How do you label your practices?

[RyukaAscendant]

I've been thinking about this and it's really hard to label yourself sometimes and it comes up in conversations. For example, a new practitioner may look up sorcerer and find that it's associated with dark spirits but others would call that a demonologist.

Personally I think of myself as a sorcerer because I'm an orphan practicioner. But I wondered what others thought.

[Ashrend]

I think it would depend on personal preference in that case.

Draconic

[Pallando]

I am a Pagan, because I practice an Earth based religion. The End.
Further defining is not necessary to me personally, and I never find it to be the business of anyone else either.


Peace,
Pallando the Blue

[SpiritTalker]

Mostly I label my practice with sticky notes. Eclectic has been sufficient and I never get beyond it to an eclectic "what?" cuz nobody asks. If I'm amongst non-pagans, they assume I mean Christian and if I'm among pagans, they assume that's what I meant. It doesn't matter to me what someone thinks.

[Pallando]

... It doesn't matter to me what someone thinks.

This

[Bychan Wulf]

Like ST, I just say eclectic and people mostly have no idea what it means, so they think I am Christian and if they get deeper, they just get that I am interested in other religions too and take something from each one of them. As long as they think we believe in the same God, there is absolutely no problem

[SpiritTalker]

That's an intriguing phrase " orphan practitioner". Does it mean something to you more specific than solitary? And why does that phrase define your sorcery? Now you've peaked my curiosity. Most sorcerers work alone or with an assistant by necessity ...so why orphaned?

[moonraingirl]

I call myself "spiritual-nonreligious".

Usually Christians think I am a Christian heretic and sometimes they try to explain that I can't believe in God without the Church.

Some think it means that don't believe in anything and I'm an atheist.

Friends who have been through my journey with me think I'm indecisive and weird and mostly ask: what do you believe this year?

But the truth is I don't have to answer very often because no one cares in my area. I live in the most atheist town in the country. 46% atheists here

[CleverlyDisguised]

I simply call it mine. "What are your religious beliefs?" My own. "What religion do You ascribe to?" Mine. "And that is?" Personal.

[RyukaAscendant]

That's an intriguing phrase " orphan practitioner". Does it mean something to you more specific than solitary? And why does that phrase define your sorcery? Now you've peaked my curiosity. Most sorcerers work alone or with an assistant by necessity ...so why orphaned?

I refer to myself as an orphan practitioner because for the most part I am very social. However, I've grown in a vacuum as far as interactions with others who are practitioners. Most of what I do is guided only by whim though I try to avoid anything too dramatic because I have very little clue what I'm doing. I have my theories and I use science as a guide post for my magic and my spirituality as an interpreter for what science has not explained.
My practices have typically focused on enchantment of items to accomplish my will. Usually some form of jewelry or glyphs I write on myself.
As you said sorcerers typically work alone which is why I picked up the term for myself. However, I have had very little guidance and would like to find more info to take me past, what I'll term, level 1
As far as the gods are concerned. I consider them all of our ancestors. Venerated to God status for deeds or abilities or simply fame. So I simply refer to my spirituality as pegan or heathen. I accept all gods as real and deny none but recognize spirits as different put potentially as powerful.

[smogie_michele]

I am a Pagan, because I practice an Earth based religion. The End.
Further defining is not necessary to me personally, and I never find it to be the business of anyone else either.


Peace,
Pallando the Blue

Ditto. I would say the exact same thing.

[Newbiewitch94]

I identify as wiccan and generally for the most part I do follow the regular Rede. However, saying that I actually prefer to use the dianic wicca interpretation of the harm none rule because it makes more sense.

[Bychan Wulf]

I actually prefer to use the dianic wicca interputatio n of the harm none rule because it makes more senae

What does that one say? I tried to google it but nothing useful came up.

[Heartsong]

I usually just tell people I'm spiritual when they ask and try to leave it at that. I don't want to lie about my beliefs, but I prefer not to start something by openly admitting that I'm a Pagan.

[SpiritTalker]

"... However, I have had very little guidance and would like to find more info to take me past, what I'll term, level 1..."

This describes most of us. In past eras sorcerers traveled to visit and learn from each other. Today we have the Internet and save on horsepower. ... Or broom power yet I suspect even the most advanced practitioners out there still feel like they dwell alone forever on level one.

Maybe traveling to other cultures makes a difference? Cultures think differently and regionally. We have to experience different ways to think, and methods of reasoning, to break out of our routine methods and forge new mental pathways. When we advance it's because the brain's opened a new conscious level. The old Shamanic techniques of near-death experiences were their way of forcing new pathways to grow. If you survived it, you started over each time but with new comprehension.

Planewalker commented there are bold wizards and old wizards, but no old bold wizards, and it made me think of those harsh Shamanic methods, and the cruelty used at Montuak for forcing psychic development, using trauma to force the mind to break new pathways. Flying ointments and psychotropic mushrooms have the same history, survival contingent. The more gradual methods of forging new pathways rely on meditation and spiritual development so that mastering knowledge goes hand in hand with the wisdom to handle it. There's no need to scatter more bodies when we can make better choices.

I'd like to suggest exploring means of communicating with your higher self, and letting it be the guide that you seek. You'd never find a better one, or one more aware of your needs and what direction to pursue.