I've been in this boat for awhile. My advice is to not rely on advice online. You'll face dilemmas that'll require more context than you can logically express virtually. Trust me.
You're best bet is to find your nearest occult shop and get to know the people there. Try to figure out what traditions they're familiar with. Most mainly do basic Wicca. So, if you're like me and you come in with something more esoteric, you'll likely not find anyone who's very helpful.
I hate to say this but you should also try to gauge where they are politically. Not so much to see if they align with your politics. But a large amount of practitioners tend to have their politics blend with their spirituality. It's best to avoid them these sorts of people. And I mean that on both sides of the spectrum.
Unfortunately, I find that the social world is just troublesome. As reckless as this might sound, just do work. Make an altar if you don't have one. Find a book that you align with, and do nightly meditations, each night, for two weeks. Then continue the meditations, but add in basic spell craft. See what happens.
My general go-to author is Jason Miller. But because this is the LHP group, go on Etsy and look up Draconian Ritual Book by Asaneth Mason.
