Advice & Suggestions Community | Reading & Study Agenda | Daily Practice & Meditation | Your Sacred Space | Awareness of Self Community One very important step in getting to know yourself is getting to know other people in your community.  Go to http://www.witchvox.com and look under their Witches of the World section...check out local stores and events in your area....send letters of introduction to Pagans living near you.  It is important to create a network of people who at least have similar beliefs to your own, if not the same.  Attend open circles, watch, ask questions, and get to know who's around.   Exercise caution and good sense though in meeting ANYONE.  Public events are best...bring a friend! Reading & Study Agenda If you intend to seriously follow a mystery path, such as Witchcraft or Wicca, then you must dedicate yourself to doing a good amount of research and studying on your own. In the book section, I have listed at least a dozen excellent books to get you started. Read through them, make notes, and you decide for yourself what is right for your path. Just because something is written in a book or site doesnıt make it automatically true. You need to keep an open, yet skeptical mind. Other good places to find books: Used bookstores are often a great place to start. You can find some good out of print books and regular books for a lot less than normal. Always check out your local library! The best areas to actually look for good books are not necessarily the new age/occult sections. Rather, check under ancient history, world history, mythology, menıs/womenıs studies, and anthropology. Youıll be surprised by the wealth of information youıll uncover. If youıre someone who has a hard time with studying and reading, then definitely make notes and set up an agenda for yourself. On yahoogroups.com, there are always groups who are studying certain books, so you may find it helpful to join or start one of these for a particular book youıd like to work on. Daily Practice & Meditation Itıs important to get yourself into a system where you can consider your path daily: who you are, what you are looking for, how far youıve come, and where youıre going. Start by setting aside a small part of your day for meditation. Youıll be amazed how energizing this can be if you put this at the beginning of your day, or how calming it can be at the end. It can as easy as combining it with your morning cup of coffee or evening tea, taking a few moments to consider the sunset, or sitting outside on your lunch-break. Your Sacred Space It is important to have a small space that is truly your own, for your own contemplation. This type of space is commonly known as an altar or shrine, and you may actually have the beginnings of one already. Most people naturally create special areas in their homes/bedrooms and even workplaces that contain favorite objects, pictures, etc. It can be anywhere: on a table, a shelf, on top of a dresser, in a cabinet, drawer, or box. For more information on creating sacred space, check out my article in Volume Three, Issue Two of Crescent Magazine. (go to http://www.crescentmagazine.com) Awareness of Self Be sure to seriously consider who YOU are, your abilities, limitations, talents, and possibilities. This is not a game, nor is there any set timeframe on how long it will take (heh, well, really, it will take all your life.) Be realistic and check in the mirror once and a while. One of the keys to this path is power over self, not others. Your path is just that--yours. It is your personal concern. Donıt be out to impress anyone, and donıt be in a rush. Remember this.