Agreed. Honestly the more time I spent looking forward for a path to follow, the more confusex I got and the more lost I felt. In the end I found my lath by first having the epiphany that knowing my path or not, I'm already walking it. So instead of looking forward, I started looking at where I was in the present. I asked myself what I liked to do. What made sense to me. What things I had read or learned that came naturally. Where the information felt more like reminding me of things I didn't realize I already understood.
Then, I looked backwards over the things I had already done. Footsteps already behind me in the path I had been following all along. I compared my past experiences with what I learned I wanted in the present. And while the directions I have taken since have varied some as I learned new things about myself, I was able to keep finding my bearings whenever I felt like I was spinning in circles again.
Started out by learning the Basics of Magick and building a foundation upon which I would work. My beliefs sorted themselves out over the years, which is what, along with my interests, have let me to my path.
I always knew there was more out there than what was commonly taught. I found kabbalah at about 16, and joined the Golden Dawn when I was 21. I was trained in a temple and now serve as chief adept of our local temple.
Re: How did you know? By: Personified / Knowledgeable
Post # 8 May 31, 2017
For me, it started off as a path introduced to me by my kin when I was young. I wasn't sure how I felt about it at first, and therefore I took time to learn about it on my own as I got older. The more I learned, the more interested in the path I become on my own accord. I began to have my own experiences that furthered my interest and it took off from there.
Just wanted to thank everyone for their replies! It's great to hear some of the various ways we've discovered ourselves and our paths. I'm not new to witchcraft but this is really the first time I've reached out to others to hear their sides. Keep em coming if you are so inclined!
I can't say for sure that my path is the right one. It is only the right one for me in this moment. My path has progressed slowy sometimes and quickly at other times. I started out studing traditional, secular witchcraft which was introduced to me by a mentor of sorts. I suppose that my first big "Aha!" moment was sometime in there. The next being when I found heathenry and the norse deities and the runes.
I agree that it doesn't help to try and define your path as one thing or the other. Labels, for all the good intentions we use them for, only end up pigeonholing our own practices and limiting ourselves to narrow perceptions of our own paths. I feel that it is better to remain vague and open rather than specific and narrow sometimes.
I definitely see the benefit of not tying yourself down to a label, but I know myself enough to know that I can spend forever never moving forward when I remain too vague. It's all about balance I suppose.
Thats an excellent question, I think this is a very subjective matter as we will tend to go with our gut instincts at how we feel about a particular path. For a long while I was just pagan, but now I combine Wiccan and Pagan practises into my path, so I would suggest always going with what feels most optimally right and if you chose in this way your path will be the best for you at that moment in time. As time goes on you may chance to this path or to that path, but you will always be happy and comfortable with that choice!
it's hard to explain a feeling [if you've ever seen FullMetal Alchemist Brotherhood, the best example i can give is when they tried to explain 'the truth' and the characters make a shocked face and wiggle their arms and go 'it was weird' that's basically what i think of when someone asks me to describe a feeling. it's very hard to put into words]
when i first read about Wicca i kept nodding and thinking 'yes' a lot, and it all felt very true to me. from there, as i grew, i would either learn new things i would fold into my path, or drop previous views. the threefold law for example, while i agreed with it, it slowly become a point of issue for me. when i began i was in high school and strongly believed if i did one bad thing [usually a 'black magick' spell or some physical harm to another] three bad things would follow [like 3 bad luck things in a row] but as i got older and observed bad people getting away with stuff i began to question the law. eventually i discovered a different way to view the law and it was a giant 'aha!' moment [i even gasped lol] instead of a stubbed toe, late for the bus and pop quiz in math punishment, it would effect your mind, body, and spirit [your mind would be foggy, your body achie, and your spiritual connection low]
so, yea, Paganism has always felt like the right 'label' but specifics in my path change over time. it doesn't mean what i use to believe was wrong, it was right for the time. so if this works for you right now, it's the right path to be on. life is winding and there's many forks in the road, depending on the path you choose it can lead to different outcomes. so go for it if it's right for you now.
