Hello, I just want to begin to learn about Wiccan/Pagan. I am Christian right now but I don’t feel very connected to Christianity. I love the earth, nature, stones, stuff in that nature. I just want to know where is a good place to start a Wicca/Pagan practice? I don’t know what to look for or do.

– Kris

A good place to start is with Lauren Manoy’s Where to Park your Broomstick. That’s how I got started and it really was useful for me as she also gave a brief overview on other faiths that you may or may not have heard of but could possibly resonate better with.

It’s important to think long and hard about your current faith in Christianity such as what is it that you don’t connect with? What do you disagree with? Why do you feel a disconnect and where is it situated? Is it with the people? Is it with the core beliefs? It’s important you do a lot of thinking because, well, changing religions is serious business. People use faith as the bedrock of their morals and beliefs, thus why you have to make sure that you’re going to be okay leaving one religion for another. Otherwise, you’re never going to feel at home in whatever faith you choose.

Hi,

I’m from Malaysia. I would like to ask is there a way to find out if a person is dead or alive?

Sorry I ask this because, last year on my Birthday – he came into my dream. This guy was my former schoolmate and admirer but we don’t keep in touch. After 21 years, he came into my dream.

In the dream, we went back to our school days where he met me, then jumped into when we are in working life and we date. Final part was then, the both of us get married. Weird is that, he appear in a very bright and clean. He does not utter even a Single Word.

I’m not sure if this means he is dead? I want to find out the truth. If he’s dead or still alive.

Please advise me what to do. Thanks.

– Jennifer S.

Dreams are interesting. You could be getting an omen, learning information about someone or the person could be standing in as a dream symbol. If he seems to be showing all the dream signs that he’s died, you should search for his records. Ask around if you know anyone that may have possibly known you both, look in the papers for an obituary. I guess a good date to start is around when you had the dream and go from there.

If you found a living person (as in, he’s alive and well) then just take what you saw in the dream as a symbol. And that symbol would be whatever this dude meant to you. So if he was the creative type, it refers to creativity. If he was the hyper analytical type, it refers to logic and so on and so forth.

If you found a dead person, it’s up to you what you want to do. If the person died recently, send the family some flowers and your condolences. If it was a while ago, just let sleeping dogs lie and see what symbol he could have played in the dream.

Alright, that’s the Ask Black Witch for this month, everyone. Next month is a new series called “Shut Out” and the subject is mental illness in the Black community. Topics include dealing with mental illness, culture and stigma not only from the Black community but society at large. That means there will be guest writers for this upcoming series to provide their input and perspective.

Hello my name is Kiara and I’ve been researching Paganism/Witchcraft for the past few months. However, since I still live at home (I’m a 20 year old college student), I’ve only been able to learn through online research. I’d like to start getting some books and was wondering if you had maybe a list of reputable authors or books. I apologize if you’ve answered this before but I couldn’t seem to find it through your tumblr or Black Witch website. Thank you and have a great day!

– Kiara

I guess this means I have to do more work in making BW much more searchable or create a new webpage for books I have already recommended on Black Witch. I have suggested a lot of books, especially during The Arts!: Samhain Editions. The book I recommend the most is Where to Park your Broomstick by Lauren Manoy.

And that’s all the Ask Black Witch for this month! Next month is a month long series called “Stuck in My Head”, focusing on mental illness in the Black community.