Wicca; My Feelings

[norseman]

@JO First, find a "green" place that makes your heart skip a beat, somewhere quiet that you can adopt as your own. Think of it as your wild garden. Start a BOS-type record where you and your daughter can makes a note of the changes thro the seasons, a note of the flora and fauna. Look for a little corner, a rock shelf or something similar that could be a basic altar. If this works and your daughter is enthused, you might think of some small dedication ritual to Mother Earth for her and you could act as her witness and vice versa perhaps ? Teach her a simple meditation technique to use in the "garden". The key is simplicity. My ritual is eating a pinch of soil and drinking a mouthful of river water in my garden [ below]
http://i282.photobucket.com/albums/kk267/norseman_photo/views/water/800px-Kisdon_Force.jpg

Alternatively, or in addition, both of you join a local conservation group - they can be great fun.

I dont think people saying i follow the dark side helps either. Its all well and good movies being made about how witches follow a dark path and use goats bloood etc! Its not what its about.

I was part of an online forum which had a website with it and i thought it was great until they started talking about sacrifices, and using my blood during rituals as well as blood of animals. If you love nature so much why harm an innocent animal?! In my mind Wicca (all different kinds of Wicca) aare about the love of the earth, God and Goddess. It is improtant to acknowledge that there are darker sides of the god and goddess but if you follow Wicca you will know about the threefold so why do something that would harm someone or something when it will only come back to you worse.

Really annoys me - sorry

Originally Posted by norseman

@JO First, find a "green" place that makes your heart skip a beat, somewhere quiet that you can adopt as your own. Think of it as your wild garden. Start a BOS-type record where you and your daughter can makes a note of the changes thro the seasons, a note of the flora and fauna. Look for a little corner, a rock shelf or something similar that could be a basic altar. If this works and your daughter is enthused, you might think of some small dedication ritual to Mother Earth for her and you could act as her witness and vice versa perhaps ? Teach her a simple meditation technique to use in the "garden". The key is simplicity. My ritual is eating a pinch of soil and drinking a mouthful of river water in my garden [ below]
http://i282.photobucket.com/albums/kk267/norseman_photo/views/water/800px-Kisdon_Force.jpg

Alternatively, or in addition, both of you join a local conservation group - they can be great fun.

I've just suggested this to her and she's very enthusiastic. She's gone off outside to find a special place. If you have any more ideas I would love to hear them.

Thanks so much!

[norseman]

JO, my BIG ritual/ceremony or whatever you would call it is planting acorns. Where I wander used to be heavily forested a thousand years or more back. Home to wolf, bear, wild boar and deer. Over the centuries, they were cut down for charcoal and to build the British Navy.
I was given a task by "the boss", an impossible, never-ending task but so what ! I collect acorns from a protected grove in Durham and plant them high up the dales. I ask Mother Earth to care for each and everyone as I plant. No idea how many I have planted or how many were dug up by squirrels but, again, it does not matter - I persist. I will not live to see the result.

So, a suggestion. Start planting stuff. Not necessarily trees but maybe berry bushes for the birds to eat or build a pile of logs for beetles and moths to live through the winter. Or flowering plants to attract bees and butterflies. The feel of soil on your fingers as you plant is most satisfying.

Originally Posted by norseman

Wicca = Devil worship ! Now I wonder who put that one about

One may be worshiping a goddess or nature but this is not THE GOD, the one and only, so it must be of the devil.
But everyone is a son or daughter of the earth, and so even the people who think Wicca is of the devil are loved in the same manner as those who follow it.

Or am I wrong?

[norseman]

Yes, you are wrong. or maybe right Depends on your point of view.

The guiding dual principles of the universe have thousands of names and all are equal. The universe seeks balance so, if you have god, you must have the devil. They are complementary opposites, one cannot exist without the other.

I have to admit - that's got to be what I like in nature...balance...not too much light *ugh*...yet not too much dark either. I guess that's one reason why I'm attracted to the 'Pagan Path'.