How does Druidism differ from Wicca?

Question

I'm sorry, I think I may be stupid but I don't understand. I have conflicting answers about Wicca and Druidism. I don't know anything about Druidism (other than what you mentioned) but it seems like they may be similar? Wicca, my understanding, is worship of nature in a nutshell? Are the two similar?

Answer 1

the general philosophies are very close, some say that Wicca is based partly on Druidism (big fight for some!)...

the basic differences are in ritual structure... the ideas of Pantheon... and the way one approaches the world, mind and spirit... apart from that they are close.

Answer 2

Druidism can cover a number of things, from people believing it to be a philosophy to people believing it to be a "Wicca-like" religion, to folks who actually want to reconstruct (as much as possible) the beliefs of the ancient Celts.

Wicca also can mean a number of things, from an initiatory Mystery religion founded by Gerald Gardner to a number of "Wicca-like" forms of neo-Paganism.

The primary thing to remember is that, no matter what people claim, Druidism is distinctly tied to the Celtic people. Druids arose from the Celts, therefore, the Celts are the final authority. Wicca varies from the Celtic beliefs in the following manners:

- Wicca doesn't share the Sea-Land-Sky cosmology.
- Wicca follows two specific deities, whereas the Celts had many.
- Wicca has a focus upon the Classical 4 element worldview of earth-water-air-fire, and there doesn't seem to be an emphasis on this in Celtic thought. When the Celts did use elements, they numbered up to 11.
- Wicca has different holidays and ritual structure.
- Celts are not bound by Wiccan beliefs such the the Threefold Law, etc.

And, there's a number of other reasons too. Check out the link below for more details.

Answer 3

Wicca is not individualistic and go your own way-that's a misconception that is causing a lot of Wiccans grief these days.

Druidry is a big, big umbrella term, and how it differs from Wicca is going to depend on the type of Druidry you're talking about. CUEWicca and ADF Druidry, for example, are pretty darn similar, but "Reclaiming"'s brand of Witchcraft (which is often called Wicca inaccurately) is really far from, say, Celtic Reconstructionism.

Answer 4

It attempts to reconstruct the old Celtic religions. There is much more standardization of beliefs--everyone in a Druid grove probably believes the same basic things. Wicca takes from many, many sources and is more individualistic, "go your own way."

Answer 5

A key to understanding Celtic spirituality is triplicity; everything seems to come in threes. As Druids, we honor the Gods (the Shining Ones), Spirits (Nature Spirits, Faerie), and Ancestors (our own or respected figures from the past). Our cosmology resembles that of the Norse (and other Indo-European cultures) in that we have the Underworld, Middle World, and the Celestial World, which are linked by a World Tree, with its roots in the Underworld, trunk in Midworld, and the branches in the Celestial. Our world, the Middle, is divided into Land, Sea and Sky. (And just to keep things interesting, let's not forget the Otherworld, the Realm of Faery, which seems to be in its own dimension altogether!) On my altar, I have (among other things) a candle, a bowl for water, and a Bonsai, which represent the Sacred Fire, Well and Tree, which are gateways linking the three realms.

As I mentioned before, Druids are a diverse lot from Celtic Reconstructionists, who believe we shouldn't have anything in our practice unless we can show that the ancient Celts did it, to those who see Druidry as more a philosophy than a religion, with much to offer to all faith (so that you could be a Christian Druid, instance). I as usual try to walk a middle path between the extremes. I see Druidry as a neopagan religion that has much in common with other Pagan faiths today. For example, we celebrate the eight festivals that most Pagans honor today, though it seems the ancient Celts may have celebrated only the four Fire Festivals- Samhain, Imbolc, Beltaine, and Lughnasadh. Most Druids would consider themselves polytheists instead of duotheists, however- they tend to see the Shining Ones as individuals instead of aspects of one God or one Goddess.

Environmental concerns are very important to Druids (as well as most other Pagans). I believe the one of the major impacts that Druidry can have is in what Frank MacEowen refers to as Healing the Common Wound- restoring the vision of the sacred, seeing the world and our lives as enchanted. If we look upon the Earth as sacred, as our Mother, we would not continue to treat Her as we currently do. If we see our lives as enchanted perhaps the worldview of the majority would no longer be the materialistic, consumer-oriented nightmare it is now. I believe this is the primary gift modern Paganism has to offer the world- to see the world as a living, interconnected whole instead of an inanimate, mechanistic one.