One question I have been asked in many emails is "how did you become a witch?", well it's not just like someone waved a wand over me and did it!
Some of us are born witches. No not like Harry Potter, but our families are pagan and we are born into it. Just the same as Baptists were born into Baptist families and Catholics are born into Catholic families, and so on. We learn the craft from out parents and are brought up in a family that holds pagan beliefs at the forefront. My children are born into Witchcraft because it's my religion. I try to allow them the freedom to chose what they feel is right for themselves, but that doesn't negate the fact that I am a witch and I include them in my practices so they can witness what I do.
Others find the path on their own. This was how I became a witch. You are born into a particular faith or you are born into a family with no strong religious beliefs. For what ever the reasoning you feel drawn into a direction. Some people chose to go with the flow, or they chose to find a path that fits their own beliefs. Maybe being born into a strong belief system goes against you personal feelings. What ever it is you must come into your own. You have to find what lives in your heart.
The biggest step to becoming a witch is learning to forget what you have been told you believe. Many of us grow up in a home with very strong religious beliefs. Whether your parents attend church or not they still teach you the basics of their beliefs. As we get older these basics become rooted in who we are. This may even go against our own personal beliefs and no matter how hard we try to justify them to ourselves and our lives it still just doesn't fit. I know several people who claim to be Christian witches. For me these people are just afraid of letting go of the beliefs they were taught as children. They ride the fence trying to mix both religions and eventually turn to one or the other. In my opinion there is no such thing as a Christian witch. The bible teaches them that witchcraft is wrong and even in Exodus it says that witches should be put to death. Though our beliefs are similar, they also have their differences. These differences are what sets them apart and prevents the melding of the two.
But if you have asked this question of yourself then you are already there! The best place to turn is to paper and ink, BOOKS! Well the internet is a good source as well! But you must tread carefully. Just as you have Christians who are not so Christ like you have witches who are not really witches! We call them fluffys. They like the show and the attention they get from acting sensational. These are not the people you want to learn from, they know no more of the craft than I know about breeding porcupines for retail sales! In other words they go about something that could be more dangerous than productive when a lack of knowledge is used.
How do you go from there, well, you must decide what you want? Do you want a group setting with a tradition or would you prefer being solitary and having access to a group setting? The next step would be doing some research into things. You have to find what is right for you.
Blessed be,
Lady Alice