How much

[Silent]

How much do you consider to be enough studying to begin doing rituals and spells.I offcourse know studying is never finished ...but how much knowledge is neccesary for starting doing macick.OOOOhhh I hope you get my drift and dont misunderstand my pondering on this.

[Bix]

I would say when you feel comfortable with yourself and your abilities, it's a good time. Not everyone feels comfortable right off. Some people take a few months, some years. So...it just depends on you.

[Limey]

I haven't started to do any rituals yet either. I felt like I should know a lot more before I begin. I saw one of the stickys at the top of the new pagan forum which gives you a suggested learning list. I'm working my slowly through that and some other things of my own first. It might be worth taking a look at and see if that gives you any ideas.

[Fallen Angel]

whenever you feel comfortable. I knew nothing much of the religion when I started doing spells. I guess that's why they're so powerful now, I have a lot more practice with them than the religion. As for ritual.because I had been working with magic already as soon as I knew enough about the religion I was doing rituals.

[FateDancer]

When you feel ready. And that could be about any time... lets say that the best time is a year and a day from when you took concience of what you are and what path you follow, you can dedicate that year and a day to pure study, so you are sure you will be comfortable, but it could even take u a month :-) We are all different, my mother for example is pagan but does not practice anything but sabbats and some candle work when she feels like it so ^-^ take it easy.

[Xentor]

If you're anything like me, you'll never be satisfied with the amount of your knowledge. Enough is when others are asking you to explain it to them.

[Silent]

I know I will always be wanting to know more,learn more,see more,exsperiance more but I am feeling the need and desire too start both doing ritual but more so spells.And I dont want to start just cuz I am impatient and not ready knowledge wise.How can I know it is just not impatience . I have been reading online on and off for the last 3 or 4 years.I have no books of wicca.All the books I have is one dreaminterpretationbook and one divinitionbook.I dont want to be a dabler,I do take this serius not just a wannabe but I feel I have read far to little but still feeling such wanting to start.i dont want to get myself something I cant handle because I startined to soon.

[Fallen Angel]

Start with the simple spells then. You can'tknow if you've bitten off more than you can chew till you actually try. And don't worry, if you're concerned about becomming a dabbler, chances are that you're not.

[spirit wind]

I started almost straight away. You can read and read and read and read til you can't read no more, but you wont know until you try.
I feel that the Gods/Goddesses help you along. It doesn't matter if you make mistakes. They know your intent, they aren't going to come out of the sky and banish you to hell just because you stuffed something up. If anything they would probably get a good laugh out of it. Well that's my point of view anyway!
I made many mistakes when i first started, still do quite often come to think about it. But we are only human and mistakes are how we can learn.
Just do what you feel right.

[ShamanFeather]

If you're anything like me, you'll never be satisfied with the amount of your knowledge. Enough is when others are asking you to explain it to them.

Is it enough on one subject then or any subject. :) ;)

[StormVixen]

theory and practical should go hand in hand from the beginning... just like when you learn "normal" stuff... like SCIENCE... yay for biology!!!

[dragoncrone]

enough studying to begin doing rituals and spells.

Do what you feel in your heart. Go out at sunrise and talk to the goddess. If you see a flower just opening, tell Her, 'Good job!' Welcome the four directions. Or, go out at night into your yard (balcony?) and light one candle -- see what it illuminates around you.
Relax. Breathe. Laugh. There are no exams, OK? Learning is fine but don't forget to stop and play.
Blessings!!

[Kendrah]

Well, I'm of the mindset that you should start your practice (not necessarily casting spells, but other things like meditation and energy work) when you first start reading. There really isn't a switch that says you've studied/ read enough. Rather, when you start working with these things, your "powers" grow.

[ruadhan]

You raise a question that is very common among people that are learning to walk this Path. We all want to get to the rituals and spells, but hopefully that desire is tempered a little by wanting to make sure we do it right. In your case, it obviously is, and that's great!

My advice would be to start with some "simple" rituals, that focus more on honoring or worshipping the Lord and Lady, and not working magick. Why? Because this gives you some solid experience with the "process", and helps deepen your relationship with Them! Practice with a great side effect. Once you are comfortable with that, and you get the feel for what a circle feels like, what calling the elements and the Divine is like, etc., you'll be better equipped to advance your studies. When you are performing these types of rituals, don't be so concerned about "doing it right" because you simply can't do it wrong! There are plenty of sample outlines that you can use to help create your ritual, but in the end, it's whatever works for you. Try different things, tinker with it a bit, and you'll find what works for you personally.

Having said that, I'd strongly urge you to be a bit more cautious when you begin working magick. Not that it's some scary thing, but you must understand you are going to be working with very real energies, and a very effective system. I tend to disagree with the concept that we can't do magick wrong. We can. But with the proper studies, knowing what every part of the working means and what it should do, then you'll be in good shape!

If you need any help writing a ritual, I'm sure there are those here who would be happy to offer their advice. Heck, as big as this forum is there's probably something on here already that I just haven't found :). Or I would be willing to share what I know, in hopes that you can take that as a starting point and improve on it!

Brightest Blessings,

[Toby Stimpson]

I would say the better question to ask would be, how can one work at a craft if all they know is theory? Witchcraft is just that...a craft and can only be worked on if you do it and work on it. Background knowledge is very important, so I think it should be more learning the basics but right from the start finding basic exercises to do. Namaste

Tobias

[wicked_craft]

i have been studying for 3 years, im not done. im studying mroe everyday but im jsut starting to do magic now....so its completly up to you hun :hahugh:

[Shanti]

My opinion..folllow your heart...deep inside.

[Rosana]

I've discussed this subject just a few days ago with my husband, and we agreed that traditional "a year and a day" is an absolute minimum. Yes, you can feel comfortable just after one, two months of meditating and practising all these old topics like visualization and such, but self-discipline is a must. Give yourself time.
Most of new pagans and witches limit themselves to practising meditation, visualization, grounding, centering, sensing and seeing energy, but I feel that this is not enough. Try to go beyond Magick 101. Can you feel energy not just with your hands, but with all the body? With your legs, arms, chest? Are your senses well developed? Do you practice concentration, focusing, self-discipline, patience? Do you train your body as well as your mind? Do you know well at least three mythologies? Are you well attuned to the cycles of the Earth, Moon? Are you familiar with astrology?
As Ruadhan said: start with prayers, daily devotionals and small rituals. Don't rush yourself to perform full-blown, elaborate rites. Practice, practice, practice, revise what you've learned and ask your deities and guardians for guidance.
Maybe I'm just a ranting witch, but I opt for a year of learning before performing spells and rites.