I am looking to chat with neopagans. Especially, Druid or Wicca. I don't want you to think that I'm out to criticize. Because I am not! I have finally admitted to myself that I am NOT a christian, but that sort-of leaves me feeling like I have no direction.

I have been researching neopagan faiths, and they greatly appeal to me. But I have some very direct questions. If you are willing to chat then please contact me.

Thanks.
KentuckyGal

Now that you know your not a christian you can actually find a fullfilling direction....just takes time. Is strange to let go of the old belief system and embrace a new.
Losing the 'salvation theory' is the best way to free yourself from dogma and find a good path.
Keep asking questions

That was the worst part. Everything is so entrenched in me. But at this point I'd rather burn in hell because I felt at peace during my life then spend the rest of my life hating myself and my life for the sake of a religion. IT IS STUPID!

-of course now that I'm opening up to other ideas, I realized that 'hell' is just a way to scare people into giving to the church.

Anyway I'd really like to talk to pagans about where to start reading about neo-pagan religions. I have a book on Druidry, and a lot of it sound great. I just really feel like I should read a lot before settling on something. Still I've been 'browsing' for a while, and I definitely feel like I'm in the right area.

I remember you. I'm in Ky. too. Nothing to add just wanted to say hi and good luck on your search........

problem is we as people forget its not about religion its about faith..... faith in something greater than oneself alone....

the basic principles of most religions, paths, or doctrines are then same over time people use and corrupt those things fear and the desire for power are generally the main culprits


faith is found in love and acceptance no matter which path you choose i find it hard to believe that if you live with love in your heart eyes and actions that you could fail or "burn in hell"

may you know no sorrow from which you cannot learn may you learn to see beauty in everything hope and faith go hand in hand remember to listen with every part of you...and hopefully you will find your way

i am neo-nazaiquasi-pulurafied and gratuitously deified! I am the seeker of the shiznit and keeper of the secret!

The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. Congratulations on taking the first one. As someone who grew up in KY as a Catholic, I can understand how bleak things might seem, but there are others out there. Although, my personal advice would be to get out of KY, if at all possible :-P

I classify myself as an agnostic neo-pagan: when I question the existence of the divine, I doubt the existence of many deities.

There are many paths; since I admitted to myself that I am pagan, I have seen Wicca begin to go mainstream. Originally, Wicca was highly codified, now, it is lapsing into dogma.

I would be happy to discuss anything with you, but keep in mind, all anyone can offer is opinion.

Except historicity.

This is an unfortunate truth, and it stems from the fact that some sort of doctrine is actually required by government bureaucracy in before they can recognize a spiritual philosophy as an official religion.

That's truly unfortunate, but obviously the only way it can be done.

Therefore from a purely technical point of view, "Wicca" technically only refers to the spiritual philosophy proposed by Gerald Gardner. Which many "pagans" including myself, do not necessarily agree with in detail.

For this reason the term "Wicca" itself has become a bit vague and confusing, because most books and websites on the topic of "Wicca" do not necessarily agree with, or even support, the views of Gerald Gardner.

Witchcraft is an extremely abstract spiritual tradition which actually runs a rainbow of various traditions. The views of Gerald Gardner are merely one facet of many different perspectives. Yet because his views were used as the basis of governmental bureaucracy to get the religion "officially recognized" that very act forced a sort of doctrine or dogma onto the label of "Wicca".

My view of "Wicca", or traditions of Witchcraft and Shamanism, are quite abstract. In a very real sense I wish I could have been there to have input into how Wicca should be defined from a governmental bureaucratic view. The only problem is that my views may have ultimately been rejected as being too abstract and not concrete enough to qualify as a "specific religion".

However, if you think about it, perhaps Gerald Gardner faced a similar dilemma. He might have originally tried to propose a more abstract version of it and was forced to make it more concrete to satisfy the bureaucrats. And in this way, specific dogma is being forced onto the religion just so it can attain government recognition as an "official religion".

So I'm not sure whether pagans should be excited that Wicca has become an "officially recognized religion" or not. If in doing so it has lost the ability to be abstract, then this is not a good thing, IMHO.

I agree with rlynne. Faith is the single most important element.

But then the question becomes "Faith in what?"

And that's the question we really need to look at in depth. Are we seeking to have faith in dogma? In other words, do we need to place our faith in a particular story, fable or mythology as somehow being the "Absolute truth"?

I personally think not. I think that is totally misplaced faith.

For me faith should be purely intuitive. Either you believe in a spiritual aspect of reality or you don't (without the need for any stories, fables, or rumors from other people).

If you don't, then perhaps the best thing to do is to face the possibility of an atheistic reality head-on and move forward from there focusing purely on humanity and a secular awe of nature in general as being the core philosophy of your life.

On the other hand, if you're intuitively drawn to a spiritual reality with the conviction that it must be true. Then you need to next decide what you would "condone" as a truly righteous, just and all-wise God. After all, if you believe in your own sense of morality, then surely an all-wise righteous creator is not going to have moral values that are lesser than yours.

So with that in mind, choose only human archetypes, myths, fables, legends, etc., that satisfy and complete your heart-felt core belief of what best represents a truly righteous just and all-wise God.

You can go wrong.

God can't be less moral than you! That would be a violation of what God is supposed to be in the first place.

So imagine that God is as nice as you like. God cannot fail to live up to your expectations of niceness, for if the god failed to do so, it would not be a nice god in the first place.

So you can never go wrong imagining that God is as nice as you can possibly imagine.

And any religion that doesn't live up to that level of niceness is necessarily a false religion.

So feel free to make God as nice as you want.

You simply can't fail with that attitude.

Howdy!

Hi! Thanks everyone for your comments. I really appreciate the insight. I definitely want to research paganism more because every pagan I meet tells me something different. Yesterday I down loaded and started reading the Witches' Bible. I really enjoyed the simplicity of the laws it described. I haven't gotten to the rituals yet, but I hope to be ready for the Spring Equinox.

Yes, it really sucks being a Pagan in the Bible Belt (Kentucky is considered BB, right?) I say Pagan because in today's day and age that's becoming synonymous with "Neopagan." Technically, we are all Neopagans because we are not practicing in the "Old days." The practices remain the same, but the times and methods change.

But enough semantics, it's good that you're self-realizing! I have seen so many sit in church, unhappy because they don't believe but are too afraid to leave the box.

To quote Omnia - "Think them poorest who can be a slave, think them richest who dare to be free."