My Journey (So Far) Flying Solo

Practicing Wicca is a fun, fulfilling, and fascinating journey.  And it’s one that never really ends.  I thought I’d share a little bit about what my journey has been like so far.  Also check out “A Beginner’s Guide to Practicing Solo” for help in beginning your own journey within the Craft.

Starting Out

I didn’t start following the Wiccan path until I was in my 30s.  Growing up, I was heavily involved in Christianity.  After ten years in the Christian church, I left the religion when I was 20, never to return again.  There’s much more to that story, which can be found in the “About” section.  In my 20s, I identified as agnostic and never really gave much thought to anything spiritual.

As I approached my 30s, I began exploring the more esoteric belief systems, and it was in Wicca that I found my new spiritual home.

Despite living in a small, rather conservative town in Southern New Mexico, a good friend of mine was a long-time practicing Wiccan.  To this day, I consider her my “Wiccan mother.”  It was she who taught me my first incantation, the well-known prosperity incantation known as the “Lovely Lady” incantation.  Since there were no covens in my hometown, I started practicing solo.  I Googled my heart out and read everything I could find on how to practice Wicca.

My Solo Takeoff

After performing a simple self-dedication ceremony, I was eager to start performing spells and learning everything I could about Wicca.  My budget was limited, and I got by with just a few votive candles and some extra virgin olive oil at first.  Eventually, I bought Scott Cunningham’s book “Wicca: A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner” and read it cover-to-cover.  It’s a great book, and I still refer back to it even today.  But being the “hit the ground running” kind of person that I am, I was ready to taxi the jet to the runway and hurry up with the takeoff!  I read through Cunningham’s book, learning the basic outline of what Wicca is, who the Deities are, etc.  It energized me and got me excited about this new path I had begun to follow.

The Internet has made it infinitely easier for people to find exactly what they’re looking for within seconds of typing in some keywords and hitting “search.”  And that’s exactly what I did.  Some of the first rituals I performed were profoundly simple, involving a candle, some olive oil, and a short incantation.  Although, at the time, I was in desperate need financially, I chose to cast my first spell to increase my self-esteem and self-confidence.  Slowly, I began to find more spells and performed those.  It was around this time that I started studying the Tarot.

As soon as I could afford it, I bought a “starter’s kit” filled with supplies that every witch should have including an athame, cauldron, mortar & pestle, and more.  I was well on my way to being a well-prepared witch!

Diving In

As I continued on my path in Wicca, I slowly collected more books and found some reputable sites online that I could learn from.  I spent the first year studying everything I could find and honing my ability to write incantations and, eventually, complete rituals for solitary practice.  In late 2013, I moved to Las Vegas, NV, where I still reside to this day.  I was finally gainfully employed, and as such I was able to expand my library of books and procured more tools, herbs, crystals and gems, and essential oils.

I began to research the history of Wicca, and became well-acquainted with the likes of Gardner, Sanders, Valiente, and other pioneers of Wicca.  Every book I read, I highlighted parts that spoke to me, jotted down notes in a notebook, and in general just tried to take it all in as quickly as I could.  As soon as I made the decision to launch a website about Wicca, I increased my library by a factor of five.  I had a respectable amount of spells I had either written myself or obtained from a spell book or online and adapted it so that it resonated with me.

If I Could Turn Back Time

*pauses for a moment to do his Cher impression* If I could find a wa-aa-ay!  — Okay, I’m done.  But if I had it to do all over again, there are a few things I would change (or there are a few things I wish were different).  Most importantly, I wish I had a program or some kind of guide to follow as I began practicing solo.  That’s one big disadvantage that we solo witches have — it’s up to us and us alone to find the right materials, research the right books and websites, and essentially form the entire basis for our practice alone.

And since I can’t turn back time (I mean, if Cher can’t do it aboard a big Navy ship, who am I to try to do it?), I instead wrote “A Beginner’s Guide to Practicing Solo,” which is the first in a series of articles about solo practice.

My Flight So Far

Despite the challenges of discovering the Craft on my own (and despite the even bigger challenge of discovering MYSELF in the Craft), the journey has been one of enlightenment, adventure, and joy.  I’m a better person today than I was before I began following the Wiccan path.