Collington
August 15th, 2002, 10:56 AM
Allow me to ramble on for a bit...
Long long ago in a galaxy far away (or rather, when I was in my early teens) I thought "wow.. being a witch would be so cool." And I became girl number 1 in the "Little Witch" story. I got out books and checked out spells only to realize that movies and television had lied to me! *laugh* Regardless, before even TRYING a single spell, I took the books back to the library and called it quits.
Many years later, after knowing (almost as soon I could grasp the concept of religion) that Catholicism (and the rest of Christianity) was not right for me I began investigating.
I found Paganism and thought, "An answer to my prayers, this is what I've been looking for!" I was in [a major city] at the time and found a group who met once a month and decided to go check them out. Now I don't want to belittle ANYONE'S lifestyle... but suffice to say that they were not what I was seeking at the time. They did not discuss religion, but rather planned their next party. (I would like to add at this point, that I now understand where the reputation for Pagan orgies comes from.) Now again -- I have NOTHING against polyamory or sexual preferences or anything like that. But that was not what I was looking for at the time. I wanted guidance and someone to point me in the right direction. I wanted someone I could say, "Here's what I feel and believe." And they could say, "Here are some books you might want to check out."
So again, I was disgruntled and put away my spiritual quest for a while.
Here I am, years later, the religious version of my biological clock ticking loudly in my ears forcing me on another quest.
Let me tell you what I believe and feel.
I believe that I (and of course, everyone else) is part of nature, one with nature -- not above it. The moon -- the floating ball of rock in the sky controls the TIDES... how amazing is that? And the atoms in our body spin just like the earth (in terms of rate and axis). And when I look at that anatomical chart on the doctor's wall I'm amazed at the intricacies and am in awe of my body in a way I'd never realized. I worry about squishing a bug when I put down my blanket for a picnic… I love watching an ant take it’s newest find back to it’s home (but at the same time, I’m terrified of spiders!). I love to camp and I love to go for walks in the woods. My dream retirement home will be on a thousand privates acres in Colorado or Oregon and it has to have tons of trees and some sort of water feature (be it a lake or river).
In terms of religion: I’ve bucked the concept of a single male deity to whom I have to beg the forgiveness of and that I have to be eternally humble and unhappy with my lack of perfection. I believe in the concept of a Goddess -- Mother Earth who is not a 3rd party watching from somewhere, but rather a whole entity who is everything. I can accept the idea of casting spells as a method of praying or meditation, but I cannot accept them as a means of changing situations – anymore than praying to God changes things. So in that regard, I'm NOT looking for spell casting. I’m not a big fan of a class structure or hierarchy in religion, although I fully believe in and need the concept of “elders” or “teachers” or “gurus.”
All that being said (and that’s the bulk of it… you get the idea) I’m stuck at an impasse. I’ve discovered Paganism (the umbrella) as the beginning to my answer. However – I cannot find a subset that seems right. When looking at things like Ásatrú, Witchcraft, Reconstructionist, Druid, Wicca, etc, etc. I only seem to find very advanced works. I wish I could find a little chart… like the one for my printer that shows:
.................. Spells?...Type of deity?....Yadda....Yadda..Basic info
Religion A ......X.........Single female.......................X......Blah blah
Religion B..................Two: M & F............X.....................Blah blah
Religion C.......X.........Two males.............X............X......Blah blah
And very basic descriptions about holidays and rituals. Just something so I can pick a place to start. *laugh*
*Stepping off her soapbox* If anyone has any suggestions of specific things I should look at, I would really appreciate it. I'm not asking for a teacher, or for someone to waste their time with me -- I'd just love for someone to say -- you need to check out Religion D -- it sounds like what you're looking for.
Thanks so much!
-Lisa-
Long long ago in a galaxy far away (or rather, when I was in my early teens) I thought "wow.. being a witch would be so cool." And I became girl number 1 in the "Little Witch" story. I got out books and checked out spells only to realize that movies and television had lied to me! *laugh* Regardless, before even TRYING a single spell, I took the books back to the library and called it quits.
Many years later, after knowing (almost as soon I could grasp the concept of religion) that Catholicism (and the rest of Christianity) was not right for me I began investigating.
I found Paganism and thought, "An answer to my prayers, this is what I've been looking for!" I was in [a major city] at the time and found a group who met once a month and decided to go check them out. Now I don't want to belittle ANYONE'S lifestyle... but suffice to say that they were not what I was seeking at the time. They did not discuss religion, but rather planned their next party. (I would like to add at this point, that I now understand where the reputation for Pagan orgies comes from.) Now again -- I have NOTHING against polyamory or sexual preferences or anything like that. But that was not what I was looking for at the time. I wanted guidance and someone to point me in the right direction. I wanted someone I could say, "Here's what I feel and believe." And they could say, "Here are some books you might want to check out."
So again, I was disgruntled and put away my spiritual quest for a while.
Here I am, years later, the religious version of my biological clock ticking loudly in my ears forcing me on another quest.
Let me tell you what I believe and feel.
I believe that I (and of course, everyone else) is part of nature, one with nature -- not above it. The moon -- the floating ball of rock in the sky controls the TIDES... how amazing is that? And the atoms in our body spin just like the earth (in terms of rate and axis). And when I look at that anatomical chart on the doctor's wall I'm amazed at the intricacies and am in awe of my body in a way I'd never realized. I worry about squishing a bug when I put down my blanket for a picnic… I love watching an ant take it’s newest find back to it’s home (but at the same time, I’m terrified of spiders!). I love to camp and I love to go for walks in the woods. My dream retirement home will be on a thousand privates acres in Colorado or Oregon and it has to have tons of trees and some sort of water feature (be it a lake or river).
In terms of religion: I’ve bucked the concept of a single male deity to whom I have to beg the forgiveness of and that I have to be eternally humble and unhappy with my lack of perfection. I believe in the concept of a Goddess -- Mother Earth who is not a 3rd party watching from somewhere, but rather a whole entity who is everything. I can accept the idea of casting spells as a method of praying or meditation, but I cannot accept them as a means of changing situations – anymore than praying to God changes things. So in that regard, I'm NOT looking for spell casting. I’m not a big fan of a class structure or hierarchy in religion, although I fully believe in and need the concept of “elders” or “teachers” or “gurus.”
All that being said (and that’s the bulk of it… you get the idea) I’m stuck at an impasse. I’ve discovered Paganism (the umbrella) as the beginning to my answer. However – I cannot find a subset that seems right. When looking at things like Ásatrú, Witchcraft, Reconstructionist, Druid, Wicca, etc, etc. I only seem to find very advanced works. I wish I could find a little chart… like the one for my printer that shows:
.................. Spells?...Type of deity?....Yadda....Yadda..Basic info
Religion A ......X.........Single female.......................X......Blah blah
Religion B..................Two: M & F............X.....................Blah blah
Religion C.......X.........Two males.............X............X......Blah blah
And very basic descriptions about holidays and rituals. Just something so I can pick a place to start. *laugh*
*Stepping off her soapbox* If anyone has any suggestions of specific things I should look at, I would really appreciate it. I'm not asking for a teacher, or for someone to waste their time with me -- I'd just love for someone to say -- you need to check out Religion D -- it sounds like what you're looking for.
Thanks so much!
-Lisa-