What's the difference between Wicca and Druidism?

Question

A lot of great answers. Thanks for the web links and book recommendations!

Answer 1

Modern Druids are largely inspired by Celtic pagan religion and history but weave it into an ultimately modern context. (Though who attempt to recreate Celtic religion are called Celtic Reconstructionists.) They also may be inspired by a variety of more modern sources.

Wicca is far less rooted in historical Celtic religion. Its direct roots are entities like the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. Its focus on a god and goddess pairing is quite separate from ancient Celtic or modern Druid views. (The Celts had a large pantheon) Wicca borrows bits and pieces from a variety of cultures. Some people stress Celtic influences, but I believe that is mistaken. While some Wiccan holidays are named after Celtic holidays, their meanings are quite different, for example. Wicca also has additional holidays whose names are borrowed from the Anglo-Saxons.

There are a variety of things in Wicca that some people claim are Wiccan even though they really aren't. The idea of 4 physical elements is ultimately Greek. (Celts divide the world into land, sea and sky) There is no Triple Moon Goddess in Celtic literature. The Wiccan "Horned God" might be equated to the Celtic Cernunnos, but we really know very little about what the historical Cernunnos actually represented. The Wiccan Wheel of the Year arrangement of holidays is completely modern.

In short, Druidism is a modern religion significantly influenced by Celtic culture and religion, while Wicca is a modern religion influenced by a large variety of sources.

Answer 2

The main focus of Wicca is the celebration of the marriage of the Goddess to the God, often called the "great rite" in many of the books you can buy. This is therefore a celebration of fertility, of nature.
Druidry on the other hand celebrates the outcome of this marriage, the Mabon, the Divine spark of creativity. The two paths often go hand in hand and many people are both Wiccan and Druid or Druid-like.
Both religions are revivals of ancient spiritual paths lost in time and maybe the link is Freemasonry, said to have brought the knowledge through time from Egyptian times.

Answer 3

Wiccans are fairly recent. Druids were ancient Celtic priests.

Answer 4

Here's a great site that shows you the differences.. there are many:
http://www.ssg-adf.org/druidryVSwicca.htm

Answer 5

Everything. To be concise about it.


http://www.witchvox.com

http://www.adf.org

Answer 6

Funny, she doesn't look Druish.