times since geocites last reset their counters.
Ok, so you've read some of my encouragements and discouragements about
wiccan life, and read several of my miscellaneous informational pages.
After this reading you decide, hey, this is great.. where do I get started?
My site contains a lot of information, but it really contains no where
near the amount of information a good starter book has in it.. the
bottom of my main page has a list of 3 fairly good ones i can
recommend that I've already read. "to ride a silver broomstick",
"Wicca: a guide for the solitary practitioner" and "spiral dance".
The main page has some comments, and the ISBN's for them. If you have
a pagan bookstore, go there and get one of those books as a starter.
If you don't have a pagan bookstore, most major chain bookstores will
carry some wicca books carried in a corner, usually over in the
"new age" section and not the "religion" section (strangely very old
religions such as Taoism tend to find their way into new age
as well). If they don't have any, give them the ISBN and they should
be able to order it in (you can get almost any book this way from a
local bookstore) Most books are quite comprehensive on matters, and
have suggested reading lists of other good books.
Wicca has no form of centralized authority, thus there are no exact
definitions as to what makes one wiccan, and no certifications of any
sort. I do however recommend some minimal standards before calling
oneself wiccan. Many serious members of the community can get rather
annoyed at people calling themselves wiccan, and asking questions which
indicate they do not know even the most basic things, such as "what
holidays do we wiccans celebrate?"
1) have read at least one introductory book, cover to cover,
or had some reasonable amount of training with a teacher who is a
practicing wiccan.
2) have performed at least one ritual on your own, or led one
for a group. (it doesn't need to be a big one, a simple circle casting
with a 2-3 minute ritual, prayer, or meditation honoring the gods is
sufficient)
I know it is not the wiccan way to dictate how people ought
lead their path, but I don't feel those conditions are terribly
restrictive and are very, very minimal. After all, does it make sense
to call oneself Wiccan if you've never walked the walk before?
Personaly I studied wicca for a few months, during which time
I did not consider myself wiccan at all. Then I decided that I should
try practicing on a regular basis (observing all holidays, etc), during
that time I considered myself a student of Wicca. After a year and a
day of doing this, I considered myself a practicing wiccan, because I
was still keeping to my path and it wasn't a passing phase (and yes I
marked the day with a special ritual).
good luck!
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