The First Thing You Need
The First Thing You Need
Basics of Identifying and Researching Plants
STOP! Before you do anything, before we go any further, before I wax poetic about the worship of Nature and reverence for the Earth, before we discuss meditations on plants, before we talk correspondences or magickal properties. Before any of that, there is one thing you need, and some skills you must learn. This is for your own and Nature’s safety. The thing you need is a field guide, and one of the skills is how to use a field guide. A field guide is often times the best first step towards the other skills you must learn; identifying and researching plants.
Sounds terribly boring, doesn’t it? It’s natural to want to jump right in, making incense, collecting plant totems, hugging trees, walking through the forest barefoot. But what if it turns out the incense irritates your lungs? What if the plant you cut to make your totem was not the plant you thought it was? What if the tree you hugged produces oil that irritates your skin? What if, while walking barefoot through the woods, you step on some poison ivy?
Before we talk the spirituality of a… Continue reading
Finding Your Path
It can be tough when you are new to paganism to figure where you belong. Human beings all want to belong; it’s in our genetic makeup. The best advice I can give you is; do not rush in one religion or Tradition right away. Take some time to learn what is out there, try different things out, read books and websites on different Paths before you commit. If you really want to be a witch, pagan or heathen, you will be for the rest of your life, so there is no need to rush into one Path in the first year.
As for having to reconcile your own beliefs and such to “fit in” with other groups…you do not have to! Paganism is NOT about conformity, it’s about finding what is right for you. Some are more rigid, like Asatru, but if they don’t fit, then they don’t fit. Your path, be it Wicca, Asatru, Druidry, eclectic or a personal spirituality should fit you, not you fitting into it.
There are many different religions, traditions, paths etc under the Pagan umbrella, most people manage to find what fits them, if not, then they forge their own, and be trail blazers.… Continue reading
Finding Ritual Space in the Wild
Finding Ritual Space in the Wild
Many Pagans, especially those who follow a strongly Nature oriented path often enjoy practicing their rituals, meditations and spellwork outdoors. Often these outdoor rituals are held in the backyard or even on the apartment balcony, where we can be and feel safe and comfortable, and where we can quickly run indoors if it starts to rain. Sometimes however, we feel the urge to get outside that comfort zone and head out into the more wild places on Earth. A national park, nature reserve, farmer’s fields and pastures, the local reforestation project are just a few places that can call a Pagan and/or Witch to come dance in a grove or find a special spot on a mountainside to mediate.
This can be a wonderful and fulfilling experience, but it can also be a total disaster as well. Especially when we are unprepared to face Nature in her full glory, poison ivy and all. Hikers getting lost in the woods or campers being attacked by wildlife are fairly commonplace; watching the news during the height of summer vacation time is proof enough of that. Well, we Pagans are certainly no exception.
I will never forget… Continue reading
Concerning Teenaged Pagans and Witches
Concerning Teenaged Pagans and Witches
It seems that there is a common attitude in much of the pagan community towards teenaged pagans. This attitude can be very dismissive, and even downright vicious, especially online. The stereotype is that all teenaged pagans are foolish, giggly girls and fluffy bunnies.Many older pagans seem to strive to push away the younger ones, not wanting to be seen as associating with them. I have met 30ish pagans who seem quite proud of themselves for driving away those silly teens away at bookstores and pagan events.
WHY?
Part of the problem is the stereotype used to disparage pagans is that our religions are not “serious” or “adult”. That paganism, especially Wicca, is made up of silly, giggly teenaged girls in black clothes and purple hair. Perhaps a knee-jerk reaction to this is to attempt to dissociate ourselves from pagan seekers under the age of 20. We are trying to give ourselves a more mature, elegant, dignified, adult and serious persona.
We seem to choose to ignore the fact the many of us started out as teenagers, and without new young people joining our ranks, our religions may dwindle and become stagnate.
It is easy… Continue reading
To Fly By Night
Hoofprints in the Wildwood
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