What is a Wiccan?

Question

is that like a pagan?

Answer 1

Yes, Wiccans are Pagans. "Pagan" is a blanket term used for anyone who isn't Christian, Jewish, or Islamic in religion.

Wicca is a slightly new Pagan religion. It's purpose is the revival of the devine female aspect of the Higher Power.

Answer 2

You can be both a Wiccan and a witch, these two words are not the same
One of the biggest sore points among Wiccans is the improper usage of the terms "Wiccan" and "Witch". Too many people use the terms interchangably, presuming that they both mean the same thing. They do not.

Wiccan
Wicca is a religion, and someone who follows that religion is called a Wiccan. Sometimes it can be difficult to accurately define Wicca, and not all Wiccans will define themselves the same way. Observing the 8 Wiccan Sabbats, honoring the Gods and/or Goddesses, creating sacred space for rituals, to name a few. Many traditional Wiccans also feel that belonging to a coven is also a requirement and that those who practice their religion as a solitary, should not refer to themselves as Wiccan. Personally, I'm still not sure on that point. Typical Wiccans also practice magick, and therefore are also witches.

You cannot be a "natural Wiccan" any more than you could be a "natural Christian".

Witch
The practice of witchcraft is not associated with any religion, therefore you can be a witch and yet also be a member of any number of religions (or none). Using the natural energies within yourself, along with the energies of herbs, stones or other elements to make changes around you is considered witchcraft. Though the skills and gifts that are part of witchcraft can be inherited from parents or grandparents, you aren't automatically a witch just because your grandmother may have been one. The use of magick takes practice, experience and learning. On a side note, a male witch is called a witch, not a warlock.

Pagan
While I'm explaining terminology, I thought I would throw in "Pagan" as well. Paganism refers to a variety of non-Christian/Jewish/ Islamic religions that are usually polytheistic and are often nature-based. Wicca is only one Pagan religion, but there are others such as Santeria, Asatru, or Shamanism. Many people do not necessarily identify with a specific religion, and just use the broad term "Pagan" to define their spiritual path. Pagan religions are distinct and separate from each other, and it should not be assumed that they are just different names for the same faith.

Answer 3

Wicca is a Neopagan religion and a religious movement found in various countries throughout the world. It was first popularised in 1954 by a British civil servant named Gerald Gardner 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 witchcraft religion, 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 written 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 distinctive beliefs, rituals, and practices. Many traditions of Wicca remain secretive and require that members be initiated. There is also a movement of Eclectic or Solitary Wiccans who do not believe that any doctrine or traditional initiation is necessary in order to practice Wicca. The 2001 American Religious Identification Survey estimated that at least 134,000 adults identified themselves as Wiccans in the US.

Answer 4

It is a pagan form of belief yes. Wiccan are a different form of witches. They believe in goodness and the earth mother and nature as forms of worship. They do not perform 'evil' rituals or spells as 'witches' do. That is my understanding of it all anyway.

look it up in Wikipedia for a more precise explanation.

Answer 5

Wicca is to Paganism, like Lutheran is to Christian. Get it? It is a piece of the pie, you can be a Pagan without being Wicca, but if you're Wicca you are a Pagan.

Answer 6

Yes, Wicca is a branch of Paganism. It centers around worship of a God and Goddess, as well as a naturalistic view. It is based off Celtic paganism, and European Ceremonial Magic [as in their rituals have a simpler set up, but obviously based on it] . Many of it's followers practice magic. It's also pantheistic, where al lgods are one [some find this insulting]

Answer 7

different in the fact that pagans worship many gods but wiccans only worship the polarities of the universe

Answer 8

Yes wicca is pagan.

Answer 9

a "fashionable" Hindu to suit the style of Western people - I think their beliefs stem from European ancient paganism - that's what I read in Da Vinci Code

Answer 10

My best buddy's wife claims to be a Wiccan ... has an altar and all that. It's pretty damn stupid, if you ask me ... he thinks it's weak, too, but ... as long as she doesn't make him participate in the rituals, he doesn't really care.

She's nice, and I like her ... just think she needs to get a REAL hobby.