Needed Advice for a newbie....

[BabyblueCedes]

well im fairly new to magick and pagan. i have been to a lot of web sites but most of them either say the same thing or confuse. me

If you have ne advice for some of things i need to know plz dont hesiate to reply and tell me. Could u answer some or all of the question listed below??? Thankz a mill

1)what to put in my book of shadows?
2)how many runes are there? (i only have the witches rune)
3)what does invocating a goddess do????
4)do you know ne good sites to go to for help?
5)Do i have to know all the gods and goddesses?
6)when doing a spell dou have to havecandle ith crtain herbes and stuff inside it?

well thats ali can think of for now. Thankz for your help

May you be blessed with wealth,strength,money,and love.

[st0rm]

1) http://www.mysticwicks.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=20941 is a good start

2)

3) invoces the godess

4) www.witchvox.com and check the site list here on MW

5) NO

6) not really, the visualization is the part u really need..

And welcome to MW

[Faery-Wings]

Welcome to MW!

I think you will find many of your answers here. You will surely think of many more as well. At the top of this forum, you will see threads: Where to Start, Help for New Pagans and Cool links. If you haven't checked them out yet, definitely do that. There is tons of info in them. Also in Magic and Rituals Forum, there are several threads like the one stOrm posted about BoS and runes.

I don't think anyone could ever know everything about all the Gods and Goddesses. i would start with a few that interest you the most, learn what you can and then go from there.

Good luck in starting your path. :)

[Amethyst Rose]

I might be able to enlighten you a little bit more....

1. In your BOS you can put anything you want. I put spells and rituals that I've written and performed, information about magickal properties of stones, herbs, etc., good stories, crafts, poetry and recipies.

2. I'm not sure how many runes there are, because I don't really use them. However, I do think that you're a little confused. Are the Witches Runes some sort of tarot card set?? Runes as I know them are usually stones or coins with symbols on them used for divination and to say "how many" would mean how many different symbols are there, in my opinion.

3. Invoking the goddess is calling her into your circle, bringing her power to you. To evoke the goddess is to bring her inside of yourself.

4. My favorite sites are www.witchvox.com, www.witchs-brew.com and www.spiritonline.com

5. To know all the gods and goddesses would be impossible, especially as the Hindu panetheon has something like 1 million deities in it :) You only have to know the ones that you will be working with.

6. To work a spell you can do whatever you want... you don't need all the props you hear about. The power is in you, not the candle, etc.

[BabyblueCedes]

<b>Thankz for your help stOrm,chryssi1, and Amethyst Rose.<b/>

TO: Amethyst rose
the witches rune is something a like pledge or something. its not part of a tarot card set.the witches rune i know of starts off:

Darksome night and shining moon,
East,then south,west then north,
Hearken to the witches rune.
Here i come i to call thee forth....

then about 12 more lines after that. Does ne body know what im talkin about???

[Demeter]

Originally posted by BabyblueCedes
<b>Thankz for your help stOrm,chryssi1, and Amethyst Rose.<b/>

TO: Amethyst rose
the witches rune is something a like pledge or something. its not part of a tarot card set.the witches rune i know of starts off:

Darksome night and shining moon,
East,then south,west then north,
Hearken to the witches rune.
Here i come i to call thee forth....

then about 12 more lines after that. Does ne body know what im talkin about???

The Witches' Rune is a poem used to invoke the God and Goddess for magic in the British Traditional forms (Gardnerian, Alexandrian, etc.). There are several different versions of it, here's a website that has three:

http://www.boudicca.de/wrune-e.htm

Here's a longer version, with instructions for doing a circle dance while the Rune is chanted by the Priestess ...

http://www.the-night.net/rituals/rune.htm

That's the only thing called a "Rune" that I know of.

Now, "runes" with a lower-case R were the alphabet used by Northern European peoples. Nowadays, most people use them for divination, and occasionally to make magickal inscriptions on things. I was recently gifted with a rune-engraved chalice by my coven, and it is wonderful! I have also made magick mirrors with runes engraved on them.

There is information on the Norse runes in the Divination forum, I believe.

[Witchy Cowgirl]

1. Book of Shadows - there are several threads on that here. Use your search button, type in Book of Shadows and see what you get! I've got several section in mine, i.e. general stuff, inspirational sayings, stones, herbs, candles, blessings and prayers and I'm gonna start a new section of dates to remember. I have a seperate journal for Tarot

2. Try the Divination Forum. Freyja is very helpful as I'm sure the other to moderators are as well. I just don't know Rick and Silver Venus very well. (Again, be sure and use that search button!)

3. Invites her to your circle.

4. Someone has already listed the Witches Voice. It's very good.

5. Goodness no! (Don't know how you could.)

6. Again no! Just use what you have!

I stress using the search button because there is alot of info here that's already posted and you can get your answer without having to wait for someone to reply. Of course there's nothing wrong with re-opening a subject either.

We're glad to have you here. Enjoy!

[BabyblueCedes]

Thankz demeter for clearing that up. cuz as u can see i was very confused about it. i was talk about the rune with captial R. i didnt know there was such a big difference

Thankz witchy cowgirl for th info and help

[Sequoia]

1)what to put in my book of shadows?
Anything you feel is significant, or important to you. Things like chants, spells, rituals that worked, insights you might have, a leaf that you saw on a walk that struck a chord in you. . . :) things like that.

2)how many runes are there? (i only have the witches rune)
I really got confused on that one :D glad someone else knew it!

3)what does invocating a goddess do????
Depends on which one you invoke. And unless you know exactly what you're doing, it probably isn't a good idea to invoke anything

4)do you know ne good sites to go to for help?
try here *smiles* http://www.mysticwicks.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=6703

5)do i have to know all the gods and goddesses?
Nopers! Learning is good, but only do so if you feel like you should. I doubt that anybody knows of all the gods and goddesses, and if they do, well, they must get them mixed up pretty often! *smiles* Try learning about those which pique your interest somehow, follow your instincts on that one.

6)when doing a spell dou have to havecandle ith crtain herbes and stuff inside it?
Only if you feel it's nessicary, or the spell calls for it. Even then, you may not need to. It really is up to you on that one. If it calls for it, and you've never done the spell before, you might want to follow the directions. There could be a reason for it. But other than that, I don't see why you have to. It's probably more of a personal preference.

Remember, spellwork is mostly a way to focus your energies into doing what you need done, or to ask the gods or powers-that-be for assistance. It could be as simple as a thought or as complex as a stiff, formalized ritual that takes days of preparation. It's really up to you.

I hope this has been of help! *smiles*

[Storm]

In an evocation, one brings the entity to a plane where one can view it and communicate with it. Evocation is therefor the external manifestation of an entity, as it occurs outside one's body. In invocation, one brings some foreign intelligence within himself or herself, lending its energy to the magical working.

As for runes,they are ancient letters used as any alphabet but each letter in itself has its own deep meaning. Carved in stones or staffs or sticks they can be used for divination. There are many. Norse, celtic, armenian.. Witches Alphabet is known as Theban. The Witches Rune is a poem which really is no relation to Runes. There are magicians runes. The Magicians Companion has a section with many alphabet and rune systems.

Spellworking requires raising and directing energy. Before you do a serious spell maybe devise your own ritual..casting circles, calling elements, invoking your god/goddess, and a small lspell to increase your abilities. thanking the god/goddess, thanking elements and closing circle. You are doing real energy work and getting aquainted with your ritual and maybe helping yourself without messing with serious energies you don't know how to handle it. If you are just going through the motions you really are doing nothing. I wrote my own circle cast and invocations based on others but with my own touch. Get comfortable speaking aloud without an obvious audience. You will feel weird at first and that might mess with energies and you want to be comfortable if you are doing any kind of spell which you have serious intent.

Well thats that in brief. Good luck.
Storm

[Storm]

In an evocation, one brings the entity to a plane where one can view it and communicate with it. Evocation is therefor the external manifestation of an entity, as it occurs outside one's body. In invocation, one brings some foreign intelligence within himself or herself, lending its energy to the magical working.

As for runes,they are ancient letters used as any alphabet but each letter in itself has its own deep meaning. Carved in stones or staffs or sticks they can be used for divination. There are many. Norse, celtic, armenian.. Witches Alphabet is known as Theban. The Witches Rune is a poem which really is no relation to Runes. There are magicians runes. The Magicians Companion has a section with many alphabet and rune systems.

Spellworking requires raising and directing energy. Before you do a serious spell maybe devise your own ritual..casting circles, calling elements, invoking your god/goddess, and a small lspell to increase your abilities. thanking the god/goddess, thanking elements and closing circle. You are doing real energy work and getting aquainted with your ritual and maybe helping yourself without messing with serious energies you don't know how to handle it. If you are just going through the motions you really are doing nothing. I wrote my own circle cast and invocations based on others but with my own touch. Get comfortable speaking aloud without an obvious audience. You will feel weird at first and that might mess with energies and you want to be comfortable if you are doing any kind of spell which you have serious intent.

Well thats that in brief. Good luck.
Storm

[Amethyst Rose]

I just wanted to point out that the "Witches Rune" is also a tarot deck... you can see it here:

http://www.aeclectic.net/tarot/witchrunes/index.html

As for invocation and evocation, I noticed you were getting different answers.... the dictionary says:

Invoke: To call on (a higher power) for assistance, support, or inspiration

Evoke: To summon or call forth...To call to mind...


:D

[Gem]

well im fairly new to magick and pagan. i have been to a lot of web sites but most of them either say the same thing or confuse. me


1)what to put in my book of shadows?
2)how many runes are there? (i only have the witches rune)
3)what does invocating a goddess do????
4)do you know ne good sites to go to for help?
5)Do i have to know all the gods and goddesses?
6)when doing a spell dou have to havecandle ith crtain herbes and stuff inside it?

well thats ali can think of for now. Thankz for your help

May you be blessed with wealth,strength,money,and love.

May a suggest a book for you Scott cunningham Wicca A guide for the solitary practitioner
A very good beginners book

You can put in your book of shadows anything relating to your practice, spells, symbols, recipes correspondances (these are what colours herbs and things like that are for what spells and relate to which god/ess)

There are 24 runes.

Invocing a god/ess invites the presance of that god/ess into your circle to give energy to a spell or it can invite the god/ess to speak to you within the circle. A warning to you don't try invoking anything untill you know what you are doing.
Invoking in that way isd different to caling the corners ( calling for the energy of earth, air, fire and water)

You don't need to know all of the god/esses. when starting just to connect with the god and godess will be a big step.

When doing a spell I don't believe that you need the correct candles, herbs ect although this may help to channel your power but some people do believe that these things are needed. Some spells need things but basic spells you don't need it all but it is a good learning tool to get to know what goes with what

Hope this helps

Blessings

Gem

[nieth]

1- I keep spells, records of rituals and coven meetings, and recipies in mine
2- Doreen Valiente wrote the most used version of the Witch's Rune. There are anglo-saxon, germanic, and norse runes (the alphabets), there is a very complete table of these and several other magical alphabets in DR Raymond Buckland's Complete Book of Witchcraft (I've also heard this book called Uncle Bucky's Blue Book, seriously):)
3- Invocating a goddess is inviting her to join you in your circle.
4- There are tons of web sites depending on what you' re looking for, you can try www.witchvox.com for links to pagan rescources in your local community.
5- You don't have to know all the gods and goddesses but they know you. Try to find deities that you feel comfortable working with.
6- You don't have to have all the coresponding herbs and items to go with a spell, they can be helpful catalysts and can help you focus energy.

I hope this is helpful. If you have more questions you can pm me.:)
Bright Blessings
Nieth

[dr_zeus440]

to both 2004 posters,
look at the date of the third last post........:P