The Complete Book of Witchcraft by Raymond Buckland
Chapter 1: The History and Philosophy of Witchcraft, pp. 8-11
21st Century Wicca by Jennifer Hunter
Chapter 1: Beginnings, pp. 3-10
Drawing Down the Moon by Margot Adler
Section 1, pp. 3-38
Please do this BEFORE you read the lesson or suggested reading.....
Take out several pieces of paper, and write the five terms PAGAN, WICCAN, WITCH, WITCHCRAFT, WICCA, leaving plenty of room to write. Write down your concepts about them.
On another sheet, write your general knowledge on how you feel society in general accepts the practice of Witchcraft, Wicca, and Paganism.
List a major goal you would like to complete before you finish the course. The goal can be spiritual, mental or physical.
Ask any 13 Pagans/Wiccans/Witches to define these terms, and you'll get 13 different sets of answers. There are some that believe that only Gardnerian and Alexandrian practitioners are Wiccan, while others believe that any who follow the rudiments of Wiccan philosophy are Wiccan. Some are uncomfortable with the terms *Pagan* and *Witch* because of their mainstream definitions. There is no general consensus on the precise definitions of these terms, but authors and our own experiences give us a basic idea of the distinctions between them.
First of all let me state that I am not one to get hung up on terminology. It just doesn't really matter much to me. What matters to me is what I feel in my heart and what I celebrate. Labels are just labels. In fact, researching this lesson was the first time I actually really gave this terminology an in-depth look.
And let me tell you, researching these terms in-depth doesn't really seem to help matters! There are sooo many different opinions out there, that one end up being more confused than when they start.
So let me try to help untangle it all for you. You may not end up agreeing with what is presented here. That is fine. Just understand that there are many different takes on these terms. Be aware that when you talk with Pagans, Witches, and Wiccans, that they may not hold the same definition of the term as you do. Let me quote Silver RavenWolf: "One of the major precepts of the Craft is that all entities deserve to operate as they please and indulge in what makes them happy and comfortable, as long as it doesn't harm anyone else. Therefore, it is not necessary that your *truth* conform to anyone else's. Conversely, you cannot expect the world to conform to your truths, either."
Starting with the dictionary, you'll find that some of these terms are not listed. And if they are listed, the definition is skewed by the worldview of the definer. Also some definitions, like the one for Pagan, seem to be exclusive. It tells you what it ISN'T, not what it is!
So what do prominent Pagans/Witches/Wiccans think of these terms?
Most authors view Pagan the same way--an umbrella term for followers of magickal, nature-based, shamanistic, animistic, and/or polytheistic religions.
Many authors, including Silver RavenWolf and Raymond Buckland, see Witch and Wiccan as interchangeable.
Other authors, notably Scott Cunningham, make distinctions between Witch and Wiccan.
In the spirit of fairness, I am going to present a cross-section of definitions of these terms. I would like you to see the breadth of thought on this subject; my selections only scratch the surface. I'll make some comments with the tag: Terrastel's Thoughts, enclosed in curly braces, so you know what I think about what others have written. You'll find below....
{Terrastel's Thoughts: For the most part, Scott Cunningham's definitions make the best sense to me. So here they are, taken from _Wicca: A Guide For the Solitary Practitioner_ and _The Truth About Witchcraft Today_...}
From the Latin *paganus*, country dweller. Today used as a general term for followers of Wicca and other magical, shamanistic and polytheistic religions. It is also used to refer to pre-Christian religious and magickal systems. Naturally, Christians have their own peculiar definition of this word. It can be interchanged with *Neo-Pagan*.
*Neo-Pagan*: Literally, new-Pagan. A member, follower or sympathizer of one of the newly formed Pagan religions now spreading throughout the world. All Wiccans are Pagan, but not all Pagans are Wiccan.
A contemporary Pagan religion with spiritual roots in shamanism and the earliest expressions of reverence of nature. Among its major motifs are:
In Chapter 1 of _Wicca: A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner_, Cunningham goes further into aspects of Wicca:
Anciently, a European practitioner of the remnants of pre-Christian folk magick, particularly that relating to herbs, healing, wells, rivers and stones. One who practiced *Witchcraft*. Later, this term's meaning was deliberately altered to denote demented, dangerous, supernatural beings who practiced destructive magick and who threatened Christianity. This change was a political, monetary and sexist move on the part of organized religion, not a change in the practice of Witches. This later, erroneous meaning is still accepted by many non-Witches. It is also, somewhat surprisingly, used by some members of *Wicca* to describe themselves.
{Terrastel's Thoughts: I am surprised that Scott is surprised that some Pagan practitioners choose to call themselves witches. Some want to reclaim the word to its original meaning.}
The *craft* of the Witch--Magick, especially magick utilizing Personal Power in conjunction with the energies within stones, herbs, colors and other natural objects. While this may have spiritual overtones, Witchcraft, using this definition, isn't a religion. However, some followers of Wicca use this word to denote their religion.
{Terrastel's Thoughts: In _The Truth About Witchcraft Today_, Cunningham seems to espouse another view of Witchcraft. My interpretation of what he wrote was that Witchcraft is split into to parts, Wicca and Folk Magick. Wicca is the religious aspect of Witchcraft, conforming the definition of Wicca above, while folk magick is simply performing magick using natural objects as tools. Under this split, one can be a Witch of a religion other than Wicca. But the split isn't truly clean because Wiccans embrace magick as a part of their system; magick can be done in a religious framework, but need not be.}
PAGAN: A spiritual path other than the big 5 (Christian, Judaism, Islam, Hindu, Buddhist) usually with a focus on nature, animism and/or polytheism often without formal organisational structure and usually with a focus on direct personal interaction with the divine rather than on interaction between priests and the divine on behalf of the celebrants.
WITCH: A person who self-identifies as a witch and has incorporated spiritual magic into their worldview. That magic may take the form of healing spells, herbalism, divination or whatever. Being a witch is not, in itself, a religion, but is often combined with religious beliefs... (ie, christian, wiccan, pagan, atheist, agnostic, even satanist)
WITCHCRAFT: The practice of spiritual magick according to a set of personal ethics and guidelines. (Magick = manipulation of energy to bring that which you "will" into existence in this world)
WICCA: one of a variety of contemporary pagan religions with roots in ancient paganism and influences from hermetic and ceremonial magic. By far, the majority of religions labelled "Wicca" have come to light in the last 50 years. Much of Wicca is derived from the teachings/writings of Gerald Gardner and his students.
WICCAN: A practitioner of the religion Wicca. Although it is not a requirement that they do so, many Wiccans identify themselves as witches. Wiccans *are* pagans, pagans are *not* automatically wiccans, because they practice spiritual magic wiccans *are* often witches (but must choose to be so identified) but many witches are *not* wiccan.
It's all confusing... I'm a kitchen witch. I am not comfortable with the more ceremonial aspects of Wicca as it was taught to me and so I do not identify myself as Wiccan, I do, however, identify myself as pagan...
{Terrastel's Thoughts: The only way I would disagree with Andi here is that I do not believe that to be Wiccan you must part ceremonialist. I believe that *kitchen witches* can be Wiccan as well.}
In 1974, the Council of American Witches got together and came up with a wonderful 13-point Principles of Wiccan Belief (yes, they are another group that sees these terms as interchangeable).
{Terrastel's Thoughts: This is a wonderful list, and certainly applies to Witches/Wiccans outside of America. I have included it in it's entirety below; it is something every practitioner of Wicca and Witchcraft should go over every once and awhile as each point merits serious thought. Silver RavenWolf sees it as "the most concise document I have seen to date that sets forth our beliefs in an understandable manner." There will be an assignment about it at the end of this lesson.}
The Council of American Witches finds it necessary to define modern Witchcraft in terms of the American experience and needs.
We are not bound by traditions from other times and other cultures, and owe no allegiance to any person or power greater than the Divinity manifest through our own beings.
As American Witches, we welcome and respect all life-affirming teachings and traditions, and seek to learn from all and to share our learning within our Council.
It is in this spirit of welcome and cooperation that we adopt these few principles of Wiccan belief. In seeking to be inclusive, we do not wish to open ourselves to the destruction of our group by those on self-serving power trips, or to philosophies and practices contradictory to these principles. In seeking to exclude those whose ways are contradictory to ours, we do not want to deny participation with us to any who are sincerely interested in our knowledge and beliefs, regardless of race, color, sex, age, national or cultural origin, or sexual preference.
We therefore ask only that those who seek to identify with us accept these few basic principles.
We practice rites to attune ourselves with the natural rhythm of life forces marked by the phases of the Moon and the seasonal Quarters and Cross Quarters.
We recognize that our intelligence gives us a unique responsibility toward our environment. We seek to live in harmony with Nature, in ecological balance offering fulfillment to life and consciousness within an evolutionary concept.
We acknowledge a depth of power far greater than that apparent to the average person. Because it is far greater than ordinary it is sometimes called *supernatural*, but we see it as lying within that which is naturally potential within us all.
We conceive of the Creative Power in the Universe as manifesting through polarity--as masculine and feminine--and that this same Creative Power lies in all people, and functions through the interaction of the masculine and feminine. We value neither above the other, knowing each to be supportive of the other. We value sex as pleasure, as the symbol and embodiment of life, and as one of the sources of energies used in magickal practice and religious worship.
We recognize both outer worlds and inner, or psychological, worlds sometimes known as the Spiritual World, the Collective Unconscious, Inner Planes, etc.--and we see the inter-action of these two dimensions the basis for paranormal phenomena and magickal exercises. We neglect neither dimension for the other, seeing both as necessary for our fulfillment.
We do not recognize any authoritarian hierarchy, but do honor those who teach, respect those who share their greater knowledge and wisdom, and acknowledge those who have courageously given of themselves in leadership.
We see religion, magick and wisdom-in-living as being united in the way one views the world and lives within it--a world view and philosophy of life which we identify as *Witchcraft--the Wiccan Way*.
Calling oneself *Witch* does not make a Witch--but neither does heredity itself, nor the collecting of titles, degrees and initiations. A Witch seeks to control the forces within her/himself that make life possible in order to live wisely and well without harm to others in harmony with Nature.
We believe in the affirmation and fulfillment of life in a continuation of evolution and development of consciousness giving meaning to the Universe we know and our personal role within it.
Our only animosity towards Christianity, or towards any other religion or philosophy-of-life, is to the extent that its institutions have claimed to be *the one true right and only way* and have sought to deny freedom to others and to suppress other ways religious practice and belief.
As American Witches, we are not threatened by debates on the history of the Craft, the origins of various terms, the legitimacy of various aspects of different traditions. We are concerned with our present and our future.
We do not accept the concept of *absolute evil*, nor do we worship any entity known as *Satan* or *the Devil*, as defined by the Christian tradition. We do not seek power through the suffering of others, nor accept that personal benefit can be derived only by denial to another.
We believe that we should seek within Nature that which is contributory to our health and well being.
DISCLAIMER:Throughout this FAQ you will find the words *usually,* often,* and other disclaimers; this is because Paganism is not a rigid, structured belief system. We have tried to present as many faces of the neopagan sub-culture as possible in the FAQ, but realize we can't possibly cover it all. Many people, no doubt, will object to every part of this FAQ (and have done, over everything from specific etymologies to the order of the questions), but we stand by it as our best attempt.
The words paganism and pagan come from the Latin *paganus,* meaning *country dweller.* Neopagans hold a reverence for the Earth and all its creatures, generally see all life as interconnected, and tend to strive to attune one's self to the manifestation of this belief as seen in the cycles of nature. Pagans are usually polytheistic (believing in more than one god), and they usually believe in immanence, or the concept of divinity residing in all things. Many pagans, though polytheistic, see all things as being part of one Great Mystery. The apparent contradiction of being both polytheistic and monotheistic can be resolved by seeing the God/desses as masks worn by the Great Mystery. Other pagans are simply monotheistic or polytheistic, and still others are atheistic.
Some people believe paganism to be a religion within itself; others see it as a belief system (such as monotheism) that can be incorporated into religions like Wicca or Druidism; others see it as a broad category including many religions. The fact that we are re-creating religion for ourselves after centuries of suppression makes us very eclectic and very concerned with the "rightness" of a particular thing for the individual. So when you see some people calling it a religion and others not, when you see it capitalized in some instances and not in others, don't be confused -- we're all still basically talking about the same thing.
Paganism (with a capital *P*) is one strand of neopaganism which strives to allow each person to draw from whatever religious and cultural traditions are meaningful for the individual. The practices of Paganism derive from those of Wicca, but are not identical with those of Wicca. Some people view Paganism as a non-initiatory form of Wicca, or Wicca as an initiatory form of Paganism. Some say that Witches are the clergy of Paganism. (On the other hand, some Witches violently disagree with that viewpoint. As with most things in this FAQ, there is no answer with which everyone can completely agree.)
Paleo-paganism: the standard of paganism, a pagan culture which has not been disrupted by *civilization* by another culture -- Australian Bushmen modern (who are probably becoming meso-pagans), ancient Celtic religion (Druidism), the religions of the pre-patriarchal cultures of Old Europe, Norse religion, pre-Columbian Native American religions, etc.
Civilo-paganism: the religions of *civilized* communities which evolved in paleo-pagan cultures -- Classical Greco-Roman religion, Egyptian religion, Middle-Eastern paganism, Aztec religion, etc.
Meso-paganism: a group, which may or may not still constitute a separate culture, which has been influenced by a conquering culture, but has been able to maintain an independence of religious practice -- many Native American nations, etc.
Syncreto-paganism: similar to meso-pagan, but having had to submerge itself into the dominant culture, and adopt the external practices and symbols of the other religion -- the various Afro-diasporic traditions (Voudoun, Santeria, etc.), Culdee Christianity, etc.
Neopaganism: attempts of modern people to reconnect with nature, using imagery and forms from other types of pagans, but adjusting them to the needs of modern people. Since this category is the focus of alt.pagan, the listing here is more comprehensive (though no listing could be completely comprehensive):
Wicca was the first (or at least one of the first) of the neopagan religions. As a result, it is the best known, and tends to overshadow its younger, smaller siblings. This bias appears in the postings in alt.pagan and in this FAQ. This does not mean that Wicca is more valid than other neopagan religions -- just larger and louder.
Wicca, however, is only one of the things called W/witchcraft (or sometimes, the Craft, a term also applied to Masonry). There are a whole range of styles of folk-magic around the world which are called witchcraft in English. If the word Witch is capitalized, it indicates that it is being used to refer to a member of a pagan religion, not just to a practitioner of folk-magic. There are also Witches who practice religions called Witchcraft which are not Wicca. These religions tend to be more folk-pagan than Wicca, drawing on the heritage of a specific culture or region.
Wicca itself is a new religion, drawing strongly on the practices of Ceremonial Magic. While there are claims that Wicca goes back into the mists of pre-history, honest examination of the practices and history of the Wicca will make it clear that Wicca is new. (Actually, the word Wicca itself is recently coined, at least in its present usage. The OE wicca was pronounced *witch-ah* and meant male magician. The new word Wicca is pronounced *wick-uh*, capitalized as a religion, and means a religion, not a person.) However, Wicca has developed in many directions and should not be seen as a unified whole, even though it is fairly new. Rituals and beliefs vary widely among Witches. Unlike most of the neopagan religions, Wicca is an initiatory religion, that is, people who choose to practice Wicca believe that the commitment to this path set changes in motion in their lives. Many Traditions (sects) of Wicca formalize this with a ritual (or series of rituals) of initiation. Others, especially Solitary Witches, trust that the Gods will do the initiating of the Witch.
First, not everyone in alt.pagan is Wiccan/Witchy, so this question only applies to some of the people.
Witch is a very old word meaning *magic-maker*, from a root which meant *bending* and *shaping*. For many of us, the word Witch is a powerful reclaiming of that inherent human power to make changes around us. For others, including some of the people within Wicca, that word is not their word. Some people within Wicca take the adjective "*Wiccan"* and use it as a noun.
(Some people question the authenticity of the etymology that says *witch* means *to bend or shape.* They believe that the word is simply from the Old English for *wise one* and has no relation to the root mentioned above -- which gives us the modern word *wicker,* for instance. However, this definition is a good way to think of how a modern Witch might see him/herself.)
Different traditions in the Craft include Gardnerian Wicca, Alexandrian Wicca, Dianic Wicca, the Faery tradition, many branches of Celtic-based Wicca, and many other forms of Wicca often called eclectic, since they draw their practices and liturgy from many different sources. There is no way to include all traditions because new ones are being created every day by the practitioners themselves.
We've mentioned that even among pagans and Witches, there is dispute about just how specific these terms are. But the majority opinion seems to be that the question, "Are pagans Witches?" is about the same as the question, "Are Christians Catholics?" (or Methodists, Baptists or whatever). Most Witches are pagans, but not all pagans are Witches.
Here are some excerpt from the alt.religion.wicca FAQ....
Wicca is the name of a contemporary Neo-Pagan religion, largely promulgated and popularized by the efforts of a retired British civil servant named Gerald Gardner. In the last few decades, Wicca has spread in part due to its popularity among feminists and others seeking a more woman-positive, earth-based religion. Like most Neo-Pagan spiritualities, Wicca worships the sacred as immanent in nature, drawing much of its inspiration from the non-Christian and pre-Christian religions of Europe. Neo-Pagan simply means "new pagan" (derived from the Latin paganus , "country-dweller") and harkens back to times before the spread of today's major monotheistic (one god) religions. A good general rule is that most Wiccans are Neo-Pagans but not all Pagans are Wiccans. Please consult alt.pagan or the alt.pagan FAQ for more general information on Neo-Paganism.
In addition to its positive view of nature, many find Wicca more welcoming of women than other religions, with an emphasis on personal experience and a tolerance of other paths. As a whole, Wiccans value balance with a respect for diverse complexity, seeing sexuality and embodiment as essentially positive, spiritual gifts. There is a sense of personal connection to the divine life source, which is open to contact through *psychic power,* mysticism or *natural magic.*
To keep this lesson at a manageable length
Look at the definitions you wrote before you read this. Has you opinion changed, or your concept of them deepened?
What do you think of the various definitions included here? Do they match yours? How do they differ?
Take each of the points of the Church of American Witches' Principles of Belief, and write your thoughts about it. Do you agree or disagree; does your spiritual path (whether learner, seeker, or practitioner) include parts of the Principles; how so; if not, why do you not like it? If you are a practitioner, do these principles define your path fairly closely? What would you take away or add?
Whether learner, seeker, or practitioner...write your own personal principles of belief. They do not have to match what I've talked about above. What do YOU believe?
Write about how you came to take this class. What do you feel you will gain by studying the Craft?
Peruse other books, at a bookstore or library if you don't have your own pagan book library. What are these authors' takes on these terms?
Surf the Web, and find other's take on the definitions of these terms. Do not limit yourself to Pagan/Wiccan sites. What are others saying about Wiccans, Pagans, and Witches?
Share any of the above with the group if you believe we would find it interesting.
Document Copyright (c) 1997 Jamie Brydone-Jack
This and all related documents can be re-published only as long as no information is changed, credit is given to the author, and is provided or used without cost to others.