Welcome to the Rehab Center

[Padmasana]

Hello, and thank you for firstly creating this guild and secondly granting me access to it. Bless you for being willing to educate the confused and/or misinformed such as myself.

My name is Padma, I'm twenty years old and a female resident of the midwest United States. I started out as a curious kid in 1998, and got sucked into the SilverRavenWolf anti-Christian nuttiness. With the help of a dear friend whom I met in 2002, I was able to get past that nonsense and was thoroughly ashamed of myself for buying into it for so long.

I no longer consider myself Wiccan; I haven't narrowed my personal belief system down to anything much more specific than "Non-Abrahamic Pagan" since I chucked the SRW and started over.

The "dear friend" who I mentioned earlier is walking this path alongside me, and he proposed to me in June of 2004. smile

I recently finished a massage therapy program, and have been continuing my research of herbalism and aromatherapy so that I can use them in my practice.

Stuff I've read:
Healing With Color, Ted Andrews (not specifically Pagan)
Complete Book of Witchcraft, Raymond Buckland*
Practical Candleburning Spells, Raymond Buckland
The Wiccan Warrior, Kerr Cuhulain
Full Contact Magick, Kerr Cuhulain*
Magical Aromatherapy, Scott Cunningham
Wicca For the Solitary Practitioner, Scott Cunningham*
The Truth About Witchcraft Today, Scott Cunningham
Green Witchcraft, Ann Moura/Aoumiel
(*Indicates I read it once, but would like to a few more times to absorb everything possible out of it)

A few others whose titles/authors I can't recall at the moment.

and...*sigh*...SRW..
To Ride A Silver Broomstick
To Light A Sacred Flame
And some of the teen fiction she's written...I liked that more than her other books, although her characters have even more of a martyr complex than she does.

Anyway...I've enjoyed the experience here so far, and am humbled and excited to be around so many knowledgeable people from such varied backgrounds.  

[Alarias]

well im new to this guild...hi...ok lets see, ive considered myself a pagan for almost 6 years now...(wow time goes by fast) and to be honest, ive been rather slack in the research department for multiple reasons...for instance the staggering amount of idiotic lies that are written by people who are only interested in selling their books, or the fact that so many people are misinformed or are simply trying to be different or cool because as it has been pointed out before, paganism in general seems to be all the rage these days and the movies and tv shows that incorporate these beliefs to entertain the public and make a few bucks all seem to be adding to the well, i guess you could call it "fluff"...and basically i was so overwhelmed with trying to sort the truth from fantasy that i got fed up with it all...but here i am, trying to gain a bit more insight from people who have more experience than i...if anyone's interested in getting to know more about me, i guess you could pm me...alrighty then...  

[Randilin]

Good Evening all, as this fine V-Day comes to a slow end.

I'm a total newbie to gaia, I joined a few weeks ago but didn't start doing anything here until the past few days. Stumbled across the guild and am always happy to lend a hand in debunnying.

I've been a practicing pagan for 11 plus years. So I could be considered old school. I'm part of a structured tradition and working group, plus my own personal devotions and practices. I am a strong believer in the idea that the gods and goddess all spring from a single source, but since we are unable to grasp something so complete that we break them down based on our own cultural needs and personal beliefs. I work with a wide range of different gods and goddess, rather then limiting myself to a single set.

A couple of books I would recommend to any newbie, or someone who wants to learn more would be Drawning down the Moon. It is a look at the explosion of Wicca and Paganism, focused mostly on America and out of date but a very interesting read. Secondly I would recommend Triumph of the Moon, a scholarly look at the history of Wicca.

Randilin  

[MOD66]

hello i'm Twack and im intresting in lerning about Paganisum, maily its celtic roots as i am irish/schottish. im looking for a mentor. the only things i refuse to learn are Satianic and purpusly evil things. i would by books but i live in a verry edgy houls hould and if i had a book and one of my friends saw it that wouldn't look good  

[AingealOreiad]

Hi, I'm Aingeal, 26 Hellenic Polytheist with recon leanings. I've been following a pagan path since I was 12, and have only come to worship the Hellenic Theoi over the past two years. I'm trying to make practice more present in my life, but am having a difficult time of it, I'm just an extremely lazy practitioner.

Nuri, thanks for letting me into the guild, I'm hoping to actually be more active than I have been in the past!  

[Arichan16]

Hi, my name is Stephanie but I go by Ari most of the time. I'm 17 years old and have been seriously studying Wicca since I was 11. Although, most of the beliefs I've retained from as far back as I can remember. I don't do spells on any sort of regular basis. I've only done protection spells and one healing spell before. I'm big on the Fae, herbs and gemstones and rely mainly on herbal remedies instead of spells. I've practiced a bit with Tarot, but I'm better at pendulum divination. I've done more research then practice because I believe that you must know EVERYTHING about what you're going to do before you do it. That's why, although I have done basic meditation and energy focus, I have never done anything bigger like astral projection. No matter how much you know, there is always something more to learn.  

[Maze]

Oh right. I got in. I can post now, uh..

I'm Maze, I'm in college, I'm.. uh.. new to the guild, heh, and.. looking into Asatru for nefar.. er.. selfish, hrm, various reasons, looking forward to enjoying Deoridhe's thread in the Pathways about that, as well as TeaDidikai's Domari Dvoeveri one because my attention span tends to enjoy tons of things at once. pirate

I'm good at being annoying, but that's what random capsed pms are for. I'm also prone to disappearing without warning for extended periods of time. What can I say, all part of my charm. 4laugh

Eh.. sweatdrop Right. Anyway. I may or may not participate efficiently/effectively/a lot, but I guess we'll see. ninja

I'm trying to break my habit of ending my paragraphs with a smiley, really I am.  

[Yart]

I go by Yart......... I have been studing Witchcraft for over 20 years..... I still don't know everything........ As it was once said "Only a fool thinks he knows everything". I am an eclectic, solitary witch.... I follow no one set path.... Over the years I have picked and choosen what works best for me.

As you can see my power color is purple......... I try to surround myself in it as much as possible. I no longer have a familiar....... as he went to the goddess 7 months ago. And I haven't had the heart to find another one.

Well, that is about it for now..... If you like to know anything else let me know.

Huggles  

[TeaDidikai]

Maze

Oh right. I got in. I can post now, uh..

I'm Maze, I'm in college, I'm.. uh.. new to the guild, heh, and.. looking into Asatru for nefar.. er.. selfish, hrm, various reasons, looking forward to enjoying Deoridhe's thread in the Pathways about that, as well as TeaDidikai's Domari Dvoeveri one because my attention span tends to enjoy tons of things at once. pirate

Oh damn. You mean I have to actually put more effort into that thread? sweatdrop  

[Dagaboo]

Hi all, I'm Dagaboo. I've been studying for 2 years now solitary. I'm a College Student on Vancouver Island (Canada). Its great to be in a guild like this smile  

[Vingthor]

My name is Tyr. I am a faithful follower of (asatru) and i am learned in the ways or rituals and the berseker rage. I have some knowledge in rune casting (not much though, enough to get by) and i seem to have a strange symbiosis with animals. I am the animal whisperer.  

[Vertigo_Kiwi]

My name is Kim, I've been on the pagan path for about 5 years or so. Those first few years I was a fluffy Wiccan, and now I've moved on to being an Eclectic Pagan. Right now I use aspects from Wicca and Hindu. However, in the future I wish to research Kemetic and Celtic beliefs. I am completely against people who just throw different parts together without proper research or respect for the traditions.

Alright, other things about me: I'm 16 years old, live in Ohio, and love cats (I have 5), in the future I plan on moving to San Francisco to become a photography student.  

[Aila-al-Jehan]

Hi Im Aila. Im a neo-pagan, i guess in a few ways eclectic, and i am really a theoretical magickian- i love gathering knnowlegde and info about things but i dont do often. I am planning to become more practical after i move out. sweatdrop  

[mekletzinasanas]

Name: Taran
Age: 17
Sex: Female
Path: Egyptian Magick. The Goddess I use is Bast, The God would be Anubis.
Length of Practice and Study: 6 years for general stuff, though I just discovered my path about a year ago.
Likes: Puppies, sugar, Gaia, RedBull, SRW, boys, history, politics, Democrats, pro-choice people, horror movies, writing, Stephen King, jokes...
Dislikes:Her high school, her teachers, prolifers (I am sorry but you all just annoy me greatly), being called fluffy, know-it-alls, losing, one-uppers (You know: Something great just happened to you, you tell a friend and they just have to one-up you...), TAG, and AXE.
Personality: She is a little on the crazy side, especially when caffinated, highly argumentative, touchy, stubborn to a f-ing fault, shy, Southern Redneck girl.
Fluff-O-Meter: According to meh? 4/10 Just cause I don't like evangelistic Christians and cause I'll argue SRW theroys.
According to my gonna-be-an-official-Wiccan-only-in-her-wildest-dreams friend? 20/10. Apparently several things I do (actually about everything stare ) are 'fluffy' in her view... rolleyes
Thank you for letting me in here, BTW... cool

 

[Ezinu]

Hello, my name is Laura I'm 19 and live in arizona i have been interested in paganism for well since i can remember im not sure of what specific path i wish to follow or if ill find one that suits me so far i have just read alot and pieced together my own form that feels right to me. I just hope that what i find here can add to that collection