{"id":2228,"date":"2016-12-23T14:13:30","date_gmt":"2016-12-23T19:13:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/gleewood.org\/seeking\/?page_id=2228"},"modified":"2020-10-10T12:10:28","modified_gmt":"2020-10-10T17:10:28","slug":"building","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/gleewood.org\/seeking\/building\/","title":{"rendered":"Building"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>As witches and Pagans, we often have to build our own practice, at least in part. This area of the site has tools to help you do that, and to help you deepen and expand your practice over time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"900\" height=\"120\" src=\"https:\/\/gleewood.org\/seeking\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/building-header.png\" alt=\"Building: tree on a deep red background\" class=\"wp-image-3957\" srcset=\"https:\/\/gleewood.org\/seeking\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/building-header.png 900w, https:\/\/gleewood.org\/seeking\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/building-header-300x40.png 300w, https:\/\/gleewood.org\/seeking\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/building-header-768x102.png 768w, https:\/\/gleewood.org\/seeking\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/building-header-150x20.png 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<!--more-->\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>The basic steps<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>It can be a challenge to figure out where to start. These five steps will help you figure out how to get going, hopefully with less frustration. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Look at your self and your current life. <\/li><li>Learn about different paths. <\/li><li>Choose somewhere to start.  <\/li><li>Start with some simple practices.<\/li><li>Build deeper practices.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Where are you right now? <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><a href=\"http:\/\/gleewood.org\/seeking\/building\/taking-inventory\/\"><strong>Taking inventory:<\/strong><\/a>&nbsp;your interests, history, limitations, and resources.<\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/gleewood.org\/seeking\/building\/steps-better-learning\/\"><strong>Initial steps for better learning<\/strong><\/a>: how to help yourself as you start out. <\/li><li><a href=\"http:\/\/gleewood.org\/seeking\/building\/privacy\/\"><strong>Pagans, privacy, and online conversation<\/strong><\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"http:\/\/gleewood.org\/seeking\/building\/open-to-change\/\"><strong>Being open to change<\/strong><\/a>: advice as you begin to look at making changes in your life<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Learn about different paths<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/gleewood.org\/seeking\/building\/where-to-start\/\">Some general suggestions<\/a>&nbsp;<\/strong>to help you sort through common options.<\/li><li><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/gleewood.org\/seeking\/building\/why-religious-witchcraft\/\">Why religious witchcraft?<\/a> <\/strong>An essay about why you might consider religious witchcraft in specific, and what that might mean for you.<\/li><li><strong>&#8220;<a href=\"http:\/\/gleewood.org\/seeking\/building\/what-path-am-i\/\">I believe X, what path am I<\/a>?<\/strong>&#8221; turns out not to be a useful starting place. Here&#8217;s why, and what you can look at instead.<\/li><li><a href=\"http:\/\/gleewood.org\/seeking\/building\/first-steps\/\"><strong>As you get started<\/strong><\/a>, give yourself the best start by being open to different options.<\/li><li><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/gleewood.org\/seeking\/building\/assumptions\/\">Set aside assumptions from other religions<\/a> <\/strong>: These may get in the way while you&#8217;re trying to figure out what does suit you.<\/li><li><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/gleewood.org\/seeking\/building\/resources-different-paths\/\">Resources for learning more about different paths<\/a>:<\/strong>&nbsp;some ideas on places to start.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Choose somewhere to start<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>This next step is where you start looking for materials that will help you learn about your chosen path. What these are will depend on the path, but they might include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Finding books, websites, and discussions that tell you more about the path you&#8217;re interested in<\/strong>.&nbsp;Check out the <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/gleewood.org\/seeking\/doing\/\">Doing<\/a><\/strong> section of this site for common religious witchcraft practices, and <a href=\"http:\/\/gleewood.org\/seeking\/learning\/\"><strong>Learning<\/strong><\/a>&nbsp;and <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/gleewood.org\/seeking\/resources\/\">Resources<\/a><\/strong> sections for some recommended titles and resources.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Connecting with other people who follow roughly the same path. <\/strong>Explore books, podcasts, local events, and other options. The&nbsp;<a href=\"http:\/\/gleewood.org\/seeking\/connecting\/\"><strong>Connecting<\/strong><\/a>&nbsp;section of this site has more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Picking a couple of initial sources to start with<\/strong>. Don&#8217;t feel you need to read or learn everything immediately.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Start with simple practices<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>My articles on <a href=\"http:\/\/gleewood.org\/seeking\/doing\/\"><strong>practices in religious witchcraft have their own section<\/strong><\/a>, but the links below talk about how to make use of these practices. (You may also want to check out the <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/gleewood.org\/seeking\/adapting\/\">A<\/a><\/strong><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/gleewood.org\/seeking\/adapting\/\">d<\/a><\/strong><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/gleewood.org\/seeking\/adapting\/\">a<\/a><\/strong><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/gleewood.org\/seeking\/adapting\/\">p<\/a><\/strong><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/gleewood.org\/seeking\/adapting\/\">t<\/a><\/strong><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/gleewood.org\/seeking\/adapting\/\">i<\/a><\/strong><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/gleewood.org\/seeking\/adapting\/\">n<\/a><\/strong><a href=\"http:\/\/gleewood.org\/seeking\/adapting\/\"><strong>g<\/strong><\/a> section for working with&nbsp;specific needs or limits you may have.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><a href=\"http:\/\/gleewood.org\/seeking\/building\/starting-practices\/\"><strong>Starting practices<\/strong><\/a> : Five&nbsp;practices that will help you get started with a good foundation.<\/li><li><a href=\"http:\/\/gleewood.org\/seeking\/building\/sample-tool-plan\/\"><strong>Starting tools <\/strong>: <\/a>A guide to building up a collection of simple, inexpensive, and widely available tools (and advice about the others.)<\/li><li><a href=\"http:\/\/gleewood.org\/seeking\/building\/am-i-ready\/\"><strong>Am I ready to try this?<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/a>Figuring out about when you&#8217;re ready to try a new skill or practice.<\/li><li><a href=\"http:\/\/gleewood.org\/seeking\/building\/right-ways\/\"><strong>&#8216;right&#8217; ways and &#8216;wrong&#8217; ways<\/strong><\/a>&nbsp;&#8211; why (and when) does how you do something matter?<\/li><li><a href=\"http:\/\/gleewood.org\/seeking\/building\/feeling-silly\/\"><strong>This feels really silly. Should it?<\/strong><\/a>&nbsp;We can feel very odd when we&#8217;re trying new things. Sometimes that&#8217;s just fine. Sometimes it&#8217;s a sign of a problem.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Build deeper practices<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><a href=\"http:\/\/gleewood.org\/seeking\/building\/constructing-a-path\/\"><strong>Constructing a path<\/strong><\/a>: A full resource on constructing a personal path is beyond the scope of this site, but here&#8217;s some things to think about.<\/li><li><a href=\"http:\/\/gleewood.org\/seeking\/building\/building-on-the-basics\/\"><strong>Five ways to deepen your practice:<\/strong><\/a> Ways to take your practice deeper over time.<\/li><li><a href=\"http:\/\/gleewood.org\/seeking\/building\/structuring-your-learning\/\"><strong>Plan what you want to learn more about:<\/strong> <\/a>Here are some suggestions including three examples of approaches that can last a few months at a time.<\/li><li><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/gleewood.org\/seeking\/building\/why-a-year-and-a-day\/\">Why a year and a day?<\/a> <\/strong>Why do witchcraft groups talk about this as a timeframe?<\/li><li><a href=\"http:\/\/gleewood.org\/seeking\/connecting\/a-possible-dedicant-year\/\"><strong>A possible first year of training<\/strong> <\/a>: This is how I&#8217;d train a student, to give you an idea of the scope of what might be included and why. (You should not try to duplicate this: a lot of it will not apply to your situation, but it may be useful as a model.)<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What my practice looks like<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Examples often help me with figuring out what I should do in my own practice. These articles talk about more of how my practice have changed over time &#8211; and about things that aren&#8217;t part of my practice for various reasons. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Don&#8217;t feel yours should look like this!<\/strong> Do what works for you (and as relevant, the Gods, powers, or other beings you build relationships with.) There are obviously also a number of details of my practice I don&#8217;t talk about here. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><a href=\"https:\/\/gleewood.org\/seeking\/my-practice-historical-and-now\/\"><strong>My practice (historical and now) <\/strong><\/a><\/li><li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/gleewood.org\/seeking\/things-i-dont-do\/\">Things I don&#8217;t do<\/a><\/strong>: some things are not part of my practices, for different reasons. <\/li><li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/gleewood.org\/seeking\/category\/witch-in-practice\/\">A Witch In Practice<\/a> <\/strong>(series of blog posts). <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/gleewood.org\/seeking\/2019\/witch-in-practice-week-1\/\">Here&#8217;s the first one if you want to work through them in order<\/a>. <\/strong><\/li><li>My current approach to <a href=\"https:\/\/gleewood.org\/seeking\/about\/daily-and-weekly-offerings\/\"><strong>daily and weekly offerings<\/strong><\/a>. <\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As witches and Pagans, we often have to build our own practice, at least in part. This area of the site has tools to help you do that, and to help you deepen and expand your practice over time. <a class=\"continue-reading-link\" href=\"https:\/\/gleewood.org\/seeking\/building\/\">Continue reading<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3966,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-2228","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/P11EQH-zW","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":745,"url":"https:\/\/gleewood.org\/seeking\/archive\/example-candles\/","url_meta":{"origin":2228,"position":0},"title":"Example: Candles","author":"jenett","date":"October 30, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Using the basic process for learning a new thing that I described in the article on first steps, let's start by looking at something relatively simple - candles. I picked candles because they are relatively simple to talk about, but they also offer some choices (in material) and some safety\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":746,"url":"https:\/\/gleewood.org\/seeking\/archive\/example-casting-a-circle\/","url_meta":{"origin":2228,"position":1},"title":"Example: Casting a circle","author":"jenett","date":"December 29, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Another example of something we might learn to do is casting a circle or getting started with ritual. For this page (unlike the candle page), I'm not going to give you all the information - but I am going to suggest some places to start, and an order to try\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":5,"url":"http:\/\/gleewood.org\/seeking","url_meta":{"origin":2228,"position":2},"title":"Welcome","author":"jenett","date":"August 12, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Seeking: First Steps on a Pagan Path is my space to share resources about religious witchcraft. The information here is based on my own practice, and many conversations with others over the years. The site is divided up into a series of sections by topic. Beginning covers some basics about\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"Beginning : leaf growing out of a cauldron on dark red circle","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/gleewood.org\/seeking\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/beginning.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1447,"url":"https:\/\/gleewood.org\/seeking\/building\/first-steps\/","url_meta":{"origin":2228,"position":3},"title":"As you get started","author":"jenett","date":"October 2, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"If you're new to learning about Paganism, it can get confusing. Here's a guide to some ways to get started to ease things along. In talking about this with people, I've come up with four starting points that might help you out. Ask yourself if you want to potentially follow\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"step-by-step\"","block_context":{"text":"step-by-step","link":"https:\/\/gleewood.org\/seeking\/tag\/step-by-step\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/gleewood.org\/seeking\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/building-as-you-get-started.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/gleewood.org\/seeking\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/building-as-you-get-started.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/gleewood.org\/seeking\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/building-as-you-get-started.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/gleewood.org\/seeking\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/building-as-you-get-started.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":740,"url":"https:\/\/gleewood.org\/seeking\/building\/steps-better-learning\/","url_meta":{"origin":2228,"position":4},"title":"Initial learning","author":"jenett","date":"October 28, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Here's a guide to how some of your initial learning and exploration might go, along with a few other tips. Basically, it's all about taking your time, being gentle with yourself (and those around you), learning how you learn, and seeking out multiple sources. Take your time: You don't need\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"step-by-step\"","block_context":{"text":"step-by-step","link":"https:\/\/gleewood.org\/seeking\/tag\/step-by-step\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/gleewood.org\/seeking\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/building-initial-learning.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/gleewood.org\/seeking\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/building-initial-learning.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/gleewood.org\/seeking\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/building-initial-learning.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/gleewood.org\/seeking\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/building-initial-learning.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1789,"url":"https:\/\/gleewood.org\/seeking\/about\/a-way-to-get-started\/","url_meta":{"origin":2228,"position":5},"title":"Using this site","author":"jenett","date":"January 6, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"One question I get occasionally is from people who are so overwhelmed they don't know where to start. I recommend reading all of the site that interests you, but if you want a guided way to get started, here's what I suggest. Learn some basics Start by reading the pages\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"step-by-step\"","block_context":{"text":"step-by-step","link":"https:\/\/gleewood.org\/seeking\/tag\/step-by-step\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Resources: books on a black background","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/gleewood.org\/seeking\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/resources-header.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/gleewood.org\/seeking\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/resources-header.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/gleewood.org\/seeking\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/resources-header.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/gleewood.org\/seeking\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/resources-header.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gleewood.org\/seeking\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2228","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gleewood.org\/seeking\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gleewood.org\/seeking\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gleewood.org\/seeking\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gleewood.org\/seeking\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2228"}],"version-history":[{"count":16,"href":"https:\/\/gleewood.org\/seeking\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2228\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4405,"href":"https:\/\/gleewood.org\/seeking\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2228\/revisions\/4405"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gleewood.org\/seeking\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3966"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gleewood.org\/seeking\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2228"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}