Hello,

I ran across this site while I was looking for good books to read to start my journey through Wicca.  However, reading on this site a bit more, I find myself confused by many things and am really looking for some guidance.

There are so many different opinions and ideas I'm at a loss for what it is I should be studying or reading and hope that someone might lead me in the right direction.

I recently started reading Scott Cunninghams Solitary Practitioner book because it was recomended to me a while ago by several people. I'm hoping this is an acceptable book and wondering, where should I go from there?

Sorry if there are several typos, it's 2:33 in the morning here and I'm getting pretty tired. I just wanted to make this thread before I headed off to sleep. Thanks in advance for the help!

-Sarah 

Thanks Kea, I appreciate the input. 

I do have a few questions about some terms that I have read on here.  Neo-Wiccan, "Fluffies", well, that's all I can think of right now, but I also read the term "Fluffy bunnies" on a review for a book on Amazon and was curious what that meant. 

Also, I've grown to be a very scientific mind and I'm not sure where to place those ideas into my belief system.  Science is one of the many things that pushed me away from spritituality and I guess you could say that was my religion for some time. Last night while thinking of the moon I was wondering who has dominion over all the other moons in the vast universe?  You can see where my perdicament comes into play.  I have not been taught very well, and I am not in a place where I feel I can be properly taught by anyone in person.  So that is why I came here.  I will read everything I can get my hands on, but how do I know what is right and what is wrong?  I don't want to be lead a stray as I once was. 

Thanks again,

-Sarah

Hello Sarah,

First off, welcome to the path of self-examination and exploration! Because that's exactly what you are embarking on. :)

In doing so, I'd like to agree with the suggestion to read 'everything' but go into a bit more detail about just what I think 'everything' should include.

There are lots of books out there on Wicca, Witchcraft, Magic, Paganism, etc. and while that's all well and good, it's not where you should limit your studies.

I recommend studying folklore, history, mythology, psychology, science, philosophy, and meditation. These aren't topics usually associated by most folks with beginning a study in Wicca, but I believe will be much more helpful in the long run. These are the things that make up Wicca, that are what Wicca is about, and if you study these topics along with the books you'll find that have "Wicca" in the title, will give you a much clearer, broader understanding of what it is.

Read books by Joseph Campbell and Carl Jung along with books that might have a little moon on the spine.

The other thing I recommend is getting a journal and if you don't already actively write in one, start doing so now. The path of a Witch (which is what Wicca is - All Wiccans are Witches, though some will say not all Witches are Wiccan) is one of knowing yourself at the deepest level and this is often found and learned through journaling, recording thoughts and ideas, and going back on occasion to read and see where these things have changed.

Much luck and many blessings on this adventure. :)

-Serpent

Nov 6, 2011 -- 10:34AM, Sarahmonster wrote:

Thanks Kea, I appreciate the input. 

I do have a few questions about some terms that I have read on here.  Neo-Wiccan, "Fluffies", well, that's all I can think of right now, but I also read the term "Fluffy bunnies" on a review for a book on Amazon and was curious what that meant. 

Those terms, simply put, are perjoratives.  Fluffies want it all simple, soft, kind, and easy.  Witchcraft isn't simple, soft, kind, or easy. 

Also, I've grown to be a very scientific mind and I'm not sure where to place those ideas into my belief system.  Science is one of the many things that pushed me away from spritituality and I guess you could say that was my religion for some time. Last night while thinking of the moon I was wondering who has dominion over all the other moons in the vast universe?  You can see where my perdicament comes into play.  

My children once asked,  "Daddy?  How does Hephaestos make the lightining?"  My husband, agnostic as they come, look properly perplexed and then helplessly at me.  I said, "Tell them."  At which my children got a lesson in meteorlogy.  

Science doesn't hamper my beliefs, so far as we are talking Scientific Method and Scientific Observation go.  I get cranky when I have Science attempting to define my relationship with the Gods. 

I have not been taught very well, and I am not in a place where I feel I can be properly taught by anyone in person.  So that is why I came here.  I will read everything I can get my hands on, but how do I know what is right and what is wrong?  I don't want to be lead a stray as I once was. 

You need to mark your quest with a lot of reading and a lot of searching yourself and reality for the meaning you seek.  I actually cannot tell you what the shape of it is, past what few markers exist within the Wiccan system itself.  Your relationship with the Gods is necessarily personal and private, and you have to decide for yourself what is real and what is ultimately self-delusion.

And frankly, I think that shoving Carl Jung at someone at the beginning of a religious seeking truly denies them the right to their own experience, because I have long felt that Jung's work undermines spirituality and usually gives people the idea that it's all in their heads anyway.  Not, IMO, a particularly good way to begin your search for the Gods.

Nope.  Read everything.  You never know what a discussion of the propagation of radio waves might do to expand your understanding of both magic and the world around you.  Cosmic truth tends to manifest in the darnedest places.

I still recommend Carl Jung to people starting out, because I see there being several different ways that one comes to view deity, and he and Joe Campbell represent the third.

The first is that deities are all separate, individual beings (hard polytheism). The second is that they are all facets of each other or a greater 'force' (soft polytheism). The third is that they are human creations and reflections of what we see as the divine in ourself (archetypal). I wouldn't limit a seeker's understanding and development to just the first two, even when, or especially when they are starting out.

Views change, impressions change, and seekers as well as those who have been on the path for a while need to know that it's okay to have their ideas change sometimes. Paganism doesn't demand that there be only one way for someone to view or experience deity. I know lots of very skilled Pagans who take the 'archetype' approach to their spirituality. Why only let a seeker experience the first two concepts and not the third, which is just as valid?

Just because something exists 'in ones head' doesn't make it unreal. If that were so, what would be the point of visualizing when working magic?

Also, Jung is referenced a lot in dream work, psychology, the concept of Universal/Collective Consciousness and Akashic Records which will likely be brought up in any "Wicca 101" type text. Why not go to the source at some point and see why other authors, other Witches, use his work and reference it?

The main thing for a seeker to focus on is coming to an understanding of what they think deity is and what they later know deity to be, thus why I suggested the journaling. It's hard work doing the self-reflection and self-study that goes along with being a solitary seeker.
One of the truths of deity is they do exist as archetypes. It might not be my truth, or your truth, but it could end up being someone's truth and they should know that such is valid.

I totally agree with the idea of the radio waves or some other randomly accessed tidbit giving keen insights into spiritual understanding. Knowledge, insight, and inspiration can come from anywhere and everywhere. Including Pooh :)