Hello (may be long)

[UnequallyYoked]

Well, needless to say, I'm new here.

I find it hard to describe the state I find myelf in. I was raised in the church. An odd mix of southern baptist, AOG and lutheren, depending on which decade of church going you look at.
I don't necessarily think Chritianity is wrong. Honestly, I still believe most of it. I've just kind of given up.

I have had bad experiences with the church(and the people in it). After the last set of bad experiences, I just stopped going. Some time after that, I met and married my wife. My wife, is/was interested in paganism and/or wicca. I'm intrigued and am looking for more info. All the books I have found seem to be aimed at or written by women. Nothing wrong with that really, but I would like another guys view on these things.

I wish there was a place that I could go that has a list of different types of wicca/witchcraft(or paganism, or whatever) and says This is basically what this group believes. This is what that group believes, ets. I can go to most any church's webite and find a statement of beliefs, but there seems to be no such thing for wicca. I know there are a whole bunch of different kinds, but there are lots of varietys of christians, and I could go through and tell you at least an overview of what they think.

The long and short of it is, All the info is spread out so much, I find it very difficult to find something i can relate to.

sorry that this is long, disjointed and has no real point.

[DragonDaughter]

Well, needless to say, I'm new here.

*snippage*

The long and short of it is, All the info is spread out so much, I find it very difficult to find something i can relate to.

sorry that this is long, disjointed and has no real point.

Welcome! You might want to have a peek at our Pagan Primer http://www.ecauldron.net/newpagan.php

It lists some of what comes under the umbrella 'paganism', and will give you a few more places to look. Within it is the 'Teens and Paganism FAQ' that while geared towards teens, still has useful information for anyone.

Good luck!

[Sperran]

Well, needless to say, I'm new here.


The long and short of it is, All the info is spread out so much, I find it very difficult to find something i can relate to.

sorry that this is long, disjointed and has no real point.

Have you tried looking at the primers on our website?

[Celtag]

Well, needless to say, I'm new here.

I find it hard to describe the state I find myelf in. I was raised in the church. An odd mix of southern baptist, AOG and lutheren, depending on which decade of church going you look at.
I don't necessarily think Chritianity is wrong. Honestly, I still believe most of it. I've just kind of given up.

I have had bad experiences with the church(and the people in it). After the last set of bad experiences, I just stopped going. Some time after that, I met and married my wife. My wife, is/was interested in paganism and/or wicca. I'm intrigued and am looking for more info. All the books I have found seem to be aimed at or written by women. Nothing wrong with that really, but I would like another guys view on these things.



I wish there was a place that I could go that has a list of different types of wicca/witchcraft(or paganism, or whatever) and says This is basically what this group believes. This is what that group believes, ets. I can go to most any church's webite and find a statement of beliefs, but there seems to be no such thing for wicca. I know there are a whole bunch of different kinds, but there are lots of varietys of christians, and I could go through and tell you at least an overview of what they think.

The long and short of it is, All the info is spread out so much, I find it very difficult to find something i can relate to.

sorry that this is long, disjointed and has no real point.

Welcome and definitely look at those pagan primers.

[Jenett]

I have had bad experiences with the church(and the people in it). After the last set of bad experiences, I just stopped going. Some time after that, I met and married my wife. My wife, is/was interested in paganism and/or wicca. I'm intrigued and am looking for more info. All the books I have found seem to be aimed at or written by women. Nothing wrong with that really, but I would like another guys view on these things.

They're out there. If you're interested in Wicca, one of the places to start is Gerald Gardner, who is responsible for the early written work. (Also Stewart Farrar, who wrote with his wife, Janet). More recently, you might want to check out the work of Isaac Bonewits (who did, among other things, a book called "The Pagan Man" which is about male experience in modern Paganism). Christopher Penzack also has some related titles.

I wish there was a place that I could go that has a list of different types of wicca/witchcraft(or paganism, or whatever) and says This is basically what this group believes. This is what that group believes, ets. I can go to most any church's webite and find a statement of beliefs, but there seems to be no such thing for wicca.

There's a reason for that - most strands of Paganism, including most traditions of Wicca or religious witchcraft are tied together because of shared practice, not shared belief. So, when we talk about the differences, we usually talk about what we do, not what we think, and when you see differences described, it'll usually focus on what's done.

So, for example, if I talk about my tradition (which is a very small one: you're unlikely to see anyone describe it online much but me, just because my tradmates aren't very active online.) I talk about how we create ritual space, and some of what we do in circle (some of what we do, I don't talk about except with people who might reasonably be in ritual space with us at some point in the future - sometimes because it's just more private/personal stuff, but often just because there's a lot of detail that just isn't relevant unless someone's actually visiting.) And I talk about some more general things, like when we gather to do ritual, some of our customs, etc.

There are certainly elements of belief in there: some of our practices only make sense to do if the people doing them believe that, for example, there are multiple gods, with their own personalities and opinions, in some form. But mostly, it's "We do this stuff. Here's some of why. We don't do that stuff. Here's some of why."

In addition to the links you've already gotten, you might find parts of my Seeker-focused site helpful (particularly http://gleewood.org/seeking/basics/ which talks more about different kinds of paths).

If you want an example of how I talk about my path to people potentially interested in, there's a page on the coven website at http://gleewood.org/phoenixsong/more-details that covers the kinds of things many groups share (you notice it's much more about practice than belief.)

There was also a meme that went around various online spaces about six months ago, that I liked, and that also teases out some of those differences between practice and belief: you can see my responses on my blog at http://gleewood.org/threshold/2011/0...me-background/ (obviously, my answers are mine, and not likely to be anyone else's, but it gives you an idea of the kinds of conversations.)

There is lots of info, spread out. But there are also a fair number of places (and this forum is an excellent one) where people can go "Argh! Help me make more sense out of this?" and get some specific suggestions and ideas. (Generally, though, you'll need to be able to ask some questions and give some info about what you're looking for, since that's how online communication works. Mindreading is unreliable. *grin*.)

[HeartShadow]

Welcome to the Cauldron, and may you find what you seek.

[2greyhounds]

I was looking for books not too long ago and what I found was a lot of "fluff" in my local bookstores. One male author I liked, however was Christopher Penczak The Inner Temple...I also use Scott Cunningham "Wicca" even though I dont consider myself Wiccan.And a final-basic book I needed for an overview by Joyce and River Higgenbotham "paganism an introduction to Earth Centered Religions" I myself looked around at different churches for years and did not find what fit. I was raised Catholic so I do find myself focused a lot on a christian based center with the addition of other spirit guides and other positive higher gods and goddesses who have made themselves known to me.
I found the toughest part is for me to have patience that they will only show me what I am ready for and that i can see only such a small piece of the whole. You are lucky to have your wife on the same page as my husband is a non practicing Catholic who is not open to this at all!


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I am here: http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=42.864376,-87.902705

[Tamina]

Well, needless to say, I'm new here.

I find it hard to describe the state I find myelf in. I was raised in the church. An odd mix of southern baptist, AOG and lutheren, depending on which decade of church going you look at.
I don't necessarily think Chritianity is wrong. Honestly, I still believe most of it. I've just kind of given up.

I have had bad experiences with the church(and the people in it). After the last set of bad experiences, I just stopped going. Some time after that, I met and married my wife. My wife, is/was interested in paganism and/or wicca. I'm intrigued and am looking for more info. All the books I have found seem to be aimed at or written by women. Nothing wrong with that really, but I would like another guys view on these things.

I wish there was a place that I could go that has a list of different types of wicca/witchcraft(or paganism, or whatever) and says This is basically what this group believes. This is what that group believes, ets. I can go to most any church's webite and find a statement of beliefs, but there seems to be no such thing for wicca. I know there are a whole bunch of different kinds, but there are lots of varietys of christians, and I could go through and tell you at least an overview of what they think.

The long and short of it is, All the info is spread out so much, I find it very difficult to find something i can relate to.

sorry that this is long, disjointed and has no real point.

Welcome! I'd like to say that I'm new here as well, and every question I've asked has been anwsered with kindness and thought and lots of information. I hope it turns out the same way for you too!

[Marilyn/Absentminded]

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[2greyhounds]

sorry when im using tapatalk app on my phone that doesnt come up automatically . i will try to cut and paste next time