h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Hello. (I would say "Hail and well met", but you might think I was extracting the urine, for want of a better phrase.)

I have thought long and hard about this, and have finally decided to take the plunge, screw my courage to the sticking place etc and become a Wiccan.

The thing is, I unfortunately don't have the slightest clue about how to go about it. As far as I am aware, there are no local covens in my area, and no-one I can turn to for advice. So I must turn to you, my fellow Researchers. Can anyone tell me about any rites/rituals I need to undergo, or is that sort of thing only done in Coven work?

iAlso, is there anything that I may need to know. *looks slightly sheepish* I've bought /The Wicca Bible/ by Ann-Marie Gallagher and while in many cases it is fantastically informative, I get the feeling she skips over a lot of things with only a cursory mention. For example, she mentions a 'Book of Shadows' but fails to give any indication of what one IS. And she mentions the athame and that it is some sort of knife, but gives no more information. Can anyone please enlighten me?

Thanking you in advance,

Aximili

Hi Aximili!
Glad you came to us for help before you went to far, its always good to be able to give advice when someone is still early on in their path.

First of all welcome! Although I am not Wiccan I can give you a few pointers to start off;
Wicca is a very initiative path, there is not much you can do in Wicca without finding a coven, and they don't make that easy either. Finding a coven in Wicca is like the first big test they pull, if you find one easy then its possible the coven you have found isn't to stingy about who they accept. Thats the other thing you have to watch out for, there are quite a few Wiccan covens that are, well, pretty dodgy and more than a few books that are pretty dodge too. Some core reading to get you started:
Wicca:
Witchcraft Today - Gerald Garnder - Core Book
The meaning of Withcraft - Gerald Gardner - Core book
Wiccan Roots : Gerald Gardener and the modern Witchcraft Revival - History of Wicca 101, very good. Gerald is the guy who "created" (if there is such a word) Wicca.
Witchcraft for Tomorrow - Doreen Vainente - Next big name in Wicca

Some other paths for reference (if you like what you have seen but don't think its quite for you you might like):
The Mysteries of Druidy - Brendan Cathbad Myers (PHD) - This guy is the bees nees of Duridry (My path)
Anything by Phillp Car Gonn
Shamanism - Mircea Eliade - Ok book on Shamanism, Wicca is a fairly shamanic path.
Magick - Aleister Crowly

And finally with some VERY CAREFUL handelling
Wiccan A guide for the solitary practitioner - Scott Cunnignham - Do not on any account mention you have read this book to a member of the craft, its often mentioned with large amounts of laughter. Scott is considered the Publicized Wicca a move a lot of Wiccans (especially more traditional ones) resent. Its a book you want to use your bullshit-oh-meter on if you can and read it AFTER everything else here mentioned so you can know what I am talking about. If anyone else mentions this book first on their list and says its the best thing since sliced bread, ignore pretty much everything they say.

Also ignore:
Robart Moss (just crap generally, I mean this guy could out bullshit a prime minister)
Starhawk (History is wrong but rituals are ok)
Silver RavenWolf (She will advise you potentially kill yourself with the herbs she uses so ignore!)

Thank you for the help, Darakat. Reading your list I now have a few more questions (you are going to hate me for this eventually, but nosey is my middle name .

I assume by "Created Wicca you mean put it together from the original Pagan beliefs and rituals? Also thank you for the list on books to avoid. Many people are not that considerate.

Reading your ist, one name flew out at me: Aleister Crowly. Am I correct in thinking that this is the same Crowly who is connected with the Golden Dawn, who's purpose escapes me at the moment, and who I will have to research before he drives me insane? And if so, is his book still in print? I was under the impression he died a few hundred years ago, but please feel free to correct me on this.

Also, how is Druidry (if that is the correct term) similar/different to Wicca?

*quietly subscribes, simply interested in any path, way or religions*

Ummmm, as I understand it, a "Book of Shadows" is little more than a compilation of charms, spells, and methods that a practicing Wiccan (and perhaps his/her coven or family before,) have found to be efficacious. It can be handsomely leather bound, or a simple spiral-bound note-pad. What-ever works for the practitioner, in essence. As with so much of Wicca, as I understand it.

Good luck with your journey.

And if you are very patient, a gentleman you may wish to call on is U200813. A current praticing Druid, who is extremely well versed in many religions and ways. He could probably and quickly define the differences and similarities between Wicca and Druidism.

I also understand a lot of Wicca to be 'do what you feel comfortable with', but there do seem to be many conventions (if that' the right word' that are adhered to.

BTW, Darakat I have just read your Traditions of Paganism and Neo-Paganism entry and the Druidry entry here, and found them highly informative and (In the case of your entry) very amusing.

No, I won't hate you for it, I like someone who actually asks questions! and they are all good questions! I hope our resident Wiccan comes and sees this thread soon and adds to it.

I mean he gathered a verity of beliefs, some pagan, some not. Wicca is a mixture of beliefs, plus a few created beliefs. I say "Created" loosely as some would argue that another person or many persons created Wicca as it is today. Gardner was the one who made it into the real life possibilities from his activities with his Coven whom he believed to be the originators of a ancient witchcraft tradition.

Aleister Crowley is connected to the Golden Dawn as well as the OTO, he was kicked out of Golden Dawn for a verity of reasons, for full details I suggest you read "A Magick Life" By Martin Booth, a very comprehensive autobiography. Yes it is, I have seen it in my Local pagan bookstore (the only one) so you can still get it from a very good retailer.


Thats a very Big question, I couldn't hope to answer it in a single day so I will keep it brief.

First of all that is the correct term, Druidry is in essence a following of (what remains) of the original english, irish and european Celtic traditions in various forms and guises. It doesn't necessarily use magick (k or not) or spells, but does use shamanism and other methods for workings.

I am not sure hat Wiccan's would subscribe to the "do what your comfortable with" doctrine... I think you may have to revise that viewpoint.

Thank you, Nick for that link. I assume he doesn't get onto HooToo much?

I've posted to him anyway, and I'm sure he'll reply in his own good time.



Oo-er. I've put me foot right in this one, haven't I? Finding a religion is going to be a LOT harder than I thought, and I never thought it would be easy

However, through the excellent entry that you wrote, and the other one someone who's name escapes me on Druidry, I now feel much more prepared than I did.

What 'other methods are we talking about here?

Looking at more sources, darakat, I do agree with you, but The Wicca Bible has examples of 'find which one works for you'. Perhaps I should have used that phraseinstead. Or bought a different book

It's really bugging me that it's calling itself a 'Bible', for some reason. To me, that sounds like some sort of marketing ploy designed to persuade gullible idiots to part with their money (Quiet at the back there!) by giving it a name their comfortable and familiar with.

Feel free to ignore that last part.

Matholwch seems to come and go. You'll see him quite eloquently and patiently in a lot of Forum threads for weeks at a time. And then goes off for what-ever personal reasons. As with so many things to do with religion, patience is of the essence.

Personal experience? I was raised fully and propery Roman Catholic. But the first time, as an altar boy, I posed some questions to the priest, I was very harshly rebuffed and advised that my services at the altar were no longer required. Nor even my attendance at services. That can shake up a 12 year old lad quite a bit. Since then, as and when I can find them, I try to give a bit of a read to english translations and printings of any world way, faith, belief or religion that I can find. Against the possibilitiy that perhaps there is an "answer" out there, and I have yet to find it. I do not seek a religion to become a part of (never a very good reason to be a seeker), I'd just like to find something that settles within me, with a proper resonance. Just my tale, mind you. We each of us is unique, for needs, wants and ways.

It would be a bit hard really to draw on that further without going into things I am not sure you will grasp, but I will try. Druidry could (but not always, it depends on the druid) include:
Shamanism - Astral travel, OBE, Totems, Trance, Trance-dancing, and many more
Apple Branch or Silver Branch - Method of "entering" the other realm,
Dreamwork
Herbalism of various sorts
Tree and grove work (gardening, pagan style)
Offerings (and sacrifices)
God/ess work and worship (can be a mixture of any of these plus a few other things depending on the gods/esses)
Meditation
Music and bardic pursuits (story telling, singing, etc)
Fairy offerings and work related to the Sidhe (shee)
Scrying
Spellwork and related elements
Ritualwok and related elements
Nature work (volenteering, greening, etc)
and few others I probably forgotten

Bible just means collection of books (feel free to correct me here with references if you want). "The" is actually more of a giveaway than bible, AJ Drew (a fairly good author on Wicca) has a book with the title "A Wiccan Bible" and explains why within a few pages of the beginning of the book, I didn't suggest it as Drew does tend to be a bit opinionated on some things.

Darakat, I've honestly never thought of it like that. Of course the use of the word 'The' implies that it is the only book the reader will need,
which is not the case, trust me.

Others you forgot? Honestly, you call yourself a Druid


So do those different methods depend on the path the druid follows, the druid him/herself or a mixture of the two?

(Please forgive me for assuming that there are female Druids, and correct me if this is not the case.)

Yeah you get a whole bunch which are all basically the same thing as another but a different way of doing it, so things get confusing and its easier to explain the ones you can remember and practiced then the ones you can't or haven't.

Both actually, its a mixture really. And some say there are female druids, some don't. I say there are since my Fiancé is one (and better than me at it) and shes the one who introduced me and can out pagan me any day.

As I understand it then, it's a bit like Wicca, ie different paths to follow depending on your coven/teachings etc.

"Some say there are..."

Are you referring here to people who don't believe females can't be Druids, or just people who don't know any female Druids?

Different paths dependent on your grove/group/teachings personal beliefs, etc yes.

Well obviously those who say there are, are the ones who believe there can be female druids, not that ones who don't.

I haven't had much time to do more than quickly browse, ... but this looks to be a bit of Druidess history. http://www.unc.edu/celtic/catalogue/femdruids/

Thanks Nick. It wasn't exactly what I was looking for, but it WAS very interesting.

Darakat, I was browsing in a bookshop today and I saw Scott Cunningham's book and one by RavenWolf, I forget what it was called. Thanks to you, I didn't shell out for them. (Those things ain't cheap)

After a little more research I think that Druidry would suit me better than Wicca. Now, if only I had the money to join the OBOD

In the meantime, can you recommend any good books on Druidry? Preferably ones that I can pick up on E-bay? My local bookstores just about stretch to Wicca, Angel stuff (I forget the details) and crystal healing, even Satanism, but Druidry is ignored. Any recommendations will be greatly received.

On a more personal interest level, do you know where I can buy Alasteir
Crowly's Thoth tarot? My local bookstores and occult supply shop (alright, it's primarily a Goth shop but they do good stuff ) claim to never have heard of it, despite selling a book on the very subject. I thought of buying it, but thought that getting the actual deck to study would be interesting too. Again, ideas, thoughts and opinions will be welocme. BTW, the book on the Thoth Tarot was by Crowly himself, if you were wondering.

Hi there and Merry Meet

I'm Wiccan, if somewhat lapsed at the minute, and pretty much agree with everything Darakat has told you so far. When I first started looking into things I found it very daunting, the sheer amount of information around, all the different traditions(gardenarian, alexandrian, seax etc)and didn't have a clue where to start. I was very fortunate in meeting, through h2g2 no less! a lovely man called Jon who was also a witch of 25 year+ experience. He took me under his wing as it were and taught me the basics.

I need to go back and read this thread more throughly, but I'm sure I saw mentioned that Wicca is mainly what you feel comfortable with, thats completely true. Tools like the athame serve as more of a focus for your own energy rather than having any actual power themselves and anything you don't feel comfortable with will only hinder you.

Magic/spell work is also a very small part of being Wiccan..some Wiccans don't even do it at all prefereing to stick to the more prominent belief side.

I used to own a thoth tarot deck, it didnt work for me as i fouund it had some quite unplesasent vibes, it might work for you though as were all different etc, any good spiritual shop should have a copy or you could try online?
oh and if its not already been recommened, the complete guide to wicca by raymond buckland is worth a look at ..