No offence to Wiccans, but please are there any other types of witches or even Druids here? I concider my self a witch with Celtic/Druidry leanings, very intuitive and nature based not very cerimonial at all. I Work with Nature spirits/ Fearie/animal allies/ Weather Craft to name a few. I do not consider myself Wiccan thoe I started my Earth Spirital studies & practices there. I work with the Triple realms: Land, Sea, & Sky and wear a Triskele as a symble of the realms, a reminder of my path & what I have learned so far. Peace, Clove
Very true I started with Wicca and progressed from there ... now my path is fairly Celtic I suppose, but I'm also leaning toward Germanic/Norse practises and ideas. They're both aspects of my ancestry and there's some overlap between them. So I'm quite content. I'm not very ceremonial either, for me it's more about the philosophies and way of living than spells or rituals (not to say one is better/more important than the other, just what works for me).
haha, indeed.. first pagan book I bought was "Wicca, a guide for the solitary practitioner" by Scott Cunningham. His books are great, despite that they have a definite Wiccan focus. From there, I read a lot of Marian Green's work, and now sort of consider myself.. *deep breath*.. a Pagan Celtic Buddhist Hedge Witch (IMHO "warlock" has too many negative connotations so I don't call myself one. It's more of a ceremonial magick thing I think). Now you may be wondering what the Buddhist thing is doing there - I think the Buddha had the right idea with the Four Noble Truths, and I practise both vipassana and zazen meditation, BUT I think there is something beyond the cycle of samsara (suffering) and any path we follow that is followed with love and compassion for all living beings, will lead inevitably to that Power.
I'm a combination, not sure I can classify myself as just one type, if that makes sense. I can never seem to conform to just one spirituality, I like to be open to learning new things, I don't go by the books, so-to-speak. I suppose you could say it's almost like creating your own, taking what you like from certain ones, combining them with others as you sese fit. Perhaps that would be considered neopaganism? Druidism...my mother is very into that.
i think these days most people start with wicca but a good witch will evolve into their mastery, whatever calls to them. i myself am a green witch hi
i wouldn't call myself any one particular type of anything. i just like being nice to whatever little or not so little spirit awairnessess i happen to run into. i definately have my own table of symbolic relationships that every other belief and such table of relationships i've ever run into are at odds with at at least some point, and this is something that is very intrinsic to my very being, like the way the colors i see associated with numbers being something i was born with. and pretty much unrelated to frequency spectrum sequence too. i have earth below and sky above. water to my west and fire to my east. and i wouldn't begin to dictate or even try to guess, what would, could or should, work for anyone else or how. =^^= .../\...
Greetings all, I'm new here, so hugs to everyone. Im not Wiccan either, I started out that way, but adapted a lot over the years. It's been nearly ten years now, and Ive gone through so many changes and lessons along the way. So... why are you trying to find a label for yourselves anyway? Surely that's only adding to the 'anal retentive' mindset that is already far too abundant. Why not just say, "I do a bit of..... and a bit of......" etc. (mine being a bit of kitchenwitchery, shamanism and rootworking; mainly based around healing people/the earth etc, and never to harm). So many out there worry too much about the insignificant details, all that energy could be spent on something useful! *Steps off soapbox* Blessings and smiles, Shadow
I HAVE NO IDEA what i would be classified as. so far as i'm concerned, i've never been easily categorized before, i'm certainly not going to start now.
In reality, there are no "real" Druids. They didn't leave behind any writings as they couldn't write. We know very little of them. All we have to go on are vague legends and fruitful imaginations of those who see themselves as the modern day leaders. (Much like any other religion) x
most pagans i have run across are eclectic, a blend of influences, including myself. Makes it hard to work in a group tho - with everyone coming from a different spiritual mix! As for druids, the first druids didnt need books to guide them thru what they knew to be right, and the seasonal myths they handed down to cultures they encountered say more than any book or writing ever could. In fact it seems they did use a couple systems of writing, some rather easy to learn yet with very deep symbology. They also had their alphabets as an early form of sign language, enabling them to speak to each other silently, or even pass along info that may have been different than what they were saying with their voices without others knowing. those druids can be sneaky lol
Hey samson, I spent most of the 60's and 70's in Alabama. Oddly enough, the only thing I miss about it are the lightning bugs They have that weird smell that is etched in my brain still. x
bama has its moments, and the beaches are some of the nicest to be seen. One of alabamas best aspects is that it isnt far from other places tho! Folks often tell me that they have been thru alabama on the way to somewhere else, and I think thats one of the best ways to see this state lol Quite a few pagans down here tho, a bit surprising considering the reputation for being rednecks.
Druidry, although probably completely lost in its namesake form, is based on the truth of all things, that universal language that all people have the capacity to feel and understand. Like, when you really watch and appreciate something special, like a beautiful sunset, or a crisp summers' morning, that tingling buzz you can feel deep within your soul, everyone experiences it, but everyone experiences it differently. We are all individual, and druidry requests no belief in a specific set of gods, or ideas, just a mind that is accepting of universal love. I do agree that the original 'druidry' has been lost, but a lot of druids believe they talk to their druid ancestors and recieve guidance through them, and I think the principles that druidry is based around are not far off the original mark. There is quite a lot of ceremony in druidry though, there are several rituals laid out, although it is not all compulsory, if you don't wish to do a ritual, you don't, that's not the main thing that it's about. I started off being a wicca when I first discovered it existed, I too started with Scott Cunningham's book (hasn't everyone?!) although as I have found other religions, my own religion has evolved, and now I just would not know what to call it. The wisest thing I ever heard anyone say, was 'there are as many religions in the world as there are people' and I think that is such a beautiful way of putting things. Even two people who practice the same religion side by side will still take it to a different place in their minds, because we all have an individual way of feeling that 'feeling' that can't be described. I would be interested to hear if there are any other druids on here, I am not one myself, but I have always found it fascinating. I know it takes quite a lot of dedication to start on the druid pathway, and I don't feel like I have the time to give to it, but I am seriously considering it, if not now then in the future sometime.