Advice for Beginners

I am often asked by newcomers what advice I have for starting down a Wiccan path. I have always tried my best to tailor my advice to the individual seeking it.

Not everyone comes to me at the same level. Some have spent years lurking in shadows, reading as much as they can, and are simply trying to figure out where to go next. Others picked up a book on spells or Tarot or fictional Wicca or witchcraft and are looking to find out if there's anything more to it.

Still others have spent years clinging to their own misconceptions of Wicca and are trying to find out why their knowledge doesn't add up with all the new resources they have been confronted with.

Despite tailoring my advice, the same themes always seem to resurface. Thus, I have decided to put together this article to give some basic advice to any newcomers or wanderers to Wicca.

The number one piece of advice I offer to all individuals is to follow your heart, trust your instincts, and live your life. Only you will know when you have found what is right for you, and only you can get up, get out, and experience life and all it has to offer.

Some of the most important lessons we learn on any path comes from living our lives and connecting with others, be they human, animal, planet, or star. Keeping that in mind always, you will find your way.

My number two is continue asking questions and seeking answers. You won't find answers if you don't at least ask the questions first. Yes, this means that, sometimes, you have to honestly and objectively question your own tightly-held or long-ingrained beliefs, traditions, and practices.

My third major piece of advice is to not give the impression you know more than you really do about Wicca, Witchcraft, the Occult, or any other topic for that matter. Be honest in what you do know or else you may find the answers to your questions to be too hard to understand and your lack of integrity will show.

Know Your Faith

It is one thing to do a basic study of Wicca, start performing rituals and casting spells, pray to the Goddess and God, and call yourself a Wiccan. It is another thing entirely to actually live your life as a Wicca.

Don't stop at the basics of Wicca. Continue to study and learn as much as you can.

When you find contradictions, don't just go with what the first or favorite author you read says is right. Do research and find out why the contradictions are there. Is there a controversy involved?

Study all sides of the argument. Join a community and ask fellow Wiccans and Wicca-savvy people for their insights into the issue.

Take, for example, the history of Wicca. Wicca isn't an ancient religion. Even knowing that, many will still claim that it is.

Why? Why is holding onto a mythological version so important for some but not for others? Why do some Wiccans say that our religion is ancient when what they mean is that some of our practices and traditions stem from ancient beliefs?

If you're confronted by someone with these basic questions about Wicca and don't know the answer, can you still claim to be Wiccan? Wicca is not a faith of "convert now, learn later."

There is nothing wrong with being new to Wicca and not having all the answers. However, mastering the basics alone won't make you a subject-matter expert.

On that note, make sure to study other related paths as well. If you can't distinguish between the words Wicca, Witch, and Pagan, you still have a long way to go.

If the mentioning of magickal orders such as the Golden Dawn or men like Aleister Crowley remind you of scenes from a bad horror movie, you may want to sit down and look into the topics covered by Gerald Gardner. If you have never heard the name Gerald Gardner, you likely have not been studying Wicca.

You'll be able to better socialize with fellow Wiccans and other like-minded individuals if you study beyond Wicca 101.

Study and Practice Never End

Life is a learning process. No matter how many years you have been studying and practicing Wicca, you must continue to do so in order to stay up-to-date and improve.

Consider the following example:

What if your doctor, after all those grueling years of medical school, decided to just stop studying and practicing medicine and then try to diagnose or treat you years later: Would you feel this doctor is really a doctor? Or just an individual with prior medical knowledge?

I personally would feel more comfortable with a doctor who not only continues to practice medicine after their education, but also continues to study to advance their knowledge and ensure that unsafe practices are no longer used.

In Wicca, this concept is just as true. In order to maintain our relationships with the Goddess and God, we have to continue to do so. If we're to master Wiccan ritual and spell-casting, we must stay in practice.

We can't expect to stop all usage of magick and personal power for years and then perform a highly-effective house blessing or healing for a sick friend out the blue. Not that it can't be done, but being out of practice will make the work sloppy and will be more draining on you. The idea is to raise your success rate, not drop it.

Some starting points for Wiccan practice are circle casting, divination, elemental associations, and meditation.

Within Wicca, there are many reasons for the use of a circle, some of which contradict each other. Only through study and years of practice will you find when a circle is necessary, when it's not (but it never hurts to have one anyway), and when you simply should.

Divination can give wonderful insights into the past, present, and future. While this is not a Wicca-specific concept, most Wiccans are drawn to at least one form of divination. The discipline of mastering a form of divination can be helpful in other Wiccan practices.

Not all Wiccans agree with what exactly the Elements are. Simply stating that they are the "building blocks of life" is vague and means next to nothing. Work with them as often as you can, meditate on them, and contemplate your unique perspective to better grasp their importance and role in Wicca.

The Role of a Wicca

Wiccans (and most Witches, for that matter) have a responsibility to bring harmony and togetherness to their communities.

Many Wiccans still adhere to a law of secrecy (to learn more about Wiccan laws, see The Ordains). Others prefer to keep their spiritual life private from some friends, family, co-workers, etc. As such, they are likely to not reveal themselves as Wiccan to anyone besides Wiccans and other like-minded individuals.

However, even if you do decide to keep your faith a secret, that doesn't change your role as a Wicca. Does a boy scout have to reveal himself as such to hold a door open or assist with carrying grocery bags?

Random acts of kindness are infectious and can be performed by anyone at any time. You don't have to wear a t-shirt stating "I'm your local Wiccan" to support your communities.

Another important note to make here ties in with the advice in "Know Your Faith." Religiously and spiritually speaking, branch out and study more than Wicca.

You don't have to be an expert in religion or theology, but do learn more about other faiths. Most faiths have a lot in common, and only through finding those commonalities will members of all faiths be able to relate to one another.

A study of world mythologies will also be useful as it's often universal and touches the lives of many people. If you can relate to others, you'll be a better listener, offer stronger advice, and be recognized as an important part of your community.

Teaching or Informing Others

When we come across something that is new to us and proves valuable, we can't help but to want to share it with others, especially those dear to us. This concept is so universal that marketers will never underestimate the power of word-of-mouth.

Wicca is no different.

Wicca gets a bad rep as being a "fad" or "phase" because so many people (particularly teens and pre-teens) learn a little about Wicca, decide that they'll "convert" to it, and then go around telling all (or just one) of their friends and family about how great of a thing it is before they know any of the details themselves.

You can't give a detailed review of new running shoes if you only tried them on once.

Enthusiasm is great. Running around like a subject-matter expert when you barely know the basics isn't.

If you're frustrated because others aren't taking Wicca seriously, the real problem may be that they aren't taking you seriously. Not because they they don't love or respect you, but because you don't yet have any credibility (and its showing).

Some people just don't care when it comes to things of a religious or spiritual matter. Rather than discourage you, let that inspire you to learn more about your friend or family member and their different takes on life.

The best you can do is to explain that Wicca is a religion that you take very seriously. It shouldn't be a matter of trying to raise their personal interest in your faith and open the door to going on and on about all the details of your beliefs. If they don't care, leave it at that.

On the other hand, some people are very interested, either just for research or for their own practice. However, these people aren't going take you seriously when you go on and on about Wicca being an ancient religion, or all about studying auras, or chakras, or Tarot.

A simple, dedicated search into Wiccan basics will reveal none of this to be true. Wicca may draw from ancient practices and many Wiccans take an interest in metaphysical subjects such as chakras, but these aren't Wiccan. These aren't even religious of and by themselves.

However, if you talk about the Goddess and God, elemental concepts, personal power and its usage in ritual and magick, and finding balance through nature, you may just catch their attention.

The problem is, many newcomers don't wait until they've understood this much about Wicca before trying to "convert" their friends. It not only makes them look bad because they don't know what they're talking about (yet), but it also looks bad on Wicca as a whole because it presents it as an unstructured collage of metaphysical components without any theology.

Keep in mind that Wicca is a relatively small (though undeniably growing) minority faith. You may turn out to be the only Wiccan the person you talk to ever meets.

For Wicca to be taken seriously, understood, accepted, and avoid discrimination, Wiccans must demonstrate that they are also intelligent, productive, and compassionate members of society.

While many Wiccans (myself included, obviously) love to inform others and try to answer questions regarding our faith, if you don't know enough to cover the basics of what makes Wicca a religion, you aren't yet ready to teach or inform others. Those are stages that come later.

Starting Out

When you begin your journey in Wicca, you're going to hit some bumps in the road. You're going to have people who don't take you seriously. You'll find yourself stuck as you discover contradictions.

As long as you keep following your heart, study, practice, and maintain your relationship with the Goddess and God, you'll find that Wicca is every bit a part of you as much as you're a part of Wicca.

Also keep in mind, spirituality is ever evolving. What you believe today you may laugh at a decade down the road. What you thought was hogwash yesterday may turn out to be unquestionable truth for you tomorrow.

How you perceive the Universe right now isn't how you're going to perceive it as your life continues to grow, change, and expand. Don't be surprised to find yourself walking away from Wicca one day.

Likewise, don't be surprised if you do walk away that you won't find yourself thrown right back into the mix of Wiccan things later down the road.

True faith and spirituality comes with cycles, spiritual two-by-fours, wake-up calls, hard times that only feel impossible, and subtle and large changes that take years to manifest. This is true for you. This is true for everyone. It is the nature of life.

For more tips and suggestions in the first year of study, see Wicca Beginner Tips.