So You Want to be Wiccan

On the message boards I frequent, and in our coven e-mail, I see numerous posts from people who have just heard about Wicca and Witchcraft and who are wanting to become Witches..and who are then saying they don't know a thing about it. While the growing interest in this path is a good thing, rushing headlong into something you don't know much about and which will change your life in may ways is not such a great idea. So let's stop a moment and consider some of the following issues...

First of all, WHY do you want to be a Witch? Is it because it is **kewl** to be spooky and to wear all that neat jewelry and to shock and amaze your friends and parents? That's not being a Witch, that's just playing dress up. My generation tripped our parents by dressing as Hippies, growing our hair long, and wearing love beads. Same thing, different clothes. Most of us grew out of that phase, and many former Hippies wear three-piece suits to their successful businesses these days. When people smirk and say it's just a phase you're going through are they right?

Are you doing it because it gives you a sense of your own power over others? Certainly there is power inherent in Witchcraft, and it can make your life better in many, many ways. But it is power that comes from within yourself and makes you a stronger person..it is not power over others through the use of fear or magic. If you are looking for a spiritual path that will help you grow into a better person, then explore this one more thoroughly. If not, you won't find your answers here.

Are you prepared to be shunned because you are "different"; or to lose your job, your friends, maybe even your home because you are a "Satanist"? Witches have nothing to do with Satan, but that is not what the public believes. Traveling this path can get very uncomfortable..are you ready for this?

Remember too that being a Witch is a two-way process. You get out of the Craft mostly as much as you are willing to put into it. The Goddess grants us many things, but in return she asks our service as well. If you aren't willing to do the work, then you will likely get little from the journey.

When we take on new students, one of the first things we have them do is the following exercise. Try this. Do it as honestly as you possibly can. It will give you a much better idea of what you want and where you are going.

Take a piece of paper and divide it into two columns. Label one column "What I want from the Craft", and the other "What I bring to the Craft". Then start listing things as they come to mind. Again..be very very honest with yourself.. When you think you are done, put the paper away for a couple of weeks. Then take it out and consider what you have written. Add anything new that comes to mind, take off anything that doesn't seem right now. Then put it away again. Keep doing this until you are really satisfied that the list is as complete and accurate as you can make it. Then sit down with your list and think about what you have written, realizing that you have made a contract between yourself and the Gods. If the path still seems right..go for it..

Now take the paper and put it away for six months or so. Take it out then and see how much you have grown. At that point, you may want to redo the exercise to reflect your new goals and commitments.

One thing you will learn quickly on this path is that it is a learning and growing process which never ends. It is always a good idea to reassess where you are and where you want to go on a regular basis. That way you are unlikely to find that you have taken a wrong turning on your journey.

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That's a great post Lark! I honestly liked that.
I'd like to add for a bit, hope it's a good contributory. :)

I always say that before choosing a path that seems good for you, one should always look into other paths as well and see what they can offer. It's always good to know a bit more about everything. The final decision will be a lot easier to be made after getting deeply into path development.

In order to get an idea about what you may include in your path and get some inspiration form religions, practices and traditions for your new path you need to do some researching and reading to get introduced to magic and to what advantages you can draw from it .
I believe that your path has to do with what you personally do and every step you take since there's a very big difference between a simple religion to a broad path which has to do with any particular personality.

Get to know about traditions, religions, different forms of magic, various magical aspects, etc, take them a specifically design them in a way you can include in your path. You take your specific beliefs and determine the best way to appease your actions.

On a side note ,it is far more important that you learn to think for yourself, and develop an instinctive inner knowing about what is right and appropriate for you in any given moment. Sticking slavishly to accept dogma and beliefs about magic and the nature of reality is not going to reveal any genuine secrets to you. The secrets of magic are to be unlocked by each individual seeker after the truth. They cannot be shared and revealed, only gained through experience, reflection, and the understanding and inner knowing that comes from actively participating in your own magical development.

Having done some reading and getting to know what to include in your path, the process of magic is facilitated by inner work, utilizing primarily the Imagination and Will. I believe that all ,magic is essentially internal magic as I stated.

Keep posting, please. It's a good thread.

Here's some book titles that I suggest for anyone serious about their Wiccan studies.

"Wicca for Beginners" by Thea Sabin
"Wicca: A Year and a Day" by Timothy Roderick
"The Elements of Ritual" by Deborah Lipp
"Phoenix from the Flame" by Vivianne Crowley
"Devoted to You" by Judy Harrow
"Witchcrafting" by Phyllis Currott
"The Witches' God" and "The Witches' Goddess" by Janet and Stewart Farrar
"Witchcraft Today" and "The Meaning of Witchcraft" by Gerald Gardner (Every Wiccan should read these books by the man who started it all.)
"WitchFather" by Philip Heselton
"The Heart of Wicca" by Ellen Cannon Reed
"Wicca: The Old Religion In the New Millennium" by Vivianne Crowley
"Deepening Witchcraft" by Grey Cat
"The Study of Witchcraft: A Guidebook to Advanced Wicca" by Deborah Lipp and Isaac Bonewits
"Wheel of the Year: Living the Magical Life" by Pauline Campanelli and Dan Campanelli
"Celebrating the Seasons of Life: Beltane to Mabon" by Ashleen O'Gaea
"Celebrating the Seasons of Life: Samhain to Ostara" by Ashleen O'Gaea
"A Witch Alone" by Marian Green

I really love your post Lark, something a lot of us have probably wanted to say for a long time. I feel a lot of people want to be a witch because of films & think it's cool. I hate it when I get Inboxes of people wanting to know how to cast spells but leave the religion. Begin Wiccan to me is whole lot more than casting a few spells. It's my life! I live & breath it! It's in everything, all around us. It takes a lot of hard work, detonation & dedication to me a witch. It's not a spoon feed path & I really get sick of people who think they can take a few spells & magickal forms but don't want to study up on anything *fairly take & fairly give comes to mind* I've studied very hard & don't stop! Despite begin born into this, I've not taken it lightly. I never stop trying to gain knowledge, trying to getting closer to the Lord & lady, to be closer to nature, to be the best witch I can be.

In British Traditional Wicca we work with a Moon Goddess whose name is oathbound and never revealed to non-initiates.

However, Wiccans of other sorts may well worship a Goddess or Goddesses from any pantheon. In my personal workings I am allied with Sekhmet, one of the Egyptian Goddesses.

I have read many books on Wicca, including Gardner. The best one I have read is called 'A Witches Bible' by Janet and Stewart Farrar,
Published by Robert Hart Ltd. It covers everything in Wicca.

I'm new to wicca and searching this site for answers to my questions. I'm very confused because some people believe in any god or goddess from any religion but some only believe in the horned god and the goddess. Explain Please???

There are as many Wiccan paths as there are Wiccans. The main Gardenian Wicca worships the Horned God and Triple Goddess. Other paths like Celtic Wicca would follow the Celtic deities. The Horned God and Triple Goddess have been switched out with Pan, Isis, Osiris, Zeus, Juno, Bridget, Lugh, and many others. It comes down to your path and faith. The point is you need to connect with a male and female deity. [Unless you follow Dainic Wicca which focuses only on the Goddess] whatever speaks to you.

In the various Traditions that are considered British Traditional Wicca (BTW) the deities are a Moon Goddess and a Horned God. Their names are oath-bound and never revealed to non-initiates.

In any other form of Wicca it is entirely up to the individual as to which deities they choose to worship, other than that the work with at least one god and one goddess. In that case the person will often find that they develop a personal relationship with specific deities and these are the ones that they will call upon in ritual.

As an example, in my Gardnerian coven I will call upon the Moon Goddess and the Horned God. But in my personal practice (not BTW) I honor Sekhmet, Anpu, Tehuti, and Menthu, all from the Egyptian pantheon.

I was wondering, is it possible to follow two different deities from two different Pantheons at the same time??