Paganism - Misconceptions Made Clear - Page 9

Kitten_Ember · 10-09-2007, 03:18 PM

Hello ladies! Glad to see some other Pagans here. I'm 28 and been practicing since I was 6 weeks old, if you want to get technical.

My mother had me Wiccaned at my first Beltane and I have been part of the craft ever since. I did have brief stint when I was in my teen years where I explored Christianity (kind of funny when you htink of how many teens brought up in a Christian home begin to explore Wicca at the same age). I ended up coming back to Wicca and have been dedicated to my path.

I was raised in the Georgian tradition, and hope to one day make it to 3rd degree, High Priestess. For now I am studying my lessons and will be receiving my 1st degree initiation this year. My mother is my High Priestess, my teacher, and my friend. My partner is also travelling down this path with me and he will be initiated at the same time.

We are also planning on a Handfasting next year, and I am very excited. If anyone has any questions on the Georgian tradition or questions about what it's like growing up in a Pagan home let me know.

fairyladie · 10-13-2007, 01:32 AM

I was wondering if any of you belong to a pagan forum( i.e. MnM, cauldron)?
I'm a member of both and have meet some really cool people.

PollySis · 10-14-2007, 08:08 AM

The only 100% pagan forum where I'm on as a regular is a closed one which is not particularly 'love and light', let's say.

I think it's important to have a presence places like here, where we can counteract some of the negative stuff going out but at the end of the day, I'm not greatly ecumenical either and feel no real mission to explain ourselves to outsiders! I like touching base with other pagans here because we're from different traditions and backgrounds and that's interesting. But for my paganism online, I'd rather go in a closed environment where we can be frank and kick back, a bit, too.

I was on Madwitches.org but that's got too quiet, although there's a few people there I know from my old moot, and they're nice people. Most of Madwitches' original membership are the less fluffy pagans who got kicked off CoA en masse a couple of years back, for no apparent reason anyone could ever figure out - they now have a much younger and fluffier profile - so you tend to get some more serious pagans on madwitches who know their stuff. They never kicked me off, so I stayed on both. But I'd only go on CoA for amusement purposes, there's no serious paganism there. Just to give myself a laugh now and then.

Sometimes, rarely, I will go on a fluff site for a laugh (but only to lurk not to post, as it's too tempting to wind them up.

I go on so rarely I forget my sign ins, and have to make new ones.

I seem to spend most of my pagan online time with the closed site, these days.

Somewhere I go on and off is Pentacle magazine's forums. You can learn a lot on there!

SuzanneStar · 10-17-2007, 02:40 AM

Merry meey one and all

Just droppping by to say hello and what have you all got planned fo Samhain?

BB

PollySis · 10-17-2007, 10:12 AM

Hi Suzanne. Must admit I haven't got anything planned, because my dad died earlier in the year and it's a bit too soon to even do a Samhain ritual, for me.

I've hardly sensed his presence around, since he went - just once or twice, and I don't want to open the doors to anything, until I feel up to it. I'll probably take a long walk and go visit some places where I've memories, but I don't want to connect with anything, too much just for now - usually really look forward to Samhain, and I still do, but going to be low key this year.

What have you all got planned?

Navi · 10-17-2007, 12:56 PM

I don't celebrate Samhain but the last harvest holiday of the year typically happens the last Friday (or at least the last week) of the month. I really don't know that I want to do anything since I'm at school right now. I'll be pretty excited for the day I have my own home or an apartment with garden space and I can actually, you know, harvest things. I don't think my aloe and cactus are going to accommodate.

BeccaUK · 10-26-2007, 06:02 AM

i haven't had the chance to read this whole thread cos of time restrictions, but i have to say ....phew!!! not only did i just find a community for women with pcos, but one where there are pagans too!

i used to call myself wiccan, and i kinda still do. although my beliefs are pretty much inline with wicca i don't really restrict myself to one trad. i'm pretty much ecletic but mainly celtic (welsh pantheon) with some druid aspects.

as for the forums, i run a pagan forum. i won't put the link up incase it breaks the rules, but if anyone wants the link, just ask.

i really look forward to chatting with some of you!

SuzanneStar · 10-28-2007, 06:49 AM

Merry meet and welcome to the thread

I have a wiccan friend popping down for Samhain we will bake and meditate and also have a lovely feast and some divination in the evening.

Samhain is my favourite sabbat and a great time to reflect of those who have passed on.

BeccaUK · 10-29-2007, 06:31 AM

i have a little ritual planned for samhain. going to do it next to the river. thats where i do most of my ritual work. i don't do much though. i don't have the time mainly cos i'm the only pagan in the household!

but we are going to have a nice meal (with the extra place setting too), well i am my husband is working. i like to use samhain to honour those who will move on soon too. the people i call the trapped, like my nan who has alzheimers.

mind you saying i'm the only pagan in the household, my daughter is showing alot of interest and she did her first ritual the other day with me.

zosohoorah · 10-30-2007, 03:53 PM

so in all the time i spend talking about wicca and paganism i have always described it this way to people who only want a brief idea. So many people can't grasp the idea so i go with it's in a way like native American beliefs, very spiritual with ties to protecting and respecting nature.

I mean we like most other religions in being believers in the golden rule.

PollySis · 11-06-2007, 08:37 PM

Hope everyone had a good Samhain and will have a great new (pagan) year!

What's 'the golden rule', Mel? Welcome by the way! Just curious! Becca could you PM me the link to your site, please?

Suzanne mentioned divination. What sort of divination does everyone practice? (Those of us who do it, I mean!) Why did you choose that particular form/s? Any good links or sites you could recommend? Favourite decks/rune systems? Why did you choose that sort of divination? How did you learn and develop your skills? Any tips or techniques or interesting info to pass on? We've had our pagan thread some time now but don't think we've touched on this much, yet. But am aware for many of us, it's a way in to paganism, and/or a deep part of our way of life.

It would be just as interesting to hear from those of you who don;t do any form of divination, why that is, or whether you have felt drawn to anything you haven't studied, yet, and what your views are on it all?

BeccaUK · 11-07-2007, 05:22 AM

oooooooh, divination, my speciality!
my main focus is the tarot. been doing that for over 9 years now, nearly ten. i 'm an expert with rider waite, but i prefer crowley thoth for the sheer amount of symbolism and the gorgeous artwork (i love art from that period). i also have marseilles, visconti, tarot of the gnomes (i got the last two at witchfest on saturday) and my original deck which is along the rider waite lines. i also have the goddess oracle cards (great for when you need someone to help) and the celtic oracle cards. all of which are great for readings.
i have two sets of runes, one from wh smiths (lol my starter set!) and i just got a nice hazel set.
i have a set of hazel ogham sticks (recommended to me by none other than cassandra eason herself) and i'm just making a casting mat for them.

i have an amethyst pendulum which i occasionally use for divination as well as scrying, and i have a crystal ball which i have to confess i have never used!

when the occasion calls for it i also do a bit of psychometry.

i love to collect forms of divination and love using it even more, and i use it for self development too. but i love it so much that i'm opening a school in the next year or two to help others with it (once i've written the courses) and i'm writing a book about how to read tarot instinctively.

pollysis, i don't think i can pm you until i have 30 posts, so i'll get busy posting! but if you can see my msn addy, add me to your list and i usually have it in my little blurb next to my name. you have to register to see most of the forums, but thats because we had a bit of a problem with people nicking our content!

zosohoorah · 11-14-2007, 11:51 AM

"The Golden Rule" is a fundamental moral principle which simply means "treat others as you would like to be treated."

PollySis · 11-15-2007, 08:49 AM

Ah zosohoorah you mean like the threefold law? I'm not a wiccan so that's not something I do, particularly - but see what you mean!

Hey Becca, I've been doing Tarot about 9 years now, too! Hadn't figured it out, but now you say it - think it's about that! Blimey doesn't time go fast!

Find Rider Waite easiest to work with probably because like most people, that's the one I learned first! But I think Thoth is far more powerful (I once took my Thoth to Avebury and powered it up there! It's so accurate it's scary, that deck). I can't understand Crowley's Book of Thoth, so read the cards as best I can. My favourite decks are probably The Romani Tarot - Ray Buckland - which is now a collector's item, apparently and I've seen it on Amazon going for frightening amounts of money. I'd never part with mine! Only bought it when my last son was born, 5 years ago but it went out of print. Although I'm not a fan of Ray Buckland's big blue book, I do like any of his stuff about Romanis My great grandmother was said to be part Romani and she read playing cards - although that's something I could never master! Another fave is Visconti and the Matthews' Arthurian.

My husband also has quite a few decks, although he's not particularly pagan, he likes the cards.

I've been using runes for 27 years - but prefer Tarot as it's more detailed (or is, for me). I like to use the Northumbrian runes (Anglo Saxon), but haven't studied them for a while or used them so am rusty now. I got some nice runes from ebay a few years back and those are the ones I use. I have studied ogham but don't use it. And I do a lot of casual divination - finding things, etc when I walk the countryside. I was taught to fire scry as a kid but never really use it. My great grandmother was very advanced at it apparently - dad said she saw her own son's death in WW1 the week before it happened. He was a real cynic, but he said his grandmother read cards and scryed accurately and he never had any doubts about divination, oddly.

I only use it for friends, and immediate family. I know someone who read the cards professionally after only using them less than a year but I can't see myself ever doing it professionally even with 9 years' behind me (or nearly 30 in the case of runes!)

Anyone else on here divine? (Well we all are, obviously......)

Navi · 11-15-2007, 10:17 PM

I spend time staring at the occasional bowl of water or reading Tarot. Most people think I'm fairly intuitive but I just never bother to do it much, never have the time or the money (I was collecting Tarot decks for a while but it got expensive). I tell friends they can have a reading and then when I finally see them, I've forgotten the cards.

I really try not to venture too far out of the realm of traditional Slavic practices. Certain New Age things interest me but I don't really believe in mixing things up and calling them "eclectic." On that note, I think there was something about candle wax I'd been wanting to get into, but that was a while ago. Like, something having to do with the shapes the wax makes.