Wicca/Witchcraft/Magick?

Sorry to chime into the conversation so late...

I got a few suggestions for reading material for those who want are looking into Wicca. These are some of the reading materials I have suggest to people.

First book I highly recommend is "The Triumph of the Moon: A History of Modern Pagan Witchcraft" by Ronald Hutton. I will warn it is a heavy read, but it will give you the facts about Wicca as it is today. I hate to use the term a critical analysis of Wicca, but it will dispel a lot of misconceptions you get from non-practicing / practicing folks.

The next I would recommend "Wicca: A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner" by Scott Cunningham. The book is fairly light reading, but its a good introduction to Wicca in general.

Another good read is "Magic, Witchcraft, and Ghosts in the Greek and Roman Worlds: A Sourcebook" by Daniel Ogden. I only recommend this if you wish to purse it further. You'll find a lot of similar contexts in this book compared to what you'll read or hear elsewhere during your journey. Its a good basis to understand were a lot of the context of some of the modern Wicca came from.

A few other good ones, is Raymond Bucklands, Complete Book of Witchcraft is also an excellent starting book. The Farrar's Witches Bible, is excellent but its an extremely heavy ready since it delves in the theology and philosophy of Wicca.

A big piece of advice I can suggest for a newcomer, is don't get hung up on all the hollywood smoke and mirror garbage, for you'll sadly disappoint yourself. Also be cautious of a lot of the materials available at your bookstores, since most of it is written or bought for sheer profit.

Cheers

Damn double post.. Sorry

[edit on 13-1-2009 by tshrub]

I just recently become completely enthralled with all of this, though I do have some advice.

You don't want to just start with all of the elemental stuff. Like everything else in this world, you need to start out with the basics, and then move your way up. First, try to figure out how to manipulate raw energy.

Someone once told me that every person has only one element inside them to use: fire, water, air, earth, light, darkness, lightning, sound, and ice. Now, I know that ice is water, in a solid form, but please, bare with me, for it is his belief.

Anyways, he said that everyone has one of these to start out with, and must master that element completely, and pass a trial in the spirit world (Battling the guardian of that element), before moving onto a second element. Then, that element must be mastered, before gaining a third, and so on.

Therefor, just trying to go and throw any element around wouldn't work, since that element may not be the element that you have right now, and even then, you may not have the energy or strength to do so.

As for how to do the elemental majick, I'm afraid I can't tell you, for I have not reached that area in my lessons. I will say that there are multiple kinds of majick, however:
Ra majick, elemental majick, physical majick, and the fabled mental majick.

Finally, as for writing spells, as you write them, you need to take as much energy and majick from your body as you can, and put it in those words. Finish it by writing the initials of your spirit name. Mine, for example, is Serin, so the initials are SRN. You may need to meditate, or something of that sort to truly discover what your real name is.

Finally, we come to your spirit animal. Your spirit animal can be anything, including animals believed to by mythical, like unicorns, and whatnot. My spirit animal, for example, is a dragon. Once you discover you spirit animal, you are one step closer to your goal. Some ways to, perhaps, find out what your spirit animal is are:
An animal that you are strongly connected to (not your favorite animal all the time), an animal that you believe represents your personality, an animal that you see often, that also seems to notice you, or, as I discovered mine, and animal that often reoccurs in your dreams. I believe the last way is like the final confirmation of what your spirit animal is, because it appearing to you in your dreams is a perimative yet powerful way for it to communicate with you.

Originally posted by kagutuchi
You don't want to just start with all of the elemental stuff. Like everything else in this world, you need to start out with the basics, and then move your way up. First, try to figure out how to manipulate raw energy.

I understand what you're trying to say, and honestly, that's what I'm doing; starting with the basics. Now, I would like to imply that according to the book I'm reading at the moment, it states that everything magickal has an element associated with it; I doubt there is a "raw energy" that can be manipulated, and if there is, it would probably be a combination of the elements.

Originally posted by kagutuchi
Someone once told me that every person has only one element inside them to use: fire, water, air, earth, light, darkness, lightning, sound, and ice. Now, I know that ice is water, in a solid form, but please, bare with me, for it is his belief.

Anyways, he said that everyone has one of these to start out with, and must master that element completely, and pass a trial in the spirit world (Battling the guardian of that element), before moving onto a second element. Then, that element must be mastered, before gaining a third, and so on.

Therefor, just trying to go and throw any element around wouldn't work, since that element may not be the element that you have right now, and even then, you may not have the energy or strength to do so.

As for how to do the elemental majick, I'm afraid I can't tell you, for I have not reached that area in my lessons. I will say that there are multiple kinds of majick, however:
Ra majick, elemental majick, physical majick, and the fabled mental majick.

He said the elements were fire, water, air, earth, light, darkness, lightning, sound, and ice? In Wicca, the elements are fire, water, air, earth, and spirit. Anyways, I've never heard of that theory before, ever. According to astrology, my element is air. That doesn’t necessarily mean that I can’t use other magick spells of a different element. It may be different with elemental manipulation, however, but I’m still learning, mind you. I still haven’t finished to book yet (I’m really busy.)… But, also, you can’t throw around that stuff all willy-nilly anyways, because you can only perform those things at certain times. At least, that’s how it works with magick spells, anyway.

Originally posted by kagutuchi
Finally, as for writing spells, as you write them, you need to take as much energy and majick from your body as you can, and put it in those words. Finish it by writing the initials of your spirit name. Mine, for example, is Serin, so the initials are SRN. You may need to meditate, or something of that sort to truly discover what your real name is.

Finally, we come to your spirit animal. Your spirit animal can be anything, including animals believed to by mythical, like unicorns, and whatnot. My spirit animal, for example, is a dragon. Once you discover you spirit animal, you are one step closer to your goal. Some ways to, perhaps, find out what your spirit animal is are:
An animal that you are strongly connected to (not your favorite animal all the time), an animal that you believe represents your personality, an animal that you see often, that also seems to notice you, or, as I discovered mine, and animal that often reoccurs in your dreams. I believe the last way is like the final confirmation of what your spirit animal is, because it appearing to you in your dreams is a perimative yet powerful way for it to communicate with you.

I think I have writing spells down, thank you.  The “spirit name” and “spirit animal” thin g, however, sounds strangely like Druidism/Neo-Druidism (They might be Pagan anyways, so never mind that.).

All together, thanks for your input!

reply to post by kagutuchi


I told myself I would no longer respond to this thread due to the negativity and fallacies, but after reading your post I have changed my mind slightly. I would more like to offer a warning to you. If you have truly found your spirit name then I am overly happy for you. It is something I to would like to find out when the time is right. Now for the warning...be careful with your true name. It is not something to be taken lightly. By knowing something or someone's true name you can attain a certain power over said person/object. You true name should only be shared with people that you have 100% trust with. Spouting it out over the internet is not the wisest of decisions.

Once again if you have truly found your spirit name then my hat is off to you. It is not something that is easily attainable. If you have attained it though then you should already know this, and should guard it with your life.

Blessed be,

hiLB3rt

i will recommend tom arnold,his site,and the book the "new age magus"
i dont know what others think of it,but its the stuff your looking for.
but be warned,its a scary book man,not a childs read ):

Originally posted by Mathyn Rain
Unfortunately most people take up an interest in the Occult and Esoteric subjects expecting to be able to do spells and what not, but unfortunately the occult is more about knowledge. Movies and tv with shows like charmed and the craft have painted this image of the occult as something it is truly not,

But my advice, if you are truly interested in becoming a student of the arts, is perhaps tracking down either ISIS UNVEILED by Helena Petrenov Blavatsky or the books on OCCULT PHILOSOPHY by Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa. These books will give you a good insight into the occult arts and paint a very real picture of what you can expect.

by the way have been a lurker on these forums for a while but finally joined up so Hey All :

Well, greetings to you Mathyn Rain, and welcome. You are right on here with this advice, I call myself a Wiccan also, for lack of a better word. I have studied a lot of books on the occult, and have gained a world of knowledge from this study. I can easily see why the book religions warn one not to delve into occult teachings! To the OP, study for one year and one day, then you should know all about that which you seek. A warning form ne who know....do not cast any sort or kind of spell unless you know exactly what you are doing. My first High Magick spell cost me $10,000 and my wife.
(I have a much younger and prettier one now) Make you own "tools," and keep a journal so you can learn and not make the same mistake twice. Always remember the Law of Three, and Karma comes around fast for one practising the Arts. Good luck!

[edit on 28-8-2009 by autowrench]

I would recommend not even looking at Wicca, it's a mish-mashed made up religion. Look up Rune magick or read Initiation into Hermetics by Franz Bardon.

Hi, a lot of people here have made some wonderful suggestions. I as well like Scott Cunningham's book. I also like D.J. Conway books and "Drawing down the Moon" by Margot Adler and StarHawk. I also have The encyclopedia of Magic and WitchCraft by GreenWood. Haven't read all of this one yet though.

I have a fairly eclectic library which includes candle magic as well as tarot, runes, chakras, stones, dreams, remote viewing, and out of curiosity Celtic magic and Norse.

LOL I just like to read about a lot of different ideas, and do not stick with one. So I am more of an Eclectic Pagan instead of just Wiccan.

One thing to do, which I enjoy, is just hitting the bookstores, pulling a book down that I think I might be interested in, finding a quiet place in the book store, and reading part of the book. If I find I like it, I buy it, if it does not resonate with me, I don't. You might also look in the religious section of your bookstore as Wicca is considered a religion.

A good place to try online is amazon.com, you can get some used books that are in good condition for a lot less money, meaning you can afford more books. I especially use amazon if I find one in the bookstore I like, but can't afford new. (which these day's in this economy is pretty much a given for me) As I love books, it's a good thing.

A good place for networking is www.witchvox.com...

Good Luck

Harm None
Peace

Originally posted by OkamiZaku
I don't know if this belongs in the right thread or not. Bear with me here. >.>

Anways, so I picked up an interest in the occult, and I'm currently reading a book called "The Wicca Hanbook" by Eileen Holland.

I'd like to know, do you know any white magic/black magic/ pyromancy/ hydromancy/ aeromancy/ geomancy/ etc.???

And please leave good comments on wehter it is a good idea or not, b/c I'm trying to be as open-minded as possible about this.

As a solitary practitioner of wicca, I EXPECT NO FUTURE FLAMES/FLAME WARS ABOUT THIS, I believe that magick is neither black nor white, colorless. Magick and "Magic" are two completely different terms and I however take offense to the term "magic,: I believe everything, and I do mean everything, is tied into one...being that i'm only 18 and started "The Craft." when I was 8...haven't had too much time to learn, but if anyone has any questions about this subject still, feel free to ask! (Gonna start a "Teaching" thread later when I can, and explain wicca in the form that it is easy to digest, and easy to grasp.) Take a tree for instance, it has roots in the "Earth", it needs the two essentials, The Sun, and Water, the Sun being the "Ball of Fire", and it gives off Oxygen, also known to me as Air, and anything that has all the elements infused is considered to have a Spirit. That's my thinking on the elements and how they tie in, it can become more complex so I will be making a special "ATS Corse in Wicca" Hopefully, we can avoid the flame wars that i know can ensue from such a topic. Blessed Be.