Spiritually speaking, how do you label yourself and why?

greatdane

Great question, IheartTarot

I study religions and philosophy, I'm always learning something, but if I had to describe a religion closest to my beliefs, it would probably be....Unitarian Universalist...only because you can really be anything. I don't attend a UU group now, but did in the past and we had...Wiccans, Hindus, Agnostics, Christians. It was like the U.N. of philosophical groups. I didn't see it as a religion, more like a group of like minded people regarding how we viewed tolerance, humanity. They were a great group. Oh and in BeliefNet, that's what I come up with as 100% because my answers are all over the place :).

My beliefs encompass many religions and philosophies. I am not exactly what one would call...traditional. But then I think many who find there way to AT aren't always the most "traditional" :).
 

UrbanBramble

I got to about page 10 before I decided to just skip to the end and post. What a lovely thread. Looking forward to spending time on it reading over everyone's responses, I've always been curious about this stuff.

I have two labels for myself. First and foremost I consider myself a witch. Why? I work with plants, have a deep and magical relationship to nature, do trance work, and have some devotional practices to deity.

Secondly I practice Reclaiming paganism. This has to do with the methods I use when I approach my spiritual practice, who I am in spiritual community with, and what public ritual I participate in. I've actually come to accept it as a religion, which I've resisted as a label that applies to me. Although we are not united under a single god or pantheon, there is a national organizational structure and an agreed upon format for ritual, agreed upon technology that we use, and statement of unity. Reclaiming traditions and a spiritual community have become really important to me. My own practice is not strictly reclaiming though, its made up of various techniques learned from various teachers, combined with my own traditions developed over years.

I'm curious about others who align themselves with a certain type of paganism or religion, it seems like most folks here do their own things but I know I can't be the only one who follows a tradition!

Its interesting also to think of folks like CN whose religion doesn't accept their gifts or divination practices, although I would argue that there is a long history of catholics in particular practicing divination or engaging with psychic abilities without it being in conflict with their beliefs. I was raised Catholic and I know folks in my church whose grandparents or even parents used some psychic ability in daily life and didn't see it as a sin, etc.

Anyway, great question!
 

Village Witch

No matter how many times I feel a need for somewhere to lay my burdens, I end up back at square one. I am an Atheist.

There are those who do not understand my expressions of awe and wonder or my gratefulness and gratitude at being a conscious part of this amazing world. I often call myself a child of Mother Earth as I believe the Earth to be a living breathing organism. Earth is my home. I am not flying away to some spirit world in the sky when I as a living breathing organism cease to exist in my current form. I believe Life is a whole and is not about the individual. I believe my consciousness is shared with all Life.

As a psychic, I do not believe I channel the deceased. I believe I tap into the thoughts, memories, and energies of the living, as I also do as an intuitive energy healing/Reiki practitioner.

As a proclaimed Witch, I do spellwork/magick. Most of what I weave, I call Reiki Magick as it is my belief that there is no situation that cannot benefit from healing. Although I admit to having zapped a few deserving folks. *cackle*

My desire is to know my true self. Living to my fullest human potential, owning and embracing me. Not all about me is in my best interest, but that is for me to decide to embrace or to tame.

So, if I a were to label myself, it would be as an Atheist Pagan Witch.
 

Morwenna

UrbanBramble said:
Its interesting also to think of folks like CN whose religion doesn't accept their gifts or divination practices, although I would argue that there is a long history of catholics in particular practicing divination or engaging with psychic abilities without it being in conflict with their beliefs. I was raised Catholic and I know folks in my church whose grandparents or even parents used some psychic ability in daily life and didn't see it as a sin, etc.

Anyway, great question!
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It was that way in my mother's family. My grandmother was a reader of (playing) cards, and it was all good; and the family was very definitely Catholic (French Canadian). I've pointed out in long-past threads that very often folk practices cling to various ethnic groups, whether their professed religion officially accepts it or not. And just about every ethnic group in the world has or has had some sort of divination in its folk practices. It all depends on how strongly the outside religion is allowed to influence the private practices. (Of course, sometimes these practices survive as "games," sometimes in connection with a holiday, which gives them a little more leeway since they're supposedly not taken seriously that way.)
 

DanThorpe

I would class myself as an Eclectic Pagan Witch.
I work with many forms of divination from Tarot (obviously) to Runes(Nordic) Witches Stones(British i believe could be wrong though) and many more. My practice is my own, but i take inspiration from Hedgewitchery-Candle Magick-Fire Magick and Hoodoo traditions.(Powders etc) i do not associate with a particular deity. The universe or higher spirit it what I say. I work with the elements and spirit. Mother Nature and Father Sky I suppose is my deity by name and i believe that originates from Native American tradition.
I am also training and developing as a medium. I deeply work with crystals aswell.
 

EmpressArwen

I am a Christian (Catholic by denomination). I give that label to myself because I believe in and am a follower of Jesus. As far as Catholic, I feel they have a wonderful grasp of Angels and Saints...I also find beauty in the rituals, prayers and practices.

That being said, I do not subscribe to a lot of the doctrine of the Church, so I do not take communion. I feel it would be wrong of me to walk in, with the beliefs I hold and take part in the rituals. It would be no different than walking into a Wiccan ritual and taking part in it, while secretly not believing in what they believe. To me, its disrespectful. This is just for me, I make no judgements on what others do.
 

cypressandfig

EmpressArwen said:
I am a Christian (Catholic by denomination). I give that label to myself because I believe in and am a follower of Jesus. As far as Catholic, I feel they have a wonderful grasp of Angels and Saints...I also find beauty in the rituals, prayers and practices.

That being said, I do not subscribe to a lot of the doctrine of the Church, so I do not take communion. I feel it would be wrong of me to walk in, with the beliefs I hold and take part in the rituals. It would be no different than walking into a Wiccan ritual and taking part in it, while secretly not believing in what they believe. To me, its disrespectful. This is just for me, I make no judgements on what others do.
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I resonate so much with this! You and I sound a lot alike. :D
 

cypressandfig

I call myself a Mystic, and use this wonderful quote by GK Chesterton to illuminate exactly what I mean by that.

"Mysticism keeps men sane. As long as you have mystery you have health; when you destroy mystery you create morbidity. The ordinary man has always been sane because the ordinary man has always been a mystic. He has permitted the twilight. He has always had one foot in earth and the other in fairyland. He has always left himself free to doubt his gods; but (unlike the agnostic of to-day) free also to believe in them. He has always cared more for truth than for consistency. If he saw two truths that seemed to contradict each other, he would take the two truths and contradiction along with them. His spiritual sight is stereoscopic, like his physical sight: he sees two different pictures at once and yet sees all the better for that. Thus, he has always believed that there was such a thing as fate, but such a thing as free will also. Thus, he believes that children were indeed the kingdom of heaven, but nevertheless ought to be obedient to the kingdom of earth. He admired youth because it was young and age because it was not. It is exactly this balance of apparent contradictions that has been the whole buoyancy of the healthy man. The whole secret of mysticism is this: that man can understand everything by the help of what he does not understand. The morbid logician seeks to make everything lucid, and succeeds in making everything mysterious. The mystic allows one thing to be mysterious, and everything else becomes lucid."

To clarify, I believe that all 'myths' are true. All tell the same story, that of beauty, of God, The Great Spirit (my father is half Cherokee so I retain much Cherokee spirituality). I believe in Jesus as well, that he was a true incarnation of Great Spirit, and in the spiritual role of Mary, but also the archetypal roles of the mother goddess and sun gods and corn gods, etc. from ancient times and how they wove the stories that are facets of the one. I love herbal magic, practical magic (ala Scott Cunningham), almost more, home-based than ritual. Nature, getting out into it, communing with Great Spirit through creation. A world of spirits and life. :)
 
Finding Oneself Sick of agnosticism, Judaic and Druidic studies