Previous Paths? Thelema? Chaos? Wicca? Etc., Just curious - regardless of current discipline, what have you explore Options

I'm just curious -- because all of my friends who practice tend to dabble and believe that all beliefs are legit -- what have been your path experiences. (I'm guessing many of you have "played the field" and still do?) Any "bonded for lifers" out there?

My past explorations (and I have affection for all of them -- as a Chaote I still tend to practice ALL of them) were, all of the above, but aside from Chaos, my biggest journey has been (and remains) Tantric Buddhist Magick and Taoism (Daoism).

Also a bit of a chaote myself, I started out with wicca like every other teenager in my hometown, and then moved on to ceremonial magick with the goetia, evokation etc., then into enochian very briefly, more study than practice in that one, but I constructed all the tools and explored some of the first aethyrs before I got caught up in transcendental meditation, which is where I was diverted into eastern paths, mostly hindu, but tantric buddhist as well. After that my magick was decidedly chaote in nature just by the fact that it was such an amalgam of techniques. Through my guides i've always practiced a layman's form of shamanism, I've always been an animist, so conversing with the natural spirits has always been part of my practice in life, as well. I got into the necronomicon, walked the first gate, had some conversations with the Gods, and realized it was not for me to devote myself to, although I have still had good experiences with some of the fifty names, and am still considering the other gates. My bandar was rather troublesome, so I was forced to take a step back and reconsider myself.

Like most chaotes I've studied just about everything under the sun to one degree or another, and draw on all of it when postulating a new ritual, or even just when interpreting symbolism from my dreams or in visions during meditation.

Now, I do very little ritual magick at all. Being familiar with energies from so many different perspectives, and with so many different states of consciousness magick for me usually consists of a sigil for any enduring effect, along with a meditation through whichever state of consciousness is best for the work, and connecting patterns of energies to whichever grid seems most appropriate to get the right effect. I guess that goes under 'other.' I work with a small host of spirits that I became 'friendly' with, from across the entire journey I've had, but that no longer falls under evocation, so much as 'afternoon tea'.

Oh, and before my current amalgam, the path I explored most consistently for the longest time was western ceremonial - Mostly golden dawn, since those are the books I had, but at this point it's all largely the same, right?

peace

This post has been edited by Vagrant Dreamer: Feb 15 2007, 01:59 PM

Hindu, Buddhist, Tibetan shamanism (Bon),Toltec Shamanism (Yaqui Indian) I dont really partake in any religion but i study them all.

Today im still practicing the last two. I dont ever see leaving them behind.

As a side note im a practicing alchemist and hermetic. I consider those to be part of my path.

This post has been edited by Enochian: Feb 15 2007, 04:25 PM

Atheism > Agnosticism > Christianity > Asatru > Wicca > Druidry > Satanism > Sethiasm > Luciferian > Dark spirituality > semi-Buddhism > { Chaos Necromancer }

This post has been edited by NecroReaper: Feb 15 2007, 10:37 PM

seems we're all 'all over the place' in our paths! neat!

i, of course, am under the (perhaps mistaken) premise that they are all one thing with different expressions and methods (and motives), and so are the forces they represent and work with

e.

I was christian and then got all new age and fluffy bunny before going to wicca and paganism. Then I came back to christianity went into the Freemasons and through them the Golden Dawn. Now I'm a ceremonial magician in training in the Golden Dawn system, but still a christian.

This post has been edited by Arcangle90: Feb 16 2007, 08:46 AM

I was christian and then got all new age and fluffy bunny before going to wicca and paganism. Then I came back to christianity went into the Freemasons and through them the Golden Dawn. Now I'm a ceremonial magician in training in the Golden Dawn system, but still a christian.

ah - mcmathers hooks another fish!

would someone who was anti-christian even be able to progress in the golden dawn? would their use of such words constitute lhp? 'agla adonai tetragrammation' the hard way? i suppose you could go kemetic

our favorite antagonist went to another forum and did the exact same thing

e.

"i, of course, am under the (perhaps mistaken) premise that they are all one thing with different expressions and methods (and motives), and so are the forces they represent and work with"

Definitely NOT mistaken. That's my belief, too, although the poll was more about paths than the labels we place on forces, deities or entities, etc.-- I believe they're all paths to the same ultimate place, absolutely, but I was just curious how many others have tried all the different roads ...

It's the journey, not the destination ... who said that? Can't remember.

This post has been edited by Mezu: Feb 16 2007, 06:27 PM

I started with my families tradition, then to CM and Asatru for the longest. I now use Chaos as a kind of binder of all these together.
Chaos does get it's origin from CM. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/922.gif)

I have been a spiritist for as long as I can remember, memories back
to about 4 years old. Cast into catholic school, I wanted to be a nun.
Became very secular all through teen years, but my spirit was screaming
for attention and a path. Became a "born again" Christian at 17, and
walked the fence for years. Became a holiness pentacostal at 27.
What drew me was the freedom my spirit had to astral project, freely
explore other spiritual realms, met some REALLY awesome spirits and
beings, and became a "spiritual warrior" to battle beings of lower
planes causing grief to my fellow man all around me. During this time,
I had been given "spiritual" gifts by spirit beings to use in my fearless
warfare against the dark side that was terrifying people around me.
I have been trancing since forever. They allowed me the freedom to
trance, even though under the guise of the "holy spirit" I could do so
without any inhibitions. They received my visions and prophetic dreams
as well as dream interpretation, as well. So the natural gifts I had been
given were accepted there. I thrived until the legalistic BS started to
kick in, and they began to question the source of my gifts. After ten
years of living in hell in that church, I left.

Thats when I really became a wanderer. Since I was accused of
practicing withcraft (which I really didnt know what a witch did),
I started studying paganism and witchcraft. Having realised their
truthes, the "insult" cast at me for being a witch, I suddenly felt
complimented learning how paganism and wicca were such beautiful
paths. I made many pagan and wiccan friends, none trying to
"convert" me, but allowed me to explore to my hearts desire.
And still, it wasn't quite "it" for me. I do practice some pagan and
wiccan rites, and celibrate some of the holy days, but I cant be
labelled as a pagan or wiccan either.

i have some good native american friends, who saw me struggling
with my spirituality. They invited me to their reservation every summer
to attend sundance. I went for five summers. Had experiences that
I hold precious to this day. And I RESPECT the red road, but again,
its still not "IT".

Aristotle is my hero! Had he been in this incarnation, I would throw
myself at his feet! LOL

I started really getting serious into different philosophies. Profound
words that I would nod and say, "yes, thats it!" But it wasnt "IT".
Just PART of "it", as all the other pathes I had explored.

Im not sure if I even believe in "a GOD" anymore. I believe there
are universal truthes, and there is a mastery beyond the universe,
but I cannot coin it into one word--God. I believe their are echelons
of spirits and spirit realms. I KNOW there are spirits stuck on this
plane, cuz I ran into so many, and usually pretty grumpy and pissed,
cuz they dont know how to get unstuck.

I started studying new age, and wanted to puke, cuz in my opinion,
many of them were nothing more than spiritual prostitutes. Promising
a brief moment of ecstacy, for a very high price. Definitely not in
my karmic evolution.

But I judge noone, as everyone is more or less where they are supposed
to be in their spiritual evolution. Some find their comfort zone, and are
content to stay where they are, and Im a little jealous cuz Im still wandering.

So I skip along the edges of different pathes, relying on my ancestors
to guide me, and teach me universal truthes, and help as many as I can
along the way.

There are things from many pathes that have worked for me. I practice
candle magick, I am a runecaster, I invoke spirits to help guide me, I
trance, I still have prophetic dreams and visions, I appreciate Zen,
I appreciate Buddhism, but again, I skirt along the edges and benefit
from part, but not the whole.

The Wanderer

When I was 12 I looked into Satanism, which to me was the logical choice considering I was at that rebelious stage and wanted to piss off my family (and boy did it work too). But then I guess I just got bored with satanism, never considered myself a satanist anyways. Then I looked into Wicca. Actually a girl friend had gotten me into it. But when that relationship died so did my interest in being Wiccan - never called myself Wiccan either. Thats when I discovered the concept of "eclectic paganism" and realized I didn't need to be pinned down by a single path. That I could fullfill my spiritual desires by simply being spiritual.

Philosophy > Deism > Humanism > Martial Arts/Chi phenomena > Eastern thought > Introduced to Necronomicon > Sumerian Metaphysics > Demonology/Satanism > Demonaltry > General Dark > Chaos > ChaoGnosis (damn, that was a trip) > Christian Charismatics > Mathematics/Einstein's view of Existence > Gematria > Open Hand Chaos Magicks

I never really knew what element I was, when it came to general metaphysics. Now that everything pretty much went towards Gematrics, alot of my energies that I utilized were open-handed magicks. Instead of doing the LBRH with the god names, for example, I would conceptualize chanting pi to 1080 places- 360 degrees for each circle (That kept it powerful, neutral, and still correct). Or, sometimes when trying to imagine the change of the elements, I think of the quadratic change of the number i.

All my magicks have now become Cosmic/Math/Chaos... Because I know that anything found with the neutrality of gematrics and mathematical metaphysics would be a finding free from arbitrary bias that other energies may cause. It's really useful when working with energies of Order, Law, and Judgment.

I tend to follow the knowledge so its hard for me to choose a path or discipline i've worked with most.
Christianity has had a profound effect on me, to a point where I wished I had never known of the Bible or Jesus Christ.
The discipline of christianity, abstinence and being aware of the tricks of the 'devil', having faith and such.
I really like Hermeticism, mainly the teachings like the Corpus Hermeticum and the Kyballion, but Hermetic magick, if its anything like stephen Flowers stuff, i'm not interested in, mainly because the callings are too long and stupid to me, i'll speak it in English instead lol.
I've studied some Satanism like the controversial Order of Nine Angles and the demonic bible and obviously Anton Szandor Lavey's stuff.
Buddhism, Taosim there's so many, anything really to do with Consciousness and transmutation, which reminds me, Alchemy.
Right now i'm getting into the Chaos Magick path, and loving it (IMG:style_emoticons/default/clap.gif)
Al.

93
I dont know exactly what you can all me. I am foremost a Thelemite because i adhere to the Law of Thelema and the Thelemic definition of magick. But i am definately left-hand.

I started off as a an Orthodox Christian which somehow led to Methodism, but i never believed any of it. After studying and accepting Crowley's Law i was like "ok, i have a spiritual foundation, but now i need a body". I was fascinated with dark spirituality and the LHP, excpecially Luciferianism and Setianism (which i never found to be too different, other than the Godform they chose, so i started to identify them as one term, Draconianism, which led me to the Dragon Rouge), recently i've began to research and dabble in Chaos Magick and Necromancy. and to top it of im a vampire.

So iguess i can be called a Draconic Chaos Thelemite Vampire LOL.

93 93/93
Noxifer

This post has been edited by Noxifer_616: Aug 2 2007, 04:41 PM

Greetings Fellow Truth Seekers:

I have enjoyed reading all of the varied posts. I do not necessarily follow one path. Like most of you I follow my own path. Oh yes it may transect others along the way ... but in the end it is my personal spiritual evolution. I tend to like The Old Religion of Witchcraft. Yes I have read the fluffy bunny stuff and Wicca. My mom sent me to sunday school .. I told my first teacher that "I believed in Buddah, Jesus, and Mohammad. No douby my father, who is a Mason, had a hand in that responce. Voudin and Folk Magick have been interests. Currently reading about Ceremonial Magick.

I truely like having a place to meet like-minded sorjourners on the path.

Love & Light,
Silversheep

I first got started with paganism after I decided to rebel from my Roman Catholic upbringing, then I got into chaos and I worked with servitors for some time. I was also into the Golden Dawn at that time using it as a basis for chaos. Eventually I got into my current path, which is more hermetic and classical grimoire style I guess. I've gotten more results with these styles, but I also got results with the others as well, so I can't say one is better than another.

I'm also getting into the Simon Nec, and I hope that I can eventually make up my own path.

Christianity (Methodist) > Atheism > Agnosticism > Unitarian-Universalism > Atheism (After 9/11) > Unitarian-Universalism > New Age > Chaos Magick





I was veering between atheism and UUism for a while there. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/laugh.gif)


Wicca has never really appealed to me (I've just never felt that much of a connection to nature.)

This post has been edited by The Sorceress: Sep 13 2007, 04:10 PM

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/black eye.gif) I dabbled with hallucinogens at first then graduated to Don Juan books and stayed steady at that for awhile. Then about 1997 I discovered the Nag Hammadi which led me into Gnostism for awhile which led me into Kabbalistic books of which I bought quite a few of
and my library shows it. But here as of late, I have been graduating more and more to paganism which seems to include the female aspect of God much more than any of the written religions do and then I dipped into shamanism, which considers Mother Earth as a bonified benefactor for all of us which in a way I suppose is still paganism. I found out through the 60 years of my life that Mother Earth has been way underated. Also all of the written religions seem to fear her. Why?

I was christian for most of my life. More rather I put on the face and pretended to be. It never quite fit for me

Now I researched most of the major religions. Islam, Budda, Hindu, and a lot of the other sects. The only thing that seemed to fit for me is Paganism and Wicca.

Here is a more detailed evolution of my beliefs over the years.

(Sorry for stealing the style sorceress (IMG:style_emoticons/default/13.gif))

Orthodox Christianity > Methodism > Khemetic Paganism > Gnostic Christianity > Thelema > Luciferianism (Gnostic) > LaVeyan Satanism > Luciferian Witchcraft (Ford tradition) > Setianism > Eclectic Left Hand Path based mostly off of (Setianism, LaVeyan Satanism, the works of Kenneth Grant, and the Necronomicon)

Ho Drakkon Ho Megas!
Noxifer

Methodist Christianity> Darker Spiritualism(I'd consider it a personal form of daemonoltary(sp?) these days even thought I use to say I was a Satanist, granted I didn't really give two shits about that entity now I look in retrospect)>Paganism(Asataru)>Chaos(truely freeform with no absolute belief)>Minor Ceremonial>Daoism>Combination of the three

I was baptised when I was an infant to a methodist church where my parents went. I think things started going down hill one sunday when they had the children classes and the fucker there decided to go with the usual judgemental concept of everyone who isn't christian goes to hell(I didn't believe it then, I still don't believe in that now). Its funny with this since my parents are now thinking about switching churches because the "elders" are making rather vulgar and negative sermons(IE- They had one just for the sin of beastiality). Then my grandfather died when I was 11 and when I hit 12 I tried delving into a form of demon worship as those entitys always held curiosity to me and the world/God seemed like it abhorred me. Then I settled down and got into asataru/paganism with next to no results or experiences besides the initial knowledge(Lets just say Thor doesn't come a callin when you ask and pray to him). Then I slowly looking over Lovecraftian and other Chaos-magick based concepts granted I really didn't believe them though they opened the concepts of Chaos magick(I'm still grasping them) to me. I started delving into Ceremonial and found that very interesting even though I have yet to attempt Goetia or Enochian based magicks(though my first attempt at an evocation was a failure, just psychic trash floating around and getting candle wax in my eye....uggh), just the basics of LBRP, LBRH, Middle Pillar and the like. Daoism just feels right honestly, I started delving into that when I began training Kung Fu. I looked into Buddhism and even agree with some of it, its a bit too strict for me. Right now i've been pointed towards the whole K&C HGA(I know of 3-4 methods for this at the current moment) and reading over a beginner's book to Enochian Magick to try to contact and maybe get an understanding for the odditys that have been occuring for the past few months(IE- My ipod that has Aleister Crowley's 1st and 2nd call would start on the 2nd call for no reason, even when I go back and look over it, it should be a Strapping Young Lad song playing or nothing at all, my TV turning off and then on for no reason). A few things that have influenced me are the Warhammer 40,000 mythos, the Shin Megami Tensei game series and Evangelion (certain concepts of these works of fictions seem valid if not true.),

This post has been edited by GarageMage: Oct 23 2007, 10:36 AM