Difference between Pagan and Wiccan?

Question

I feel stupid for asking this, but what is the difference between being "Pagan" and being "Wiccan"? Can you be one and not the other? Also... can you please help me out w/ terms such as ecclectic, solitary, etc.... terms used in the Pagan/Wiccan community?

Answer 1

Pagan comes from the Latin and means "Country-dweller". It refers to anyone who practices any form of non-Judeo-Christian religion, but especially to any religion that is earth-based. People who practice Native American religions such as shamans, Wiccans, etc. are all Pagan.

Wiccan refers to those Pagans who practice a specific faith known as Wicca. Wicca is a recreation of more ancient traditions from various European countries and began in the 1950s in the UK with Gerald Gardner.

Wiccans are Pagans, but not ALL Pagans are Wiccan. The terms are not interchangable.

Eclectic refers to someone, who does not practice a specific tradition (or sect) of Wicca. (Yes, Wicca has sects, similar to the differences in various Christian churches.) They tend to draw bits and pieces from various beliefs that appeal to them and cobble them into a personal form of Wicca.

Solitary refers to a Wiccan who is not a member of a coven and who practices alone, or "in solitary".

Coven is a group of Wiccans who practice together, similar to a prayer circle or church congregation, depending on the size of the group.

Answer 2

Pagan covers all belief systems that are not Christian, Jewish or Islam. It is an umbrella name. Wicca is a religion as is Witchcraft. But you do not have to be Wiccan to be a Witch. However generally speaking if you are Wiccan you are a Witch. Although some may argue that. Up until the 1980s There was no separation between being Wiccan and being a Witch. However there are other forms of Witchcraft that are not Wiccan. And other Pagan Religions that do not call themselves Witches, Such as Heathens and more.. You have to research it.... Good Luck

Answer 3

Pagan is a blanket term for polytheistic nature religions like Wicca. You can be Pagan without being Wiccan, but all Wiccans are Pagans.

Eclectic is a term Pagans use to describe a Path not like any other known tradition. In other words they do not describe themselves as following the same rites and rituals as any other Pagan faith or they take aspects from several different traditions.

Solitary is someone who practices their religion not with a congregation or coven, but by themselves either out of necessity or by choice.

Answer 4

Pagan may refer to:

A believer in Paganism or Neopaganism
Bagan, a city in Myanmar also known as Pagan
Pagan (album), the 6th album by Celtic metal band Cruachan
Pagan Island, of the Northern Mariana Islands
Pagan Lorn, a metal band from Luxembourg, Europe (1994-1998)
Pagan's Mind, is a Norwegian progressive metal band.
A member of the Pagans Motorcycle Club
The world in which the Ultima VIII (or Ultima VIII:Pagan) computer game takes place


Wicca is a Neopagan religion or religious movement found in many different countries, though most commonly in English-speaking cultures. Wicca was first publicised in 1954 by a British civil servant named Gerald Gardner[1] after the British Witchcraft Act was repealed. He claimed that the religion, of which he was an initiate, was a modern survival of an old witch cult, which had existed in secret for hundreds of years, originating in the pre-Christian Paganism of Europe. Wicca is thus sometimes referred to as the Old Religion. The veracity of Gardner's claims cannot be independently proven, and it is thought that Wiccan theology began to be compiled no earlier than the 1920s. Various related Wiccan traditions have since evolved, or been adapted from, the form established by Gardner, which came to be called Gardnerian Wicca. These other traditions of Wicca each have specific beliefs, rituals, and practices. Most traditions of Wicca remain secretive and require members to be initiated. However, there is a growing movement of Eclectic or Solitary Wiccans who claim to adhere to the religion but do not believe any doctrine or traditional initiation is necessary.

Answer 5

Others who have posted have already described Paganism's history. It was once a specific religious culture popular in Europe before Christianity came to be. More recently it's come to be an umbrella term denoting polytheistic religions. Japanese Shintoism is sometimes called a Pagan religion, for example.
Aside from having a polytheistic beliefe system (for those of you with a public school education, "polytheistic" means more than one deity), original Paganism also worshipped nature and the flesh. "Nature" can be interpretted differently; some neo-Pagans choose to whisper to trees while other sects believe "nature" to refer to instictual behavior, thus lending to the "flesh" part. By worshipping the "flesh" the practitioner simply admits that things that feel good (eating, sex, etc.) might actually be good for you.
Wicca is simply one sect of neo-Paganism. Modern Wiccans, more specifically "solitary Wiccans" (as explained in previous posts) develope beliefe and morality systems very similar to Christianity and Bhuddism. According to these Wiccans, if you were to cast a spell that ends up hurting someone, you will then in turn experience misfortune three times worse than what you caused. It's really a misinterpretation of Bhuddist Karma.

Answer 6

I'm going to let someone else give you insight into Wicca, because even though I tried to learn about it when making my "transition" from Christian to Pagan, it wasn't for me and I don't remember all the particulars.

Pagan, or neo-Pagan, is an umbrella term that covers a variety of Earth-based religions. These are religions that are based on pre-Christian belief systems. For example, any of the followers of Wicca, Druidism, Native American religions, ancient Norse religion and Shamanism are Pagan. Pagans see all life as inter-connected.

Some Pagans worship only a Goddess and others both a Goddess and a God (or multiple Goddesses and Gods). While many Pagans consider themselves polytheistic, some Pagans believe in a single higher power that is represented in both feminine and masculine aspects. It does not matter if one identifies more with the ancient gods of Greece, the Celtic pantheon, the ancient Egyptian gods, etc. A Pagan may call the goddess Isis, Hecate, or Athena. The names a Pagan uses are simply representative of the different aspects and facets of the single higher power that interconnects all of nature and life together.

Pagans do not believe in Satan. They are not evil. They do not skin bunnies while chanting naked under a full moon!

Pagans do not "recruit" people. We're pleased to discuss our beliefs and spirituality when asked.

Eclectic is a Pagan who doesn't follow a strict reconstructionalist path or a particular tradition. For instance, I incorporate ancient Celtic, Egyptian and Greek traditions into my path. A solitary is a Pagan who worships/does rituals alone, rather than with a coven.

Answer 7

I am neither Pagan nor Wiccan, so I can't say difinitively, but I think they are both Naturalistic religions. Pagans worship nature and the earth, whereas Wiccans worship an earth-mother Goddess figure. I think.

Ecclectic and solitary are not exclusively religious terms. I commonly use them to describe personalities, actually. Ecclectic means unique, unusual, and selective (my preference in music is ecclectic because I like classical, opera, classic rock, alternative rock, and bluegrass). Solitary just means on one's own (I prefer solitary persuits such as hiking, reading, knitting and painting). In relation to the wiccan religion, the terms just refer to sects, as the posts above infer.

Answer 8

To sum up what others have said so far: Pagan is the "catch-all" title for non-"mainstream" religious worship, generally with a focus on nature and natural rhythms/cycles. A Wiccan is a type of Pagan, following a more specific set of rituals/beliefs/holidays.

Ecclectic pagans are those that draw on various traditions in their practices -- some may mix ancient greek mythologies with norse and a touch of hinduism. Some may focus on anicent egyptian, but also incorporate celtic lore. The combinations and reasons are many. :)

A Solitary practicioner is someone who engages in their spritual/religious ceremonies on their own... they generally do not celebrate their holidays with others. Some are solitary by choice; many are solitary due to their location/still in the "broom closet"/etc.

Answer 9

Paganism (from Latin paganus, meaning "a country dweller" or "civilian") is a blanket term which has come to connote a broad set of spiritual or religious beliefs and practices of natural or polytheistic religions, as opposed to the Abrahamic monotheistic religions. "Pagan" is the usual translation of the Islamic term mushrik, which refers to 'one who worships something other than God'. Ethnologists do not use the term for these beliefs, which are not necessarily compatible with each other: more useful categories are shamanism, polytheism or animism. Often, the term has pejorative connotations, comparable to heathen, infidel and kafir (كافر) in Islam.

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Wicca is a Neopagan religion or religious movement found in many different countries, though most commonly in English-speaking cultures. Wicca was first publicised in 1954 by a British civil servant named Gerald Gardner[1] after the British Witchcraft Act was repealed. He claimed that the religion, of which he was an initiate, was a modern survival of an old witch cult, which had existed in secret for hundreds of years, originating in the pre-Christian Paganism of Europe. Wicca is thus sometimes referred to as the Old Religion. The veracity of Gardner's claims cannot be independently proven, and it is thought that Wiccan theology began to be compiled no earlier than the 1920s. Various related Wiccan traditions have since evolved, or been adapted from, the form established by Gardner, which came to be called Gardnerian Wicca. These other traditions of Wicca each have specific beliefs, rituals, and practices. Most traditions of Wicca remain secretive and require members to be initiated. However, there is a growing movement of Eclectic or Solitary Wiccans who claim to adhere to the religion but do not believe any doctrine or traditional initiation is necessary.

Answer 10

Wicca is an religion and considered by some as "neo-pagan." All that means is that the religion a reconstruction of an ancient religion. Some who practices Wicca is a Wiccan. Most consider Wicca to be associated with witchcraft.

Pagan has so many definitions, but I prefer to think of it as meaning non-Christian or truly non-organized religion.

You can be one and not the other- just depending on how you define things.

Hope that helps!