Hi there @PadstowGirl and @Moominmama0 (excellent name!) - welcome to the thread, we're delighted to have you I am also new here as I only joined the thread a few weeks ago, and I'm so heartened to see how many new posters have already joined since then, like this community is a lovely little beacon calling like-minded souls to share their wisdom, learning, and, of course, tea!
I notice you both mentioned Wicca, and as a PP said I don't think there are many Wiccans on the thread, but I came to the path via Wicca so feel at least culturally Wiccan and it's something I know a fair bit about. I used to follow a Wiccan path but have now veered into something a bit more eclectic and am working out where the path will take me now that I've decided to 'go public' with family and friends and interact with the pagan community. If you have questions about Wicca, feel free to ask as I may be able to answer.
Also including @Theordinary as although I mentioned it upthread I really recommend watching Ronald Hutton's new lecture series on modern paganism for anyone just beginning to learn (or relearn!) about the faith. The first lecture took place last week and there will be 5 more, albeit quite spaced out throughout this academic year (the next one is on 30th October).
On your question of the afterlife @Moominmama0, there are certainly some pagans that believe in an afterlife, whether they call it 'Heaven', 'Elysium', 'the Summerlands' or something else. Paganism's beauty (and sometimes its weakness) is that it is an umbrella term for a variety of different paths and beliefs, including ancient pagan traditions that had the concept of an afterlife and more modern conceptions. Either way, the idea of 'returning to Source' and blending back with the divine after death is something that many pagans believe in.
On the topic of the Wheel of the Year, there are lots of sources available online to find out more about them, including many resources with suggestions of how to celebrate them. I personally love The Dead of Night's YouTube channel, which has some brilliant ambience videos designed for immersing yourself into the atmosphere and spirit of each sabbat. Llewellyn also publish an annual sabbats Almanac (starting with Samhain so now would be a great time to buy it if you're interested!) with ideas, recipes, astrology and lore relating to the sabbats. It's very North American-centric though, which dims its appeal for me as someone living in the UK.
I made a dedication to myself at the start of September that over the next 12 months I would celebrate all of the sabbats 'properly', not just marking them in my head but giving them the attention and respect that they deserve. I started with Mabon and it was an absolute delight! I'm already looking forward to Samhain. While I'm still working out how I'm going to celebrate Samhain (I'm still happily in Mabon mood!), here are some examples of what I did this year to celebrate Mabon, which might give you some inspiration! There are things in here for all budgets so should be something for everyone:
- DP (atheist, non-pagan) made a big roast Mabon dinner for us to eat on the day.
- Mabon baking - ginger cake, chocolate oatmeal cookies, banana bread, actual bread, apple and cinnamon cupcakes.
- DP and I went for a woodland walk and picked up some acorns and conkers for our autumnal display collection.
- Artificial autumnal decorations to add to the above. I have decorations for every season that come out each year.
- Donated food to a homeless charity at work.
- Attended two Mabon rituals/ceremonies in the community.
- 'Sharing my evening meal' by donating to the World Food Programme Share the Meal initiative every day after dinner from Mabon to Samhain (there's an app you can download).
- Taking Mabon bakes into work to share with colleagues, sharing food with friends.
- Honouring my personal deities privately at home by lighting incense to them one-by-one while saying a prayer to thank them for their help and to ask each of them to help me through this period in an aspect of their nature that relates to Mabon (such as 'nourisher', 'protector', 'psychopomp', 'teacher/guide', etc).
- Casting an abundance spell.
- Cleaning and tidying my home.
- Making a list of everything I'm grateful for, including the seemingly small things.
- Rediscovering a lovely assembly song we used to sing at primary school about harvest time called 'Michaelmas Daisies'.
These are just some ideas! There are plenty more that I didn't end up doing or that I still might do over the coming days. Disclaimer: this all took place over a week or more, not all on one day! 😂
Some of you have also mentioned discovering the Goddess, which is such a delightful part of paganism! I recommend a lovely song by Lisa Thiel called 'I am the Goddess' and another called 'Daughter of the Elements'. Her beautiful 'Mabon' song is also fitting so I might as well recommend it too! I tried linking all of these earlier but the links went weird for some reason. 😅
I think the best way of approaching this aspect is reading (or watching) as much as possible about different Goddesses. If you're drawn to a particular pantheon (such as Greco-Roman, Celtic, Norse/Anglo-Saxon, Egyptian, Yoruba, Hindu) then start with that. There are plenty of books, websites and YouTube channels available that deal with mythology. If not, read around and see where you're drawn! You might end up finding that you develop a relationship with a particular Goddess (or more than one). This concept of 'personal deities' is common in both ancient and modern paganism, and is something that many of us, myself included, follow. It means that a person is theoretically open to worshipping any God or Goddess, but has a private relationship one or a handful that is special and developed over a lifetime.