The following is a smaller conversation I exchanged with a girl by the name of Ruth. I thought it might be kind of interesting for everyone to see, and hopefully it might answer some questions.
Hi Chantrea, my name is Ruth I am 15, nearly 16 and I am
from England
and I have just seen your 'first ritual' (an essay I wrote at A Mystickal Grove website), I thought it was great.
I really want to learn more about becoming a Wiccan but I'm
a little scared
about it, what if I cant make spells work? I have been checking
out
magic related sites for a while, but I havent done anything about
it
yet. I thought, maybe you could give me a little bit of advice
about
it all. I realize that Wicca is a religion but I want to know,
can
you practise magic AND believe in God (I am a Roman Catholic)
From Ruth
xxx
Ruth,
Hi! I'd be happy to help you however I can!
Introducing myself, my name is Marja and I have been Wiccan
for just
about 2 years. I have heard a lot of people say they are Christian
and
Wiccan (A Mystickal Grove actually has a section on it, check it
out).
I live in the USA! Feel free to email me!
~Marja
HI Marja,
Thank you for replying to my e-mail, a lot of people wouldn't bother with a stranger! I am still a little un-sure on whether or not to do a spell, for the same reasons as last time, but what you said really helped!
My friend Helen is also interrested in magic, but she has told me that she has already done a few spells and that they have worked (including astral projection). I always thought that spells could only work if you were a real/natural witch and so you would know that you were a witch from when you were little, and Helen only did spells once we started researching magic, so does that mean that anybody can do magic, as long as you really believe in it?
Feel free to agnore this long, maybe boring letter, on acount
of I may be bugging you.
Thanx Again
Luv Ruth
xxx
Hi! Of course, anybody can be a witch. It's something you work at,
and it's not all about magic! Magic is something you work at, something
that sometimes
takes practice. Sure, for some it comes naturally, the ability
to change
things, but for most people it doesn't. Magic really isn't a *poof*
kind of a thing, what you want won't happen immediately in most cases,
you have to work with it in real life, too, magic won't solve it all.
Many witches/wiccans/pagans are very techno people, living in cities, suburbs and rural areas just like anybody else. You cannot always tell who is Pagan and who isn't. Personally, I'm not much of a witch, I'm more of a Pagan, I have done a couple of spells and what I believe they do is get you into a state of mind in which you can make changes for yourself.
That's very cool if you're friend has had success, good for her! You
will too, once you're ready to begin practicing magic. Remember, that's
not what it's all about and you should study and learn as much
as you can beforehand. You can't be a witch overnight, people are still
learning
years into their practice and will continue learning until they
die. It never stops. Some ppl think they can read one book and that's
it, but that's not the way it works. Feel free to write,
~Marja
Hi!
I was wondering, what is the difference betweenwitches/wiccans/pagans?
I feel better about doing some spells now, that is thanx to you, but I'm
first going to do some more reseach on it, considering I don't
even know the difference between the above think I need to!
~Ruth~
Hi!
A witch practices Witchcraft, which is just that, a Craft. They practice
spells, etc. Personally, I say withcraft isn't a religion, it's an
aspect, something you do. Others disagree.
Wicca is a religion that's core belief is in the Rede "An ye harm none do as ye will", some will say Wiccans are always witches but not all witches are Wiccans. I disagree, I say not all Wiccans are witches.
Pagans, on the other hand, are a very large group with many traditions (like Christianity has Catholicism, etc.) such as Druidism, Wicca, Shamanism, Hinduism, etc. All Wiccans are Pagans, not all Pagans are Wiccans. (Like all Catholics are Christian and not all Christians are Catholic) Pagans generally are all polytheistic (more then one god) and are close to nature.
Get it?? Ha! It took me awhile to grasp that whole thing too.
~Marja
