Hello, I'm new to Hipfourms.com and was trying to get to know some pagan folks on this wonderful site.....It Is Very Nice To Meet You.... ~Walk in Peace Love, Dev
I don't particularly enslave myself to any particular branch of paganism..I stick to good old animistic earth, goddess and god worship...
I understand that you just apologized, but at the same time I have heard many comments like your from other people, so don't take what I about to say personally. Being curious about different kinds of Paganism is good. Understanding certain universal principles is also good, so that you are able to look at pretty much any religion and be able to recognize the keys. However there is also nothing wrong with taking a stand for a particular belief. And being organized is not the same thing as organized religion, and not all organized religions are partularly organized. One thing I was taught by my teacher is to evaluate truth from that which is not true. Trust me when I say about 95% of what you find in New Age/Pagan/Wiccan book are bullshit and it's about the same with people. The more you research the more you will start to not only find the good stuff, but you will realize how flimsy many people's writings really are. I have seen many a Pagan or Wiccan or whatever you want to call it tell me that they are not chained to any particular path or group. What happens in the end is either disillusionment or they become a jack of all trades and the master of none. In my case I was lucky to find an amazing teacher immediately. I stuck with him until he died - about 15 years. He may not have known everything, but I have never seen one as knowledgeable as he. I was loyal to him the entire time. I did not look outside for second opinions either. He encouraged and taught me to research. So, for those starting out, go out and find your interest. When you find it, dive in. You may change your mind later, but you need to get very deep with this. There are many levels. You have to make the decision if you want to be a dilettante or if you want to be serious. If you want to be serious then you have to be dedicated. I'll use myself as an example. I did a huge amount of reasearch with my teacher. When he died, I seriously thought of giving the religion up. In fact I didn't do anything for almost a year. One day something snapped and I realized that I needed to do this myself. So, I started from the beginning to this day I am attempting to restore what he taught me. I spend at the very least three hours a day researching and reading. On the weekends when I am not working, I spend about eight hours a day. It's like another job, but will not trade it for anything.
