Reading and Learning and Reading

I'm so grateful to have a library system that allows me to read a great list of Pagan/Wiccan books!  I recently received and read books by Dorothy Morrison and Raymond Buckland that I found incredibly helpful!  I've started keeping a list of things to include in my Book of Shadows.  Quotes, recipes, spells... yay!  I'm enjoying learning so much!

I've had a bit of a breakthrough with my Tarot deck, as well.  I did a reading for Hubby and instead of trying to remember the interpretations of the cards to tell me what his reading was, I let the cards tell me more.  I looked at them and went with my gut and didn't worry about the picture that was on the card, or whether the card was upside down or right side up or whatever.  And I felt a much stronger connection with the cards than I have until this point.  It was wonderful!

I knew people said I needed to let my intuition tell me what the cards were saying, but I didn't fully understand what they meant, and I figured I needed a foundation of meaning first.  But I get it now.  And I'm much more excited about reading now!  Hooray!

A Step Out of the Broom Closet

My husband's parents are Catholic.  They don't go to Confession or pray the Rosary every night (that I'm aware), but they do attend Mass every week, and adhere to the dogma of the Catholic Church.

Hubby and I haven't attended Mass in quite a long time now, though we've only recently started practicing Wicca/Paganism.  Well, his parents attended Mass this evening and afterward called Hubby.  They asked when we were going to go to Mass again, and told him he needs to believe in something.  When he told them we've been practicing at home and that we do, in fact, believe in something they didn't believe him.  They all but called him a liar.  So he said that we have been exploring religion at home, and mentioned that we're studying Wicca.

My jaw dropped.

It's not that I don't want them to know, but I know how his parents are, and I don't want to cause unnecessary stress because of something that's really none of their business to begin with.  I didn't think he'd ever want to tell them, to be honest, and since we're solitary practitioners, it didn't need to be told.  (I haven't told my family yet.  I know my mom will be much more laid back, but I'm just not ready to tell them yet.  When the time is right, I will.)

I'm not sure what his parents are going to think now, or how they'll act.  I don't know whether they'll tell my mother-in-law's parents, who are devoutly Italian Catholic, or how the holidays will be (will they expect us to go to Christmas Mass?).

To be honest, part of me is relieved that they know, no matter how they're going to react.  (Maybe they'll stop pushing us to attend Mass.)  I feel like there's this important part of my life I've been careful to hide, and maybe now I don't have to anymore.

I won't, of course, throw it in their faces that I'm Wiccan.  I won't wear a huge pentacle necklace at Christmas dinner (I wouldn't wear a huge pentacle necklace anyway), I won't say a protection spell out loud before going into their home, and I'll never, never argue about their faith.

Spirituality is a very personal thing, and I would never ridicule someone for their spiritual practices.  After all, who's to say mine is better?  It's just different.  We're all different people, and we all need different things, spiritually.  I won't discount their spiritual path, and I hope they won't discount mine.

I guess I won't need to hide my altar when they come over now.

Another Step on the Path

Well, after Samhain, Hubby and I got a little busy.  Then NaNoWriMo started, and I've been even busier!

I've been reading Drawing Down the Moon by Margot Adler.  I'm not very far into it, but it's already been quite helpful in my reading and research of Wicca and witchcraft.  I'm borrowing it from the library, but I'm hoping to get my own copy soon.  It seems like the type of book I'd like to refer back to frequently.

And when I read books like this, it helps me see that I'm making the right decision in my spiritual path.  Yes, I know I still have a lot to learn, and I'll tweak my practice over the years, but I know I'm finally on the right path.  I feel like I've come home spiritually.

There's so much of what I'm learning about Wicca that I already believe, and now I just have a name for it instead of keeping it to myself because it didn't fit the Christianity I practiced.  Wicca just makes sense to me.  It blends all I believe and throws some really great things into it to deepen the spiritual path.  It's absolutely wonderful.

I've also been trying to learn more about Tarot.  I've been doing readings as often as I can, and I find myself developing a bit of intuition when it comes to the interpretations of the cards.  This is a good thing.  I'm becoming quite a bit more comfortable in the readings, and I'm beginning to see how the cards fit together to give a picture of what the seeker needs to know from the Universe.  I love Tarot.

I would still like a set of Ogham staves.  I found a pretty set that's pretty much within my budget that looks very nice, so I'll probably either get that set, or make one of my own.  My apprehension with making a set of my own is that I would probably have to use dowels or something like that, and I'd rather have a set that's made from quality wood with the symbols burned in, and sealed to prevent damage.  So I'm going to think about it a little longer before I make my decision.  I have to have a connection with these staves, and I don't want to just decide in a hurry to get them and then not feel a connection with them.

I'm looking forward to the Full Moon Rite I'm going to do; I've invited Hubby to join me.  I don't know if he will or not, but he knows he's always welcome.  This will be my first Esbat celebration, so I'm really looking forward to it.  Afterward, maybe Hubby and I will take a walk and be out in Nature for a while, and let the power of the moon energize us for the next month.

Blessed Be!

WCRF

I put in my application for membership with the Wiccan Religious Cooperative of Florida today.

The organization offers a connection with other Pagans, classes, public Sabbats, and many ways to be involved with the local Wiccan/Pagan community.  I think this is the connection I need as a solitary practitioner.

I've heard there is usually good turn-out for the Sabbats through WRCF, so it would be a way for me to make friends with local Pagans, and, at the very least, get out of the house from time to time.  Working from home is wonderful, but I get a bit of cabin fever occasionally.  This could be just the thing I need.

Blessed Be!

First, Faltering Steps

I am exploring Wicca as a spiritual path for myself.  I've only just begun my research and practice of it, and I know I have quite a lot of reading and research to do before I'll begin to feel comfortable with the practice.

I was raised in a Christian home, but over the years became increasingly unhappy with the patriarchal lack of explanation I received from the pulpit, so I'm on a new spiritual path.  This one is one of my own making.

I know many Wiccans believe one can't be Wiccan unless initiated by a coven, and perhaps I'll seek a coven to join once I've done quite a bit more research, but spirituality is a very personal thing, and--at least for now--I need to make my own way.

I recently bought and read Scott Cunningham's Wicca: a Guide for the Solitary Practitioner and Living Wicca: a Further Guide for the Solitary Practitioner.  I feel both were a good way to "get my feet wet" in the religion, though I can understand others' complaints that Cunningham's works are a bit "fluffy."  A great deal of Wicca has to do with balance, and I felt these books were unbalanced, favoring the light side of the religion.

My next stop is Raymond Buckland.  I have a couple of books from the library I should have soon, and I'll be going through those, as well.

I ordered a Robin Wood Tarot Deck for myself, as well.  Tarot has always fascinated me, so I ordered a deck and I've been doing at least one reading just about every day.  Hubby has let me read for him, as has my sister-in-law (who is also interested in Wicca).  I feel like I'm developing a connection with the cards already, and I'm starting to learn the interpretations of the cards.

I know I have a lot to learn, but I'm excited about the research and reading, and I'm ecstatic to be on a path that finally makes sense to me!

Blessed Be!