Hiya! I'm new to the guild but...

[Mule of Liz Sama]

I'm curious why there seems to be a lot of "hate" for Silver Ravenwolf's books. I looked over her credentials and it seems like she knows what she's talking about. I'll admit I'm new to the pagan lifestyle and I'm not sure if I'm doing things right ( since I currently own two books on the "black list") I'm just trying to get a feel for why these books are "wrong" to learn from. sweatdrop

About me - I was raised christian in a small town in florida where it is a christain area. A few years ago I decided that the christian faith wasn't my style anymore so I began looking into other religions. I currently practice tarot with celtic wicca deck but I'm not sure if I can really classify myself as "wiccan" because of it. I recently moved to massachusetts where thankfully its more cultured religion wise and found this guild through the GL's siggy.

Hope that explains my ignorance ^^()  

[TeaDidikai]

Dristinia

I'm curious why there seems to be a lot of "hate" for Silver Ravenwolf's books. I looked over her credentials and it seems like she knows what she's talking about.

1) She lied about a fair number of her credentials to begin with.
2) She instructs minors to lie to their parents.
3) She perpetuates anthropology and armchair archeology that was debunked ages ago in order to make her path seem more valid.
4) She treats other religions with a great deal of disrespect- engaging in fallacious reasoning to justify her prejudice.

Quote:

I'll admit I'm new to the pagan lifestyle and I'm not sure if I'm doing things right ( since I currently own two books on the "black list") I'm just trying to get a feel for why these books are "wrong" to learn from. sweatdrop

As long as you have them, you might as well read them unless you have trouble separating fact from fiction.

But really- there are tons of better books out there.

Quote:

About me - I was raised christian in a small town in florida where it is a christain area. A few years ago I decided that the christian faith wasn't my style anymore so I began looking into other religions. I currently practice tarot with celtic wicca deck but I'm not sure if I can really classify myself as "wiccan" because of it. I recently moved to massachusetts where thankfully its more cultured religion wise and found this guild through the GL's siggy.

What makes a Wiccan is being Clergy within the Wiccan Lord and Lady's fertility cult.  

[Mule of Liz Sama]

Well that clarifies some stuff. sweatdrop but based on those reasons wouldn't she be sued for fraud?  

[TeaDidikai]

Dristinia

Well that clarifies some stuff. sweatdrop but based on those reasons wouldn't she be sued for fraud?

Freedom of Speech.

Telling kids to lie about their beliefs isn't illegal.
Perpetuating bunk isn't a crime.
And degrading another person's religion isn't illegal.
And she renounced a fair portion of her earlier claims to lineage, and what remains is simply a matter of contested linguistics.

Wish we could, but there isn't legal grounds.

Though I think it would be nice if some parents sued her for telling their to lie to them in order for her to profit.

Hmmmm... if they continue to practice and are not prevented from practicing, and thus give her more money for more books...  

[Mule of Liz Sama]

I was thinking more along the lines of a fraudulent background. The things she does isn't illegal unfortunately but lieing about her credentials I would think would be.  

[TeaDidikai]

The bulk of her credentials deal with titles that belong to a specific religion.

They aren't falsifiable and the First Amendment cannot establish a measure by which one can claim a religious title.  

[Mule of Liz Sama]

I suppose not. =/ *le sigh* So what would be a good beginner book to read from? sweatdrop  

[TeaDidikai]

What religion calls to you?  

[Mule of Liz Sama]

I haven't really found it yet. I did a little research on Wicca but it didn't seem to fit to me. Mostly the research was based off my tarot deck that I've been using for years. The deck itself has always helped me out when I needed it. I just have this feeling that there is something more in life then just a deck of cards I just haven't found my place yet.  

[TeaDidikai]

Dristinia

I haven't really found it yet. I did a little research on Wicca but it didn't seem to fit to me. Mostly the research was based off my tarot deck that I've been using for years. The deck itself has always helped me out when I needed it. I just have this feeling that there is something more in life then just a deck of cards I just haven't found my place yet.

Hmmm.... largely decontextualized Irish mythos.

Unless you are living in Ireland, I'd say that isn't the direction to go.

Perhaps generic neo-paganism?  

[TatteredAngel]

Seconding Tea's suggestion with a bit of elaboration. For someone who does feel called towards paganism but not to a specific flavor, generic neo-paganism is a great way to go, and does not necessarily deserve the somewhat bad rap it can get.

Basically, you can go different ways with eclecticism. Most popular neo-pagan authors tend to go, unfortunately, the way of mashing everything together, devoid of context. The watered-down soup of decontextualized traditions forms the bulk of most books I've paged through that use "Wicca" or "magick" in their titles.

The other way you can go in regards to eclecticism is admittedly harder, but shouldn't your religious beliefs be worth it? Basically, research is key. Sure, read some of the easy mishmash stuff, but read up on historical occultism (helps too to research within your geographical area sometimes-- I know I was frustrated when a lot of what I was reading assumed a natural environment full of deciduous forests and water, when I live in a desert) and specific paths. Build up knowledge and find out what tugs at you. As an added bonus, with some research you'll learn what it's okay for you to do within the context of other traditions, since running around offending someone else's gods by trying to yank them out of their cultural context isn't the best idea.  

[Mule of Liz Sama]

Well I guess really my main issue here is that I don't really know enough about the "religions" inside of paganism to feel a calling to. sweatdrop Is there a list of them some place where i can research each of them individually to attempt to find myself? If it helps at all I have always found some sort of inner peace when outside listening to nature. sweatdrop I really do appreciate the help too by the way.  

[TatteredAngel]

There isn't exactly a master list. You can get a pretty good idea from a variety of places online, but they certainly aren't going to be all-inclusive. A pretty good start is just going to the Pathways section of this forum and poking around. Some of them are open traditions, some are not, and all of them will give you a good idea of the wide variety of what's being perfectly practiced. It certainly isn't a list of all that's out there, but it's a start.

Also, go to the religions and occult section of your local library, and see what there is to see there.

In my less than humble opinion, you shouldn't try to learn about all the paths all at once so that you can pick one. Take it a few at a time, explore at a reasonable pace. It may mean that you go without direction for a while, but that's okay. Being able to label yourself something particular right away isn't important. Finding what's right for you in your own time is. And if something is out there waiting for you, chances are you'll come to it sooner or later.  

[TeaDidikai]

In addition to Tattered's good advice, I'll add:

Don't feel like you have to pick one and that's it. Religious faiths evolve and change over time.

However- where Tattered suggests going to the Occult section, I opt for anthropology sections and mythology sections myself.

Too much modern occult new agey stuff is more or less ethnic flavored Kabalism.

Kabalism + Murray = Wicca
Wicca + Norse Reconstruction = "Norse Magic" by Conway
Wicca + Irish mythology = "Celtic Magic" by Conway
Buckland^2 Culture Rape + Wicca = Buckland's books on The Rroma.
(Ha! Math joke! I called him a name! )
Hellenic Theology + Kabalism = Aradia

You get the idea.

A horse is a horse, of course, of course,
And no one can talk to a horse of course
That is, of course, unless the horse is the famous Trojen Horse.

Go right to the source and ask the myth
He'll not give you the answer that you wanna endorse.
He's always on a steady course.
Talk to The Trojen Horse.

Okay- no idea where that last bit came from. Must be lack of food.  

[Mule of Liz Sama]

Of course I will actually have to find the library up here... @.@

Though in lamens terms what is Kabalism? So when I start researching some of the stuff I have a better idea of what I'm looking at. Is there maybe a thread on it in the guild somewhere?