Book Review- Wicca: A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner, by Scott Cunningham

Wicca: A Guide for the Solitary Practioner, by Scott Cunningham

What a great book!  It definately is making me reevaluate my stance on Wicca.  I had basically decided that Wicca wasn't for me. 

I am a Solitary Eclectic Pagan Witch.  That is the title that I am still sticking with (as if I really need an official label). 

I had read that Wicca was all about being duo-polytheistic, meaning that Wiccans worship 2 deities, the God and the Goddess, and that their basic belief is that God and Goddess have several different forms.

I believe in many Gods and Goddesses.  I am very polytheistic.  However...  I really love Wicca!  At least as it is described in this book. 

Really, it feels natural for me, everything that I read.  I want to read the follow up to this: Living Wicca: A Further Guide for the Solitary Practitioner, by Scott Cunningham as soon as possible.  

I highly recommend this book, especially for beginners, and for anyone interested in learning more about Wicca as a religion.

Believing in Everything

"Believing in everything is just as bad as believing in nothing."  ---many random Christian adults throughout my childhood

Is that true?

When I was a little girl, I thought that my parents were right about God and the bible and Jesus and everything.  That when I died, I would go to Heaven and be with Jesus and all the angels and saints.

When I found out that there were other beliefs out there, I was befuddled.  How was that possible?  There were other Gods and Goddesses, other religions, other churches and houses of worship.  There were even people who denied religion altogether!!!

I studied the religions furiously, so curious to figure out who had gotten it "right". 

Of course, my parents refused to acknowledge that their religion of choice (Roman Catholicism) may be wrong.  And they hated that I even cared about other religions.  But they were pretty okay with my studying as long as I still went to church with them every Sunday and said my nightly prayers at bedtime.

Of course the religion that made the most sense to me was Catholicism, since that was what I was taught.  Basically I compared all religions to my own.   My favorite parts of the Catholic faith were (and are) the belief in Mary, the Angels, and Saints.  I loved the idea of praying to patron saints when in trouble, or when giving thanks.

For example, I loved praying to Saint Anthony when I couldn't find something, since he is the patron saint of lost items. 

Anyway, I finally decided around age 13 that I would just believe in everything.  That everyone was right.  That if you believe in the Christian god, and follow in Jesus' example, you will go to Heaven.  If you believe in reincarnation, you will be reincarnated.  If you believe in nothing, you will not have an afterlife of any kind.  Etc.

I told my new belief to my mom, to my dad, to my neighbors, to my teachers.  The response that I got was always, "Believing in everything is just as bad as believing in nothing."

Recently, I've come back to this belief in everything.  And I've decided to embrace it.

And that Paganism is the path for me to follow as I embrace my belief in everything. 

Since I started to study the Craft, I have learned that the most important thing in life is to be true to myself.

My first circle

I cast my first circle last night.  I also said a blessing and asked Aradia and the Lord and Lady for guidance, focus, and clarity.  This was my first spell, and it was a very simple one.

I had learned about circle casting from several different sources.  The reason that I finally cast one last night is inspiration from an article on Witchvox.com:  Casting a Circle: the basics

This article opened my eyes to how simple this could be.  I had been thinking that I had a lot to do before casting my first circle.  I thought that I would have to buy some ceremonial things.  Now I know that it can be done with NO SUPPLIES.  All I need is pureness in my heart and mind.

I started by thanking the Gods and Goddesses, and asking for their blessings on my circle.  Then I sat down and did my first grounding.

I then held my hand out with a paring knife (my ceremonial athame for the time being) to the East, then to the South, then to the West, and finally to the North.  I had a white tea candle with me for the spell.

I put my hands in prayer position and bowed deeply, then sat down.  My head felt light, my body felt filled with light and blessings.

When I opened my eyes, I could see the circle protecting me.  It was beautiful.  I carved the word "focus" onto the tea candle with my knife.  I asked Aradia and the Lord and Lady to help guide me, to give me focus and clarity as I begin this Wiccan journey.  Then I lit the candle.

I made it my intent that I would find the inner clarity that I needed by the time the candle was finished burning.

Introduction!

I still haven't "come out of the broom closet" so this blog will remain anonymous.  I won't ever say my real name, but the Goddess/deity that most speaks to me is Aradia, so that is what I will call myself on here.  It may even become my Wiccan name, if I choose to have one.

Anyway, I am very new to Paganism, and it's the one religion that has ever really spoken to me.

I was raised Catholic.  I even went to Catholic school for elementary school.  It never really made sense to me.  I didn't like the bible, couldn't relate to a male God that was just... just, so vengeful.  I did, however, love Mary!  I loved saying the "Hail Mary" and I liked saying the rosary prayer, just because of all the Hail Mary's involved.  :-)

I discovered at a fairly young age that I am politically liberal.  Therefore, bible-based religions (Judaism, Christianity) just aren't for me.  I believe in pre-marital sex, gay marriage, and abortion.  (Not that I'm saying that any of those things are equal to or related to the other.)  Most "mainstream" religions told me that by believing all of those things (which to me are just basic human rights that everyone should have) would send me to Hell. 

I was determined to find a religion that fit with my beliefs.  Heaven and Hell... I wasn't buying it.  I don't know why;  I was raised by Catholics, the "fear of God" had been drilled in my head since birth.

But I didn't fear God!  I wanted to love him or her, wanted to believe that love was the way, not fear.

I did look into Buddhism for awhile, mostly as a scapegoat.  I wanted a God-less religion, and thought I had found it.  A lot of Buddhists that I spoke with didn't necessarily believe in "God" but looked inward for all answers.  That sounded amazing to me;  I began to practice meditation.

I loved meditation!  But I did feel like God/Goddess was surrounding me whenever I meditated!!  I couldn't figure it out.  Did the "christian" God want me back? 

I decided to ignore that, and to focus on the other aspects of life for awhile.  I became an atheist/agnostic.

I have been a proud atheist/agnostic for years now, claiming "science" as my religion.  But I've come to find out that I don't have to choose between science and religion.

Nature is science, science is nature.  Paganism/Wicca is about Nature.  At least, that's the type of Witch that I intend to be. 

I plan to start with the basics, reading as much as I can about Wicca and Paganism, but mostly following my own heart.  I don't feel a need to have a label other than "witch".  I'm not sure if my beliefs all fit into any one mold.

I will be using this blog to chronicle my humble beginnings into the Craft.