Pagan and Wicca what's the difference?

[Melissa]

I've decided that I want to learn about the Pagan religion, even though I'm a Christian and plan on staying that way.

The reason I want to learn about it is because I feel it's a form of respect to learn about someone else's religion when you have become friends with that person and since I plan on staying on the board I'm sure I'll make friends with a lot of Wiccans.

I know a little about it for RubyRose, but obviouslly not as much as I thought I knew.

I always thought Pagan and Wicca was the same thing, but I just found out that they're really not the same thing. The person explained that Pagan was a belief and Wicca was a practice. Does that mean Wicca is a branch of Pagan like Catholic is a branch of Christianity?

If Pagans have different branches what are the different branches and what makes those branches different?

[Isil Darkmoon]

There are three different terms you'll hear often:
Pagan
Wiccan
Witch.

Paganism is an "umbrella" heading for a bunch of different religions. Many are earth-based, polytheistic... not all, but many. "Paganism" and "Christianity" would be analagous. Many but not all pagans believe in reincarnation.


Wicca is a specific religion within the heading of paganism.

Just like there are Methodists, Roman Catholics, Southern Baptists, etc, there are Wiccans, Druids, Asatru (Norse paganism), etc.

Wicca is the most widely known pagan religion. It centers around a Goddess, her consort the horned God, and their life cycle within the wheel of the year (eight major holidays, tied into planting, harvest, and the equinoxes).

The Wiccan Rede (An harm ye none, do what ye will) is a major central principle. Many Wiccans follow the "law of three"--what energies you send out into the universe, good or bad, you get back three times.



Witchcraft is the practice of magic. It's something you study and do, like Yoga, weaving, horseback riding, or the piano.

You can be a Christian witch (although there is some argument about "Christian Wicca", those being two contradicotry views of Deity), an agnostic witch who believs in no Deity, Wiccan witch, pagan witch, eclectic witch, "kitchen witch" (does magic with cooking) or many more types.

MANY wiccans are witches as well, but some are not. However, not all witches, or even the MAJORITY of witches, are Wiccan.

[mucgwyrt]

There are three different terms you'll hear often:
You can be a Christian witch (

You ~can~, but at the same time I know a great deal of Witches who would get very very angry at the suggestion of combining the two, after hundreds of years of christianity trying so hard to crush our religion.

May I just add -

'Wicca' is something which has only existsed since about 1950, based on many many earth-religeons, a couple Gerald Gardner's own whims and many rituals written by aliester crowley :)

Also, most of the traditional Witches I have ever met do not follow the Wiccan Rede as such, and tend to honour the night as opposed to a specific pantheon's goddess of the night, if you see what I mean :)

[simskathouse]

I personally could not be Christian and Wiccan too. The two, for me, just do not coincide with each other. As a child Chritianity was forced upon me by my Grandmother (whom I loved very much) and I was always a miserable child having to do something I was not happy with but having no voice in what I truly wanted. My sister who is 11 years older than I am, chose her path as a witch and through her, I have learned that being a witch, wiccan, pagen whatever it may be, Is what my true calling is. I know my dear Grandmother would be rolling over in her grave knowing that BOTH of her granddaughters were witches, but Christianity just has not and will not give me what I need out of life and the earth. My husband whom is Christain supports my wiccan beliefs, I will never try to convert him as he would never try to convert me. I am what I am and he is who he is and we can still live in love, happiness and harmony. So I admire the fact that you are willing to open your mind and learn about other religions and other beliefs because Goddess knows, there are so many choices and it is our choice to choose which path we take. I just choose to be a witch!

Blessed be!
Kat

[Pip_Sensei]

Paganism-One of the pre-Christian or Pre-Islamic religeons in Europe, Arabia, The Middle East or Northern Africa.

Wicca-A modern religeon created in the 30s by Gerald Gardner based on Catholic Occultism only replacing the Catholic aspect of it with "God" and "Goddess".

Witchcraft-Herbology and Midwivery practiced by witches in the dark and middle ages in Europe. Were also blamed to practice the made up religeon of Gothic Satanism by the Catholic church's cleregy men in the 1300s so only the clergy could have spiritual influence on the people.

[Ben Trismegistus]

Wicca-A modern religeon created in the 30s by Gerald Gardner based on Catholic Occultism only replacing the Catholic aspect of it with "God" and "Goddess".

Dude, you need to do some more reading.

[Pip_Sensei]

ummmm most of the tools and rituals used by Wiccans were orginally used by Catholic Magicians like the athame, chalice, pentacles etc. and rituals such as casting a circle.

[Ben Trismegistus]

ummmm most of the tools and rituals used by Wiccans were orginally used by Catholic Magicians like the athame, chalice, pentacles etc. and rituals such as casting a circle.

A fair portion of Wiccan ritual techniques come from Christian Ceremonial Magic of the type practiced by people like John Dee in the 16th Century. However, Wicca is also based in part on the ancient religions of England and Greece (among others), Freemasonry, and various other spiritualist movements of the 19th century.

To describe it as nothing more than an adaptation of Catholic Occultism is doing it a disservice. (And it's also incorrect.)

[Melissa]

Thank you for the information everyone!

Are there names for these Gods and Goddesses And is there a main God or Goddess that you pray to?

I know some pray while others don't.

[Ben Gruagach]

Thank you for the information everyone!

Are there names for these Gods and Goddesses And is there a main God or Goddess that you pray to?

I know some pray while others don't.

Wicca tends to talk about "The Lady" and "The Lord" or "the Goddess" and "the God" as generic titles that can apply to many different deities. There is no central authority in Wicca, no pope or holy scripture that decides things for us. That means that Wiccans are likely to worship any number of deities. Many rever Diana, but there are also many who worship Isis, or Brighid, or any other goddess you could name. The same goes with the gods.

Pagans, being a whole bunch of different religions and not really just a single religion, worship all sorts of things. Druids tend to focus on Celtic myths and deities. Asatru worship Norse deities. Kemetic worship the deities of ancient Egypt. And there are "reconstructionist" Pagans who worship deities from whatever specific culture and time period they are reconstructing.

Not all Wiccans or Pagans focus on just one or two deities either, or even just one culture system. Many are quite eclectic and will honour deities from a wide variety of cultures. And many use very generic terms that don't refer to just one particular deity at all.

[simskathouse]

There is a really good book (I am reading it now as we speak) called The Complete Idiot's Guide to Wicca and Witchcraft. You can find it at any book store in the metaphysical section. It explains EVERYTHING from where Paganism came from, to who all the Gods and Goddesses are and it even gets into some rituals and such. If you are truly interrested in learning more, I highly recommend this book. It is easy to follow and to understand.

Blessed be!
Kat

[Ben Gruagach]

I thought I'd try and clarify a few things here.

You ~can~, but at the same time I know a great deal of Witches who would get very very angry at the suggestion of combining the two, after hundreds of years of christianity trying so hard to crush our religion.

Witchcraft, as others have pointed out, is not actually a religion. It's a practice, basically the practice of magick (whether folk magick or ceremonial magick... it's not often an easy thing to distinguish.)

It is very true that Christianity has worked very hard over the centuries to stamp out any alternatives. Pagan faiths were certainly persecuted. So were any who dared to deviate from the official Christian doctrines of the majority. Calling someone a witch during the inquisition was an easy way to get a person eliminated regardless whether they were a Pagan, a Christian, or even just a poor person or someone who was an outcast.

Wicca is definitely a religion that is based on pre-Christian pagan ideas, and incorporates a lot of witch lore and witchcraft practices. But there are plenty of people, including Christians, who practice witchcraft who are not Wiccans.

'Wicca' is something which has only existsed since about 1950, based on many many earth-religeons, a couple Gerald Gardner's own whims and many rituals written by aliester crowley :)

Also, most of the traditional Witches I have ever met do not follow the Wiccan Rede as such, and tend to honour the night as opposed to a specific pantheon's goddess of the night, if you see what I mean :)

The current historical opinion does support the conclusion that Gerald Gardner was the essentially the originator of Wicca sometime in the late 1930s or 1940s. It is also pretty well documented that Gardner drew on Crowley's work in putting together his Book of Shadows. It's also nothing more than rumour that Crowley wrote any of the rituals for Gardner. Ronald Hutton discusses this rumor and refutes it on page 216 - 217 of "The Triumph of the Moon" (a book which is considered one of the most important historical examinations of Wicca in recent times.) Gardner also drew on other sources, such as Leland's book "Aradia," Dion Fortune's work, and Freemasonry. This is all pretty standard. Occultists commonly draw on what others have put into print.

It is also quite true that not all Wiccans, let alone all witches (who are not all Wiccan to start) consider the Wiccan Rede to be important. You don't have to be a traditional witch to make up your own mind about some element of witchcraft or Wiccan practice.

Witchcraft is about doing magick, and isn't about worshipping any particular deities, or drawing on any particular culture, or even about religion necessarily. People who practice magick can and do exist in all sorts of cultures and historical periods in all sorts of religious environments.

[Ben Gruagach]

Oh, I thought I'd throw in another book recommendation: Isaac Bonewits' "Witchcraft: A Concise Guide" is short, to the point, and clears up a lot of the common misconceptions about the words Wiccan, Witch, and Pagan.

And it has some good history in there too.

[simskathouse]

Hi Ben, I will have to check that book out! Do you know any others for new Wiccans? The one I mentioned The Complete Idiots Guide has really helped me a lot, but I am always looking for some good books to learn more and more. You seem like you are very knowledgeable about a lot of things, so I trust your judement!

Blessed be!
Kat

[Ben Gruagach]

Hi Ben, I will have to check that book out! Do you know any others for new Wiccans? The one I mentioned The Complete Idiots Guide has really helped me a lot, but I am always looking for some good books to learn more and more. You seem like you are very knowledgeable about a lot of things, so I trust your judement!

Blessed be!
Kat

Well, there are a few places to get good basic info.

There's the "lessons thread" here at MysticWicks. Here's a link directly to it: http://www.mysticwicks.com/showthread.php?t=32035

There is a "Recommended Reading" thread too in the Books section here: http://www.mysticwicks.com/showthread.php?t=3733 Plenty of great suggestions there!

Another excellent place to check out on the web for info on all things Pagan is Witchvox. The URL is http://www.witchvox.com The site has FAQ files, loads of articles by lots of different people, info on different Pagan traditions (like denominations in Christianity), and many many listings for individuals, groups, stores, and events from all around the world.

[simskathouse]

Thanks much! I will check those out!

Blessed be!
Kat

[Melissa]

Thank you for the book suggestions sims and Ben.

I'll have to see if the libary carries those books as I don't have the money to buy any books right now.

[RubyRose]

Thank you for the book suggestions sims and Ben.

I'll have to see if the libary carries those books as I don't have the money to buy any books right now.

Most libraries should carry books on Paganism, or Witchcraft. Which tends to be the easiest search topic to look under at a Library.

[simskathouse]

Thank you for the book suggestions sims and Ben.

I'll have to see if the libary carries those books as I don't have the money to buy any books right now.

You can call me Kat hun! Sims just relates to my web site which is Sims related from the Sims games.

The Complete Idiot's Guide is a wonderful resource and I couldn't imagine a library NOT having it! I mean they have every other Complete Idiot's Guides ever wrote, so I would hope they would include this one. Let me know if you can find it!

Blessed be!
Kat