Here’s a new Ask A Witch question from Sammi. If you would like to ask a question, feel free to use the form located in the link at the top of the page for Ask A Witch and send in your questions!
Sammi says…
hi um this may be weird but im new to wicca and i dont know much and i have no one to help me, could you give me a few pointers please?
That’s a pretty loaded question, Sammi, but I’ll see what sort of help I can throw your way. 🙂
Let me start by giving you some direction in getting started rather than giving you Wicca in a nutshell. Information on the God and Goddess, the Sabbats, doing rituals and spells, all of that is easy enough to find. But not knowing exactly what you’re specifically looking for pointers on, I’ll help direct you toward getting started in general. At this point, not knowing what you know already, what you’ve read or studied or just now “new” you are, I’ll do what I can to answer your question but if you have OTHER questions, like anymore more specific, please ask!
When it comes to venturing into the world of Wicca there are two ways of doing it. You can dive in feet first and start reading books and following along with the rituals and work that you find in the books or you can take things slow and really make your way on a solid path. Personally, I prefer for ANYONE to take the slower path. Honestly, anyone can follow a spell in a book just like anyone can bake a cake from a recipe in a cookbook, but developing true magickal skills, connecting to the Gods and learning to really to meditate and visualize take time and require a lot of work. It’s better to start with those things and start slow than to rush. You’ll have a lifetime ahead of you for casting spells.
To get started one of the best places to start is with reading books. Each author is like a teacher and each one is going to bring you a different perspective on things. Some you’ll like and some you wont and there will be ones that people will recommend to you that you will find just don’t work for you. And that’s fine! Take the time to try different books and different authors and find the ones that resonate with you.
Some books that I would recommend for getting started are:
“Wicca: A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner” by Scott Cunningham
“The Truth About Witchcraft Today” by Scott Cunningham
“True Magick” by Amber K
“The Witch’s Bible” by Stewart and Janet Farrar
“Wicca for Beginners” by Thea Sabin
“The Power of the Witch” by Laurie Cabot
The next thing that I would recommend would be finding email groups or maybe discussions groups on places like Facebook where you can find like-minded people to chat with. Having people to ask questions to when something pops up is a big help, and personally I think that having the possibility of being able to gain multiple perspectives from many people is even more helpful.
If you want to try and get some basic info on Wicca online here are a few websites to check out:
The Basics on The Witches’ Voice
Witch/Wiccan FAQ on The Witches’ Voice
A helpful article on how to get started in Wicca on About.com
Again, if you have specific questions about practicing Wicca, the Gods, the Sabbats and Esbats, feel free to ask.