msg3008 date=1287143440]
                    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?
                    [/quote]

                    1. That was a very long time ago. I lived with a girl and we were both into it, used to meditate together. But she was ultimately a bad influence for me so I didn't truly come to the path until this year.
                    2. It took way too long to figure it out. I started by slowly falling away from Christianity, and then eventually realised that this path suited me best.
                    3. I'm not sure yet what tradition I follow, though I lean towards eclectic/Celtic Pagan.
                    4. Well I used to be Christian... That's a fairly big change :P
                    5. I'm still a newbie, so I'm sure there are plenty of mistakes I'm still going to make. But i feel very, very silly after confusing Ostara and Beltane :-[

                    Comment


                      #25
                      Re: Where did you start your path?

                      [quote author=thalassa link=topic=288.msg3008#msg3008 date=1287143440]
                      When did you first *discover* paganism? [/quote]really
                      Did you read a book, or meet someone that told you about it?
                      Mostly internet searches and communities like Witchvox.xom and pagan forums.
                      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?
                      Possibly my fluffy bunny beginnings. Lol


                      [color=red]My friend's mom - "What's the name of that movie with Mel Gibson and the ailiens?"
                      My friend- "Passion of the Crist"
                      Me= *ROFLMGAO*

                      Comment


                        #26
                        Re: Where did you start your path?

                        When did you first *discover* paganism?

                        I first became aware of paganism when my former stepfather joined a Wiccan coven shortly before I moved out of that home (~14 years old.) I am not trying to offend anyone and I know now that this is not at all typical of Wiccans, but the particular crowd he fell into was just about as skeezy as he himself was. Most terrifying for me was the very heavy sexual themes he attached to this particular brand of "wicca". It was very intimidating to me.

                        I first discovered paganism (aka, began to follow a pagan bath myself) a few years later entirely by accident and almost as a joke. I had a kind of troubled relationship with religion early on. One half of my family (my father's, where I had moved to get away from the aforementioned situation) was non-practicing Jewish. It was presented to me as less of a religion and more of an ethnicity. I was not born Jewish, ergo I was not Jewish. On my mother's side I was raised Christian (though in their defense, rather liberally so.) The realization that my church technically believed that my Jewish side of the family would not get into heaven was an enormous crisis for me. I had basically decided at this point that the only option out there was to be atheist. I am not by nature and atheist and this made for an unhappy little baby me.

                        So I started referring to a Goddess when I made any deity references. It started out as a joke, then it kind of grew into a superstition, then it grew into belief. I was praying to a Goddess I knew nothing about with prayers that were very, er, informal but very very sincere. I started to feel a real connection to divinity for the first time in my life. I was very unguided, however. I wound up losing my path over the silliest thing. I had this fella and I was just so head over heels for him. I would frequently wish in a way that was a lot like prayer that she would help me in coming together with him. After we did get together I told him about this (he was pagan too- I don't know how to tell you what kind. Something like a reincarnated Atlantean Odinist to hear him tell it.) He freaked out and told me that I should NEVER do that because for all I knew the unknown Goddess was evil. Then he basically accused me of forcing him to me with (possibly 'evil&#039 divine intervention. I was young, so while this spectacularly dysfunctional relationship with this guy persisted for many years, my relationship with the Goddess terminated. It was partly because I almost believed him and he made me afraid, and partly because his reaction was so ridiculous it made me feel like my belief was also ridiculous.

                        Did you read a book, or meet someone that told you about it?

                        So fast forward almost a decade. I was going through another threshold point in my life (still am, really.) I found myself wishing very hard for a relationship with the divine. I tried... a lot of things. I tried Quaker meeting, I tried to be Christian without believing in exclusive salvation, I even tried to go to Synagogue (because at least there is no exclusive salvation in Judaism.) I felt very afloat and alone. I told the story I just wrote up there to my therapist, and she suggested that I give myself permission to explore that relationship again. Of course I didn't ask, but I got the distinct impression that she was herself Pagan because she had a very eloquent counter-argument against my ex's statements involving the intent of my 15 year old self and all kinds of other convincing and comforting things. I wish I had written it down. I don't remember the words but she just banished this lingering fear I had so I took her advice.

                        Mostly I just blundered about. I read a lot of Patricia Monaghan. I felt very drawn to Brigit (insert favorite spelling here) and so I just kind of asked "Was it you?" when I prayed. I don't claim some kind of bolt of revelation but it felt right to pursue the idea that Brigit was who I was speaking to. At this point I started to do more targeted research. I discovered the CR reading list and munched my way through three or four of the books they recommend. Oh... how I will miss you my enormous University library.

                        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?

                        Well, if you consider me as having "figured it out" now (which is debatable) it seems like it took about 10 or 11 years from genesis to this point. I don't really consider myself there yet, but I do think I accomplished what was the most important thing for me. This is to find a way that I could encounter and commune with divinity in a way that feels very authentic and unforced.

                        Do you still follow the same tradition?

                        Not really. I change pretty much all the time because I'm just now trying to figure it out. Recently I've been trying to use song in my devotionals. I don't have a tradition, exactly.

                        How have your beliefs changed?

                        Not really. I think I've just kind of become more accepting of my beliefs. I tend to have this really weird dichotomy between my rational self and my intuitive self. Like, for instance, I would say that I am a "soft deist" because I do kind of believe that every face of divinity is just that- a face of divinity. If I encounter someone who believes in another God I think "That is what I am doing only differently." It also kind of helps me shut up my rational brain enough to let me do my thing.

                        On the other hand, I feel very deeply that She is real to me. It's almost like in spite of myself I believe wholeheartedly. I'm sorry, I'm not explaining this well at ALL.

                        The point is, my beliefs haven't exactly changed... I'm just becoming more OK with apparently contradictions like this one as I go along.

                        What (in your estimation) is the dumbest newbie thing you did or thought?


                        Ooo... tough one. I guess the whole "flip out and sever a connection with divinity because of an ex" is going to have to go on that list because that was pretty much dumb.

                        More recently, I have developed this thing where I am like... terrified of Celtic Reconstructionists. I can't explain it, especially as I tend to have tendencies in that direction (I enjoy study, I consider it a devotional act, and I do believe it is important to do your best to know what is historical fact and what is not.) I'm still pretty intuitive/squishy/fluffybunny about what I DO with that information, however. I don't know why more hard-line CR intimidates me. In general I'm actually pretty good about being very cozy with the fact that we're all walking different paths. I think I'm overprotective of what little headway I've made and I have this kind of fear that they'd tell me I'm "doing it wrong". I'd really like to get over this.

                        Comment


                          #27
                          Re: Where did you start your path?

                          When did you first *discover* paganism?:
                          It was a few years ago. Maybe when I was 11 or 12.

                          Did you read a book, or meet someone that told you about it?:
                          Both. My friends' cousin was into it and she was teaching them things. I got a book at the library to better understand their beliefs.

                          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?:
                          Hmm, that's a bit hard to answer.
                          At first, I was reluctant.
                          I grew up Christian so this was very strange and seemed very wrong to me.
                          I would say I started to realize this was for me a when I was 14ish.

                          Do you still follow the same tradition?:
                          No, not at all.
                          When I first began, I thought I needed a path that would tell me everything I must believe and everything I must feel and learn. So, I chose Wicca. Most popular among teens and it had the most info on the web.
                          Now, I am a lot more eclectic. I do practice magick, but not really in the Wiccan sense.
                          I am really into healing and herbs, so leaning a bit more towards Kitchen Witchery.

                          How have your beliefs changed?:
                          Like I said above, quite a bit.
                          I don't really need to follow anything anymore.
                          I realized that that was what Paganism was really about.
                          It was something with no set of laws.
                          Your beliefs matter. No one elses.

                          What (in your estimation) is the dumbest newbie thing you did or thought?:
                          I thought I had to follow a set of laws set forth and thought I couldn't truly be religious without it.

                          Comment


                            #28
                            Re: Where did you start your path?

                            [quote author=thalassa link=topic=288.msg3008#msg3008 date=1287143440]
                            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?
                            [/quote]

                            I was 17. A friend of mine was talking about Wicca and it interested me enough to begin looking on websites. After reading pages and pages on the internet I bought my first book, Wicca: A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner by Scott Cunningham and it really developed from there.

                            I touched on this in my intro but last year I decided I was an Atheist (this sounds a lot more flippant than the experience was but I would rather not go into specifics right now), turned my back on everything I believed and threw away everything I had ever wrote or collected (boy am I regretting it now).

                            At this stage I really don't know what I believe in. I know I am spiritual and that connecting with some kind of Divinity is very important to me but I really need to start again. I am currently feeling confused and a bit lost but I am hoping things will improve with time.

                            I did so many dumb newbie things when I first started out that they all seem to blur in to one. :-[ I think the most embarrassing thing has to be feeling like I had to tell everyone what I had learned, only to learn how little I really knew when I began to talk to people who had walked their own path for many years. Oh, and trying to learn too much at once without really learning anything. I am very good and getting distracted and going off on a tangent!!
                            http://thefeministpagan.blogspot.co.uk/

                            Comment


                              #29
                              Re: Where did you start your path?

                              When did you first *discover* paganism?
                              I first discovered Paganism when I was 13. I knew the term as it was used to describe the old polytheistic religions, but I didn't really know much more than that.

                              Did you read a book, or meet someone that told you about it?

                              Actually the first book the turned me onto alternative/pagan spirituality was "Animal Speak" by Ted Andrews.

                              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?
                              I just read through the book and I was amazed that there were Nature based religions out there. I would say that I considered myself no longer a Christian at age 14, after I had done some more reading.

                              Do you still follow the same tradition?

                              No. I started off on a shamanic path, but I find that that didn't work well for me for some reason. Mind you I still hold some shamanic and animistic beliefs.

                              How have your beliefs changed?

                              Well, they started off shamanic, then changed into something of an eclectic-shamanic-neo-pagan belief system. After that I experienced something of a spiritual crisis and considered myself and "Agnostic Occultist". And here I am again. I'm still formulating our beliefs as I speak.

                              What (in your estimation) is the dumbest newbie thing you did or thought?
                              I'm not sure but I had a habit of arguing with Christians about theology ALL THE TIME. I have since found out that there is no point to it.

                              Comment


                                #30
                                Re: Where did you start your path?

                                [quote author=thalassa link=topic=288.msg3008#msg3008 date=1287143440]
                                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?
                                [/quote]

                                I would say I brought to it by my mother. I was more or less raised Pagan. My real discovery was when I was twelve and I set up my first alter and started working with the Greek Pantheon.

                                I read several books especially throughout high school. I was home schooled and it was part of my regular to curriculum to study world religions and mythology.

                                Pretty much right away. I lived in a bible belt for a long time and attended several churches with friends. I never find anything worth while in the churches and wanted something more. I wanted something that did not contradict science and a God that was not vengeful and mean.

                                I do not think I have ever followed a Tradition. I am a member of Witch School and a member of the Correllian Tradition but I would not say I am a follower. I have my own beliefs and Tradition that dose not follow most others. I would not go as far as to say I am eclectic because I have pretty set beliefs and structure, however they currently only fall into my own beliefs and no Tradition I have found feels exactly the same as me.

                                I think my beliefs have evolved over time. I am not sure if they have changed so much as progressively gained more understanding and structure to them. I have learned, experienced, and condensed them into a a strong solid structure. My Patron Deities have changed to reflect this as new Deities have made themselves know to me.

                                You know since I was raised in a Pagan household I do not think I had a dumb newbie thought or mistake. I have a good structured upbringing that gave me a solid foundation to grow from.

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