Some of those are religions, not just traditions of magick. These include; Asatru, Druidry, Santera, Satanism, Shinto, Thelema, and Wicca.
A few are magickal traditions (full schools with many specific subjects/practices), including; Chaos magic, Hermeticism, and Pow-wow.
Some of those are specific schools of magickal study. Each tradition typically has several that they practice and several are practiced by multiple traditions. These include; Alchemy, Reiki, Sex Magic, and Sigil Magic.
But I'm not sure if I can choose a certain path/tradition to follow..Do I have to?
Is it possible to combine what I believe in and what appeals to me from different types of magic and beliefs, and use it all? Or that would be a pointless mess?
It is totally possible, but there is indeed a risk of it becoming a "pointless mess" as you put it.
Alchemy, for example, relies on so many other studies in hermeticism that it's pretty hard to have any sort of meaningful study of alchemy without also studying hermeticism as a whole. You don't need to be purely hermetic - you can mix hermeticism with other traditions - but that's also essentially doubling the work load since you now have two full traditions to study.
Like Awake said, you should explore a few different tradition and the practices popular within them. Whether or not you personally choose a tradition to follow and, if so, what, is dictated entirely by which practices you find most appealing or meaningful. Just read up about a few different studies and get to understand (but not necessarily able to practice) their very basics and just go with whatever you feel most drawn toward.
Re: After the basics...? By: Lark Moderator / Adept
Post # 15 Apr 26, 2012
Perhaps the first question to ask is whether you simply want to learn about magic and spell-casting, or whether you are looking for a religion (such as Wicca) that includes magic in its practices. That might help narrow down you search a bit.
after the basics then the flood gates open. you don't need to choose one particular path when it comes to witchcraft, but you should study, be it history, herbalism, high magic, or even work on gardening. one can never master witchcraft, though one can become an expert in certain fields of study. find a path you like and study it. after i learned the basics, i incorporated my love of Egypt into my craft, then my attempts at learning herbalism lead me to potion craft. after a while i was finally accepted into an online clan of dragon magick practitioners who taught me for a few years. now i'm studying tarot and oracle cards.
