Welcome to Gaia! ::

As i am neither a "whiney angsty teen" nor "too scared to practice real paganism" i feel justified in objecting to this dismissal of my religion.

Wicca is not my only pracice with magic, witchcraft etc. I find the making and recognition of both the earth cycles and the interplay of the Goddess and God cycles a grounding experiance that keeps me in touch with my surroundings.
Pagaism is ( by dictionary definition) anything which is not of the mainstream religions, and therefore i fail to see how you can define "real paganism".

stare ditto... same here. I used to read alot of witchcraft books... the spells are complicated .-.

I'm Pagan, and I practice witchcraft. 'Tis fun ^_^

I must point out that magic is not the sole purvey of Wicca or other religions mistakenly referred to as witchcraft, nor is witchcraft the sole working of magic. A variety of religions practice magic--witchcraft referrs to the use of magic with an infernal support network, ie. borrowing power from the "devil", usually in exchange for something, though not necessarily the practitioner's soul. As wicca (as far as I know) derives its power from different sources, it cannot properly be called "witchcraft", nor can any magic which derives power from sources other than the infernal. In fact, there is a variety of divine magic flying around this world--and yes, Christians do it too, it's called prayer. "Miracle" is just a fancy word for divine magic--it's an act of changing reality. I practice plenty of what might be referred to as "magic", and I must say that in my experience, rituals, while good for organizing the mind, are highly unnecessary in achieving the desired results. All that matters is the will.

And I have to point out that meditation is *NOT* magic. It's meditation.

I would say I'm more of a Kitchen/Green Witch. I've tried many other traditions (been practicing for 10 years) and this one is the best for me. It is a very personal tradition and focuses on the earth and its energies as apposed to gods and goddess. Not that there is anything wrong with gods and goddesses I just find it easier to focus on the healing properties and energies of herbs rather than having to do a long drawn out ritual just to start a spell or mix herbs.

Tarot cards are really cool! I would reccomend buying a book on how to read them too, because sometimes the meanings that come with the cards are very limited interpretations. The book will give you more in-depth meanings and also different readings.

i cant use the bloody things to save my life but i can use runes so accurately i could tell you what you ate for dinner last night( yes i did try this and yes it did work) mrgreen

has anyone ever experienced what they would call paranormal activity?