I am a 22yo female. I love the spiritual path I have found. Due to my situations in life, I have not been able to openly study nor practice. I have studied lightly among the practices; however, I feel as if I have hit a block. I am able to practice a little more openly now but lack tools nor knowledge of where to start beyond meditation and intention. I have read about following the path of a patron deity, but I do not wish to falsely identify with one. I am open to all tips and knowledge from others.
Gratefully, a student of spirituality.
:)
Hi! Some other basics you could begin with are grounding, centering, cleansing, charging, warding, and basic protections. Otherwise, it's really interest based in terms of where you should go. What areas of magic really interest you or do you want to work with? From there, that decision will open up all sorts of opportunities for your study.
As far as deity work goes, while I don't work with any right now, the general advice seems to be the same regarding how to start. Have you identified with a pantheon? If not, research about them and see what you enjoy. People tend to be drawn to the Greek and Egyptian deities in my experience, so those two could be a starting point. Once you pick a pantheon, do general research about as many of its deities as you can and see which ones call to you. Then research those specific deities. If any feel right, research what they like for offerings and what symbols tend to represent them, and try leaving them a small offering and meditating or praying on your intent to work with them. Watch for symbols that represent them in your daily life afterwards to see if they're trying to communicate with you.
I hope this helps! If you have any other questions I can try my best to give you some more guidance. Good luck in your path!
What is your path exactly? [it would help narrow down resources] you could read articles on Patheos [go to the Pagan section] you could also listen to podcasts such as 3 Pagans and a Cat [there first year had the sabbats and building your book series. The second-year went into more what they personally do on the sabbats. They still teach, but the first year was entry-level stuff] You can also go on youtube and look up some pagan YouTubers [TipToeChick is still my favourite. TheLadyGraveDancer is also really good]
As for practicing in secret, you can do that as well. You don't need an obvious altar. You could have a plant on your desk with some pretty stones, a little incense, and a glass of water and people would assume it's just decoration [and a glass of water because you're thirsty] You could also take nature walks and observe the natural world, sit outside in the moonlight, say a blessing/prayer before a meal [which you don't have to say out loud so everyone will assume you're praying to the Christian God] You can say a morning blessing to set the intention for the day, pick clothes with colours to reflect the energy you wish to bring to your day [green for luck, orange for confidence] When making food, you can choose ingredients that have a magick intention, stir soup/drinks while charging energy or visualizing your desired outcome. You might even wish to look into Fung Shui or other techniques to help the natural flow of energy. Yoga or tai chi can help as well.
Hopefully, that gave you some ideas. If you would like books or links, let me know. All the best ^_^
As far as my path/general interest I would say I’m looking for a spiritual path and this has always appealed to me. I tend to have a sense of peace within nature, so I feel I should follow a more natural path. When I think about magic I believe it is energy within the world willed into eventual change. I’m not sure if that helps to answer any questions.
You don’t have to work with deities. You can work with spirit guides, angels, ancestors, spirit animals etc. But if you want to do deity work just remember to do a lot of research first, I have been told many times that it’s not for baby witches and you should always protect yourself.
I was not aware of these alternatives, nor was I aware that deity work presented a danger to me. I am so grateful for new topics to research for my practice. I definitely have so much more to learn and I look forward to learning more of this community as well.
Thank you all.
