Welcome to the Rehab Center

[godhi]

Hi there!
As I have mentioned in other threads on the Guild Forum, I'm a Norse shaman and rune magician who has spent over twenty years as an occult scholar. I'm also an ordained priest of Asatru (i.e. godhi) and live in the Orange County area.
My advice to those who want to follow the Pagan Path:

1. Take ALL your Llewellyn books as well as everything written by Silver Ravenwolf, Fiona Horne, D.J. Conway, and all the other fluff bunnies and put them away in storage.

2. Go to libraries and get acquainted with the Dewey Decimal System.
Read everything you can on comparative religion, mythology, folklore, archeology, anthropology, and witchcraft. Avoid the "how to" books on the latter subject and read about what people actually believed before the arrival of the Christian faith.

3. If possible, pick up a copy of "Drawing Down the Moon" by Margot Adler. It's an excellent overview of the Pagan Revival in America during the late 80's and early 90's.

4. If you're in college, take a few courses in Anthropology, Archeology, Mythology, and World Religion. If you're not in college and over 18, look into extension courses at your local community college.

5. Read, read, read. Compare and contrast books on the above subjects and find the common threads between them. Once you have acquired a basic education on witchcraft, magic, and mythology, you can discern the truth from the web of lies spun by most writers on the subject, many of whom just repeat the same lies told by other authors.

6. If you don't want to study, give up on serious Paganism and go back to being a fluff bunny. Paganism is not for the lazy or the weak of spirit!  

[Starlock]

Greetings everyone!

I'm a Junior college biology and art major (I also take lots of psych courses, but having three majors isn't really possible in four years) and in the past year I found spiritual calling in Wicca.

On Witches' voice I call myself a Queleterian Witch. Queletaria is the name I gave to a philosophy of mine I've had since I was a kid; perhaps at some point I'll detail it out in this forum? I use the term 'Witch' instead of 'Wiccan' because I am unsure if my concept of divinity qualifies to be placed under the term Wiccan or not, but other than that, I'm a solitary Wiccan with a twist, who takes the Rede to heart and reveres nature greatly. 3nodding

While I started my studies in October of 2004, I've already read dozens of books, both in the new age section and concerning traditional mythology and religious history. I'm low on the fluff-factor, and I wanted to join this forum to discuss the Craft with people and offer any wisdom I've garnered from both my life experiences and my studies. smile

So, whether a Pagan faith be simply your current interest and a temporary fixation, or a long term devotion, I look forward to discussing with you all!  

[ana`]

Well... um... hello

My name is toffa. I pretty much know nothing about paganism.

So, maybe just some basics?  

[MagpieCat]

Hi all -

I'm the Magpie Cat, and on the spiritual spectrum, I count myself as a Celtic Shaman. Among other things, this means that I'm not much about specific rituals, and more about a general "in-tune-ness" with things.

Confused? Okay.

Edit:
Now that I've gone back to read all the posts before this one, I realize that I may very well be the oldest person here, since I'm well on the high side of 40---wooo...old! hehehe

Anyway, a bit more about me and where I come from philosophically:
As with most here on the list, I started studying in early adolescence - not just Wicca, but all the major religions, and a lot of the minor ones. I've always loved history, philosophy, metaphysics, cultural anthropology - get the picture? In the course of my studies, I figured out that pretty much all belief systems have two things in common:

(1) The basic rules of how we should treat each other, i.e., "Thou shalt play nicely together" in short;
(2) not a lot else. Most seem to feel that the way they see the divine is the only (or at least) the best way. Much too narrow for me.

My understanding of it (YMMV) is that the divine presents (and has presented) itself to each culture in a way that culture can understand, each time with a message to the effect that the divine essence is universal. Most of these recipients then seem to think that the face that they've seen is the "one true God", and all other faces represent other, false Gods. They fail to realize that all faces are of the same universal divine essence, and all are valid.

In short, I've walked a long time, on many different paths, and have learned that there are as many paths to the divine as there are people seeking to encounter the divine. Your mileage may vary; not all models available in all colors; see your local dealer for details.  

[Reijin-chan]

Hello all. I'm known on Gaia as Reijin-chan. I am currently training in the Cabot tradition of wicca. I am also vice-president of Nemeton, the wiccan student alliance at my college. I joined this guild because I like sharing information with other wiccans.  

[Memento Mortalis Es]

godhi

1. Take ALL your Llewellyn books as well as everything written by Silver Ravenwolf, Fiona Horne, D.J. Conway, and all the other fluff bunnies and put them away in storage.

I agree with everything you said in your post except for the bolded part. Llewellyn does come out with a hell of a lot of crap, true, but they do have some excellent books too. The Way of Four, Elements of Ritual, and all the Cunningham stuff is all published by Llewellyn.

And welcome, Reijin. I feel so special, I was the one who accepted your application. *fake sniffle* Ah!  

[Reijin-chan]

Thanks, Manhattan.

I also agree, Cunningham has some good basic information books. He's a good wicca 101 author.  

[Kayle_Leoven]

Hello, my name is Kayle Leoven and I'm currently researching on Wicca.

I recently had a squabble with a person who knew about Wiccan and I then realized how much fluff I had been, I forwardly apologized to the person and he told me to come here for help.

Total Fluffness: 6/10.

Edit: Oh, and my picture:
 

[Mazuil]

Hello, My name is Tim and i was born and raised in a christian family. I heard about "wicca" from an old gf. We had many debates about religion while we were dating. The more i heard about Paganism im general the more i wanted to learn. I havn't been able to put the energy into reasearching that i would like to, but that comes from having a full time job. I've found it hard to find reliable information on the net, and have trouble getting to book stores to find books. Anyone have any sujestions on bookstore, books, and authors to check out? And I appologise if im fluffy, I've only used the term a few times, mostly regarding myself being I freely admit i don't know that much on the subject. I hope the fact I want to learn helps sweatdrop  

[blooddestiny]

Hi, my name is Destiny and I'm a Hellenic pagan and I've been one for about 4 years now. I live in Montana, USA where I am surrounded by mostly Christans and Republicans. I'd like to learn more about traditions, rituals, and practices for my particular religion and, hopefully, about others.  

[YamiB]

[ Message temporarily off-line ]  

[white... POWA!]

*waves* Hello! I'm Fern Maeve, and I'm 15. I live in a very Christian house hold, so I have trouble learning about Wicca unless it is online. I'm very interested in Kitchen Witchcraft and Paganism all together. I was refered to this guild by the all wonderful Nuri. And fluff bunnyishness? Probably 7 out of 10. sweatdrop  

[Polynomika]

Luel Guillaume Reinhardt

Hiya!

I'm Fairfax Kenton. Well, not really, but you know.

Fairfax, Fair, Kenton, etc. - any of these work just fine. ^.^ or some of my friends call me Crow, because they're awesome and on crack. It has more to do with movie-watching than with any attempt to sound mystical and weird, really. ^.^

I'm very interested in learning about older Germanic beliefs, Norse mythology, that sort of thing. I also have an interest in studying Japanese, Chinese, and Egyptian traditions. I'm very fond of the idea of makoto, which I think is a Shinto (?) concept involving sincerity, and congruency between thought, action, and intention. I'm also hoping to pick up some good meditation tips.

I used to be very much a fluff, but I think I've calmed down considerably - much to my dismay, however, I didn't learn anything in the process.

I intend to go through the link list ASAP.

^.^ Thanks, and nice to meet y'all.

Akk!

I return~... In new, improved, bad-a** pirate form.

Still need to finish going through the link list...  

[Keistera]

Greetings everyone.

I'm Melissa, a.k.a. Mel, Nevermore (nevermore666 on LJ), and Kei. I've been a "Studying Pagan" for about 2 years now, and constantly reading and learning. I meditate occasionally and pray often. My parents aren't very... open-minded (nor is the aunt I live with while in the city and attending college), so I have to be rather quiet about my practices.

I'm 19, and a Multimedia Design student at Durham College - a Mac Addict, too. >.< I'm going to be attempting to make my own (okay, well, paint and decorate) tarot box, and my own altar cloth. O.o; (I heart Wal-Mart, sadly.)

Not sure what else to add. On the fluff-meter, it really depends on the mood I'm in. razz 3/10 right now, maybe.  

[Kuroiban]

Hey...I joined about a week ago. Probably would have posted a greeting sooner, but I didn't realize that this is where they went. sweatdrop

I've been researching Paganism off and on for about 9 year or so. I don't proclaim to be much of an expert on most things, but I do believe myself to be well rounded in my knowledge about most things. While I have great respect for the Wiccan religion, it is not for me. I find myself in a bit of "grayish" territory, not really certain where I would stand on some officl, religious studies sorta sliding scale. This suits me fine, as I don't care if my beliefs have a name or not, as they are my beliefs and that is just fine for me thank you smile

WHile my beliefs don't have a name, I can tell you I do absorb a lot of eastern philosophy into my views on things, and I have a high respect for the duel nature of all things. I don't do ritual very often, for a set of reasons that are a bit on the complex side. PM me if your curious.

The only really good thing I have is an original mind. I can usually come up with original ideas and solutions. So if anyone is having a problem figuring out a new way to do a ritual or would like a second opinion on something, feel free to PM me. biggrin