Pagan Journeys
Pagan Journeys => Beginner's Chat => Topic started by: npuree on March 10, 2011, 03:38:07 PM
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Hi!
My name is Griffin, and I would like to first off give a little background. I am 21 years old and have studied religions quite heavily off and on throughout my life. I have always had a love for the "Old Religions" and have even practiced some Solitary Wicca in my own. Recently I have had problems encountering a re-occuring uprising in faith of the Christian religion. I don’t want to say that I have been “radicalized” but I have found myself trying to lean towards the Christian religion, but I don’t feel like it ever completes me. When I practiced Solitary for a little bit, I felt very happy during a meditative time, and felt whole contributing to the Lord and the Lady. Also, being in the military it is hard to be a constant practioner of any religion, but especially Solitary Wicca / Paganism. I have always been an extremely spiritual person and fully believed that our kind should be represented in the military, I was wondering if anyone can get in contact with me to help encourage me to continue my practices or help me in any other way possible for more inspiration towards what I FEEL. (I am in Afghanistan currently but have plenty of resources to get online / mailing as well). Sorry to anyone out there that it seems like I am pitiful, but I assure I am not TOO pitiful, I just believe (through reading the threads here) that you are all amazing people that are geared spiritually in the same manner as I.
Thank you so so so so very much,
Griffin
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Hey there! Welcome to PJ! I'm sure others will have more info, but if you go to Witchvox.com, they have a list of Pagans in the Military - pagans of various paths who have chosen to make their contact information available (including their location). You migt want to check that out and see if there is anyone that you're stationed with that you could talk to. You might be surprised how many of them there are :) If you have trouble finding it on the Witchvox site, I did a Google for "military wicca afghanistan" and it was one of the first hits.
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Hi Tirya! I appreciate the link. Got it! Yeah I guess right now it is hard for me to get away from the Christian ideas of things, even though I have practiced Solitary Wicca.....I am surrounded by it everyday and just want an escape, but there is no way to get away it feels like. Also, I dont have the avalibility of tools for practice, nor the areas of privacy in which to do them...
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Remember that you don't "need" tools or a full-blown ritual to honor the Gods - everything you NEED is inside you, all the time. Tools are useful to help you focus, Rituals are outward ceremonies of your inner beliefs. Wicca isn't "something you do", it's "something you are". So even if you can't do a full-circle, Quarter-calling, athame-and-chalice ritual, maybe you can find five minutes at sunrise or sunset (or noon, or midnight, or at eleven minutes past three... ;) ) to quiet your mind and reflect on the Gods, Their place in your life, and how your thoughts and actions each day honor Them.
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I'll second Tir in everything she said. Witchvox is a good place to find people close to you. If in-person doesn't work for your situation, right here on Journeys is a perfect place to land. We have a wonderful group of people here that are very supportive and helpful.
Welcome to Journeys!
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First of all, I want to say THANK YOU for your military service. I will also back what Tiyra said about the link, and NOT needing physical tools. And when you need moral support, we got it here in spades.
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Right. :D I am not asking FOR tools hehe, I just want people to talk to about re-establishing my faith, and turning me away from almost tyrannical society of neo-christendom :yeah: :yeah: :yeah: And of course, I am honored to serve :) And especially honored when I know there are still people out there that are spiritually minded. This is actually the first time ever talking to anyone about Paganism and my experiences with it really. :squeezes:
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I would also like to thank you for your service and welcome you to PJ! :wave:
I agree with the others in regards to taking a few minutes daily (or even multiple times daily) to inwardly reaffirm your connection to the Divine. Some of the most powerful spiritual experiences for me have happened outside of a formal ritual environment. I found that reflecting on the nature of the Lord and Lady while greeting the Sun and Moon were very helpful early in my own practice.
As the others have mentioned, we are here to answer questions and provide support should you need it.
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I've got no additional advice, the other ladies have covered it all. :D
But I too wish to thank you for your service. ()
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I'll echo the others with thanks and welcome! :D
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Agreeing with the gratitude. :D Stay safe, doing what you do. :squeezes:
and many welcomes!!
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If you're looking for a pagan military perspective, Jason (who blogs at The Wild Hunt (http://wildhunt.org/blog/)) helps run Warriors & Kin (http://military.pagannewswirecollective.com/), a blog specifically about pagans in the military. Checking back with these two blogs might help your mind fight off the collective weight of our decidedly-Xtian-leaning military.
I honor all of the military men and women for their service, of course. :bow: Please feel free to post for any kind of advice or help you need. There's a good group of people here, no doubt. :D
And Welcome! :groovin:
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My nephew is an officer in Army intelligence recently over in Afganishtan. He is extremely cool with all religions, except perhaps Islam now, but tells me many of the senior officers are very conservative Christians but perhaps being Jewish he is different from most officers. Sometimes when talking to people it is important to listen to what they don't say in a situation. Definitely in close quarters with other people like you are in the military you need to find low key ways to pursue your faith. I might suggest constructing an astral temple and altar. The military might control every physical aspect of your life but they can't control what is inside your head. Let your soul be free.
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As usual, Vordan has some great practical advice and profound too. :cheer:
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Let your soul be free.
Awesome, Vordan. :loveheart:
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One of the great things about the various pagan faiths? The fact that your relationship to the divine (however one perceives it) is a one-on-one relationship. There is no middle man, there is no priest...there is just you and the Divine.
Well there ARE often priests and priestesses, but they don't get narky if you decide not to wake them up at 0-dark-30 and whip up a little ritual yourself at home.
But that ability to "phone up" the Divine means that one of the things that you can always do is to simply talk to them. Many is the time I have sat there doing the dishes and had a chat with them.
Granted I did most (heck...all) of the talking, but I could feel them there listening to me. In fact The Lady was amused by some of it. Rightfully so as I have a penchant for the whimsical. But I could feel their presence there as I was up to my elbows in Yesterday's burnt on casserole dish and just talking about my dreams, my desires, my fears, my concerns...the rather odd way that squirrel was staring at me through the window.
And I could feel them giving me comfort. Even though I had not cast a circle, it felt rather like it does when I do the full circle rituals. I could feel them being amused. I could almost see them rolling their eyes at me when I told a rather bad joke (they have a wonderful sense of humor). And even at one point when I told them that I had racked my brains and couldn't find a solution, I had a sudden inspiration on what I could try next.
Didn't work, but THAT failure at least gave me the clue I needed to figure out how to fix the solution.
So the simplest ritual that we can do as pagans is to simply look up and say "Hey. You guys have a minute?"
They have never failed to lend a ear.
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i need help getting started. i have been drawn to the craft for as long as i can remember but have no one to talk to about it or lead me in the right direction... someone please help me.
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I would say to look around on here a bit and post questions as they come up sweetie. Mostly, starting out involves lots of reqding. Welcome ot PJ! :wave:
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Welcome to PJ! What is it that you find yourself drawn to? What aspect(s)? That might help us help you find ways to deepen your connection and find your path. :)
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Can't say much beyond what Tir and DS said.
To paraphrase some of my internet heathen friends, "Welcome to the religion with homework." Best thing to do would be to pick up a couple tomes of knowledge and read. But without knowing where you lean and what, specifically, you might like to learn, we can't do much suggesting. :D There's also a HUGE body of work, free, if you know where to scour the interwebs.
Might want to start with the Internet Sacred Texts Archive (http://www.sacred-texts.com/). It's not very well vetted, but there's some jems in there. Poke around and let us know if anything catches your fancy and we can help point you towards other works.
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thank you all so much for your responses. i am currently reading a book called " Goddess in my pocket" im hoping to learn how to unlock the magic in myself i guess you could say. i'm very drawn to the charms, rituals, incantations, and fetish aspect of it all. and as silly as sounds i've always wondered how to channel the inner medium. does this make any sense? i wanna know how to draw a circle or how to build my alter. im very curious and just need a little guidance.
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Altar.
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altar, yes thank you. anyway you could give me a few pointers on creating one? i saw the pic of yours you posted. i have no idea where to begin.....
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I started a new topic here : http://www.paganjourneys.com/index.php?topic=1506.0 to talk about altar layout.