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Interesting Practices
There are many
"interesting practices" in the world of Wicca. Sure, most of them are not
Wicca-specific and usually are things a lot of Pagans do, but they are also
things, then, that many Wiccans do. These practices can have many benefits,
such as causing happiness, helping you in your life, and just being fun.
While there are many practices out there, here is a list of some you may
want to look into and a little description:
Tarot-reading – the reading of specialized cards that are meant to
divine the future
Rune-reading – like Tarot-reading, but with specialized runes that
can be written on a number of materials, such as wood, stone, etc.
Astral Traveling/Out-of-Body-Experiences – the act of "leaving" one’s
body and "traveling" to other places.
Pendulum-working – the use of a small weight of any sort on the end
of a chain (or other suspension) to divine the future and/or ask Spirit
Guides/Gods/etc. to answer a question. Simple pendulum readings usually
can only answer questions with a "yes," "no," or "maybe."
Aura-reading – the ability to "see" and interpret someone’s aura, or
the colors emitted around the body, indicating moods and emotions.
There are, of course, many, many more things you can look into. These are
just some ideas to get you thinking. If you are interested in a practice
like the ones above, now you have another question to ask: Should I
look into it?
Some people get interested in these practices but for all the wrong
reasons. So ask yourself before looking into it: are my motives truly good?
Here are some instances where you might want to just walk away or wait until
you have a better reason to study one of these practices:
You want to make money. Greed is always a bad motive and will consume
the rest of your life. Greed is, in ways, against the Wiccan Rede. Greed
does harm people, although not physically. Personally, I don’t really
agree with people making money with talents in Tarot, palmistry, etc.
unless they need the money to keep their home, get food, etc. I also
just don’t agree with trying to use magick and these types of practices
to win bets in gambling.
You want people to like you more. Wanting a little popularity may not
be so bad, but using magick to get it is. Like greed, the "need" to be
popular also can hurt you and others. If you want to be popular, don’t
try to look "cool" by reading Tarot, reading auras, etc. It won’t help
you in the end and will only hurt you and other people you know.
You want to be better than everyone else. Wanting to be "better" is
in itself a bad thing. Sure, it’s a good goal to do your best in life
and everything else you do, but wanting to "beat" one or more other
people at something is pointless. If you really do use it and succeed in
being "better," it’ll be a hollow win because you’ll always know that
you cheated.
Of course, there are many other reasons you may have that may not be the
best. There are, though, some reasons you may have that are good ones. Here
area few of those ones:
You want to learn more about yourself and others. Depending on what
it is you want to learn, this can be very good. Wanting to know one’s
self is a good and helpful thing, as is wanting to know more about
people you know.
You want to help others. Things like Tarot and astrology, to give a
few examples, can actually help people. As long as they realize the
possibilities that come from these types of "future-telling" practices
are not set in stone, they can consider what you tell them and avoid
hurting someone else.
You want to get closer to the God and Goddess. Yes, some "occult"
practices can make you, personally, closer to the Lord and Lady. Keep in
mind, though, that one practice may help you do so but not help another
person and visa versa. Also, don’t use any substances that can hurt you
and claim it helps you get closer to the God and Goddess. Mind-altering
substances can have dangerous results.
Again, of course there are more reasons you may have, but make sure they
you can honestly say you want to learn Runes or trying Astral Travel for
good reasons.
The last step in the process of learning something like this is the more
obvious: study! Study all you can, from books, web sites, etc., until you
are great at what it is you’re practicing. Sometimes, a certain practice may
not come naturally and you may have to practice more or even drop it because
it just isn’t the right thing for you. If that’s the case, try something
else! Just try not to give up and give in too early. You may miss the chance
at having a helpful new skill! And if you "master" one skill as best as you
can for the time being, try something else, too! The more skills you have,
the more helpful you can be to others and the more you can improve your own
life. Good luck in your studies!
