I need advice

I'm about to ramble on for a bit so please skip to the bottom of this if you just want to know what I'm asking. I'm a solitary eclectic Wiccan (unless you don't count uninitiated as Wiccans, then I'm just a Neopagan who uses a lot of Wiccan practices) I'm still pretty new to it and still learning how to do magic, perform rituals, etc. Being eclectic I take whatever I need from various sources to add to my practices. Anyway, I'm having trouble with my workings, and I need some advice. I read a blog called Native Appropriations a while back, which made a really compelling case for not using Native American customs in my practices, and now even if I were given strong reason to the contrary I probably still wouldn't be comfortable doing it. So, I have been sticking strictly to European sources, mainly German, English, Irish and Scottish ones.
Anyway, that makes it difficult for me to create a well-fitting path for myself because I live in the desert in Arizona. I use the same customs for the Wheel of the Year that they do in England and Germany. I really, really like them a lot and I want to keep using them but the climate here makes it a bit hard. For example I can't go outside for Beltane, Litha or Lammas because it is so unbelievably hot. It doesn't start cooling down until Samhain. Around Samhain, Yule and Imbolc, when I want to stay inside and reflect, it's the time of year when the weather is nice enough to go outside. The trees don't start changing a lovely, autumn color until after Yule. Actually now that I've adjusted myself to the Wheel of the Year I'm using, it feels really hot to me most of the time. While everyone around me is wearing jackets I want it to cool down.
I'm also having trouble casting spells and doing rituals, arts and crafts for Sabbats, because whenever I read about spells they require reagents I don't have access to, and all the crafts I want to make and altar decorations I want to use for Sabbats require plants I can't use: Oak, Maple, Yellow Broom, Meadowsweet, Blackthorn, Holly, Yew, Heather, Daisy, Dandelion, Yarrow, St Johns Wort and others. I can't grow anything in a garden, either, because I live in a very shaded house, and indoor plants die from lack of sunlight while outdoor plants die from heat and pests. I can still buy herbs and wood online, but I don't want to spend a lot of money on that, and I prefer gathering my own herbs outside when I can. The one upside to my location is there's a Gem Show that comes to my town once a year and I have access to all sorts of different crystals. However, I'm not very attracted to crystal magic. Also, I have checked and there are no covens or established pagan communities in my area.
I know I have a preference for "green magic" and magic involving plants and wild animals from what European stuff I HAVE been able to do (there is a type of ash tree in Arizona that I use, there's some species of small oak tree in a nearby park that I sometimes get acorns from, there's a meatier kind of mistletoe that grows on mesquite trees, and I've learned from personal experimentation that creosote makes a good substitute for water-magic herbs). I also know it from all the Native American stuff I used to do (which was a lot) but now that I've read those articles online I won't touch that stuff ever again. All I've kept from it is a very vague and culturally-ambiguous sort of magic involving "spirit animals", and even that I use very sparingly. There are many spiritual and non-spiritual reasons I want to leave Arizona, but almost my entire extended family on both sides lives here, and they really don't want me to go. I'm trying to explain to them that I've lived here my whole life and I need some new experiences (I've traveled a lot and I really like the nature in the places I've been) and that I really like it here but I don't want to live in the same place for the rest of my life. Thankfully I am still very young so there's no rush for me to get out before its too late. Also... it's not like I don't feel the presence of the Goddess and God here, I do, it's just... hard for me to connect with them in a way that feels right.

Can I please get some advice on how to create a good eclectic Wiccan path here in Arizona without using Native American customs? Are there desert plants I can use to substitute for plants I don't have when casting spells? Are there ways I can adapt Norse, Celtic and Slavic practices to suit my needs? How do I change my viewpoint of the Wheel of the Year to match my surroundings? Are there any traditions I should add to my path from other sources? Are there any Pagan community bases in the Sonoran Desert where I can ask about it? And if it really is hopeless... where's a good place in the USA for me to move away to if I want to practice more European-based Wicca?

Login or Signup to reply to this post.

I practice Teutonic and Baltic based Odinism and I live in the desert southwest also. Climate isn’t an issue. Maybe the heavy influence of the native faith in your area is overpowering your thought processes. You can effectively practice anything anywhere. There is no rule that deities will only accept a certain tree or plant or symbol or stone. There are all kinds of ways to get the job done. Plus, with the internet stores being so plentiful, you can have things delivered right to your doorstep. Imagination is key in your situation. I would be glad to tell you how we do things here in the desert. All you need to do is ask. My mailbox is always open. Hope that helps.