Calling oneself pagan or wiccan

[Anwen_Somerled]

I was under the perception that one had to have been "practicing" (not just reading) for "a year and a day" before they could call or refer to themselves as "Wiccan". Yet over and over I read people who post they "recently became ..." or are "new to" Wiccan, etc and call themselves pagan/wiccans already.

Is there a timeline, or can anyone call themselves pagan or wiccan the moment they read a book or check out the internet?

[Druchii]

I was under the perception that one had to have been "practicing" (not just reading) for "a year and a day" before they could call or refer to themselves as "Wiccan". Yet over and over I read people who post they "recently became ..." or are "new to" Wiccan, etc and call themselves pagan/wiccans already.

Is there a timeline, or can anyone call themselves pagan or wiccan the moment they read a book or check out the internet?

No amount of reading or ability outdoes intuition and knowing your heart. It's only a label. :)

[Athena-Nadine]

Yet over and over I read people who post they "recently became ..." or are "new to" Wiccan, etc and call themselves pagan/wiccans already.
I'm not sure what to tell you. The terms "Pagan" and "Wiccan" are not interchangeable.

[~Broken Lily~]

It really depends on what you're reading. There are different types of Wicca each stating different facts. Some will say that you need to study for a year and a day while others will say the complete opposite. ie Alexandrian Tradition, Dianic Tradition, Gardenarian Tradition, Seax-Wica.

I think to choice is really up to you. In your heart you will know when the time is right. I have been a Pagan for 8 years put have only been calling my self Wiccan for the past 6 months. I have looked into many Wiccan Traditions, but following these didn't really fit who I am. I now class myself as an Elective Witch. I take teachings for different traditions and applyed what worked best for me.

If you have any questions, please PM me.

[PAGANFILES]

Hey, if you live out in the woods or on a prairie ranch and you're not Christian, you are by classic definition a Pagan (Paganus.) Wicca is a very recent definition by comparison and goes by several sets of paradigm to follow for self labeling.

Terry

[Blondie]

No amount of reading or ability outdoes intuition and knowing your heart. It's only a label. :)

Agreed.

[calria]

I'm still in my year-and-a-day phase, but I refer to my path as pagan. Only when my time of formal preparation is over, though, will I call myself a witch. Well, I've used the term informally, but as far as introductory/formal labelling of myself (because lets face it, we all have to label ourselves... it's what our culture does) I'm refraining until after formal dedication.

I agree, though... a true pagan is made in their hearts, not by a word. You either are, or aren't, and no amount of study without that already being there is going to 'transform' you.

[Sibylle]

The "year and a day" rule is a very rigid concept in itself. Even "strict" Wiccans usually agree that everyone is different, and people need to evolve spiritually and in their practise, in their own time.

And "Wiccan" is just a label like any other. In some groups, where hierarchy is important, you might not be allowed to call yourself Wiccan unless you have done a certain number of practises, a certain time of practise, or a certain initiation into level xyz... Other traditions would say that as soon as your interest in Wicca is serious and you begin to "live" the Wiccan spirituality in your everyday life, you can call yourself Wiccan. Bottom line? In the end it's YOU who decides what you want to call yourself, what you feel comfortable with. There are no hard-and-fast rules, however much some people are trying to make you believe there are ;)

Hope this helps.

Hugs!!

[RubyRose]

I was under the perception that one had to have been "practicing" (not just reading) for "a year and a day" before they could call or refer to themselves as "Wiccan". Yet over and over I read people who post they "recently became ..." or are "new to" Wiccan, etc and call themselves pagan/wiccans already.

Is there a timeline, or can anyone call themselves pagan or wiccan the moment they read a book or check out the internet?

I was under that same impression, when I was first introduced into Wicca. That you could only call yourself a Wiccan, if you had been learning for one year and a day. At that stage you could then begin life as a practicing Wiccan, putting into practice all that you had read. I think that's how it went. But later, as I marked my year and a day, I realised that I was by no means ready and I have since put on hold dedicating myself to the Goddess, until I feel more ready and comfortable with the practice of magick.

I feel that its really up to the individual to determine, whether he or she is ready. Don't just listen to what you read in a book. Listen to what you feel is right. Not what somebody tells you is right.

Bendithion,
RubyRose

[fireswimmer]

I was under that same impression, when I was first introduced into Wicca. That you could only call yourself a Wiccan, if you had been learning for one year and a day. At that stage you could then begin life as a practicing Wiccan, putting into practice all that you had read. I think that's how it went. But later, as I marked my year and a day, I realised that I was by no means ready and I have since put on hold dedicating myself to the Goddess, until I feel more ready and comfortable with the practice of magick.

I feel that its really up to the individual to determine, whether he or she is ready. Don't just listen to what you read in a book. Listen to what you feel is right. Not what somebody tells you is right.

Bendithion,
RubyRose

I think that it takes a lot of courage to admit that you are not ready to dedicate yourself yet. You obviously know yourself well and that is admirable!

[Tullip Troll]

I'm still in my year-and-a-day phase, but I refer to my path as pagan. Only when my time of formal preparation is over, though, will I call myself a witch. Well, I've used the term informally, but as far as introductory/formal labelling of myself (because lets face it, we all have to label ourselves... it's what our culture does) I'm refraining until after formal dedication.

I agree, though... a true pagan is made in their hearts, not by a word. You either are, or aren't, and no amount of study without that already being there is going to 'transform' you.

You can be a witch and not wiccan.

MheraPai

[Pol]

You can be a witch and not a wiccan, indeed. Also, you can be a pagan and not a witch, or a wiccan.
Don't get the two confused, there are many types. Not everyone here follows the Wiccan religion and rules.

[Pol]

Also, some people use the word Wiccan (quite erroneously) and do not mean the wiccan religion.

(i personally don't care at all for the word wicca or wiccan. they're both extreme bastardisations, and not even pronounced correctly. wicca=male witch, said witchah, and wicce=female witch, pronounced witcheh, and wiccan=plural unisexual).

[CaitrionaMorgaine]

How, and on what timeline, another person experiences and chooses to label their spirituality is up to them. I do not first refer to myself as a Witch, nor am I Wiccan. I am a Priestess, then Pagan, and a Witch--in that order. Those are the terms that I choose to use to identify myself. What others do is up to them, so long as it fulfills their spiritual needs. I'm in no position to say who is right or wrong.

Avalon's Blessings, ~Rhiannon

[oakowl]

I was under the perception that one had to have been "practicing" (not just reading) for "a year and a day" before they could call or refer to themselves as "Wiccan". Yet over and over I read people who post they "recently became ..." or are "new to" Wiccan, etc and call themselves pagan/wiccans already.

Is there a timeline, or can anyone call themselves pagan or wiccan the moment they read a book or check out the internet?
Well Anwen let an old man put his 2 cents in. Just speaking for paganism, like any religion in the world your heart and mind pull you to it. Maybe it has been pulling at you all your life but you were not aware. But the call and common sense of it finally got it hooks in you and you say ah ha of course now I have come home. You will study and practise all of your life but you will stay because it is irresistable. You feel bad if you miss praying before your shine to your gods. But you know they are with you. Don't make it any harder than it should be. Take your time and learn. Get out in the woods and soak it up. Join with others even if only for festivals. You will be ok and we will be here to help and the gods will be with you.

[Lunacie]

Also, some people use the word Wiccan (quite erroneously) and do not mean the wiccan religion.

(i personally don't care at all for the word wicca or wiccan. they're both extreme bastardisations, and not even pronounced correctly. wicca=male witch, said witchah, and wicce=female witch, pronounced witcheh, and wiccan=plural unisex (P·)ual).
May I ask where this information comes from?

[savannahrose44]

Do people really think it's all that important? Who cares. It is up to the individual to decide when he/she is ready to claim a specific path...I don't think it's for anyone to say how long that should or should not take. Just my opinion. :whatmewor

[Seren_]

I was under the perception that one had to have been "practicing" (not just reading) for "a year and a day" before they could call or refer to themselves as "Wiccan". Yet over and over I read people who post they "recently became ..." or are "new to" Wiccan, etc and call themselves pagan/wiccans already.

Is there a timeline, or can anyone call themselves pagan or wiccan the moment they read a book or check out the internet?

It depends on what context you use the term Wiccan :D

In some Wiccan traditions it's not just the practicing for a year and a day that entitles you to call yourself Wiccan, it's being initiated. Practicing for a year and a day means you can be considered for initiation, but not necessarily entitled to it. When initiated, you may be called "priest/ess and witch", which for some very traditional Wiccans is still synonymous to "Wiccan" (although all witches aren't Wiccans, or these days vice versa); equally, you may only be entitled to call yourself such in that particular Wiccan tradition - not necessarily any others (although with the widening of traditions, this is less common these days).

I was taught that to be a Wiccan, you could only be made so in a coven initiation; there was no such thing as a solitary Wiccan either. Therefore after a year and a day of studying, I decided that I could dedicate myself to my gods, but having had no coven training couldn't ask my Wiccan friend for initiation; I was initiated into a coven five years later and made "Wiccan", but my experience is of a very traditional group, not just the stuff you get from books these days (although they helped too).

Without initiation (coven or solitary) some Wiccans may consider you to be following a Wiccan-style path, but not necessarily Wiccan. It depends on where you come from and who you talk to.

At the end of the day, it's all just a label, and I believe that it all depends on the tradition of Wicca you choose to follow as well. It also depends on who you declare yourself Wiccan to. The label, to me, is a "religious truth". As far as I'm concerned, you can call yourself a pigeon and it could be true; I'm not one to question your religion, if you get me, but I might perceive your truth through qualifiers of my own.

[oakowl]

May I ask where this information comes from?
I am looking at it from a celtic pagan point of view. Not wiccan.

[Lunacie]

I am looking at it from a celtic pagan point of view. Not wiccan.
Thanks. I think I understand.

[Pol]

The information I'm quoting comes from the dictionary and linguists.

[fay]

i also thought that you had to go through a year and a day dedication period before you could call yourself a wiccan but i havent done any such thing. i actually thought about it recently. i was writing in my BOS and i put something about me being a wiccan or when i became a wiccan, and i stopped and thought "wait a second! when did this happen!" but i think i agree with Hag Stella, that you become wiccan when you start to live like one. and i kinda feel like i live like a wiccan, therefore i would class myself as one.
blessed be

[ObsidianShenKa]

Alright kids, it's time for a little language lesson.

PAGAN: one who is not of an Abrahamic religion (Judaism, Christianity, Islam, or any derivative thereof). Wiccans are pagans, Kemetics are pagans, and Druids are pagans, as are Buddhists, Hindus and Zoroastrians.
NEOPAGAN: one of a pagan religion centered around nature worship, reconstruction of ancient pagan religions, or the metaphysical.
WICCA: one of a specific traditional Neopagan religion, invented by Gerald Gardner in the late 1940s, or its derivatives. What makes a tradition Wicca and not simply Wiccanesque Neopaganism is adherence to the Ardanes, or Olde Laws, which are kept oathbound, although they can be found online.
WITCH: one whose magic works.

Any questions?

[Gede]

MM~
What use are the labels if you can't enjoy the sacredness and freedom associated with their usage?

Wicca is traditionally a initiatory religion based on attaining various degrees and thus climbing the ladder of Coven heirachy in hopes the individual eventally hives out and forms their own group. Paganism on the other hand is a broad, umbrella term which describes many different systems of belief and practice worldwide, and these do not necessarily demand initiation into secrecy or fraternities etc.

Nowadays Wicca has evolved to such a state where the Eclectic approach has reviewed several exclusive aspects of the religion and adapted them for a more accessible and practical spirituality. These are not titles that we attain through ceaseless study or sacrifice, they are words used to identify with the feelings of the soul.

Namaste, Gede...

[Gede]

MM~
PAGAN: one who is not of an Abrahamic religion (Judaism, Christianity, Islam, or any derivative thereof). Wiccans are pagans, Kemetics are pagans, and Druids are pagans, as are Buddhists, Hindus and Zoroastrians.

I would debate that Zoroastrians are Pagans as their theology is the basis for most monotheistic worship today. However if you are referring to the gradual evolution of the religion to include traditional deities and various Magickal and metaphysical aspects of Ritual (the drinking of haoma etc.) then that's understandable.

Namaste, Gede...

[ObsidianShenKa]

MM~
What use are the labels if you can't enjoy the sacredness and freedom associated with their usage?
This is exactly why I have a problem with any ol' Joe using the term "Wicca" to describe their religion.

It invalidates the sanctity OF that term for those whom are actually initiated Wiccan!

There is no freedom with incorrectly using a label.

I can call myself an Egyptopagan since my gods are those of Kemet. However, I would NEVER call myself Kemetic Orthodox because I am not KO, for reasons which have come under scrutiny in another subforum ;) ... I respect the Kemetic Orthodox pagans, and as such I would never label myself that.

Wicca is traditionally a initiatory religion based on attaining various degrees and thus climbing the ladder of Coven heirachy in hopes the individual eventally hives out and forms their own group. Paganism on the other hand is a broad, umbrella term which describes many different systems of belief and practice worldwide, and these do not necessarily demand initiation into secrecy or fraternities etc.I just said that in my previous post.

Nowadays Wicca has evolved to such a state where the Eclectic approach has reviewed several exclusive aspects of the religion and adapted them for a more accessible and practical spirituality. These are not titles that we attain through ceaseless study or sacrifice, they are words used to identify with the feelings of the soul.
That is not Wicca though. It is Neopaganism with Wicca leanings.

There is no shame in not being Wiccan. In fact, I have plenty of problems with real Wicca, and I don't think I would EVER seek to be initiated into a Gardnerian or Alexandrian coven, as it is their Olde Laws that I have a problem with...along with the scourge... o_O

Cheers,
Obsidian.

[ObsidianShenKa]

I would debate that Zoroastrians are Pagans as their theology is the basis for most monotheistic worship today.
Agreed, Zoroastrianism is the foundation of most monotheistic views today (although Zoroastrianism was actually henotheism).

That aside, it was the Christians that gave the term "pagan" its meaning, and they meant it to be "them hicks who don't believe in our god YHWH".

Therefore, anyone who does not worship the god of Abraham is a pagan.

Including those who follow Zarathushtra.

[Gede]

MM~
That is not Wicca though. It is Neopaganism with Wicca leanings. There is no shame in not being Wiccan. In fact, I have plenty of problems with real Wicca, and I don't think I would EVER seek to be initiated into a Gardnerian or Alexandrian coven, as it is their Olde Laws that I have a problem with...along with the scourge...

But that is exactly where the definition and label become erroneous, the division or rather distinction between Coven Trads and the Solitary path, which is still considered Wiccan by Scott Cunningham and his contemporaries anyway. Garder envisioned the continuance of Witchcraft as a spiritual and religiously practiced tradition which he named Wicca in order to establish some sort of 'credible' connection with the past. The various rites, lore and customs associated with the Gardnerian and Alexandrian Trads do not necessarily form a concrete matrix that needs to be followed, unless of course you wish to be initiated into one of their Covens.

This is all a matter of speculation really, and the arguments will never stop, and it is good that we have the chance to voice our opinions in a friendly environment where we are neither wrong or right, and opinion is the only constant in our community. That parallels very well with the fact that Wicca has evolved as a religion, changed and adapted to suit the various people who practice it today. It is not in the consistence of trappings (though that is valid) or wording, it is in the structure of Ritual (Casting the Circle, Invocation of God and Goddess and Elementals, Censing and Purifying etc.), living by the Rede and observing the Sabbats and Esbats that makes someone Wiccan, however the ultimate clinch is if that individual considers themselves as such, and if they have logically developed this aspect of their expression and can support their reasons, then who's to say they aren't.

Namaste, Gede...