Sorry in advance for the long post, and maybe a possible trigger warning.
So, a little background about my religious/spiritual path. I grew up in a religious home where religion was imposed on me and I was forced to practice it. When I left home (at the age of 23) I decided to free myself from cultural, religious and societal stuff. I just wanted to find my own path and do what feels right for me. Ever since, my motto has been: “I belong to nowhere to to no-one”, and it still is.
Being angry at my parents for forcing me to be religious, I decided that I wanted to not believe in anything, just out of spite. And decided to do everything that was against their religion and their principles (they also abused me emotionally, my mother is or was a narcissistic b*** - I’m not sure if swearing is allowed in this forum, hence the stars). Also, I kept asking myself: “if there is a god, why would he/she let my parents treat me that way? Therefore, I believe in no god.”
But then a few years down the line, I started getting into spiritualism and meditation and connecting with spirit my spirit guides etc. This was in 2017, I was going through some hardships and I turned to meditation, only to find out there was so much to it and I was just hooked. So I got deeper into it, started doing spirit guide meditations, got connected with them and since then, I can contact them any time I want. I then got into Reiki and got certified. I felt so happy finding all of those things on my own and it was MY choice to meditate and MY choice to become spiritual. It felt great!
The point of this post is, since I freed myself from religions, I kind of liked being that way. I did become spiritual, but I am not religious. And I would like to stay that way. This is why when I signed up to Spells8, and after going through a few videos I got a bit confused about a couple of things:
- Does doing the self-initiation Wicca course automatically make me a Wiccan? If so, does that mean I follow a new religion?
- Can I practice witchcraft without following any of the religions?
- Can I still practice Wiccan spells if I am not a Wiccan?
Sorry so many questions and confusions. I am still reading a lot, but I can’t really find answers to these questions.
Also, regarding the deities, like I said, I have spirit guides, but I have never worked with them using witchcraft. When I ask, I ask the Universe, and then I normally send thanks to the Universe and to them. Sometimes I ask things from Ganesha, but I recently learned about offerings etc. So there’s a lot to learn there too. I would also like to learn more about other deities, and possibly work with them, but I just honestly can’t stand the idea of following a certain religion. My parents scarred me for life with their religious dictator like upbringing, and I am still traumatized.
I have always been fascinated by mythologies and their deities, so I really would love to be able to connect with one or more of them. In due time of course. But for now, I’d like to stay spiritual and keep practicing witchcraft as I learn more about it. Is it possible?
I am so sorry about the huge post once again, just needed to clarify some things. I would be so grateful if anyone could shed some light on my confusions.
Thank you and have a magical Monday