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Good luck. If you are interested in a simple layout of solo witchcraft try Marion Green's Witch Alone. Real 101 but not afraid to use the appropriate language. Some cheap second hand copies plus Kindle. You talk of respect well, unlike several "Intro to Wicca" books that I know of, Green's book does not contain any oathbound material. I am not Wiccan and I know that much of the oathbound material is available on the web anyway but I would never reference it, never mind use it. Travel well.
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I’m just starting to learn, I want to read and learn before I say I’m solitary or join a coven. I think In order show respect I need to learn and not just jump in the deep end. I am looking at witchcraft, and Wicca so far. Im away for the weekend and will take Triumph of the Moon with me 😁
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Book recommendations please?
Ember Autumn Rose replied to CeeCee69's topic in Starters Orders (basics)
Guilty 😂 -
Bloody Hell Freydis!!!!!! 🙂 CC book an appointment with your optician. It looks like an average paperback until you open it then you realise you've bought a tome. It's written in a tiny font. Freydis and I are two of the few people who own this book and who have read it cover to cover. There must be thousands of part read copies out there. Also - it is very little to do with Wiccan practice. It is an academic search through the pages of history in an attempt to find British witches. While he didn't find any until the 1950's when he did find them he loved them. Are you looking for Wiccan practice? Are you in a coven or solo?
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Thank you, I’ve purchased triumph of the moon
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Re Llewellyn my recommendation would be to teat with caution. There's the odd good thing there, but an awful lot of rubbish along with it. I'd recommend anything by Ron Hutton. If you're interested in the witchcraft and Wicca I'd start with The Triumph of the Moon.
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Regarding Wicca and Witchcraft, I am not the person to answer. Regarding Llewellyn, I've seen similar comments here and elsewhere, but can neither confirm or deny the value(lessness) of that publisher. However, don't underestimate the use of imaginative fiction. Some interesting ideas can be hidden in the meanderings of the minds of possibly unsuspecting authors - and maybe better for being more spontaneous than writers setting out to account for beliefs and practices..
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I had read on here that Llewllyn is a publisher that you should avoid. Although I’m going to purchase Thorn Mooney’s book tomorrow. I was thinking about Witchcraft and Wiccan books. Although I am partial to Greek Mythology 😁
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Hey folks, our online shop is now up and running, at the moment we mainly have jewellery but we also have athames, art and wands at the moment but will be also supplying hand made incense, candles and other witchy things in the near future. https://www.witchinthewood.co.uk/ It would be great if you could pop by and let us know what you think.
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In general terms: The Prophet, Kahlil Gibran; Anything by HP Lovecraft (a bit of a cheat that one, but they are, mostly, short stories; if I had to choose one, The Dream Quest of Unknown Kadath); Greek Myths, Robert Graves (the text rather than the notes).
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A very wide question! I very often re-read Alice in Wonderland and also the Hunting of the Snark. I still find new bits of mathematics, corporate strategy, and of course the entertainment value. I imagine most people will have more intellectual answers for you 🙂
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Hi, A wide question I know but what would be your top 3 book recommendations? Thanks,
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Hello and welcome!
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This was my late mentor's love too. A simple and most effective way to get people to stop , listen and open up to being in the present moment. Always remember the smiles that his tunes brought people's faces. Regarding your Mum's cautions, it is often role of the older generation to reign in extravagant tendencies lol. We have a saying -only use 30% of what you have at your disposal and don't draw attention to yourself.
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Welcome. Not quite sure why you've put this in the marketplace. You might get more of a response if you re-post this in the New Members' Introductions board. That aside, jump in and take part if you can overcome your discomfort with the internet.
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Good day, everyone! I'm currently living in Cornwall and have been an active pagan since I was a child. I admit, I did choose for myself the path I'm on now. I'm a Celtic pagan. I believe in and respect all gods, across cultures, however there are only some that I worship. This is my first time ever on a forum site, so apologies in advance. I really tossed myself into Celtic paganism when I first heard the Call of the goddess Brighid. Funnily enough my mother heard the call of the Morrigan, fancy that. She's a major occultist and warns me before going into ancient places (Cairns, ruins, temples, etc...) to "protect myself" and "don't open yourself up" and also "don't be disruptive." I adore exploration and jump at any opportunity I get. My mother is a tad more prudent about where she puts herself. I love playing the tin whistle and it's become my favourite, most fulfilling way to worship. I have an unreasonable discomfort with the Internet and domesticated dogs. I'm re-learning Irish and its a pain. I do a lot of divining with ogham. 15+ years and I still get geeked out when something in the sticks plays out exactly/is extremely relevant. I'm out of the country at the mo', but can't wait to meet other pagans! Cheers!
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After spending many years making and selling pagan jewellery and accessories my partner and myself have decided to make it all official..... We make a range of items (slowly expanding) from jewellery to wands and athames etc We use a lot of natural foraged items such as bone, wood and antler alongside crystals, metals etc Currently our website is under construction, as is our etsy store but we do have a very active Instagram feed @thewitchinthewood It is our hope over the next year to start doing more events around the uk and use this as our main business model so any advice or feedback would be greatly appreciated.
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This summer has been a pain. Everything that could inconvenience us, did. Car break down? Check. Money issues? Yep. People problems? The whole bloody time. Miscommunications? Sigh. Lost objects? I'm still searching for half of them. Very, very, very annoying. As much as we plan and try to prevent these things, it's a fact of life that sometimes, Murphy's Law is king. All we can do is hold on, try to keep control and do it all with a little grace and humor. I've noticed that some of my family's best traits come out in times like these. We do laugh at ourselves, regularly. We form strange alliances amongst ourselves to take the pressure off whoever is getting beat the worst, and we adapt. Given the wild summer, it's probably not surprising that we're all a little relieved that school starts next week. The mundane rhythm of the school year seems almost relaxing. There is comfort in knowing that your day will be busy, but mostly only in the way you expect, right? View the full article
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Each and every single woman on this planet is a divine spark that has the power to light up the world, but this very fact can be very easy to forget, especially in our modern society. Rhoda Shapiro, author of Fierce Woman, provides 3 ways women can get started waking up their inner badass. View the full article
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Back at the Spring Equinox 2000 me and Cerri founded the Anderida Gorsedd. It was simply to be a group that took on the responsibility for holding regular open rituals on the flat hill below the Long Man of Wilmington. There had of course been open rituals before, but we wanted this to be a regular thing as service to the South East Pagan community. The Gorsedd has been back at the Long Man for every ritual since. Nearly 20 years of regular open rituals, rain, sleet, snow, ice, wind, storms, and sunshine. Very early on, maybe even just after the Beltane of 2000, I called The Giant’s Rest, the village pub down in Wilmington to see if they were open. The landlord picked up the phone and said they were closed, but how many of us were there? I said about 40. He said, come down and I’ll open for you. So we did, and while we were there we gave him the dates of our rituals and he said he would open the pub on those Sundays. It’s always good to support the local economy. The beer on sale at The Giants Rest was always Harveys, the local Lewes brewery, and a very good pint. But one Sunday, quite a few years back now and completely out of the blue, when we arrived after the ritual the Harveys had gone and had been replaced by beers from a new local brewery called The Long Man Brewery. They even had a picture of our lovely hill figure on the glasses. The beer was gorgeous and has been at the Giant’s Rest ever since. So why am I telling you this? Here’s why. Yesterday we held our 19th open Lughnasadh ritual, and as usual, the fields below the Long Man were full of golden barley, some of the other fields had already fallen to the harvester, so Lughnasadh was definitely underway. As we had done for 19 years we told the tale of John Barleycorn, who was then symbolically sacrificed to the scythe and transformed into bread and ale. We honoured and blessed the fields of barley below us, thanking the Spirit of the Fields for its sacrifice and gifts. I placed a small piece of bread at each quarter direction and asked that those within the circle may also be blessed. Then I opened a bottle of Long Man Ale. A couple of months ago I’d taken some friends to the brewery shop for a tasting session. While we were there and talking to the lady behind the counter we asked if there were brewery tours. She said yes, but they were closed at the moment as the brewery was on a working farm. She went on to say that all of the barley used in Long Man ales was harvested from local Sussex fields, and the water was taken from an aquifer beneath the chalk Downs. Any unused water was then recycled back to the aquifer. “In fact,” she said. “You know the two big fields beneath the Long Man? Well, most of the barley in our beer comes from those two fields.” I looked at the drink in my hands and thought back to all of the open rituals where we had honoured the Spirit of those fields. I told her about the rituals. She was delighted. Maybe another story to tell visitors to the shop. Either way, when I opened that bottle on the hill yesterday I told everyone present that story and they too were delighted. I poured the Ale on the land. From the Land to the Land, in honour of John Barleycorn and the Spirit of the Fields, my you be thanked and blessed. Lughnasadh Magic. I think we will do that every year now. View the full article
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Hey, I know it is an old topic, but one I would gladly read further, if we’d have more comments here. So I share what paganism gives me. I grew up very close to nature in a small town surrounded by hills and woods and we spent enormous amounts of time outdoors, in the summer we even cooked outside on open fire every single weekend. I also had a strange and strong emotional connection with ’magical stories’ and folklore as a child, which I couldn’t manage to grow out at all, but rather created a base to the way I see the world. People tend to grow up and leave their birth place, I moved to different big cities and big city life exhausts me big time both emotionally and physically. My paganism takes the weight of life off from my shoulder, cleanse me from the stress of the artificial and processed life the city can offer and provides a site to bond with my truest inner self while making a connection with nature - like a soul-to-soul with the spark of life within the earth. When I take care of my herbs or cooking for a feast or preparing for celebration it feels like pouring balm on my soul. I feel content, happy and excited. Paganism provides traditions, inheritable ones which I can share with my family and can celebrate together, strengthening our relationship and deepening our love for each other. Also gives some quiet meditation, opportunities to self-reflect, make peace with myself and achieve internal equilibrium, which I believe is incredibly important for safe magical practice. Paganism is not a kind of religion for me, I do not worship any deities. I tried many times many different gods but all rituals felt very empty and honestly, a bit like ’let’s play’. I am truly amazed by people can believe in a god, sometimes I could envy them for their love. For me, the fact that the soil with the help of the other elements and effects of celestial bodies and physical laws can and does produce life is the source of all magic. As a healthcare professional my approach is also very scientific, but the science behind it gives the ground to truly trust it. I learn to know it. And no one said paganism must be belief. It can be based on knowledge, see the term WISE-wo/man {and lots of sentiment}. I listen to my body and soul and I modify my rituals every time to accommodate to the urge and inspiration I feel while performing it. Therefore my paganism is the way of my life, not just ’on weekends’, but it is my very existence, intervening with all and every decisions I make from my carrier choice to what to eat or when to sleep. Paganism is freedom. Well, sort of. As my paganism deeply roots in the respect to all organics, and REAL nutrients are like number 1 priority for me when it comes to nourishing my family we have no microwave oven in the house haha.
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The Earth has its own unique frequency of energy vibration, which can have transformative effects on your life when you connect with it. And, some locations are far more powerful than others for working with this energy. Melissa Alvarez, author of Earth Frequency, provides four ways we can work with this powerful energy for better lives. View the full article
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This pretty much sums it up, but I just wanted to answer your questions directly. What path you choose doesn’t matter, unless if matters to you. If you feel an affinity towards a certain path then that’s great, but me and probably a lot of others haven’t found yet, or don’t want, a specific label on our faith. It’s a very peronal thing; entirely up to you. First steps? None specifically, but I would highly reccomend reading up on some rituals and meditation that you might enjoy or find peace and comfort in, these are a huge part of many peoples practice. Find what works for you; you don’t have to have lots of candles and herbs and do magick, but you can if you want to, or you can just experiment with the practices of different paths until you figure out how you wnt to practice. Ideas; Find a nice notebook and make a ‘book of shadows’; note down your thoughts, experiences, any information you find important. Draw, scribble, press flowers, write spells, whatever. It’s your book. Find a cushion, get some incence or scented candle and try meditation. I find it most peaceful to do outside on a warm evening, looking at the moon. 🙂 Maybe you could meditate under your favourite trees? Take a drink, snack and get comfy, if you enjoy meditation you might be there a while. Read about the wiccan sabbats; they mark the seasons. Samhain, yule, ect. To a lot of people these are a way of acknowledging the seasons. If you live in a large city, it’s possible there’s a coven near you, if you want to. I personally haven’t had the best experiences with them being few and far between, and often having a very specific set of collective beliefs and not much leeway for disagreement, but some people find a great community and friends this way. No matter what steps you take, or if you choose to call yourself pagan, remember this; Only you can define who you are. Only you can decide what you believe. Only you can know if you are pagan or not, or what path to follow. The answer is in your heart and mind, but it can be hard to figure it out sometimes. Good luck, and have a nice night. 🙂
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The term pagan was originally Christian slang for anyone who wasn't a Christian, Jew, or atheist — that provides for a lot of beliefs! I'd say that anyone who believes that the world is meaningful and life in it is worth living is a pagan. You sound like a non-denominational druid, if you want to be specific and if that description makes any sense. What to do? Observe the lunations and the stations of the sun. Get out to wild places, keeping a lookout for omens and making offerings of food for wildlife. My practice is not so nature-based and I'm sure the resident druids here can give more advice.
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[The Bardic Blog] Soundtrack of my Life – Teens to Present
UK Pagan posted a topic in Around the Web
I started this little series of blog articles last year and I’ve just realised that I missed one… Here are the links to the first three: The Early Years The Early Years (but a bit later) Teenage Kicks I put a post out on my Facebook page and Twitter feed asking if there was anything people who read my blog would like me to write about. One of the questions asked was that I publish a ‘soundtrack of my life’ post. The suggestion was 16 songs, which I thought would be too many, but when you really sit down and try to think of those peak moments that are linked to one particular song it’s amazing how quickly those 16 places get filled up – particularly when you’re on the wrong side of 50 years old… Also, 16 in one post felt like it would be too many. So I decided to split it into three posts and see how that works out. Well, I posted three articles but only reached my late teens! Then life got in the way and I totally forgot to post the more recent influences and favourites. So my friends, here it is. Music is amazing magic. All of us know a song that, when it comes on the radio (showing my age there…) you’re pulled straight back to that moment in your life. Well, here are some of mine: I was on holiday with Cerri. We had left England and had travelled into Scotland to visit some of the Hebridean Islands. We had spent time on Mull, travelled over to Iona, over to Harris, then on to Lewis. Our travels then took us back to Skye and it was there I first heard the music of a man who would be a huge influence on my songwriting for years to come. We were in the B and B having breakfast when I heard this amazing song being played as background music. As I listened my heart opened and it felt like I was hearing a fellow traveller on the road I’d been walking since I first heard John Denver as a child. His voice was in exactly my register, and the melodies were emotional, clear, and it felt like I’d heard the song before. I caught the eye of the waitress and asked who it was singing and she told me it was a man called Dougie Maclean. So on our trip, I stopped off at a record store (again, showing my age…) and I found the album Roif, and I played it all through the rest of the trip in the car. In the end, I bought all of his albums, and have seen him live many times. A genius songwriter, and an amazing man. Caledonia – Dougie Maclean Another songwriter whose music has been of great influence to me has been Steve Knightley of the English folk band Show of Hands. In fact, it wasn’t only Dougie and Show of Hand’s music that influenced me. Neither Dougie, nor Show of Hands has ever signed record contracts. They formed their own labels, published their own songs, and both succeeded in earning a living from their music without the support of a label. By doing so they also retained all of the publishing and copyright of their songs. So when I started taking my music seriously and stepped out to make it my living, I took their model as my own. I promised myself I’d remain completely independent, that I would never sign my songs away, and that I would stay in control of my own musical direction and career. I started out on that path properly in 2006, and I’ve kept true to it so far. So thank you Dougie and Show of Hands for your inspiration, both on the instrument, and off. Country Life – Show of Hands Time to get heavy now… Me and my friends were on our way to the Hungry Years, a rock club on Brighton seafront. Neil was driving in his Triumph car (I remember every now and then it would stop, he’d have to park up, get out of the car, and bash something in the engine with an iron bar to get it going again) and on the way down he popped a cassette into the player saying he’d just discovered this new band called Metallica. They had just released their Ride the Lightning album. He pressed play. Now I’d heard heavy guitar before. I guess the heaviest before that moment was Motorhead, but nothing prepared me for the guitar and double-bass drum assault that filled my ears after, what has to be said, was a very chilled out intro. Admittedly, there are better Metallica songs, but this was the first I heard, and I’ve never forgotten that moment. Fight Fire with Fire – Metallica Ok, so now we are going to get into where my love of rock went. If you’ve been following this series you’ll know that I am split down the middle when it comes to my love of folk music, and rock music. From the Ramones to AC/DC, then into glam, and then thrash metal. I love it all. But I confess I had to force myself to love some of the rock of the 80s. It seemed to me that the keyboard was muscling in on the realm of the guitar and marshall stack. Rock music for a while, to me at least, sounded just like pop music, but with a distorted guitar. Take the guitar away and what you had left was a pop song, and I didn’t like many pop songs. I didn’t get it. So I turned away from rock for a while, to be honest. It felt like it had done its course, and had morphed into something very different. But then… I heard this… Smells like Teen Spirit – Nirvana Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden and the like revealed a lyrical depth that had, to me, been missing from rock for some years. I loved Van Halen and their feel-good party songs. I loved Motley Crue, Guns n Roses, and a few other bands of the time, but then it seemed the record labels smelt a fast buck, and the market was swamped with quantity, rather than quality. When I heard the opening chords of Smells like Teen Spirit I knew something was about to change, and sure enough, very quickly, what was seen as heavy metal and ‘hair metal’ began to die away. In more recent years some of those bands, the really good ones, attained the accolade of becoming ‘classic rock’, and they found themselves once more back in favour, and headlining gigs and festivals again. A second wind for some really fabulous bands. Just one more to go. Since I rediscovered my love of rock music there have been lots of bands that have opened my eyes to different and exciting directions. Marilyn Manson with his Antichrist Superstar album, Nine Inch Nails with Endless Spiral, Rob Zombie with Hellbilly Deluxe, gradually they courted me back into the metal fold, and now I can’t bear to miss a Download Festival. So which song shall I end with? A songwriter that I love, yet isn’t in this list is the great Paul Simon. Without doubt, he penned some of the greatest songs of his generation but, for me, one song he wrote entered that limited list of songs that have been better when covered by other people. I’m thinking of Bob Dylan here with Hendrix’s All along the Watchtower, or The Byrds cover of Tambourine Man. I prefer them both to the original (not that the original is bad, just that the other versions captured something more in the song). The song of Paul Simon’s that joins those other great songs is Sound of Silence. When Simon and Garfunkel recorded it I heard a wonderful melody and incredible lyrics. I’ll be honest here, I think it’s one of the best songs ever written, but then a metal band called Disturbed covered it. I think they absolutely captured the real emotional message behind the song. There’s a great video for it on YouTube, but the copyright owners won’t let me embed it in this blog (it’s well worth watching), but I found this live performance of the song. Disturbed played it at Download the last time they were there. 80,000 metalheads stood, ironically, in silence. There wasn’t a dry eye in that field when they finished. The vocal is astounding. Sound of Silence – Disturbed So this song shows what can happen when rock and folk meet, and I think some of my songs live in that space too. I’m thinking Spirit of Albion, Sabbat, The Cauldron Born, there are others. All of them owe a lot to both folk and rock and long may that relationship thrive and continue. I hope you’ve enjoyed this walk down memory lane. What are the songs from recent years that have been peak moments for you? View the full article
