In search if information & a hello

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[AzazealsSiren]

Hi! I am new to this board and wanted to introduce myself.  I am a 30-year-old mother of a three-year-old.  I am happily married and working as a CPhT.  I am << gulp >> a Roman Catholic.  I was born and raised in the uber-conservative Southern Baptist faith, but converted to Catholicism while in high school.

I admit that I have been interested in non-Christian faiths for years, especially Wicca.  However, I live in the Bible Belt and have never had the opportunity to meet someone who adheres to a different faith. That is one reason that I finally opted to join a Wiccan message board, so that I can find out what your truly believe and where I'd go to get even more information. (I, too, grow weary of the holier-than-thou Christians around me.)

I am a big fan of J.K. Rowling's "Potter" series and am tired of hearing that my interest in Wicca stems from having read the Potter series ... and even more irritated to read stories about people such as Laura Mallory in Georgia (U.S.) who is fighting to have the series yanked from the Public school system and replaced with Bibles and books such as the "Left Behind" series. But that is another post, right? LOL ...

I am also a part-time student. (I am working towards my nursing degree.) One of my electives this semester is a comparative religion class, for which I am working on an essay. I've obtained information through e-mailed from two friends, but I am looking for some more input from Wiccans. (I know for a fact that no one else in my class is interviewing a Wiccan for this project.)

Would anyone here be willing to fill in the following questionaire? The more input that I get, the better my paper will be.  Feel free to be as wordy as you wish ... you can post you answers here or email them to me.  PLEASE!!

Thanks!

[Star]

Hi! I am new to this board and wanted to introduce myself. 

Welcome to the Cauldron!  (And don't worry, you're not the only Catholic here.  Got one on staff, as a matter of fact.)

*** MOD HAT ON ***

I've had to remove your survey because, as it is for a post-secondary school project, posting it without permission violates our rules.  Please see our Research Guideline on the Rules and Regulations board for information on what you need to do in order to post this sort of survey here.  (Chances are it'll probably be approved, generally.  But you do need to get permission first.)

[AzazealsSiren]

Oops... sorry! I saw that board, but  ... excuse my ignorance ... but how do I contact the host?  I need a "verbatim" Q&A for my project, which will NOT make anyone look bad.  Like I said, this is for a Comparative Religion Class and is meant to teach us about other faiths about which we know little or nothing about. 

Wicca seems to be one of the most stereotyped faith in our area of the country and I wanted to show it in its true light ... not what the hyporcritical, see-Satan-behind-every-tree evangelists want the public to believe.

[RandallS]

Oops... sorry! I saw that board, but  ... excuse my ignorance ... but how do I contact the host?

You can use the little envelope icon to the left or the email user button in my profile. Just be sure you are sending email instead of a PM (as I hate PMs).

[AzazealsSiren]

I hate PMS, too ...    (Yeah, I know ... lame joke.) Thanks for the info and I'll send that info to you in a moment.

[Laura Stamps]

Merry Meet, AzazealSiren!

I know what you mean about being a Pagan in the Deep South....I live in South Carolina.  And I have had a few nasty things said to me over the years because I am a Wiccan.  However, 99.9% of the time I find most people very accepting.  The wild thing is you won't believe how many of us (Pagans and Wiccans) there are in the Deep South...we are everywhere, and there are so many of us!  One way we find each other is through the jewelry we wear (pentacle earrings and necklaces are very popular).  Because our population is growing like wildfire down here and because people are more accepting than they used to be, I have never felt like an outcast because of my faith, even in the midst of the Bible Belt.  I'm sure the more you look into this you will also find it to be true of Florida, which has such a diverse mix of people and faiths now. 

Wishing you a day charmed with many magickal blessings!

[Laura Stamps]

PS--

I forgot to mention there are many lovely aspects of the Catholic faith that blend well with a Pagan outlook when "tweaked" a little.  For example, the rosary is an awesome daily prayer chain when the prayers are rewritten to make them sound more empowering and Pagan.  And Saint Mary, the Blessed Mother, has always seemed like a powerful Goddess to me and to many Pagans and Wiccans.  I have also seen the Christian cross used as a powerful charm by Pagans.  I even know a few Christian Witches, some Wiccan, some not.  So there really is a lot to work with there. 

And I think you will find that typical of many Pagans and Wiccans.  It is a spiritual path with few set rules, so we are able to use what works best for us, taking from many different sources.  In fact most of the Wiccans I know are very eclectic in that sense.  A very free and empowering spiritual path for sure!   

[LyricFox]

PS--

I forgot to mention there are many lovely aspects of the Catholic faith that blend well with a Pagan outlook when "tweaked" a little.  For example, the rosary is an awesome daily prayer chain when the prayers are rewritten to make them sound more empowering and Pagan.  And Saint Mary, the Blessed Mother, has always seemed like a powerful Goddess to me and to many Pagans and Wiccans.  I have also seen the Christian cross used as a powerful charm by Pagans.  I even know a few Christian Witches, some Wiccan, some not.  So there really is a lot to work with there. 

And I think you will find that typical of many Pagans and Wiccans.  It is a spiritual path with few set rules, so we are able to use what works best for us, taking from many different sources.  In fact most of the Wiccans I know are very eclectic in that sense.  A very free and empowering spiritual path for sure!   

Welcome to TC, Laura.

One thing I'd caution you on is the assumption that all Pagan religions have few set rules. While that may be true of eclecticism, it simply doesn't hold for those who follow Recon pathes or even BT Wicca. For those religions, there are set rules.

[SirTravers]

     I agree with the other folks. I grew up in Memphis TN. While yes it's considered the bible belt there are large groups of pagans there. I'm still a member of Summerland Grove in Memphis. I'm only guessing by the "Go Gators" reference that you're in Florida. If that's the case you're in the home country of the creators of The Witches Voice, Wren Walker & Fritz Jung.
   Welcome to the group here and Merry Meet.

[Laura Stamps]

Merry Meet, LyricFox!

Thanks for the welcome.

I know.  I guess you could say I was trying to be very general about Pagan religions without being too technical.  I mostly wanted to show her that it is possible to integrate her favorite aspects of the Catholic faith into a Pagan faith if this is something she might want to do in the future.  I know when you come from a Christian background you are taught it is all or nothing with religion.  But that just isn't so with some Pagan paths.  Guess I didn't explain that too well.  My apologies! 

[phoukamare]

Merry Meet, AzazealSiren!

I know what you mean about being a Pagan in the Deep South....I live in South Carolina.  And I have had a few nasty things said to me over the years because I am a Wiccan.  However, 99.9% of the time I find most people very accepting.  The wild thing is you won't believe how many of us (Pagans and Wiccans) there are in the Deep South...we are everywhere, and there are so many of us!  One way we find each other is through the jewelry we wear (pentacle earrings and necklaces are very popular).  Because our population is growing like wildfire down here and because people are more accepting than they used to be, I have never felt like an outcast because of my faith, even in the midst of the Bible Belt.  I'm sure the more you look into this you will also find it to be true of Florida, which has such a diverse mix of people and faiths now. 

Wishing you a day charmed with many magickal blessings!

Hey, I'm in SC too! the Greenville area.

Phouka

[Laura Stamps]

Merry Meet, Phouka!

We're practically neghbors!  Hey, how's the pine/oak pollen up there?  We have been coverd with it for two weeks now with no rain.  Ugh!  And the trees are still loaded with more to go.  In fact the air isn't even clear here now...it's yellow.  I know you know exactly what I mean!   

Many blesisngs!

[phoukamare]

Merry Meet, Phouka!

We're practically neghbors!  Hey, how's the pine/oak pollen up there?  We have been coverd with it for two weeks now with no rain.  Ugh!  And the trees are still loaded with more to go.  In fact the air isn't even clear here now...it's yellow.  I know you know exactly what I mean!   

Many blesisngs!

Oh, yeah I know what you mean. We're in the same pickle. And my allergies are NOT happy.

Phouka

[AzazealsSiren]

Hey, I'm in SC too! the Greenville area.

Phouka

   I am actually in South Carolina as well. (My family has ties to Florida ... our strong love of our 'Gators has carried on through the years even though we live in S.C.) I'm in the Low Country, but my family is in Greenville. Very, very cool to meet other S.C. folks here!

[Laura Stamps]

How about that?!  Small world.  Where are you in the Lowcountry?  I went to the College of Charleston and lived in Charleston for several years before getting married and moving to Columbia. 

So you are covered in pollen too!  They say we will get rain all day tomorrow.  I hope!   

Merry Meet!

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