Hey everyone!
The last 4 years have been a tough roller coaster ride of emotions. I originally began questioning my entire belief system 1/2021 after losing my 52 yo mom and a week later my 10 yo dog. Due to extreme religious guilt (and living in a very close minded area) I pushed these questions as deep down as possible and continued having the blind faith I was taught to have.
During the middle of 2023 all those questions came back with a vengeance, after my husband and I were injured in separate life changing events just months apart from each other. This sparked the realization that there is so much I dont know about world religions, spirituality, and the universe.
While I do still deal with religious quilt, I have been working hard to rewire my brain, be honest with myself, and accept my spiritual beliefs have changed. I believe I have been led here to improve my knowledge and understanding of spirituality, meditation, witchcraft, and connection with the universe.
My biggest problem is the amount of information out there and where to start is overwhelming, bc I now feel like all of it holds some knowledge. Iām open to all advice and suggestions you might have to offer. Sorry this post ended up being a lot longer than I planned!
Merry meet @jennifer86 and welcome!
My name is Kat, and Iāve been practicing the craft for over 30 years. My practice is rooted in a blend of nature magick, green magick, and elements of hedgecraft. I work closely with the natural world, drawing inspiration from plant spirits, animal spirits, and liminal spaces. My interests include herbalism, gardening, and divinatory practices like tarot, throwing bones, and Lenormand.
I was raised catholic so I understand the guilt and fear of exploring something different. Spells8.com has wonderful resources and classes to explore. Plus the forum is full of amazing people, support, and wisdom!
There is a wonderful search function that will help you dig for more information in the forums!
Weāre glad to have you here. 
Make yourself comfortable, explore, and feel free to ask questions!
Welcome!!! This is such a wonderful space. So glad you are here! 
Hi, Iām Dan.
I understand your concerns. There is a world of information about what is right and what is wrongā¦ a lot of it is contradictory. Trimming it down and finding a path is hard. It is something I am attempting, too.
Iām learning and finding a path and I am confident you can too. There are tons of articles on Spells8 that help. Everyone is very supportive and they make learning a treat. Dig in and enjoy!
Hi. @jann68! Iām Amethyst from Southern West Virginia. Welcome to the forum! 
Iām glad youāre here, even though Iām truly sorry for the circumstances that brought you here. Iām sending you good vibes and hope that being here helps you.
If I were you, Iād start slowly, with the Wicca Self-Initiation Course. That will get you started off on the right foot.
I also almost always tell new witches when they ask to hold off on buying everything under the sun. You may not use an athame at all, or you might can find a pretty glass at the dollar store or Goodwill that you can use.
This way you can save your money. So you can spend it all on books! LOL!
Anyhow, Iām happy youāre here and am looking forward to getting to know you!
Or card decks. 
I bought lots of things that I repacked and are sitting in my basement. It is hard to tell what one should buy so I solved that by buying too much. 
Welcome, @jann68!
Your post was a good size to let us know more about you and how to help. If you have any questions, please do ask. Feel free to join any conversation that interests you.
Welcome @jann68 ! Iām from Minnesota and have been practicing many different aspects of the craft for 35+ years. I currently work with voodoo, chaos magick and divination. Iām going to soon start studying and getting deeper into necromancy.
The courses on spells8 are a great place to start! Take it slowly. Itās okay not to pick a lane of practice right away. I have changed the ways I practice multiple times over the years. You also donāt need to stick to just one lane.
Have fun with your studies and learning! If you ever have questions feel free to ask. Someone in the group will be able to guide you.
Blessings
Hello @jann68,
Welcome to the forum! Iām Bry, one of the moderators and an Eclectic Witch. Thank you for sharing your introduction, itās very nice to meet you 
I empathize completely - there sure is a lot of information out there, and it can be overwhelming to look at it all at once! My best advice would be to let go of the urge to rush. We are all learning and growing together here, and the journey is a fun one. Iād say to pick one topic that calls to you, jump in, and let the Universe guide you from there. There are no āwrong turnsā or deadlines - as long as you are enjoying your studies, then you are āwinningā 
Like others have said, weāre here to help if you need it! The Q&A category is a great place to tap into the wisdom of your fellow coven mates. Feel free to ask anytime you have a question on your mind.
Make yourself at home here, Jann - blessed be!
Oh yeah! You may buy a few tarot or oracle decks before you find one youāre comfortable with. That gets expensive.
Hey @jann68 and welcome to the family! 
We all understand how overwhelming it is when you start out, and along with the great advice youāve already received, I would say just stop, breathe and take your time. Itās so easy to feel like you want to know everything and do everything nowā¦this journey isnāt a sprint, and it isnāt a marathon either, itās life, so there is no rush. We will all be learning forever so take your time and find your own flow; easier said than done, but try not to compare yourself to people who are at a further stage of their journey.
Dip your toe into the conversations, figure out what you want your Craft to be about - discover what works for you and what doesnāt, and donāt be afraid to do your own thing. You are at the start of a beautiful journey and youāre in charge of you so relax, pull up a chair, grab a drink and some munchies from the back, and make yourself at home!
x Blessed Be x
Hello and welcome @jann68 Iām Amanda Thank you for sharing with us This is a wonderfully supportive coven Welcome home
New decks are a weakness of mine too! Some i bought just because they were pretty but we never really bonded, others Iāve never even cracked open. I love two of my decks beyond measure, one being a little more light hearted which gives me most of the info and the other makes me work for it, but is always spot on. Now if only my apothecary gave me as much love, lol!! I think thatās where I went astray. Herbs, herbs everywhere!
Welcome and itās very nice to meet you. I understand that it can feel so overwhelming at first but please donāt worry that you need to know everything right from the start. This is a path of lifelong learning and very little judgement. I havenāt been with spells8 for long but my hope for you is that you find it a comforting place to land. Blessed be.
Yep. Iāve two decks that I feel good about. Iāve got five or six that Iāll never use. Iām still looking for decks, though. 
Bonding with a deck of cards sounds weird to those outside our circle but it is very true.
Iāve gone after the apothecary stuff more cautiously. I hope I donāt get acquisition syndrome for those!
Thank you! I just finished the self initiation course, I really enjoyed it and learned a lot. I have to take notes to learn and I ran out of ink in 2 brand new pens, Im gonna need to buy some more! 
Thanks for the the tips! I just finished the self initiation course, do you recommend following the courses in the listed order?
Thanks for this! The last couple of months I have spent a good amount on supplies. Mostly crystals, but also herbs, candles, and oils, some of which im still waiting on the delivery. I recently started looking into tarot, but ill hold off on buying anything else, lol. I usually never buy myself things that arent necessities, but I figured id splurge after my 16 yo pointed out that Iām the only person in the world I wont go broke for, and I deserve things too.
Good point! And hey, if you want to compare tarot decks there are a few on this Site and even more Here. . That way you can kind of see what they look like before you buy.
Although Iāve got to admit, I saw the picture and then the description of the Robin Wood deck, which is my favorite, and bought others since it was more expensive and was never happy until I got that one. Sometimes a deck just calls to you.
Your link to the deck descriptions was great. I also picked up the Robin Wood deck while I was browsing. I think the most important thing for me is to have the illustration enhance the meanings. The Rider-Waite themed ones are easy for me to understand but some of the esoteric imagery of new decks leaves me flat. I could see a few of the Robin Wood cards and they looked very usable so I decided to try it.
The thing I donāt like about the RIder-Waite is that they were essentially made 100 years ago and the lack of balance in sex, deeds and ethnicity could be better. They look outdated but that also might be a feature that enhances the āmagicā.
edit: Here is an example of imagery I canāt connect to:
[Twin Flame Tarot Deck]
Yeah, that card isnāt great. But itās not the traditional Rider-Waite card. But I get what you mean. Sometimes the images help you and sometimes they hinder. It just depends on the deck.