Some help if I may

Discussion of the different types of witchcraft and pagan paths.
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EveningWithAstaroth
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Some help if I may

Post by EveningWithAstaroth »

Hello.

Alright. I am currently having difficulty figuring if the type of craft I choose to practice, is an existing type of witchcraft or not.
And if it is which type.

I will try my best to keep this writing simple. With ritual I am inclined to keep my Altar a certain way. By this I mean I am particular. To explain I keep the God tools on my Altar to the West, or left side, and the Goddess to the East or right. I keep cauldron- a feminine tool- on the right, and the incense censor- a masculine tool- to the left.
It is reversed. I also am monotheistic (spelling?) in that I worship one deity, a God only.

I worship this one God. I am only aware of this God as I was able to feel "his" presence at the age of six, when I became aware of a presence of God. I call him a him and view him as male only as that is how the presence felt to me at six years old.

While there is a Goddess area designated on my Altar, the Goddess side the right is seen also as my God. In Example My God and Goddess candles would be called my God candles. It is seen as a different aspect of my God, the creative force.
Whereas the male side is more subtle for me. It does not for me represent a specific attribute.

Also this God for me remains nameless. Merely I call him God. I have no specific deity or pantheon in mind.
For me I consider him very close to the Christian God, only not this God of Christianity portrayed and spoken about in the bible. If that makes any sense. I feel very clearly from the presence itself a sense of a Christian God, yet not biblical God. I am very certain Christians would find this very repulsive.

My main question here for now, is there a type or form of witchcraft or Wicca that resembles closely what it is I do?
Or is anyone aware of which type or types are closest to defining my way of worship?

The Altar yes is directionally reversed or polarized would you call it? Something like that.

As for types of witchcraft I have interest in I know that but am unaware if those could even define it.
Of course before I forget I am Solitary. I don't think even if I knew others interested in witchcraft, Wicca, or Paganism that they would put up with my ideas, or particulars about ways of worship.

Any insight appreciated.

Please and thank you.
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Re: Some help if I may

Post by planewalker »

I find it to be close to my religion. I am an Adept of the Light. We can use what we are comfortable with for the esoteric part of our life. I use the Craft and Indian Medicine. We view our God to be all inclusive - male, female, animal, vegetable, fruit, mineral, all the things we can imagine and all the things beyond our imagination. We see God,in simplest terms, to be The Light, The Dark and most importantly The Balance. Our first law of three is the coin. There are three sides to every coin. We think of them as Light {call it heads}, Dark {call it tails} and the shared illusion of reality {View the coin from the edge, Light and Dark come together and balance.} We represent the Light and how it is the Balance that is important. We do not hate or fear the Dark as it does the Light. We do not flee from it. In the brightest Light we still need the Dark to give shadow and depth to Being. I hope that helps. I'm at your service for any further discussion you may wish. I have a topic, "Hello Paleface" under shamanism/Types of witchcraft.
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SpiritTalker
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Re: Some help if I may

Post by SpiritTalker »

I'd call it "eclectic" and personally relevant. It's not haphazard. An altar layout is responsive to our biological energy field which is why you feel so particular about the layout. You'd be uncomfortable if it were done differently. A one god-force with duo polarities manifesting as (-/+) both male/female is found in hermetics & alchemy.
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corvidus
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Re: Some help if I may

Post by corvidus »

Actually I think Christians would understand it pretty well.

First off, Catholics are monotheistic but also pray to Saints and Angels. There is a whole hierarchy in Christianity which usually goes unnoticed.

Also, the Qabalistic perspective of God is as an Androgynous Being. He/She can either manifest in a masculine or a feminine way. So I think you’re pretty accurate in your practice.

Alchemists also view the One in All as Androgynous. It is male when contained in masculine things, and feminine when contained in feminine things. So again, o think you’re quite accurate.

Natural science (not modern, but ancient science) also supports your view, as the Electromagnetic force is both magnetic and electric, female and male, and the two together create matter out of One energy.
A one god-force with duo polarities manifesting as (-/+) both male/female is found in hermetics & alchemy.
Ah! I missed this part. What he said ^^
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EveningWithAstaroth
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Re: Some help if I may

Post by EveningWithAstaroth »

Posted by SpiritTalker
I'd call it "eclectic" and personally relevant. It's not haphazard. An altar layout is responsive to our biological energy field which is why you feel so particular about the layout. You'd be uncomfortable if it were done differently. A one god-force with duo polarities manifesting as (-/+) both male/female is found in hermetics & alchemy.
Thank you for your perspective. May I ask why Eclectic? I find what you have said about if my Altar were different that I'd feel uncomfortable, to be incredibly accurate in that is also how I feel very deeply. If it were the traditional female Goddess aspect to the left and the male God aspect to the right I would not be inclined to practice whatever magic it is I practice (I am still at a loss of a term for it). That is to say the way I have it set up is that way for to reverse it- wouldn't feel right so much so it would probably be physically uncomfortable as well for me, I am unsure if anyone else here understands me here, on the physical discomfort part at least. It also can not be attributed to ocd in my case, as it simply isn't. Things don't have to be perfect, but yes for me they do have to be right.

As for alchemy and hermetics, I had to look up the term hermetic on wiki, as I knew not of its meaning, and as far as alchemy, despite having a monotheistic view I know very little of it, close to nill.

All I know of Eclectic Witchcraft is Traditional Wiccans do not consider Eclectics to be Wiccan. Which is fine by me as I do not consider myself Wiccan, but pagan. Pagan but I am not sure what. I practice magic but not Wicca, I suppose is the simplest way of explaining it.

Posted by corvidus
Actually I think Christians would understand it pretty well.

First off, Catholics are monotheistic but also pray to Saints and Angels. There is a whole hierarchy in Christianity which usually goes unnoticed.

Also, the Qabalistic perspective of God is as an Androgynous Being. He/She can either manifest in a masculine or a feminine way. So I think you’re pretty accurate in your practice.

Alchemists also view the One in All as Androgynous. It is male when contained in masculine things, and feminine when contained in feminine things. So again, o think you’re quite accurate.

Interesting what you say of the Qabalistic perspective, I may look more into this, if for anything, to learn.

Catholicism is actually closest to explaining my interest in Christianity, which is only to say I have more of an interest in Catholicism, however do not wish to view my God as a Trinity really itself. I agree with some Catholic views, but do not exactly view things in the same light.

Thank you all for the perspectives, still have not really found the right practice or tradition I feel, but I am still considering and looking.

With open mind.
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Re: Some help if I may

Post by SpiritTalker »

I think this captures my intent when I used the word "eclectic": "i practice magic but not Wicca, I suppose is the simplest way of explaining it."

I'm not Wiccan either. I'm self-dedicated, & always been solitaire. I learned the formal structure and why it was designed the way it is, then made adjustments to suit myself, or i make it up as I go. As long as balanced energy flows, it does not matter what you call it because it has a thousand names and facets, but it's just magic. Responding to and directing natural forces is the real issue.
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Doktor Avalanche
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Re: Some help if I may

Post by Doktor Avalanche »

Do you recognize other deity as well as your own? Do you see all deity as one universal deity or are all separate entities?
Much of this determines what practice and association, however I am one not fond of labeling.
"We are of the gods, but we are not ourselves gods,
We reflect the Divine, but we are not Divinity itself"
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EveningWithAstaroth
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Re: Some help if I may

Post by EveningWithAstaroth »

Doktor Avalanche wrote:Do you recognize other deity as well as your own? Do you see all deity as one universal deity or are all separate entities?
Much of this determines what practice and association, however I am one not fond of labeling.
What do you mean by recognizing other deities other than my own?

I believe other deities than my own certainly exist.

Momentarily I simply pay worship to only one.

I do not have a pantheon. Either a mix or full certain pantheon- Egyptian, Greek.

I've considered worshiping others, but have not fully decided upon it, since the meeting of what referred to itself as a babylonian Goddess.

I am aware other deities exist. I simply prefer at this time not to worship any other.
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Re: Some help if I may

Post by SnowCat »

You could simply consider yourself a practitioner of magic. It doesn't have to be labeled, it just is what you do. As far as deities, mine have been rather fluid. I used to work with Loki, but now Anubis is more central. Bast and Sekhmet have been constant presences. I think it's largely a matter of our energy and their energy resonating and being compatible.

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Re: Some help if I may

Post by EveningWithAstaroth »

SnowCat wrote:You could simply consider yourself a practitioner of magic. It doesn't have to be labeled, it just is what you do. As far as deities, mine have been rather fluid. I used to work with Loki, but now Anubis is more central. Bast and Sekhmet have been constant presences. I think it's largely a matter of our energy and their energy resonating and being compatible.

Snow
Practitioner of magic will surely do.

With deities I remember having an interest in mythology ever since middle school where we were learning of different mythologies, we came to Greek Mythology and I fell in love with Athena, despite having a fear of spiders.

As I grew older Athena became less central to me, but with a recent experience I was reminded again of her. Despite now I am not as crazy about her, I suppose she will always be there.

Later on I as a cat lover fell in love with bast, but never really came to accepting her as a deity. I believe I had tried and it never felt right, despite loving cats bast as a deity felt off in some way. It is hard to explain. Just didn't feel right.

Then came a time when I would go to a visual place during meditative states and there would be a presence of Anubis there, a humanoid wearing a jackal mask. These states were quite unreal in that the presence of Anubis actually felt like an actual presence, and this presence felt off putting in a way only what you'd imagine an off putting presence to feel like for others, but personally I actually was not as uncomfortable with it as I expected.

The one's I have recently considered trying to be more open to are Anubis and Bast, but I have not yet tried offering devotions to them as of yet.

I believe I've read you can petition to deities? Is that correct? I've never done this, even though I have been practicing magic for a while.

I have not really chosen a pantheon or like I have said worked with deities too much.

So I wouldn't know about that. Does anyone have any information on petitioning deities or how that works if indeed it is something that is done?

Thank you all for your responses, they have been helpful.
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Re: Some help if I may

Post by SnowCat »

I just talk to them. And they have chosen me, for their own reasons. I just go along for the ride. Like you, I got interested when we studied mythology in school. I was raised Catholic, but that's when I started questioning things.

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