What made you start to practice magic/witchcraft/wicca?

[Moon_Stone]

Well, I was introduced by a friend. He had let it slip away a bit- having other life circumstances guide his attention elsewhere, but I wanted to learn more and bring him back to what had made him seem so balanced and peaceful.
I was raised agnostic, my parents never tried to press anything on me, and I am very lucky in that aspect. Our daughter is being raised the same. Throughout high school and college I did a 'religion-search', learning about Buddhism and Taoism primarily. (I already knew enough about Christianity and Catholisism to decide that was most definitely not for me....) but nothing seemed to fit.
I was never really aware of what Wicca truly was- I had heard of it and contemplated researching it, but the unfounded implications kept me away from it for too long. I have always felt a very strong connection to the earth & nature, hearing things from it, feeling it guide me and help me- both in the direction I was going and away from the wrong choice (literally too- once I was taking a walk home and had left my keys at work, the wind stayed ahead of me till I got to a certain point and realized something was wrong and I had to turn back.... yep, there they were, sitting on my desk. She saved me a lot of heartache and from sleeping on my patio that night!) After I had my keys in my hand, she gave me her usual gentle push behind me to help walk me home.
I think I've actually been practicing my own form of spell-less Wicca for years, some strange little habits I had picked up that had become a regular part of my life.... all seem to be very Wiccan in their nature. I am very glad I've found Wicca- there is just so very much to learn and so many different paths of belief. I think as long as we honor the Goddess in our own way, in whatever feels right to us rather than what we find in books or covens, is the right way to be. (Call it Jen-Wicca). lol
"That's my story and I'm stickin' to it! "

[Fox Flame*]

Well, I was a Christian when I was younger, but over time, especially after becoming a civil rights activist, I realized that Christianity had a lot of ideas that I did not agree with. Also, I wasn't very moved when I went to church, and sunday school was boring me. I soon realized that I was just following this religion just because I felt I had to, and I did not have much of a spiritual side.

Then, I was looking into other religions, and I came across Wicca. Even though I didn't follow this particular path after all, with more research, I did find other things to enhance my spiritual side and I discovered magick!
I also was lucky enough to have a Pagan boyfriend, and he became my guide into my path and continues to support me.

[dragonprincess99]

I have always felt this pull towards nature and listening to things nobody else could hear or see . I have always been able to see the shadows of what I called my angels when I was little . I was born on halloween which of course growing up and being told by all the kids growing up I was a witch because of my birthday . My mom on the other hand before I was born used to practice , but doesnt anymore , but still is intersted . When my Dad passed on when I was 7 he came to me a couple months after he died to tell me he was okay and to take care of my family for him . He appeared to me as a shadow on the wall . I have always called myself a witch even though I never practiced until now . Anyway that's my story .

Blessed Be,
Donna

[Alkaline Lady]

I don't think I could really claim a religion as my own until I went through nasty bout of depression. Suicide attempts, the whole shebang. It felt like even though I was screaming inside nobody could notice, nobody cared to notice, they were too caught up with their own stuff and I didn't have the right to interfere with their lives. So, one day on the school bus while contemplating death, life etc. the classic Hamlet like discussion with myself, "whether tis better to bear the slings and arrows", I overheard a conversation about herbs. My mother being a bit of a homeopathy person I listened and found my best friend Jaime.
She was a wiccan and had been for about three years before I met her. She introduced me to the idea of the Mother Goddess and the Father God and for some reason after that I didn't feel so alone in my head and whenever I was silently screaming I also felt like I was being hugged and comforted though allowed to cry.

[Guest]

Well....I think I mainly came accross it from the t.v. show charmed. but now i realize that a lot of the stuff on they do/say is fake...i know the animation is fake...duh...lol...but then i went more indepth to it, and I just got hooked. I had sort of been brought up christian, but we never really did anything to keep me believing....so when i was 12 maybe, I branched off my own way trying not to let my mom know....

[willow_witch]

im not sure how i came around... i just did...... ever since i memba i have mix 'magic' potions or said 'magical' spells.... but then i stoped for a while,and went bak livin the quiet christain life.. then when mi pa died i relised that that religion just didnt hold the answeres i needed, so i looked for other and i came straight to witchcraft, then i decided on wicca as mi path.

~willow~

[EmeraldReign]

My family is very religious but I've always had different views. I remember having dreams of Egypt, Gods/Goddess, etc as young as 4 years old. For a long time, I stopped practicing but have gotten back into it.

In 1990, a woman came up to me while I was working and said she could feel my power and asked to read my palm. I figured she just wanted money but insisted she didn't want any money. After I was done with work, I allowed her to read my palm and tea leaves. She knew things no one else knew (and I don't mean trivial things). After that, I decided to explore my power.

[waterglyph]

I was raised in a semi-Christian household, and by that I mean that while my Mom and Dad didn't go to church or even pray, they believed the Christian bible and sent my brother and I to church every Sunday.

When I was older, I stopped attending church and began to explore spirituality more. While I'm a very faithful person, I found that Christianity didn't mesh with me. Frankly, it made me very sad. I didn't like the idea that people of other (in my mind) equally valid faiths were going to hell. There were just a lot of questions whose answers were either unanswered or left me unfulfilled.

For about a year I studied Buddhism and I found it to be very satisfying both intellectually and philosophically - but something was still missing with me. So, for a couple years I just went dormant in regards to religion. I had friends who were Christian, and one who was a witch. I found her beliefs in magic to be interesting, but I never really considered it the way for me.

Finally, about a year ago, I met my boyfriend (and now fiancé) who is Pagan. Through talking, he found out about my friend and that I thought that what she did was pretty interesting to me, so he lent me some of his Pagan books. The first book I read was The Spiral Dance, and while it was a little feminist for me, it sparked my interest enough to go out and search more.

Through months of reading and discussion with my hubby, I found the Wiccan path to mesh with me. It provided the duality I felt was missing with deity and other facets of the faith that met my long searched for mix of mental, spiritual, and philosophal satisfaction. I like Wicca because it is a religion that embraces magic and gives a spiritual structure too. (The part that was missing from my witch friend's brand of magic. She believed in power, not spirituality.)

My fiancé isn't exactly the same path as I am (I'm a somewhat conservative Wiccan *lol*) but he's very supportive of me and my studies and faith. We live together now in our Pagan household and everything just seems "right" in my life. I feel connected to the world and the Goddess and God and I couldn't be happier.

[Charly]

I started because whenever I was at a shop or place I would always end up in the section for magick and witchcraft without ever noticing. I highly doubt I could be a full blood witch, I mean my mom hate anything to do with magick, but my father....well he is a mistery to me. When I saw him when I was little once he had on this really beautiful necklace that had this ruby in the middle, around it was this rune and something else I can't reminber.
My mom doesn't talk about my dad but when she saw me looking at a magick book she freaked out and say, and I quote "your not becoming like your father with his magis and ####" she grounded me for like a month. I have been hiding my books for months now.
So that's why I have been doing magick, because I feel pulled to it.

[darkestlight*]

I have always had weird stuff happen to me but about 3 yrs. ago it got more frequent and finally I went lookin for what these happenings might be and i stumbled onto magic. I think it has always been there I just had to find it.

[celticwave]

My mum brought me up with fairies etc, which i suppose started my interest. Also, i was brought up in a catholic family and school, and i never really liked that, and rejected it. For some reason growing up, i was fascinated with witches, and when i was about 11 or 12 i found a book by fiona horne in the library which just opened up a whole new world to me, because it all made sense! Then i started researching wicca, and eventually i decided i wanted to be a witch and here we are!

Elyse

[silvermists]

I have always been pulled towards Wicca. Last year two of my friends wanted to start a coven (not a real one, though, they just wanted to make people fall in love with them). My friend did this one weird one for a kiss or something. I felt like it was wrong though, so I didn't do one. When i was about ten or so, I found a book about the Greek Gods, Goddesses, and myths. Ever since then I couldn't get them out of my head. Everything was related to them, and i could even feel them sometimes. My friend got me into Buffy, and I started to wonder what Wicca really was. I went on google and typed in "wicca" and a tolerence site came up. I read it all and moved onto the witchvox website, then to an msn group called eentay itchway, and then to here. I'm trying to learn as much as I can and not do magick for stupid reasons.

Krissi

[Blackberry]

My family considers themselves Christian up to a certain degree but like many people in Louisiana they practice VooDoo(Voodoun, etc.), Hoodoo (herb/root work) or folk magick kinda stuff. My poppa's family has been in Louisiana for over 200 yrs. and so when my granmamma was alive (his paternal) she would teach my poppa, aunts, uncles and later on me what she knew about herbs/roots.

My mum is a psychic and also taught me how to watch and read the animals for signs of what's happening with the changes of the earth. I used that info and then went through a heavy phase of grief in my life so those things were put on hold. Funny thing is my visions of future events, empathic nature, telepathy and use of herbs/roots were still apart of my daily life, I was just to exhausted in my life back then to see.

Now it's several yrs. later and I am back to practicing root/herb work. I've also been able to talk to my extended family and find out more info about my late granmamma and her 'work'. At the end of this summer my parents, beloved and I will be going back 'home' to Louisiana and gathering more info and celebrating my homecoming- it's been 12 years.

[angela]

I have always been curious about wicca and evil. When I was younger I had a friend her mother read cards and believed in witch stuff. My friends and I once tried to do a call of spirits. I guess I have always had an interest. I never tried to study or tell anyone else of my interest because my mother is jahova witness{mis Spell} and my father is baptist. I told them about a couple of months ago that my belief is wicca. My mother and I aren't speaking and father seems to be fine about it.
I explained to them about wicca the best I could. My mother thinks it is worshipping the devil or something like that. I know that this is what I believe in and no body is going to change my mind. Wicca makes more sense to me more than any thing else that I have tried. I love it and it makes me feel good about me and every thing around me.

[spanky4ever]

to tell the truth i never even heard of wiccan before until one of my friends sister had said something about it one day because her daughter was having dreams about ghost in her closet..so i became intrigued and wanted to know more so i came online and found some interesting things. i have done a spell but it never came true it was a wishing spell.. i was so disappointed.. but i didnt let that discourage me from continuing from trying...even though i havent done one in a while. i am really interested in this and i hope that all of you will teach me along the way. thanks for this board as well as this website...now i have make some friends that believe in the things i do and understand what im going through....[/quote]