Starting my year and a day course! Nervous!

[Triple11]

Religion has always fascinated me, and I've spent the last decade or so reading here and there on various beliefs. I always find them interesting, but they've never called to me.

Somehow a few months ago, I stumbled upon wicca, and I felt my crown chakra...open perhaps.....something I had never experienced. So I started reading, and learning a bit. I even signed up for a free year and a day course that wasn't to start until April. I'm not sure what changed.... I guess I felt restricted by all the celebrations I needed to do? I'm not used to celebrating so much....also, I felt a disconnect between "the power is within" I read in teachings, and all of the " you need ALL THIS STUFF" to practice I was seeing while trying to connect with other wiccans....So I quit my Wiccan groups and decided it wasn't for me after all. Put it out of my head for a few months.

......and then I got a confirmation for the class start up I had forgotten all about. Then my "resignitation letter" for the course was lost, and I continued getting class start up emails.... Then I noticed that somehow the Scott Cunningham Ebook from the library on my kindle had never been removed, and went from being a rental, to me owning it.......so I went ahead and asked my tarot cards, which confirmed I am supposed to do this!

I'm really not sure why I am on this path, But the universe has made it pretty clear that I will get something out of this!

anywyas, I am sure I'll be posting in this section a bit during the comming months!
I would love to hear how you found wicca, and get to know the members who practice a little better!

[Jenny Crow]

Well, seems like you're supposed to take the course which I think is a good thing because if you never do take the course you'll never know if all this was for you or not.

Don't get put off about the tools - if you're entering into a tradition such as Gardnerian Wicca, then yes, you'd need the tools but to just practice the neo-wicca or paganism you don't necessarily have to have all the tools. You may find as you go along that you would like to get some tools then that's great. And remember you don't have to spend a lot of money, for example a small tree branch from a tree will make a nice wand, a stemmed water glass makes a nice chalice and you can get candle holders and candles at any Walmart of dollar store. For an altar you can use a night table or other small table.

Good luck in your studies - and have fun with it

[Triple11]

Originally Posted by Jenny Crow

Well, seems like you're supposed to take the course which I think is a good thing because if you never do take the course you'll never know if all this was for you or not.

Don't get put off about the tools - if you're entering into a tradition such as Gardnerian Wicca, then yes, you'd need the tools but to just practice the neo-wicca or paganism you don't necessarily have to have all the tools. You may find as you go along that you would like to get some tools then that's great. And remember you don't have to spend a lot of money, for example a small tree branch from a tree will make a nice wand, a stemmed water glass makes a nice chalice and you can get candle holders and candles at any Walmart of dollar store. For an altar you can use a night table or other small table.

Good luck in your studies - and have fun with it

Thanks Jenny! I'm not sure what branch this course is considered, but the course supply list was very manageable, and definitely made me feel a little better about taking it. It's not that I am afriad of having things, I was just off put by the amount of posting on the groups that was about "look at my new $700 wand!" Look at my sparkly new alter cloth" etc......I get being excited about things, but It felt like 90% of people just wanted to show off their stuff. Perhaps it was just the wrong groups for me. Thanks for responding!

[RiverL]

It definitely sounds like you were meant to take this course; even when you tried not to, it kept coming back for you! Good luck with it!

I agree with Jenny about supplies. When I began studying Wicca (under the guidance of one of my partners), I wanted to get supplies and such, but he told me not to, that what I needed would find me when I was ready.

My wand is a birch stick I found on the beach after a storm, that I felt drawn to. My chalice is a carnival glass dessert bowl I used to eat berries from after picking them near my grandparents' summer cottage on the ocean; it's a meaningful thing to me, especially since that was one of my "safe places" as a child and I've always identified strongly with the ocean. I'd had the bowl in my china cabinet for a few years now but forgot about it until I realized I needed a chalice, and then the bowl called to me. It hasn't got a stem, but it still feels right to use. My altar cloth is a cloth I've had for a decade now, with Sanskrit writing that was meaningful to me, that I found in a shop and felt the need to buy. My altar itself is a folding card table I bought at Walmart because I needed something to be an altar.

[norseman]

Beware the Show -v- Substance trap ! Many wiccans get hooked on the "smoke and mirrors" and ignore the core of Traditional Witchcraft.

[Ravenfeather]

Originally Posted by Triple11

Religion has always fascinated me, and I've spent the last decade or so reading here and there on various beliefs. I always find them interesting, but they've never called to me.

Somehow a few months ago, I stumbled upon wicca, and I felt my crown chakra...open perhaps.....something I had never experienced. So I started reading, and learning a bit. I even signed up for a free year and a day course that wasn't to start until April. I'm not sure what changed.... I guess I felt restricted by all the celebrations I needed to do? I'm not used to celebrating so much....also, I felt a disconnect between "the power is within" I read in teachings, and all of the " you need ALL THIS STUFF" to practice I was seeing while trying to connect with other wiccans....So I quit my Wiccan groups and decided it wasn't for me after all. Put it out of my head for a few months.

......and then I got a confirmation for the class start up I had forgotten all about. Then my "resignitation letter" for the course was lost, and I continued getting class start up emails.... Then I noticed that somehow the Scott Cunningham Ebook from the library on my kindle had never been removed, and went from being a rental, to me owning it.......so I went ahead and asked my tarot cards, which confirmed I am supposed to do this!

I'm really not sure why I am on this path, But the universe has made it pretty clear that I will get something out of this!

anywyas, I am sure I'll be posting in this section a bit during the comming months!
I would love to hear how you found wicca, and get to know the members who practice a little better!

Hello!
I discovered at the beginning of this year, and I researched it for a month until I was sure it was for me. Then, one day when I was rummaging through the things in my room, I discovered a mask I made with a friend a few years ago. It had the Triple Goddess symbol on it. Back then I had no idea about Wiccan symbols or anything about Wicca, really. I used to be Christian, but now that I have learned my values and beliefs, I was looking into joining a religion that complimented those beliefs and values. Wicca is what is right for me right now. I practice as a solitary witch and I am just getting into it. I am learning from my mistakes already and developing my spirituality as I go along. Ever since I completed my Seeker Ceremony, I have noticed many things in nature that I never had before. I watch birds and animals and notice them easily. Sometimes it is like they are trying to communicate with me. What astonishes me the most, though, is that when I began this journey into Wicca I prayed to Spirit asking for a sign, and sure enough I saw the symbol of the Triple Goddess on the aforementioned mask! I personally took that as the sign I was looking for, and ever since I saw the mask I have considered myself Wiccan.

Blessed be!
-Ravenfeather