Pagan / Wiccan Question

[jacandwill]

Hi,
I thought there might be someone on here that could shed some light on my question.
I was just wanting to know what the difference was between being a Pagan and a Wiccan?
I have read a lot about being a wiccan but
from what I can find out all wiccans are pagans but not all pagans are wiccans so that leads me to ask what does being a pagan involve?
are they almost the same?
TIA
Jac

[Ali_celt]

Pagan is a collective name for a bunch of basically nature-oriented non-christian religions.
Actually I shouldn't really even say nature-oriented, because in some instances that doesn't apply either.
Wiccans fall under the category of pagans - but so do those who practise Asatru and Dianism, for example.
Also, Hinduism and Buddhism fall under the general category of "paganism".

Basically it is a term used to describe anyone who follows a path that ISN"T mono-theistic, like Judaism, Christianity and Islam.

It has evolved over time though, and lots of people popularly consider the word to mean the same thing as wiccan, although it definetly isn't.

[battlecrumpet]

Yeah Wicca certainly seems to be the most prominent Pagan belief system at least among the generic pagan discussion groups etc that I've seen recently. Maybe that's part of the reason people get confused

The way I look at Wicca is it being a modern incarnation of witchcraft. However witches were persecuted in the past ... so witchcraft ended up with a bad name (even more recently in fairy tales etc). So to me, Wicca is a more "user-friendly" term. Even today, some people might feel they'd be more accepted within broader society by labelling themselves a "Wiccan" rather than a "Witch"? That's just my theory anyhoo, other people might know of some differences between the 2.

And as Ali_celt said, Paganism (broadly defined) includes all non-monotheistic religions, including Hinduism, Buddhism etc. Indigenous religions as well. OTOH I don't know if traditional Buddhists would necessarily identify as Pagan?

[Felicity]

The word "Pagan" literally means "country dweller" (similar to "heathen" which literally means those who dwell in the heath - which was/is the country) so it stems from those who were not reached by Christianity originally. The wave of Christianity swept first through cities and towns and those who lived on the outskirts of cities (the "heathens" or "Pagans" - "country dwellers") were known to remain practicing the Old Ways for longer as a (very generalised) result. Hence, the old ways, the pre-Christian religion (in it's many incarnations and personal interpretations) became known as Paganism and those who did not practice according to Christian ways were known as heathens / Pagans.

So within Paganism are many interpretations of the old religion. Paganism is any religion which is pre Christianity and usually not monotheistic (ie: anyone who is not a Christian, a Muslim, or of the Jewish faith could technically be called a Pagan). My own personal interpretation of this is that Paganism is any nature-based and/or polytheistic non-Christian spiritual path. Wicca/Wicce is one spiritual path that falls under the banner of Paganism. There is no difference between Wicca/Wicce and witchcraft - a Wiccan is a witch (and many of us are proud to declare ourselves as such), although what this means to each and every Wiccan could be something entirely different. Within Wicca, there are different paths as well. For instance, Dianic Wicca (feminist Wicca), Celtic Wicca, etc.

To simplify it all drastically, just think of Paganism as the banner under which all spiritualities which are not Christian, Muslim or Jewish fall (personally I struggle with perceiving Buddhism or Hinduism as Pagan but in the very basic literal sense I guess they are). Wicca is one of the spiritual paths that falls under the banner of Paganism, but since there are many different paths under Paganism, a Pagan may not be a Wiccan - but a Wiccan is always a Pagan.

Did that help at all?

[battlecrumpet]

Originally Posted by Felicity

There is no difference between Wicca/Wicce and witchcraft - a Wiccan is a witch (and many of us are proud to declare ourselves as such), although what this means to each and every Wiccan could be something entirely different.

That's fantastic i.e. people feeling equally able to refer to themselves as Wiccan or witches.

I can't wait for the day when there's no stigma at all attached to witchcraft but while children still read fairy stories that contain "wicked witches", I think that day is still a fair way off.

[jacandwill]

Ok I get it now. thanks for taking the time to reply to me.
just one more thing, you see I am interested in getting serious about my long intrest in wicca just dont know where to start
Is there any one willing to point me in the right direction?
Is there any thing you found useful when you first started out?
thanks
jac

[battlecrumpet]

It might help you get started if you think about whether you want to practice in a group (e.g. a coven) or as a solitary. Covens should teach you a lot about wicca, and celebrate festivals (full moons, solstices, equinoxes) - that's the route I took a long time ago when I practiced Wicca and thoroughly enjoyed it at the time.

But you can also practice wicca by yourself and if you do this there are still groups around where you might be able to find support. On the net there are various Wiccan or pagan groups on Yahoo groups that you could join. Just go to Yahoo groups and run some searches. As far as I know there's an Australian Pagans one, Pagan mums, these seem to have a lot of Wiccans on them that you could talk to. There are also Wicca-specific Yahoo groups but I don't know much about them.
For social contact with other pagans there are groups like Pagans in the Pub, you can find details in your area on the PAN website. I don't know how good these groups are as I've never been to them but PAN has been around for a while.

Other people might have some more up-to-date Wicca-specific info.

[Ali_celt]

The main-stay for me has been reading. Just read and read and read!
There's an excellent eclectic pagan forum over in the US which has lots of very clever people who post their regulary, some are wiccan, some aren't - it's called "the Cauldron"
Most of my initial reading was book-based though. Scott Cunninghams' series of books are very basic and simple and easy to understand, without being too "fluffy" about wicca. If you are going the solitary path they are very good.

HTH
Ali

[battlecrumpet]

Oh yeah there used to be this book called "Wicca for the Solitary Practitioner" which a few people liked....can't remember who wrote it...

[Ali_celt]

THat's a Scott Cunningham one *grin*
I used to have it - you will rapidly learn, that books about wicca rarely come home if loaned, however!

Ali