Welcome to Gaia! ::

Okay, so I need a little help choosing or narrowing my options for my pagan path. sweatdrop Its proving a little difficult, cause I don't have patience for it. Which is a first for me. I want to soak up all I can and as much as I can and as early as I can! Please, tell me to calm down or suggest a meditation if you feel that'll help me ease down a little. But honestly I feel as though I've been wasting my life just looking for something to fill a hole. I already have love from my boyfriend, my two sons and my family and extended family, no matter how distant we may be. And now I know it is the mystery and spiritual path I need to take and follow for the rest of my life, and doing this will bring more love and light into my own small and growing family. So I don't want to be wasting my life anymore, and just dive in the deep end.

If I'm going to do it this way, I would like a little help from those who know a lot already. So I'm going to ask questions and tell you what I do not want specifically and what I am drawn to.

Once I am pointed in the right directs, and I will know. I am going to need to find someone to teach me on a monthly basis that lives close by, which is going to prove harder, especially if I end up with a more obscure and unknown pagan religion than the mainstream or popular.

.::[ What I am Drawn or Called to ]::.
• Mysticism
• Magic
• Spirit Guides or Guardians
• Dreams and Astral World (Should they be separate?)
• Afterlife - Psychic Abilities, even thought I highly doubt I'd excel at this
• Polytheism
• Weekly or Monthly Worship and Rituals (maybe even Daily if I make myself a routine)
• Nature, especially forests and green-ness~ lakes and rivers, but no oceans.
• Divination and Astrology (Should these be separated?)
• I like the Greek and Celtic Deities, along with British

.::[ What I Do Not Want ]::.
• Monotheism
• I'm not interested in the Stars and Universe so much, so its not on my top list. However, if you find something that fits what I would like and takes the universe into account then I will look into it
• None of that all-female covens, I believe in equality
• I want to have the option to Seek a coven
• Herblore, I won't have time to collect or money to purchase herbs for any sort of concoction, brew, potions and etc

I will remove or add more when I feel like it.
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What I want out of all this. I want to know me more. A past life if any? I want balance in my life, a happy harmony. Health and healing for myself and my family. A purpose, if there is one. A peace in my mind, soul, and heart.

If you like Greek deities and frequent rituals, Hellenismos has a packed calendar.

Unfortunately Wicca can't be learned online, or from books, If you want to properly Seek Wicca you will have to find a coven in real life and study with them in person.Since Wicca is a pretty specific religion, it isn't everywhere, and it's not interested in acquiring masses of members. You will likely have to travel long distances to find a legitimate group, and that's pretty normal. You will always have the opportunity to Seek if you choose, but you have to bear in mind it usually takes many years and a few covens before you find one that's a good fit. Legitimate Wiccan traditions are Gardnerian, Alexandrian, and a handful of smaller traditions in Southern California that are collectively known as Central Valley Wicca. A coven may claim to be Wiccan but if it is not lineaged in one of those traditions it will not have the core practice and thus can't be called Wicca.

Also, Wicca's god and goddess are not generic or solf-poly. They are a specific Lord and Lady, who are British. You can't slap other Gods into Wicca and have it work. Initiation into Wicca means becoming a priest or priestess of these two deities. If you're not interested in working many years to even so much as learn their actual names, Wicca is probably not going to be a satisfying choice for you.

You CAN have relationships with other Gods outside of Wicca, though. So if you do end up answering a call to priesthood within Wicca, you can still maintain other religious practice, which is what I do.

Speaking practically, there aren't many covens in Canada, and they are almost entirely in Ontario, southern Quebec, and southern British Columbia, in that 100 km band along the border. I have to travel 2 hours to meet my own coven, and some members are farther away than I. It is what it is. Travel and expense to learn isn't considered unusual for Seekers. It does mean you'll probably have difficulty finding covens, though, being so far north.

If you're not interested in eclectic practice you're really chopping your options down. Since we're not practicing pagan religions with unbroken histories at all, at best we can reconstruct ancient practice, and at the basic level we are constructing our own personal religious practices from multiple sources. Eclectic isn't a dirty word if it's done right. And if you're planning to interact with multiple cultures, you're already planning an eclectic practice.

Reconstructionist religions might appeal to you - there are Gaelic and Gaulish recons, Greek and Roman, and Norse and Kemetic.They do not tend to work in groups so much as alone.

As San said, there's HellenIsmos. Greek religion that's not quite recon but is specific to the Greek pantheon.There are Kemetic religious groups as well, who are not recon but may appeal.

Most of what you're interested in would fit really well into a personal eclectic religion. The bottom line with modern neo-paganism is that no-one is going to hand you a religion. Even when we are lucky enough to find groups or resources that fulfill some of our needs, nothing will have everything, and all of us has to do some hard work building own own personal practice - we've all been overwhelmed and confused and struggled. It is part of the journey.

But it is a journey, not a destination. You will have many years to develop and learn and organize your thoughts. I personally think many people need at least 5 years to settle into their practices, and some take longer than that. Rushing things generally doesn't help. Take a deep breath, try to appreciate the world
around you, and see if anything you need or want is closer to home than you think.

I know I haven't found any that have been recon as far as I know. Kinda sucks imo

I don't know, from what I read about those "druid" ones sounded a little made up to me. Haha. Amusing really. So I never really bothered with other ones listed in the About pages. I suppose I should at least read up on the other ones to get a feel for how they work and stuff. I will totally post or update everyone on my discoveries. :'3

Druids aren't recons, but they don't pretend to be either. wink

Here are some links:

Sponde
Kharis
Theoi

Oo~ Those links are all very good! Thank you for sharing that. O: <333