Wicca, Shamanism and Druidry. Where to start?

[euripides]

7 hours ago, marinaoracles said:

 

UGH AMEN TO THAT. Capitalism has totally sunk its teeth into the Pagan/Witchy trend and it's scary. I tried Instagram to connect with others before finding this forum, and it's gagworthy witchy parade, filled with self-promotion, fake living, reciprocal cajoling and overconsumption.  ......

 

White sage doesn't even exist in my country so why should I look for it? Isn't Paganism about connecting to nature? 

 

 

Oh yes. I notice this across pretty much everything - it's all about the 'haul', whether it's tarot decks, planners and stickers, clothing, makeup... everything. Buy, buy. Even the houseplant craze: two or three cuttings won't do - it's a whole greenhouse of fully-grown instaplants, and just thinking about all those plastic pots and peat moss makes me cringe.

 

I found myself browsing stores looking at crystals and herbs and all that and came to very much the same conclusion as you did ...  it's all 'stuff' and none of it meaningful to me. We have a fallen tree in our yard; I'm going to carve myself a staff from a branch.

 

13 hours ago, marinaoracles said:

But if I may add my tuppence worth, I'd like to recommend Ly de Angeles book "Witchcraft: Theory and Practice".  Ly (actually, Lore de Angeles, as she changed her name recently) is an Australian author, so maybe this is why I like it so much - I feel it contemplates the Southern Hemisphere Pagans, something that used to be very uncommon (not sure how it is nowadays tbh). But it's also a very no-nonsense book, that teaches you to think critically about what spirituality and witchcraft mean, and not merely a follow other people's ideas. It remains to this day one my favourite books on Witchcraft!

 

 

Oh I'll check it out. Sounds perfect. No-nonsense is good. I mean sometimes you want a 'comfort read' and don't mind if it's a bit old hat, but a lot of material now is rehashing stale ideas (and I think often not acknowledging sources, too). So yeah... a fresh, no-nonsense take sounds like what I'm looking for.

[FallenAngel]

As someone in the early stages of exploring Wicca, I have definitely felt the pull of buying "stuff". Getting sucked into the fallacy that you cannot practice without it. That's not to say I haven't bought things - I wanted some candles and incense because I do find these help me to ground myself and get into the frame of mind for readings and meditations. However, I've had to stop myself from going into a buying "frenzy" because there are so many shiny things out there.

 

Social media doesn't help. Due to my searches for information on Wicca and Witchcraft, I now have ads popping up everywhere recommending I visit various websites to buy all the gorgeous things they have on offer. I feel bombarded.

 

Apologies as I have got off topic. I mentioned in another thread that I enjoyed the book 'Wicca for Beginners' by Thea Sabin. It's really easy to read and I found it answered the majority of my questions about Wicca at this stage in my learning.

 

I also found this website which is written by a Witch and Priestess, who is a member of the Cauldon forum https://gleewood.org/seeking/ I've spent a lot of time on the website because it contains a wealth of information which, for me anyway, is relevant to what I'm looking into.

[devin]

Not on topic as such, but here are a few interesting and detailed posts re: doing high-magic on the cheap. I reckon most of the ideas and concepts apply even more to shamanism and paganism considering their focus on being connected to a locality. 

 

Broke but not Cheap: Supplies and Tools

Broke but not Cheap: Altars and Shrines

Broke but not Cheap: Works and Operations

 

Even cheap altars in a tin have a certain charm to them.

 

Of course, I'm not a pagan or a magician, so what do I know?

 

Edited September 8, 2021 by devin

[FallenAngel]

Thanks for the links @devin I will definitely have a read! Also, I love that 'alter in a tin'!

[devin]

On 9/7/2021 at 9:29 PM, marinaoracles said:

White sage doesn't even exist in my country so why should I look for it? Isn't Paganism about connecting to nature? How about connecting to the one that surrounds you and not exploiting the one from another country because a trendy influencer always burns White Sage or Palo Santo in her videos and she looks like such a badass sacred woman while doing it?

Here in South Africa, a lot of new-age shops sell a mildly hypnotic local herb known as imphepho (pronounced im-pair-poo) as a sage substitute. As far as I know, its traditional usage is as an opener to receiving messages from the ancestors. It's also a lot cheaper than sage.

 

 

EDIT: Oh, I see it's also been naturalised in a number of places around the world. Though I'm not sure if it's the exact same species.

https://npgsweb.ars-grin.gov/gringlobal/taxon/taxonomydetail?id=404767#distro

Edited September 9, 2021 by devin

[Marina]

5 hours ago, FallenAngel said:

As someone in the early stages of exploring Wicca, I have definitely felt the pull of buying "stuff". Getting sucked into the fallacy that you cannot practice without it. That's not to say I haven't bought things - I wanted some candles and incense because I do find these help me to ground myself and get into the frame of mind for readings and meditations. However, I've had to stop myself from going into a buying "frenzy" because there are so many shiny things out there.

 

Social media doesn't help. Due to my searches for information on Wicca and Witchcraft, I now have ads popping up everywhere recommending I visit various websites to buy all the gorgeous things they have on offer. I feel bombarded.

 

I think it's important to bring it up, because I find this can be problematic for beginner and experienced people alike. You don't need tons of stuff to start, or to continue your practice (though after many years it's more likely you will have accumulated some things). The first step is learning, observing nature, opening yourself, reading good sources, taking notes, seeing how different paths of Witchcraft adapt to your local reality, how it might change or not your life, discovering what the deities mean to you (should you have a devotional practice) etc. None of that requires you to spend a lot of money (except the book part... but then again you can always buy second hand books like me, lol.)

 

2 hours ago, devin said:

Here in South Africa, a lot of new-age shops sell a mildly hypnotic local herb known as imphepho (pronounced im-pair-poo) as a sage substitute. As fair as I know, it's traditional usage is as an opener to receiving messages from the ancestors. It's also a lot cheaper than sage.

 

EDIT: Oh, I see it's also been naturalised in a number of places around the world. Though I'm not sure if it's the exact same species.

https://npgsweb.ars-grin.gov/gringlobal/taxon/taxonomydetail?id=404767#distro

 

I had never heard of this plant, Devin! Thanks for sharing. I always find it nice to research what local and more easily available herbs could be used for magical work.

 

I loooove the idea of a "tin altar" you shared before, I may add it to my list of future projects. A while ago, I bought a pack of 3cm wooden circles for crafts and used them to make my own set of Witches Rune. I also got a round small piece of wood and drew my own pentacle on it with a sharpie (yep, simple like that). It's very nice to try make your own stuff according to your needs... of course, there are things you will have to buy, like a blade or a decent candle-holder, but they needn't be super expensive. 

 

That's why I think you should go getting your items as you study and define your practice, instead of buying everything at once in a hurry, prompted by internet advertisement. 

[euripides]

14 hours ago, devin said:

 

Even cheap altars in a tin have a certain charm to them.

 

Of course, I'm not a pagan or a magician, so what do I know?

 

 

 

Oh my I love the tiny tin altar! What a delightful idea!

 

I'm not generally one for ritual, but I find that I always have a corner of a bookshelf or dresser that sort of evolves into an altar of sorts... stones and feathers and some of my favorite objects. I used to always have a stone in my pocket.

 

BTW It's fine to wander a bit off topic, I think - like it's not like we've totally digressed, as it's still very much related - it's a discussion, and that's what discussions do.

 

 

 

 

[devin]

Y'know, I might consider converting just for the altars. 

 

 

Edited September 10, 2021 by devin

[devin]

I felt bad about ending on a joke. So here's a little video of Vine Deloria, Jr. the North American Indian author, historian, activist, blistering critic of Christianity, and believer in the reality of his people's spirituality.

 

Though he doesn't necessarily articulate it directly in this video, Deloria's main idea was that the difference between universal (Christianity, Buddhism, etc.) and tribal religions is that universal religions are fixated on processes in time (the apocalypse, God acting through history, manifest destiny, spiritual evolution, reincarnation, etc.)  while tribal religions are more concerned with place and community.

 

It's quite interesting, I thought, and relevant to both paganism and shamanism.

 

 

He also wrote a wonderful book collecting stories (from various primary sources) of the amazing feats of medicine men and woman.

 

 

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/279093.The_World_We_Used_to_Live_In

Edited September 14, 2021 by devin

[katrinka]

Love Deloria. 💖 All of his stuff is worth reading.

[euripides]

8 hours ago, devin said:

I felt bad about ending on a joke. So here's a little video of Vine Deloria, Jr. the North American Indian author, historian, activist, blistering critic of Christianity, and believer in the reality of his people's spirituality.

 

 

 

Jokes are always welcome, but these look interesting and I'll have a watch at morning tea. I'm not familiar with Deloria and very keen for some diverse perspectives. Everything I've been reading is so Eurocentric.

[euripides]

On 9/3/2019 at 6:30 PM, Raggydoll said:

Now i see things differently. I want to hold space for nature and for spirits and I very rarely perform rituals just for myself. And if I do, then I make sure it’s for a reason that’s beneficial in a greater sense and I also make sure to give proper thanks. I also try to connect with nature spirits, animals etc to see what THEY need and what they want. I want to connect with my local sites to feel their needs. 

 

My ancestors already knew all this...... My ego was standing in the way of this connection previously. So now I get what Chesca meant too. It’s important to think about the balance and state of ones land. And in this time of great environmental crisis we must not forget to think about other things then ourselves in our practices. I’m not saying to never care about yourself, I’m just saying that I personally don’t want my ‘nature based’ practice to revolve 90% about me. 

 

I was just revisiting this thread and these commends really struck a chord with me, Raggydoll, and I wanted to highlight them and thank you for these rich observations. Really resonant and I think important. I'll look for Chesca Potter's work, too.

 

The earth needs paganism and witchcraft to be more than a self-help movement.

[devin]

I posted the wrong video! It was meant to be this one.

 

 

16 hours ago, katrinka said:

Love Deloria. 💖 All of his stuff is worth reading.

 

Yeah, and very funny at times. The only bit that stumps me is his occasional forays into Ancient Aliens land. I keep hoping its some kind of tongue in cheek critique of anthropology but..... 🤔

 

11 hours ago, euripides said:

Jokes are always welcome

 

Good to know. 🙂 

[katrinka]

2 hours ago, devin said:

Yeah, and very funny at times. The only bit that stumps me is his occasional forays into Ancient Aliens land. I keep hoping its some kind of tongue in cheek critique of anthropology but..... 🤔

 

Who knows. I'm sure he has his reasons.
Maybe he dreamed about frogs. I can only speculate! 😉 

Edited September 15, 2021 by katrinka

[devin]

19 hours ago, katrinka said:

Maybe he dreamed about frogs.

 

I just got it. 😆

[BriarRose]

Each of those are very different. 

I was very interested in Shamanism until I received a kit for my birthday. A Shaman heals sick people. Now, what are you going to do or where are you going to put that sick energy? How do you dissipate rhat energy? If you cant cut it out and burn it, then how is it taken from a body? .This is why we see pictures of Shamans that live in the jungles and rainforests away from everyone. It's a very very heavy practice with immense  patience.  I just don't believe there are many among us. 

I was told that my great grandmother in Sisley used to have people for miles outside her home, but she was an herbalist. But a Shaman? What does Shamanism mean to you? 

 

And then there is the Druids. But then where do you put that energy again? 

 

I'm supposed to be a Reiki Master Healer. I was initiated after my classes. But I didn't practice  because of what I have eventual seen or heard about those healers. 

 

I think I rather stay the messenger. 

That's my path. I'm embracing it. 

 

 

[Raggydoll]

There is a type of folk magic or Norse shamanism that has long been practiced where I come from and it is used for healing. The sickness is never directed into the healer, it is transferred and deposited into something like a stone or a tree or a steel knife. The healers would have very specific trees that was used exclusively for such matters, and the entire village knew what rules applied regarding that tree. Many such trees still exist. This is a practice also common among Sami shamans. 
 

All traditional shamans and healers would know where to deposit the sickness. They don’t take it upon themselves. But the type of neo shamanism that you can learn through books or buy internet kits for, is of course a different thing. I don’t think it’s smart to try and become a healer or shaman that way. Anyone who doesn’t know where the sick energy should go, should not meddle with healing. 

[Morwenna]

Or ground it into the earth; I learned that a long time ago, mainly from a friend who also practices in the Norse fashion. 

[Arania]

Late to this, as so often.

 

Ah yes, spiritual commercialism.

 

Personally I have no issue with "made in China" as long as it fits the theme of my altars or plans, but then I am not only a nature witch. I do source from the garden or the wild, but not only.

 

I love going on garage sales, grabbing things from house clearings etc, "for free" sections in the classifieds etc, all the stuff that would have otherwise been thrown away. In that way, even the kitsch I often like can be from wherever, I'm preventing waste. Plus, I am not as sorry if the cats break stuff when I didn't have to pay for it 🙂

 

I also love to get clear glass or porcelain things and paint them or put stickers on it. My roommate paints glass as wel, he creates the most amazing patterns to display on our sun altar and elsewhere. And so many people throw out the old tablecloth of their grandparents - amazing, often festive, decors I can use as seasonal, or other, altar cloth. I don't even mind a few stains, because, cats... every now and then they destroy stuff. I just place the other decorations strategically.

 

I so dislike the tiktok "culture" and all that nonsense, the glamour witches/mages who probably got half the stuff they displayed from sponsors. I think some people might shy away from all of it because it looks like so much money would need to be spent.

 

On the issue of world wide religions and tribal practices, I think this is mainly a thing of relevance. The teachings of Buddha are universal, but the approach to local entities may vary. There is a lot of information about spirits and elements and all in Tibetian Buddhist teachings, but usually not for non-locals, and not all of it can easily be transferred to other places. The sanitized Buddhism we get in the west is really something else compared to what locals practice.

[Arania]

And my connection posts stuff double again.

Edited September 13, 2023 by Arania

[Scandinavianhermit]

On 8/31/2019 at 3:10 AM, euripides said:

I'm quite a fan of Robert Graves, The White Goddess, and as an academic myself I'm well aware of just how flawed his work is, but that doesn't mean that it was any less important or useful to me. I just have to be aware of its shortcomings.

Just as the case with Mahabharata, the Bible and "Morien's" (i.e. Owen Morgan's) Light of Britannia (1893), Grave's The White Goddess is an excellent source for finding good themes for discursive meditation, but not an excellent introduction to factual history. 

[Scandinavianhermit]

On 2/15/2018 at 1:32 AM, Whisper said:

I'm really interested in exploring Wicca, Shamanism and Druidry.

 

Would anyone be able to help me figure out where to start? Books, etc.?

 

Thank you.

I'm not in a place to give advice about Wicca or Shamanism. 

 

I've found John Michael Greer's The Druidry Handbook very useful, but it is very much a beginner's handbook. Good at putting your feet on the path, with exercises to perform over one year's practice. 

 

Greer is eager to dispel any illusions about the fact, that Neodruidry is a c. 300 year old spiritual path (or new religion), not a continuation of Iron Age religion. Modern Druidry rose as a reaction to how early British industrialism mistreated Nature. It was contemporary with Enlightenment ideas such as Liberty, Equality, Fraternity (made famous by the French revolution) and an emerging tendency in 18th century British society to at least tolerate non-conformist beliefs. Many early Druids were practicing their Druidry in tandem with Unitarianism,* Universalism,** Methodism*** or Anglicanism/Episcopalianism.**** Over time, Neodruidry has accumulated practices and values from such diverse sources as 18th century fraternalism, the Romantic movement, Welsh nationalism, the American Transcendentalists, Victorian and Edwardian Occultism, 'the Celtic Twilight', 1960's counter-culture and the modern environmentalist movement. Occasionally, Druidry and Wicca has interacted with each other (Gerald Gardner and Ross Nichols were acquaintances, for instance).

 

An anthology helping beginners to understand the historical roots of Druidry (despite the sometimes highly erroneous ideas about the past held by Victorian Druids) is Greer's The Druid Revival Reader (2011). It is a historiography, not a history. Ronald Hutton's excellent Blood and Mistletoe: The History of the Druids in Britain (2009) fill a similar purpose.

 

The diversity within the Druidic movement is not a fault but a feature, because we are all individuals, and Druidry has usually been quite individualistic. For two quite different takes on Druidry, you can do worse than read Emma Restall Orr's Living Druidry (2004) and Graeme K. Talboys' Way of the Druid (2005). 

 

If you find the Reformed Druids of North America (which began as a student prank in 1963, protesting mandatory chapel attendance) interesting, you'll find a lot of material online: http://rdna.info

 

* Iolo Morganwg was both a Druid and a Unitarian minister

 

** George Watson MacGregor Reid was both a Druid and a Universalist minister

 

*** Several Welsh nationalists in the Gorsedd were Methodists

 

**** William Stukeley was both a Druid and a Church of England clergyman