Hi guys, so I've been doing a lot of studying about Wicca on my own lately and I have also just been accepted to a college and I am now realizing that in college, there won't be many places where I could practice outside (unless I do it around others, but that just wouldn't feel right nor would it feel socially appropriate). I still don't have much personal experience with spell casting or anything so I don't know how much room I would need or really what the important parts of the rituals would be. Right now, I am able to practice outside because I live on a farm and I don't quite know how I'm going to adapt. Do any of you have any advice on practicing while in college? (also, my college requires that we live on campus for the first two years, so the inside space would be very small and I would still have to be around another person if I were to practice in the dorm.) Thank you in advance!
Do you have the option to live in a single dorm? That's what I'm planning on doing. If not, get your roomie's permission to practice when they aren't in the room. If they seem afraid of your beliefs or reject it, then try to get a new room mate. If not, is there a forest by your campus? These are just some ideas.
Does your school have a Pagan Student Association? If so, totally join it and get to know other people. Maybe you can live with another Pagan if the first roomie doesn't click. Hopefully, this helped a little.
Those are some good points LunarGoddess made. If you can't get a single room, nor is there a Pagan group, you could try talking to either your roommate or someone in the housing board to find someone fine with your practice. I never lived in rez but my friend did, and she had to fill out a brief questionnaire to try and find roommates with similar attributes [non-smoker, morning birds, so on] you might need to fill one out.
Another option, if it's spell casting, you can learn the others schedule and cast when they're out. If, however, you mean circles and worship, check if your college has a prayer room. Mine did, and it was for all faiths to have somewhere between classes to worship/pray. I went there a few times, and it was interesting to have a quick meditation becide someone who was Islamic and having a sunset prayer while a group of Christians were having a 'bible session' in the same room.
You do have many options to choose from if it's worship based over spell casting. Worship wise you could meditate, pray, go for a walk, light incense offerings, even keeping a plant for some people is seen as worship. Spell casting, try going with simple spells, like a candle spell, so it just looks like you're burning a candle.
Communication with the roomie will be crucial to knowing if it will be a good fit or not. I plan on moving into my school when I transfer, but I already have connections to the PSA there through a local shopkeeper. I guess luck is on my side when it comes to that.
I'm sure there are still ways to practice in a tiny space. Also, would you be able to even light a candle or two in a college dorm? You may have to look into that. There could be rules about open flame like that in a public housing center. If you wanted to light incense, what if your roomie was fine with your practice but they were allergic to incense smoke? That right there would cause a problem. These are more things to consider.
All in all, I'm sure it'll still work out for you.
You've already received some excellent suggestions on how to manage your Wiccan practices while living in a college situation. But you might also find the following link to be useful:
Surviving Campus Life as a Pagan: http://paganwiccan.about.com/od/PaganCommunity/a/Surviving-Campus-Life-As-A-Pagan.htm
