My Current Religious Practice

I am quite new to Paganism, but I find Wicca the best fit for me at the moment. I like that it is a modern religion and that most Wiccans nowadays realize that. It thus beats Heathanism and reconstructionist pagan religions for my religious affections. I briefly flirted with Asatru, but it didn't work for me, for reasons I may go into later.

Wicca is a mix of 19th century Romanticism, suspect anthropology (Margaret Murray), and Ceremonial Magic, and yet I really like it. Its ethos of individualism and self-discovery appeal to my personality. Its well-established ritual base and Wheel of the Year appeal to my need for order and for its attention to the Earth. I feel comfortable with its duotheism.

Although I don't think about the deeper philosophical foundations of it the way I did as a philosopher and Christian, I am inclined toward panentheism.

Finally, I am agnostic on the magic, pathworking, and other less scientifically verifiable aspects, though I have had a handful of experiences (prior to coming to Neopaganism) that could be described as shamanic.

A relative of mine in my house has a statue to Guanyin. That statue has been my personal Goddess. I don't have an appropriate statue to represent the God, but I have been burning Chinese incense sticks to the God and Goddess in front of that altar each morning with a brief prayer of sorts -- Wiccan-flavored, you might say, not Buddhist or Christian.

I haven't gotten into the ceremonial or ritual aspects very much yet, or even the Wheel of the Year. I am trying first and foremost to incorporate more compassion into my life toward my friends, family, living beings, and the Earth. For me, re-sacralizing my relationship with the Earth and the cosmos is the best thing about Earth-centered religions like Wicca, so my practice has centered on that, but I will move on to other things as time goes on.