A possibly dumb question, but...

[SamuraiInBlack]

I'm what the net lingo refers to as a newbie when it comes to Wicca. So I will probably have questions that drive everyone here up the wall from time to time. So please forgive if this makes anyone slap their foreheads.

I've looked through sources, I've talked to people about Wicca. It all makes sense in one way or another, but how do you really know what you're getting, be it from a book, a website, or a person, is really true?

Like ok, I understand do as thou wilt and harm none (I've heard that said in so many different ways just in English even that part is confusing me), and the rule of three.

But how do you know what's right and what's wrong after that? I mean, for people that've been around a long time, they've probably more or less been able to sift through all the utter crap and find all the legit information about Wicca.

But for newbies like me, for lack of a better term (see? I don't even know those...LOL) how would we go about being able to look at something we read or hear, and be able to say "Ok, that sounds good" or "Um...no?"

The point being...how the @#$* do we know what's right and what's wrong without bugging a more knowledgable person every five minutes about it!? -LOL-

[Wyrdsister]

I think most practitioners of Wicca and other Pagan belief systems will tell you that personal experience will be one of your greatest teachers on your spiritual journey.

Perhaps there is no absolute right and wrong: there maybe only right and wrong for a specific person, or right and wrong for a given situation. While we may find this subjective concept of right and wrong rather disconcerting (especially if you have grown up in a Judeo-Christian tradition where there is absolute right and wrong), there may be no absolutes - at least, not in the way we first look for them.

.... Was that cryptic enough for you? :crazy: 8O That's not what I intended by posting this! LOL! My main point is that you must use your intuition and "gut feelings" about what you hear, read, see and do. IMHO using these skills are key tools on your journey.

Hope that helps! (or at least doesn't hinder! ;))

Wyrdsister

[Red Dragon]

:smash: The first law of Magick is Nosecre, or Know. As a neophite you must endeavor to read as much, ask as much, and absorb as much information as you can, then you will come to find your path. There is an enormous fount of knowledge in this community and almost anyone will be happy to help, there is no such thing as a dumb or stupid question, we've all come along the very same path as the one you are embarking upon. Most of us did not have the advantage of an understanding diversified community such as Mysticwicks to learn and explore various paths and get informed educated assistance. As for myself, I follow a pagan, but non wiccan path, if there is anything you're wondering about, you have but to ask.

Welcome. :D

[rantnraven]

The rede "An it harm none, do as you will" can be found in various forms but means the same. Consider the two words "right", "wrong", then remember that there is no "Right" in "Wrong" and visa versa.

Should you have the slightest thought that any harm will come, don't do it. This is mostly applied in magick but applies to life as well. I also am an advocate of not performing any magick on anyone that has not asked. For example; Let's say I know someone that has had surgery and has great pain and, let's say I conduct a ritual to easy that pain and they end up dying because I used a wrong herb or a store baught Poppet instead of making one myself - a little extreme but one would have to ask if they caused such harm.

BTW - you are not a Newbie :rolleyes: - how boring. You, in fact, are a Seeker :D - much better.

About the three fold rule; if you punch someone in the eye, it does not mean you will get punched three times in the eye yourself. However, you may later break your arm (probably the same one you punched them with). That would equate to three times in my BOS.

I drew a Tarot card for you: Page of Cups: An imaginative and generous person you are. Willing to share with those around you. I like that. You have a knack at absorbing the energy around you. My advice: Go sit beneath and lean back against a tree - it will offer/tell you much. Oh, and make sure you are barefoot that the energy of the Goddess can travel through you. Best done on a Waxing moon.

Try it,
RnR

[Semele]

Welcome and please don't ever be afraid to ask.....that is how we learn. If you ask something really out there you can run a risk of offending someone but they will usually let you know exactly what was offensive. Then, see, you have learned two things. We may bark at each other but we seldom bite. Dive in and learn....you will find that even as a newbie, you will have a lot to offer. Who knows in a few weeks you could be fielding questions from newbies....The circle of life at MysticWicks!!

[Mina]

Do you have any specific questions? I know how you mean with confusing material at hand. There are many topics in which the wiccan community as a whole are not exactally clear on. For example, the elemental association of the wand and the athame....some say the wand is related to air, and others swear it is fire. Each wiccan has their various reasons for for why they associate each, whether it be they simply feel more comfortable with one thing over the other, or from historical backgrounds they have read. I find that I go with what I feel comfortable with...what works for me. I take a bit from here and there and make my own way. I don't follow a specific book or author as 'the' way to do things. This works great for me, but I'm sure that is not for everyone. It's all about using a good measure of logic and feeling both, and if you do have questions places like this are a great place to ask.... I'm sorry if I haven't really answered your question...I do seem to go on...

[rantnraven]

Originally posted by Semele
If you ask something really out there you can run a risk of offending someone but they will usually let you know exactly what was offensive. Then, see, you have learned two things

But I likes. Took a "doublr-take" on it, at first. You never cease to amaze me, Semele.

RnR

[SamuraiInBlack]

Ok so let me see if I have this straight...

As far as right and wrong, I'll pretty much have to use my own judgement? Yeesh, this is going to be an interesting adventure for me. :) But experience is the best teacher.

And I should go with what's comfortable for me, correct? yes, some parts on how to do certain things, like use of magick and rituals, do confuse me. My biggest worry before fully going over was performing of rituals. I had often held a fear that I would screw up by not saying the right words, or by constantly looking back to the book for reference and screwing it up that way if it was a long chant. But then again, I barely comprehend what I'm talking about, which is why I come here to learn more.

Is magick divided into classes or something like that? I am not trying to say Wicca's a mockery of AD&D or anything like that but as I had read in some sources, magick was divided into different groups, like green magick and white magick. Or is that another form of the Craft entirely?

Elemental association is also hard for me to fully understand. How does it work? Does my astrological sign come into play at all in any of this? I'm a Scorpio.

[rantnraven]

One of the easiest ways to learn chants and various rituals is to write them down in a Book of Shadows. Read a few sentences from the book you are reading and translate them in your own words. Close is good enough and it will help in learning.

As for the magick, there are several types: Candle magick, Herbal, Stone and Runes, Poppets and Talisman. This list goes on. I have heard terms such as White and Black Magick but believe that magick is just what it is, not how it is used. The use of magick does not matter on the form of Paganism or, Wicca you follow or choose to practice.

The beauty of The Craft is that there are few, if any, strict rules in teaching and forms of belief. There are usually some within Covens and some within a Covenant but outside of that, the Solitary has great freedom with which to express ones belief.

Hope soom of this helped,
RnR