One of the most difficult questions a person can face in life is that of their spiritual path. Which one will you follow? Or do you forge your own? Is it possible to learn from cultures that are not your own without appropriating them? How do you even know where to start?
There are no easy answers.
I am of the opinion that while you can turn to others for advice, nobody can definitively tell you what is right for you. This doesn't seem to stop people from asking, however, and that can be frustrating for both the seeker and the person whom the questions are posed to.
Probably the first step in finding a path for yourself (yes, you have to do all the work yourself) is to familiarise yourself with the many religions of the world. Websites like Religious Tolerance Dot Org or Sacred Texts both contain overviews of most world faiths.
It's not really my aim to provide a ton of information on some of the more popular religions - I feel that if you're truly interested in one of the Judeo-Christian faiths, Buddhism, Hinduism or Sikhism there are people who are far more knowledgeable on those topics than me! There's also the advantage of being able to find a church or temple fairly easily, where someone will no doubt be happy to help you.
I am not Christian, or Jewish, or Sikh. I am pagan, and have been for well over ten years. I discovered paganism via Wicca during what I like to think of as the occult boom in the 90s, when I was a teenager. As hard as it is to believe, back then the internet was not ubiquitous, and it was not entirely commonplace to have an online presence. That was for nerds, which I was. Even so, the internet back in those days was a much smaller place, and information (good AND bad) was not so readily available. This meant that my main exposure to pagan religions and witchcraft came through books.
Not all books are created equal. And some books, while they may contain some good information, also contained revisionist history and outright falsehoods. As a teenager I had not yet developed many critical thinking skills, and I tended to believe most anything a book said. After all, it was published! It wasn't until years later that I discovered some online sources that helped dispel some of the claims I myself had been regurgitating as fact.
That's one of the things I have learned over the years: when you first start out, you're going to be a little over zealous. And you're going to say some things and honestly believe some things that might make you cringe later on. And that's okay. I think it's a normal part of a person's development. (Now, if ten years in you're still spouting the same nonsense, THEN you have a problem...)
It's important to know a little about your sources. For example, a lot of older books claim that Wicca is hundred of years old, the remnant of an ancient nature religion. This is something that has been pretty well debunked - Wicca was created by Gerald Gardner, circa the 1950s. Does this make the entire religion bunk? No! And does it mean all those old books are useless? No again! Knowing the story behind something means we can look more objectively at it is all. There is a long history of occult groups fudging the truth about their lineage, and Wicca was simply no exception.
Read books. Realise books are not perfect. Look up those books you're reading online - there are some great pagan book review sites out there! Ask other people what they've read, what resonated with them. Read websites too, but always remember that while books at least in theory have editors and people who check the material beforehand, literally anyone can make a website. (Says the girl with the blog... ahem.)
Paganism is pretty vast. Wicca is perhaps the most well-known religion under that umbrella, but it's far from the only one. There are what are called reconstructionalist religions, which attempt to recreate the ancient religions of Greece and Egypt and others, and and eclectic pagan paths that don't have much official structure.
And to confuse you further, not all witches are Wiccan! I know I'm not.
Anyway, if you're thinking paganism might be for you, here are some resources that I've found over the years:
Seeking: This is a website that has a wonderful overview of Wicca and Paganism. The site is easy to navigate and up-to-date.
The Wiccan Church of Canada has a great FAQ page. Its focus is primarily Wicca, obviously, but it does touch on paganism as a broader umbrella term.
The Cauldron's Pagan Primer is another great overview of different pagan religions. Not sure what the difference is between Asatru and Discordianism? This is the place to go. The forum is also a great resource, and has a wealth of interfaith and magical discussions.
Wicca for the Rest of Us: A Wiccan site (duh) but one that has an emphasis on GOOD history, and does not engage in some of the unfortunate Christian-bashing some sites fall victim to.
Obviously these are not the only sites out there, but they are good solid ones to start from! Now, about those book reviews I mentioned...
Pagan Book Reviews
Pagan Bookworm
Pagan Librarian
That should do you for a while, eh?
- Mama
