Welcome to the Group

Welcome! We would love get to know you, so please tell us a little bit about yourself. You can choose any format you'd like, but most of us here share some or all of the following details:

1. Reason for joining this group:
2. Some interesting details about yourself, such as your job, your family, your pets and your interests:
3. Your spirituality or religion and how you came to find it.

And now just go ahead and make that first post!

Gee, lionflower, I hope people aren't confusing this group with the other one?

I've joined this group because I'm always looking for new, creative ideas for ritual and because I need to "re-connect" with my pagan self.  After making babies, I lost touch with my spiritual side and it beckons me keenly.  I haven't had an altar up in my home for years because I don't want the kids running around with my athame or banging the walls with my wand.  Any ritual I've done over the past few years has been done outdoors or late at night at the kitchen table.  I'd really like to have a sacred space of my own.

I'm also looking for ideas on how to do fun and interesting activities on the Sabbats WITH my twin seven-year-olds.  I know there are a lot of things available out there, but I've yet to find something that feels authentic for our family.  So far, we've made gifts to fairies (boats made out of walnuts), dressed up the Oak tree in Christmas regalia, made offerings to beneath a birtch tree, danced around a fire on Samhain and that's just about it.  Anything we do has to be done quickly, otherwise the younger children lose interest.  I hope to do a May-pole in the Spring, but organising it isn't easy.

I homeschool my brood because I'm horribly disenchanted with the current system (having been a teacher in a high school) and feel that it would only destroy their spirits.  I live in rural Quebec, so there are NO choices school-wise.

I first turned to Paganism because it was an alternative to the hard-lined Christianity that I'd grown up with.  After getting involved with Wicca, I realised that it just made more sense and rang true for me, after all.

I hope to be able to chat with you guys openly about all of this and find a place to be myself in an otherwise mainstream site.

Doh! I didn't know there was another group. Nothing came up when I searched on Wicca.

I need to hook you up with a great group called the Family Wiccan Tradition.  One of the council members is a clinitian and she writes the Ask a Pagan Parent and Life and Family columns in the magazine.

Here's the website:  familywiccantraditions.org

They help you with ways to incorporate little ones into ritual.  Sounds like you're used to pretty ceremonial stuff, but a stick can serve as a wand instead of an athame.  Just a thought. 

When my son was little I would ask him to do the Goddess invocation during our Full Moon Rite.  He was spontaneous and adorable, and I'm sure the Goddess Mother loved it.  Rituals were just a little unstructured for a while.  Our Great Rite was juice and cookies and I didn't call the quarters or keep a strict border on the circle. 

I hope you find ways to adapt!  And, FWT should give you some great ideas. Best of luck!

Sandy

*LOL* my wand IS a stick!  (Cherrywood).  I just don't want it flung all over the house!  And yeah, the athame is just for "serious" ritual, which I obviously haven't been able to do much of lately.

Thanks so much for the site.  Will visit promptly. 

Maybe we should go back to the original thread in the lounge and tell everyone that THIS is the group you were talking about?

Probably a good idea. That group, I thought, was just a general discussion group. I wanted something more specific for we of like mind.

:-)

Thanks!

Hi Everyone,

While figuring out how many calories the bran muffins I made last night contained, I stumbled upon this website and this forum.

I have fallen off my life path, both diet wise and Pagan wise over the last 1.25 years which I tend to blame on the fact that our house has been for sale during this time. Unfortunately we decided we were ready to move at the start of the economic decline but find ourselves still living in our depersonalized, decluttered, staged house waiting to sell. We have a tiny back yard with chainlink fence that backs onto a walking path, topping a naturual prairie grassland area that last year become the new home to a pack of coyotes. It's a beautiful area, but we now have 2 cats and 2 dogs (mini labradoodles) who I walk every day, which does help with the exercise factor, but I need to do more to burn more calories as well as eat less. It is our intention to relocate from Calgary Alberta to Vancouver Island B.C. to a property with at least half an acre and lots of bushes and trees so that the dogs can run around and the cats can roam safely. In our current location we have to supervise the pets at all times due to the close proximity of the coyotes.

During the decluttering stage, we packed up half our belongings in order to list the house, this included all our Wiccan books and paraphanalia. Then because I didn't want to prepare foods that caused the house to smell of strong cooking, I took the easy way out and made simpler less nutritional foods, basically quit exercising, telling myself that I didn't have time. In addition, I love my wine too much and really should cut down from my usual 3 glasses per night. This has all resulted in me gaining 15 pounds during this phase.

Now we have resigned ourselves to the fact that we could still be in this house for another year or more until things pick up, so I need to get myself back on track to lose some weight, preferably before summer rolls around when I will be wanting to get back into my shorts and tank tops.

I have had Pagan tendancies for many years, my husband and I have been advanced Reiki Practitioners for about 14 years and we realized that we were drawn to Paganism and Wicca about 5 years ago. We can't wait until we can find a home in the country where we can again set up our alter.

Hopefully I have found the right forum to help with my diet and fitness goals.

Hello everyone!

I was feeling rather out of sorts the yesterday and wishing that i had more like minded people around me in my spiritual beliefs. I used to live in Eugene Or and had many friends that shared them. Now i am in North Idaho and lets just say...not so much here. I have found CC to be great support for my weight loss journey and thought that adding this aspect of it could only further improve my experience as well as hopefully reconnecting to my Pagan beliefs.

I found the terms wicca and pagan when i started at a community college. I had never quite believed in the christian way and always felt that it left a lot to be answered and desired in a religion. Over a few years i met a lot of people and took some classes and this made ssense to me. I like the balance of male AND female dieties. To me it seems the most logical.  I do believe that the Goddess that i pray too has a wicked sense of humor.

Hi! Welcome and blessings.  It's tough moving to a new place, especially when your support group is a thousand miles away.  I hope we can help.

Oh, the Goddess has a sense of humor. I'm sure she'll love working with you and vice versa.  What were you taking at the community college? Did you transfer to a 4-year U?

Hey! Unlike 'other' religions, you're not going to suffer just because you are not actively doing rituals and things. The gods understand that you have priorities right now that are higher on your list than a full moon rite. I'm sure if you ask, the gods and guiding spirits would be glad to help you in your transition.

I can't believe you're going through that and trying to lose weight and gain fitness at the same time.  I hope you don't spread yourself too thin (no pun intended)! 

Merry Meet!

I am a 42 yr old mom of four wonderful kids, ages 21, 19, 17 and 13.  I have been married to a wonderful man for 23 yrs and live a pretty 'normal' life her in the bible-y area of michigan...

Just five short years ago, I exercised nearly three hours a day, ate no more than 800 calories a day and wore a size 0; okay... sometimes size 2.  My period stopped and my hair fell out.  I went through a major depression and nearly lost my family.  During this time, I had a walk-in experience.  If you are unfamiliar with this transition; (in a very little nutshell) it is basically when your spirit/soul dies or leaves and another steps in (or walks in) it's place.

I am a different -completely different- person.  If I had a few hours, I would write a lengthy explaination.  I have different taste in food (I am now a vegetarian) I have completely different taste in music, entertainment, reading, politics and most noticiably; spirituality.

Before my walk-in; I was a devout Christian.  My kids were raised in the church, with all the extras like vacation bible school and weds. night prayer meetings.  One Sunday, I woke up and really, really didn't want to go to church.  When I went, I couldn't believe my ears.  "Huh?"  All of the sudden, I didn't believe any of it.  The closest thing I can find to describe it is like when a child finally accepts that there is no Santa.  You did believe it, and then you wanted to believe it, but finally... you just can't.  I never went back to church.

I thought I was atheist but I knew I felt a connection somewhere.  As my new spirit (the one that 'walked in') became more familiar with my life, I felt more and more connected with nature and open to Mother.  I started to accept that the Moon was luna and not just a rock.  That we are of the Earth and not it's masters.  I felt a call to ancient pagan ways.

Okay, so where does my weight come in?  Well, in order to get my menstural cycle back; along with my estrogen and bone mass, I had to gain weight.  I had to stop exercising on a compulsive level and try to find balance.  For several years, I did just that.  I settled into a comfortable routine and a healthy size 6/8 in jeans.  But sometime within the last two years, I went from comfortable to complaciant.  And from complaciant to lazy.  My portions grew and so did my butt.  Cardio walks went down to nature walks and then to strolls.  I slowed down to smell the roses.  But then, I didn't speed back up.

So I am here; looking for a return to balance.  I need to be careful of triggers so I don't fall back into dangerous habits.  Calorie counting is like gambling for me... I know this.  But being thirty pounds over weight is unacceptable.

Thanks so much for reading my babbling post; I look forward to getting to know each of you as we travel this journey.

Blessed Be

07/15/09 ish History with weight loss:Use to be thin...... After kids..Stuck and needing to lose 50 lbs. Really stuck !

 History with Calorie Count:I am NEW and Excited to try something new...

Reason for joining this group: LOL This is the only group I could belong with.. I think someone would figure it out sooner are later.

  Some interesting details about yourself, such as your job, your family, your pets and your interests:

Hello,

A little about me.....

I have a few jobs, a few professions and own a small business (I dislike the the daily realm but it pays the bills).

I am a Mother (of 5), Wife (17 years), Grandmother (6 girls so far) and everything in between.......... (I am NOT am Old Witch only 40)

I am homeschooling youngest child...  16 (Done with the craziness)

Getting back to ME and MY self...........   Meditation is on my gotta do list.

I Have 3 boxers,1 Husky, 2 black mask lovebirds, 1 cockatoo, 1 cockatiel and a 26 lbs CAT..

7/20/09 Does anyone still belong to this GROUP ? Hello ...... Anyone there ?????????

Hello!  After an unsatisfying romp on Witchvox, being on CC since January, and putting the two together I searched for and found THIS group.  Who woulda thunk??  lol, I am a 22-yr-old eclectic Wiccan (7 yrs so far) , married to a Jew, and have a 2-yr-old that shares my birthday.  We both have a Taurus sun sign, and water moon signs.  Me, Aquarius.  Chana (Hah-nah), Scorpio!  She really is a character!

Though my husband's family is Jewish, he himself is very intrigued by Wicca and even plays Pan in my rituals!  It really is fantastic.  Tonight I am having a wonderful celebration of the moon, and of course, crescent cookies and Irish soda bread and corn bread and freshly made apple cider!  Much like the Lammas ritual I just had.  It was a hit!  But I really wish I had more Wiccans to practice with, as everyone that comes to my rituals are not even Wiccan... one is pagan, my hubby is a Jew, and others are confused Agnostics/Atheists/ex-Christians but highly interested.  I give them a role to do and they are happy as a clam!  It is really nice though.

Anyway, I go to Wayne State University and am on my way to studying dietetics.  I work at two Subways, my husband Daniel works for Comcast, and boy it never gets dull with him as he has a few unpredictable medical conditions.  So...

I have always been overweight, and currently need to lose about 70 lbs!!!  I am very unhappy with my appearance, size, appetite, etc.  My husband says I am not fat and he does not want me to lose weight, but I do have eyes and I know that a mini skirt and halter top are not what I should be wearing, and a size 18 W pants and 1X shirt are way bigger than what I used to wear!  The bottom line is: I am very addicted to food.  It was smoking and drinking coffee, but I have given that up for a cup of yerba mate and eating all day out of boredom.  And, being a vegetarian, I am learning to try to cut out dairy and some of my unnecessary carbs.  My parents fed me some of the worst food you could ever eat: off-brand cereal, full of dyes, artificial flavors, and high fructose corn syrup (What I will consistently refer to as HFCS); ramen noodles, which have msg and not much nutritional value; processed cheese on white bread for grilled cheese; 70/30 hamburger in our dinner EVERY SINGLE NIGHT.  We rarely had chicken, unless it was slathered with barbecue sauce.  Fish?  It had to be dipped in batter and fried, served with fries!  So now I HATE fried shrimp or fish!  And fries, for that matter.  We always had plenty of Oatmeal Cream Pies, Oreos, soda, kool-aid, etc... should I go on?  So, I have ALWAYS been overweight and thought that I would be healthier when I could choose my own diet, and I thought I was eating healthy... but so far I have cut back on the salt majorly and realizing I am eating too much food!

I have been on CC since January, and have fallen off the wagon quite severely.  However, in the last week and a half, I have lost 7 freakin' pounds!  My doctor recently told me that since I have acid reflux (I have had it for like four years now, I think it may have to do with my weight, as well as my mysterious chronic foot pain... ::sob::) I should not eat or drink EVEN WATER at least two hours before bed!  It is really, really hard to do, but it has been helping my reflux quite a bit and I have lost some nice weight, as I am not eating right before bed any time soon.

Again, I joined this group because Witchvox... well, kind of sucks.  And there are some cracked-up peeps on there... in my experience.

lol hello honey beach... I have one question--when do you sleep???  I admire your will to do everything you can in one day!!!  That is a full house.  My Chana and two guinea pigs (Rocky & Regie) are enough to keep me busy (And just annoyed enough)!  You must have a very big heart.

About my Wiccan bkgd, I have taken a new magickal name recently and I have been dedicated to Lilith (Please try not to freak out, she is not as bad as many have labeled her).  I ran a pagan group in high school called WAND (Wiccan And Neo-pagan Discovery).  It was a wonderful ride, but everyone kind of fell apart and I felt like they had thrown me away and completely forgotten about me.  I am soft-spoken and much of a doormat, so these facts made me feel even more strongly about the situation.  We really did seem to have fun.

I look forward to chatting with whoever is still here... and this is the longest post I have ever made in my life.

Blessed Be!

Minerva Green (Wiccan582/Stephanie)

Hi, Minerva.

I'm very happy you are here, and you sound like a really neat person. I love your post! I think it's very brave of you to have started WAND in high school. I lived in Michigan only three years, and two weeks after I was there I was accosted in a grocery store because I was wearing a pentacle. My son was only 4 and he still remembers it. I walked in and this lady grabbed her son, pointed at me, and started screaming, "Witch! Witch!"  I was so shocked that I just put down the basket and backed away. Never had I been through anything like that before, and I discovered first hand how closed minded midwesterners can be.

So, again, kudos to you and to your bravery!

It's not that unusual for people to drift apart after high school. You're still following your true path and corrupting others ... hee hee. I have news for your friends, if they're doing ritual with you, they're pagan. Our version of "church" is a LOT more fun than mass or synagogue!  LOL.  

You may be soft spoken, but that doesn't mean you aren't strong. I see a LOT of strength in your words and actions. 

You can do this. I need to lose like 60 pounds. I gained it all in a year when several major life stressors hit me all at once and I didn't know how to cope ... so I ate my stress.  I've managed to lose 12 pounds last year, and I've kept it off. No, it doesn't sound like a lot, but life throws me a lot of curveballs, so I end up maintaining and then starting weight loss all over again.  Hey, life is full of changes, right?

"She changes everything She touches and everything she touches changes..."

I know it can be a little expensive, but the place that taught me the most about portion control and the right way to eat is Weight Watchers. I use the tools I learned there and apply them to my weight loss and regimen. It was life changing for me.

I've also started prioritizing exercise. I used to blow it off because I was busy taking care of my son, working, blah blah blah.  But, what I failed to see was that unless I took care of MYSELF, I couldn't take care of anyone else very well.

Consider giving yourself permission to do what you want to do and what you know is good for you. Take a walk and let your husband play with the child for an hour. He sounds like a supportive soul.  (My husband is Catholic and also participates in rituals with me. He doesn't enact or take on major roles, though! Lucky woman!) 

We're here for you. 

I'm so glad you stopped in.

Sandy