Heathens, Pagans and Witches discussion

I just joined the group and wanted to say hello to everyone. I've "officially" been a Pagan for 27 years, though I've really been one all my life. I'm a Druid and my main deities are Cernunnos and Rhiannon, though I also have a special affinity for Brighid as well. I'm looking forward to getting to know everyone and joining in the discussions!

Hello there Nancy, where are you from?

I'm from SC.....the buckle of the Bible Belt. There are Pagans here, but we are scattered about and difficult to find.

I'm from a Christian are of California, but still, the more random sounding your religion the more accepting people pretend to be.

I'm in the Central Valley of California, right in between Los Angeles and SF, much more conservative, right wing christian area also. It's very hard to find a pagan community in the area, but looking forward to reading some books together!

Howdy everybody! I'm a Pagan/Animist author from Southern California, and I just joined the group. I'm looking to connect with other Pagans and Pagan-friendly folk. :)

Hello. You are very good looking.

Hello all! I'm a very eclectic pagan. Joined for like minded people and good reads

Hi, Garrett and Jeremy. This group never seems to get enough action. Feel free to start topics!

Thank you for the welcome. As far as the group action goes, I hope it's not that bad! I may not post a whole lot but I do read everything and put my two cents in when needed.

Thanks so much! :)

So I could swear I introduced myself when I joined ages ago, but there's no tellin.

Howdy! I'm Kendra from Texas, just south of Dallas. I'm an eclectic shamanic practitioner for 15 years now. I enjoy almost all kinds of books, with Sci-Fi/Fantasy and my Religion/Pagan books being my 2 largest, though the romance may be a close 3rd. LOL!

Lizz wrote: "Kendra wrote: "So I could swear I introduced myself when I joined ages ago, but there's no tellin.

Howdy! I'm Kendra from Texas, just south of Dallas. I'm an eclectic shamanic practitioner for ..."

LOL! Just a bit. Nice to meet ya, though!

Hello! I don't know if I've ever actually introduced myself, so I'll do that now.

I'm an animist from the Twin Cities, in MN. We have an active Pagan community here, but unfortunately I'm too busy with school and work to do much. So I do most of my Pagan-y stuff online.

I particularly like this group because it gives me lots of recommendations. And I'm a bibliophile. ;)

Hi Kharm. I grew up in the Twin Cities and now live just over the border into Wisconsin. Nice to meet you.

Welcome from a fellow bibliophile, though my friends say I'm a book addict. *rolls eyes*

Is there really a difference between bibliophile and book addict? ;)

hi as i said before im tonie i live in ohio in the county part i like its peaceful and im surounded by woods and hills -the people are kinda mean though-

Kharm wrote: "Is there really a difference between bibliophile and book addict? ;)"

I'll second this! LOL!

Hello all. I'm Michelle, I live near Chicago and it's really nice outside. I've introduced myself slowly to my path; I find that I am very hesitant because I think I am missing something. But no matter, I'm probably just more paranoid than I ought to be. I'm kinda on the crazy side, too, so don't mind me. I'll just float around. Hehe.

Hi, Michelle!

Hiya! How's life?

Merry Meet!
I am Alice (good queen alice). I live in the Chicago area & am Pagan. I am 60, I am Witch, & I have always been. This is my way of life. Unlike Wicca, WitchCraft is not a religion. I am a solitary practitioner.Tho I do sometimes join others in the area for major celabrations.

I believe I have been able to successfully merge myself & my family (my 2 now grown children never suffered social ills) with main stream society with my witchy ways intact & visable, because it is who I am..my way of life. Many others I have encountered set themselves apart & end up uncomfortable outside of thier own groups & tend to be secretive or overassertive about thier beliefs. Of course that makes others uncomfortable also.

As well as being Witchy I have supported myself as an EMT, Medical Technologist, HHN. Some studies that are part of my way are Numerology, Crystology & Rune. I do Numerology Charts, Biorythym Charts, & Rune Castings for friends, family & clients. I use herbs, stones/crystals, spellcasting etc. just for friends & family now. I recently took on a numerology student, something I haven't for sometime.

It will take me some time to finish my book shelves. I haven't even started my Occult & Spiritual shelves yet, so be patient with this old Crone.

one more note..i never correct spelling & punctuation
i hope my postings are not TOO silly to make out!

I'm Julie, and I live in Sacramento. A slightly more pagan-friendly part of the Central Valley. Really, I'm half-closeted, but anyone who really wants to know can find out that I'm Pagan. I have been for about 32 years now, I think. I honor Freyr and Freyja, but I'm not really Asatru, and spend most of my time among Wiccans.

My new book deals, in part, with a fantasy version of modern Pagans...an affectionate parody, really.

Hey, I'm from Manteca! What's up neighbor!

Hi, Christy!

;)

Hello. I've just found this group and joined immediately. It's so nice to be with others who think as I do. :)

I'm in South Carolina, born in Boston, Massachusetts, 71 years ago. I've written and published three books and I'm working on the fourth and fifth at the moment. The first book was The Goddess Book of Psalms, and it has been praised by many who have seen it. Encouraged, I published Devotions for the Witch: Devozioni della Strega, a prayer book in English, based upon Italian (my heritage) goddesses and martyrs. This also has been highly praised.

Recently, I completed and published Aradia: Gospel of the Witches, Retold. This is a complete and new translation of Charles Godfrey Leland's 120-year-old work. I was assisted ably by Gary R. Varner, and Lori Bruno wrote the foreword for me. I've received rave reviews for this work, and I'm very proud of it.

All my books are available at http://stores.lulu.com/deliathecrone.

Presently I'm completing Witch Daze, a perennial pagan calendar in book format, and seeking illustrators for FaerieScope, a fairy-based horoscope, just for fun.

Oh, and I'm a practicing Strega (Italian witch).

Hello Patricia,

Welcome to the pagan book group. Please do add your books to the shelves and, perhaps, even submit them for our book of the month discussion.

Please also jump in on any (old) discussion that peaks your interest and start new ones. I think there may be one or two other Strega and it's always interesting to read of other people's traditions.

AC

Patricia, your book link gets me a 404.

Julie, sorry about that. Try this:
http://stores.lulu.com/store.php?fAcc...

Hello Elizabeth,

Welcome to the pagan book group. Please peruse the posts here and add your thoughts and don't forget to add any books you'd like to read, with the group, to the shelves and book of the month suggestions.

AC

No problem, Patricia. Just didn't want to see you sending everyone to a dead end---that won't sell your book.

I've hesitated to promote my books here, since nothing I've written is explicitly Pagan, although it's all Pagan in some way or another.

Hi, I'm Abby and I live in central Ohio. I have identified pagan for about 17 years. I am currently working the ADF Dedicant Path. It’s nice to “meet” all of you. :)

I just got a very nice book review from the Pagan and the Pen

I guess I'll introduce myself...

Merry Meet,
My name is Madison and I am from Blue Springs, Missouri (aka no-paganTOPIA). I am a very shy person and I am being forced to keep my religious beliefs to myself because of my family (who are very strong headed christians and think still that pagans/wiccans/witches need to be burned at the stake). I am 17 and not very free to practice whenever I want, I'm only allowed to really do anything after they've already gone to bed and I have time to meditate and absorb in peace...

17 is a tough age to be at. Fortunately, it's the last year you absolutely have to stay at home.

How soon can you get yourself sent off to college? Just about any public university is a relatively tolerant place. If you can't get into college, at least move to a college town.

I'm going to go to SouthEast Missouri hopefully by winter semester; see I get my GED (an alternative high school diploma) soon because of my social anxiety and clinical depression I couldn't do the whole school scene thing.. the college I have in my head is 4 1/2 hours away and will be my savior! lol.

Hey! I'm Kathleen! I'm 19 years old and I live in Utah... :( I'd rather live in California, or England. I'm not officially anything yet. I am really interested in Wicca! I love it! But it's so hard to be when I live in well... Utah!! Everyone here are LDS and really uptight. I'm pretty much always stuck in the house. :( So it's really exciting to find a group who is accepting :)

You'll be fine, Madison. We are not so different. I'm absurdly shy, Aspie, and chronically depressed. But 35 years ago, they didn't talk about such things. When I was in school, GEDs were brand-new, alternatives to high school did not exist, and small-town California was much more conservative than it is now.

It took a big public university where I could disappear to let me find my own way. I still have issues functioning socially, but the world is much better now.

Thanks.

Welcome Kathleen! And I'm glad you're taking a look into wicca! If you need any question answered feel free to ask any one of us and we'll answer to the best of our abilities. (I'd ask the older practicers (wanna say elders, lol) first since they'll have more experience than me XD)

Hi Kathleen! From what I can tell, there are Pagans in Utah. You might want to start by looking here: http://www.witchvox.com/vn/hm/usut.html

You don't have to be "officially" anything; I've been Pagan for 30+ years without being "officially" anything.

Thanks! I'll take a look at it :)

Okay so I just have to share this story with all of you... the other day I FINALLY found tarot cards sold in store in my area (aka drivable distance), so I put a hold on it online and told my mom (because I'm still working on my license, only got a permit.. well until September) that I needed a ride to Barnes and Noble sometime that week. She asked why and I told her I had put something on hold, she then looked at me - dropping EVERYTHING.. LITERALLY - and asked what book I put on hold. I told her I put a deck of cards on hold and she kept persisting to know what made that so special. I finally gave and told her it was tarot cards and she started laughing, she laughed so hard she dropped the dish she was holding to the ground and it hit her toe. Then she looked at me and said, "Do you think the taroT cards could have predicted THAT?" (emphasis on the "T"). I slanted my eyes and said "no, I just want to see them, they look cool" and she laughed again then walked upstairs to call someone and then I heard more laughter... that hurt so bad... so today I picked them up (went with someone else to get them) and I've been sitting at home looking at them.. I'm afraid to even have them out when she gets home in an hour because I don't want her to laugh at me again... I have been REALLY sick the last few days and shouldn't have even left the house but it was the last day they would have had them on hold and after that they would be going back to on the shelves and I didn't know where "on the shelves" was in the store.. so now I feel 10 times worse, I think my tonsils are even more swollen now.. and I'm really really scared for what my mother's going to do.. I remember when I bought "Blair Witch Project" she started telling me how I was "gonna turn out a devil worshiper" if I read stuff like that... she really has no clue how much this hurts me...

Madison,

It's not hopeless, but you'll have to give up on your mother for now; she thinks she's protecting you from Satan. She's hoping that you're giving into peer pressure and that she can discourage you by mockery.

What you can control is yourself. So, get your cards consecrated, find a nice scrap of fabric to wrap them in, and put them away where she won't find them. And take them out only when your sacred ritual will not be interrupted.

Then take your vitamins, drink your orange juice and go to bed.

You can't change your mom. To make the next few months much easier on yourself, tuck the Pentacle inside your top and don't talk about Paganism or Wicca in front of her. This isn't lying, which I would never advocate, it's just not pushing it in her face. Let her pretend you've given it up.

Try to find some teenage Pagans to hang out with; maybe go to a festival with, if you can find one. There are more of them than you think, but they're hidden. They don't know about you, either. Once you're in college, there will be campus Pagan clubs and the like.

What about tarot cards sacred her ?are they dangerous? Can they harm anyone? They are only pieces of paper with cool pictures ...

Thanks, and I don't have a pentacle because my mom saw me looking at them once and slapped me on the wrist then grabbed my hand and pulled me out of the store. She's relentless, and worried about sending me to college this winter because she's afraid I'm going to get into the type of crowd she was in when she was my age. Or my brother. Doing drugs and skipping school to hang out with "the opposite sex"... sorry, I put quotations around that because 3/4 of my friends are bi- or gay, including me; I'm bi-, I just, like everything else in my life, can't tell her that.

You can remind her --subtly, of course-- that teenagers who are not in school are a lot more likely to get into trouble. You can also hint that you're more likely to find the kind of husband she wants for you in college than in your home town. Better yet, though, let her know how enthusiastic you are about learning whatever it is you hope to study in college.

Going to school and avoiding drugs did nothing to keep me out of trouble with the opposite sex. At any rate, you're 17....doesn't she expect you to be dating anyway?

True... I mean my mother has her days where she wants to be my best friend, then her days where she wants to be world's strictest mom... hey I'm not going to be on for a few days (may be on for a bit) because I'm sick... just went to doctor today, tested posotive for strep throat... so I'll just talk to you later. Thank you OH-SO much for the help and blessed be until I return... well... beyond then.. but you know what I mean... I think... I'm going to shut up now and just go.. ha bye. :)

Hi. Long ago I started with a Native American-based spiritual-awakening and realized I had always been Pagan. My mother and sister are more Druid which I now understand and embrace. I will be around, getting into discussions here and there.