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Reasons for Getting Into the Craft

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Tinevisce:
Since I've been feeling fairly chatty lately (must be the long weekend I'm spending doing absolutely nothing :D), thought I'd try to instigate some discussion here on PJ!

If you're comfortable talking about it, what were the initial reasons that drew you to the Craft/witchcraft/witchery/mysticism/occultism or whatever you call your spiritual path? It's possible that you were raised in a tradition from birth (which would make for a very interesting discussion), of course...but coming from a mostly atheist/agnostic set of generations, it's usually the case that setting yourself on a path of active mysticism (where you can't just "go through the motions" but have to actually participate) requires conscious choice. What made you make that choice?

I, somewhat sheephishly, admit came from decidedly "fluffy" origins. If I have to use euphemism to describe it, I'd say I started out wanting to develop a witchy skill set. Ahem. Wouldn't being able to cast spells be the coolest thing ever?! Pyrokinesis and telekinesis, anyone?  :whistle:

Over the years, though, I seem to be attracted to "practical" magic less and less. Don't get me wrong, I still think witchcraft is the COOLEST thing ever (TM), it's just that now my definition of cool seems to include more things like being able to perceive energy clearly; having a strong, focused relationship with Deity; journeying to the Other Worlds and so on and so forth.

earthmuffin:
I was raised atheistic/agnostic in the Bible Belt of the US so I felt awkward not having religion. This led me to read the Bible but I also had a wider worldview than most of my peers as my father was a world traveler and brought back tales and religious symbols from Asia and my parents being transplants from a big city on the West Coast were much more liberal than the general populace in the small southern town where we lived. The way that Christians dismissed the religious views of others did not sit well with me, for why would there be such a diversity of thought if only one way was truth? I took some world religions classes in college out of interest and went on to my life of science (which can be a religion to some) without a whole lot more thought on the matter until mid-life. Rather out of the blue, I had a spiritual crisis/mental breakdown/spontaneous kundalini awakening? after which I stumbled onto shamanism, wicca and religious mysticism as I found that thoughts that arose to me during that period that were entirely novel to me were what mystics have been saying for years. In my case, I wouldn't call it so much of an active choice as much as having been forever changed by that powerful experience. In the aftermath of it, I've been left to reconcile my former self and my new more spiritually aware self, which has not been the smoothest of roads; however, my life-long fascination with and love of nature makes it easy to embrace it both through science and spirituality. 

Eternal Seeker:

I blogged about the path in some detail, here http://cuumbaya.blogspot.com/2011/03/why-im-not-universalist-part-one.html  and here http://cuumbaya.blogspot.com/2011/03/why-i-am-not-universalist-part-2.html

peace,
ES

vordan:
It has called me from an early age, I tended to see and experience odd things since early childhood. The universe was obviously to me not as cut and dry as my atheist father believed neither did it fit into the Christianity I tried to adopt. It has been a journey for truth, I ended up with a very pantheist view somewhat Taoist, somewhat Wiccan, a little Christian, a little agnostic. I discovered the divine spirit inherent in the universe, I found that there are many mysteries. In short I found more questions as I found answers. I would never trade my spiritual journey, it has been a wonder, it has been a great gift, to explore the mystery freely. I had a dream once where my life took a different path and I got some of the things I thought I had wanted early in life, had a more normal life. That version of myself was less happy and much less interesting then the mystic me.

DawningFox:
I knew Christianity wasn´t for me at an early age. I turned to Paganism for a more spiritualistic approach. For something more personal & hands on. I´ve never felt better or more confident in a path. It was something I set in my own way & I could learn what I needed without pressure from outside sources, or a ¨higher figure¨ trying to push me into one straightforward path & damn me for asking honest questions.

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