I personally believe the start to any pagan or wiccan journey begins with educating yourself. Read alot and expose yourself to all cultures and options. You never know what speaks to your soul if you dont open your mind and allow new things to come into it. The basics are also vital. Herbal magick/medicine, Candle magick and uses. The colors and their meanings. Construction of spells and rituals. Being Pagan and Wiccan is no different then going to a regular school. You have to start with the fundamentals before you can jump to the advanced courses. Once you have a large knowledge base of different cultures and religions you can start to build on how you wish to live your life, how you want to walk down your path. Once you figure that out, its all about intent and following your instincts. Dont allow the abundance of information to over whelm you and make you trip up. Know your knowledge level and nurture your mind body and spirit. As you increase your education and awareness your ability will advance with it. Most things in any of the many pagan faiths comes with experience and time. With time you will gain wisdom and with that wisdom comes power. Both spiritual and magical. Ask questions like your doing right now, but know you are the one that holds the power and control over your faith. All we can give you is advice and examples pulled from our lives and our chosen path. But each path must be of your own making and suited to who you are deep with in.
Whether you chose to be a solitary practitioner like myself or you chose to be apart of a coven, is a very personal choice. But your not limited in a huge way. Yes being apart of a coven allows for a larger variety of abilities from individuals with in the coven, and gains your rituals and spells to have more energy and power. But even as a solitary you can do many if not all things on your own. The benefit of being solitary, is in my opinion your able to specialize. You dont have to focus as much on group rituals and more on personal individual advancement and study. Granted you can do this with a coven, but having less social distraction and responsibility allows for you to focus more on yourself and your energy. I am a solitary practitioner and if you would like to chat more, please message me. I would love to help you out and give you tips that have helped me.
Blessing to you )0(