Merry Meet, Heilsa and Wes Hāl!
I'm a seeker, currently living in Austin, Texas and walking an eclectic path focused on ancestral Celtic and Norse/Germanic/Saxon traditions. Spellwork, healing, and lore are among my interests. For a few months now, I have been finding much fulfillment working with the Celtic pantheon, using Wicca as a framework. However, I am not (yet?) Wiccan, nor a Witch, per se. Things are far too confusing at this point in my path for me to put a label on myself. I have managed to develop some of my beliefs, though, in the last 8 months. In my view, understanding the past is a vehicle for recovering what is left of heritage and applying such treasures as can be found to the present. I'm therefore keenly interested in "Reconstruction," but will not limit myself to "how it was done," even when that information is available.
If I haven't bored you yet, let me try harder
I was raised with Northern and Celtic values, but was otherwise encouraged by my parents to pursue my own path. We did celebrate some of the "standard" holidays that are well known in North America, calling them by their Christianized names, but we only went to church for other peoples' weddings and funerals. I've been pagan, or at least "unable to identify with most Christians" all my life. During high school and college, I drifted more firmly into the pagan side of the spectrum. After a somewhat frustrating time of trying to find information and like-minded individuals who weren't too focused on the darkness, I meandered for just over a decade. During this time, one might have caught me offering up simple prayers and hoping someone was listening, or doing occasional energy work. More recently (Jan/Feb), I have resumed my quest, and have been pleasantly surprised at how much more freely the information is flowing than it was when I was in college.
I'm really glad to have found this IRC chat and forum, so if there's anything I can do to help out, please let me know.
Blessed Be / In Frith,
Caryl