So just to be clear here... Do you want to learn about Wicca or do you want to learn about magic and spellcasting? The two are very, very different things. Wicca is a religion with specific beliefs and practices. While Wiccans do practice magic, most of us engage in very little actual casting of spells.
Spellcasting is simply a magical practice that has nothing to do with any particular religion.
So it might be helpful in finding a particular teacher to know exactly what it is you want to learn.
magic and spell casting. i'd like to learn anything and everything about it mainly. i have been reading scott cunningham's Living Wicca: A further guide for the solitary practitioner.
Well if it's magic and spell casting you want to learn you don't need a Wiccan teacher as you aren't interested in the religion. Any magic user should be able to help you with spell casting.
Well, if you're serious about learning how to do magic and with starting from the rock-bottom then you don't start out by casting spells, you start out by learning how and why magic works.
You see, there is no such thing as an "easy" spell or a "beginner" spell. One either understands how magic works and has mastered the basics...in which case the magic will work..or you haven't done that sort of work..and no spell will work no matter how "easy" it seems.
Casting a successful spell involves much more than finding some spell on the internet or in a book, saying some words, lighting a candle, waving a wand of any of that sort of thing. In order for magic to work you need to understand how and why it works in the first place. Grounding and centering, visualization, focus and intent, energy manipulation, etc are all necessary first steps to even begin to have a chance at a spell actually working...and more importantly to prevent a spell from back-firing on you.
So, my advice for anyone who is truly serious is to start by reading a few books and practicing the exercises those books will give you. Once you have mastered the basics you won't need anyone to give you spells, you'll be able to create your own spells that will be far more effective than anything you find on the net. Here's the books I suggest:
"Before You Cast a Spell" by Carl McColman
"Spells and How They Work" by Janet and Stewart Farrar
thanks lark. i'll look into those. as i said earlier, i'm reading scott cunningham's Living Wicca: A Further Guide for the Solitary Practitioner right now. also SavageSmoker is teaching me starting tomorrow he said. i've done meditation and psi balls some along with a little astral projection. that's about all i've done so far.
