Wicca, Witchcraft, and Paganism to all mean very different things. But is there really a difference. Some say yes and some say no. What is your oppinion? Please vote in the poll question to the right.
Brighest Blessings
Drake Atlas
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You tackled some interesting issues with your latest episode... Good work, it's always interesting to hear how other people definethings and what ideas they're working from.
ReplyDeleteFor me, Paganism is indeed an umbrella term that refered to a wide variety of religions. I think most non-Abrahamic religions fall under this category, although I've heard some people limit it to only western traditions and other people offering other limitations on the term. One commonly held origin for the term was that it once was used to refer to "country folk" and eventually became a derogitory term for "those backwater bumpkins" that didn't practice the trendy new religion of Christianity. Obviously, the term has shifted in definition and people use it in varying ways, some even include a number of christian-based practitioners under the umbrella. As far as I'm concerned, if you identify as a pagan and have some concept of what I might believe, then you can come celebrate with me and I won't sit there and pick apart what you're calling yourself.
What about witchcraft? That gets confusing because there is a history in the Wiccan tradition to use the term Witchcraft as if it were synonymous with the Wiccan tradition alone, but now people are starting to realize that the term Witchcraft can apply to people outside of Wicca, as you describe.
Wicca is a specific tradition. However you define it, whether it be a traditional lineaged preisthood religion or a more open faith following a more generalized interpretation of Wiccan teachings, it does not define all of paganism.
Thats why I see people getting a little uptight about the application of the Wiccan rede to all pagans. Alot of the non-Wiccan pagans I know tend to get a little annoyed when someone claims that "Harm none" is a rule followed by all pagans. They argue that this teaching is Wiccan in origin and has nothing to do with their own pagan faith. Personally, I have little use for the rede, although the essense or intent of the rede is fairly universal. There are a lot of witches that don't worry about harm as harm is so difficult to define. Example... How do you choose between harming plants and animals by harvesting them or harming yourself by refusing to eat those plants and animals and end up suffering from starvation? Do you harm bacteria and disease or do you allow it to harm your family by neglecting to prevent infection? Do you stand by and let a criminal go unpunished and continue to do harm or do you enact a curse to protect yourself and stop the criminal? Every witch will have a different answer to those questions and a different interpretation of what constitutes harm or whether causing harm is worth the consequences. The threefold law is another part of the rede that makes little sense to some pagans and can't be considered a rule... I see it more as a teaching principle useful to those who follow the rede.
I have no problem with the rede as it is used by others, but I see why people can get a little bothered when people try to say it's a rule that everyone must follow.
Different traditions have different codes of conduct and eclectics like myself that draw their faith from many inspirations must decide for themselves what their moral code will be. As far as the goal of pagan religions go, I think, isn't to get into heaven after death like it seems to be in christianity. The goal, for many pagans, I think, is to reach a state of balance or fulfillment in this life and that can take different forms for different people.
-Scarlet (lakefrontpaganvoice@yahoo.com)