Pagans, Wiccans, Witches: for the record and for everyone's knowledge, can you describe the differences...?

Question

...between a Witch and a Wiccan?

(They aren't the same thing, although there is some overlap, and you can be both, or one or the other. Sometimes people refer to them as though they are the same.)

Answer 1

From the Spiritual Nature website:

"Witchcraft is, litterally, the 'craft of the witch'. Which is the skill of being able to work magick; especially magick utilizing personal power in conjunction with the energies within stones, herbs, colours, and other natural objects. While this may have spiritual overtones, witchcraft, by this definition is not a religion. However, some followers of Wicca incorrectly use this word to denote their religion.

A witch was anciently, a European practitioner of the remnants of pre-Christian folk magick, particularly that relating to herbs, healing, wells, rivers and stones (ie: One who practices witchcraft).

Later, this term's meaning was deliberately altered to denote demented, dangerous, supernatural beings who practiced destructive magick and who threatened Christianity. This change was a political, monetary and sexist move on the part of organized religion, not a change in the practice of witches. This later, erroneous meaning is still accepted by many non-witches today.

Some members of Wicca to describe themselves also use this word to describe what they are. However, witchcraft can be practiced by people of any faith. One can be a Wiccan witch, a Jewish witch, a Christian witch, a Muslim witch, etc.

Wicca is a contemporary Pagan religion with spiritual roots in Shamanism and the earliest expressions of reverence of nature.

Among Wicca's major motifs are: reverence of the Goddess and the God; reincarnation; magick; ritual observance of the Full Moon; astronomical and agricultural phenomena; spheroid temples, created with personal power, in which rituals occur.

Not all witches are Wiccan, and not all Wiccans are witches, as witchcraft by itself is not a religion, and not all Wiccans practice magick."

http://www.spiralnature.com/def/craftvswicca.html

Answer 2

Everyone - except a few - had some good answers.

I want to thank Steffiegirl for informing me that I'm a stereotype - glad to know that, something I didn't know - how about all the other witches here, aren't you glad to know you're a stereotype?

Others said it, and I'll repeat it.

Pagan - any religion or belief set not of the big three religions - Judaism, Christianity or Muslim.

Wiccan - a specific religious practice ceated by Gerald Gardner and brought to public light in 1951. There are as many, if not more, sects of Wicca as there are of Christianity. Some Wiccans consider themselves witches, some do not. One of the main factors is a belief in dual gods.

Witch - a practitioner of witchcraft, a long and serious practice of the use of magic (BTW, some witches have been or are stage magicians as well). They can be of the whit light, goody good Glinda magic variety, they can be of the old school cursing, evil eye giing variety, but most witches fall somewhere in the middle, seeking and maintaining as much of a balance as they possibly can. Some love nature, some don't. the ONLY thing all the witches in the world have in common is the learned use and practice of energy manipulation via magic.

Answer 3

I guess I'm old, because when I first started studying Wicca, and then later formally initiated (in 1982), I was taught that the terms witch and Wiccan were interchangeable. In addition to that, I was taught: All Wiccans are pagan, but not all pagans are Wiccan. All Wiccans are witches, but not all witches are Wiccan. Taking into account the way the terms have evolved, I guess I would say I'm a Wiccan Witch.

Answer 4

As a self taught solitary, neo-pagan Bear shaman, New World Taoist, (I follow the American Way,) I find it confusing too.

Wicca, the craft of the Wise, is a loosely specific Nature religion that really doesn't lend itself to Orthodoxy, since it is mostly a journey of self-discovery with a few tricks and guidelines. There are people who keep trying to turn it into a Hierarchical Orthodoxy, but there a people in every Religon who don't get it--ask Jesus. Fortunately, most Wiccans are cat lovers and learn a lot from the furry little freeloaders.

Witchcraft is a type of magick that works by using the connections between all things in Nature and subtly influencing Natural Processes. The ability to see those things as processes is key. I like to use the poem "For want of a nail," as an illustration. Witchcraft is about recognizing that nail and taking appropriate action, to create a cascade of changes. That's why witches are always seers of some kind. Forseeing the effect of a change lets you guide your magick.

Answer 5

I guess I'm not old, because when I started in Wicca-more than 20 years ago-those of the Wica were still claiming "Wiccan" was a fake term when applied to people.

The terms Witch and Wiccan are *not* interchangable, even if a shockingly small group knows WHY some people don't use anything but Wiccan today. (it has to do with catching the baby some other guys tossed out with the bathwater.)

Answer 6

First off.....PAGANISM is an umbrella term that refers to a nature-based polytheistic or pantheistic indigenous family of religions whose essence and practices are pre-Christian. Wicca and Traditional Witchcraft are Pagan religions. When most people casually use the word Pagan in conversation , they usually mean to exclude Wicca, which is the largest Pagan group.

WICCAN
-a modern henotheistic religion founded in England around 1954 by Gerald B. Gardner. Wicca contains a few elements from the traditions of old British Witchcraft; nevertheless, Wicca is mostly based on sources other than British Witchcraft that include the concepts and practices of the Ceremonial Magick of the Order of the Golden Dawn, plus beliefs and concepts from the Freemasons, Ordo Templi Orientis, the Rosicrucians, as well as Eastern philosophy, Celtic mythology, and the teachings of Aleister Crowley.

WITCH
Witchcraft is a spiritual path that honors and reveres Nature and the gods, we acknowledge the equally of all, we protect and encourage the development of the individual, as we honor our past, and perform our rituals and magical workings in a manner that is respectful and ethical to ourselves, to the spirits, and the gods.

SO BASICALLY...............

Wiccan is a religion which includes concepts of witchcraft. A witch I guess can be someone who studies/follows/believes in the Wiccan religion.

Um.....I guess check out the site for more info.

Answer 7

All hail Lady M~ Defender of Pagan Truths!

Wicca is a religion, how we worship.

Witchcraft is how we practice .

The two can be enter-twined, or separate.

One can be a Wiccan and not do magick.

One can also be a witch and not worship or have the same belief system as a Wiccan.

Blessed Be!
~A~

Answer 8

Pagan - One who follows ANY of the non-Jehovic religions

Witch - one who practices Magic of any type whatsoever that is NOT Illusion or "Stage magic"

Wiccan - one type of Pagan.

It shoud be further noted that Wiccans are further broken down into traditions, much like Christianity is broken down into sects.

Another way to look at it all, is Pagans are equivalent to ALL the faiths that believe in the God of Abraham (heareafter refered to as Jehovah, for simplicity). Wiccans would be equivalent to Christianity ( many diferent sects but all believe in Jesus), Gardnrearins would be equivalent to Catholicism (one specific kind of Christian). All of these can ALSO practice Witchcraft (doing spells, divinations etc.). It IS possible to be a Witch and NOT adhere to ANY of the pagan Religions at all, or any other Religion for that matter. There are ALSO Christian, Jewish, and Islamic Witches. There are also Atheist Witches and Agnostic Witches. Hope this explains it all in a nutshell.

Brightest blessings,
Raji the Green Witch

Answer 9

The simplest definition as I've always understood it: A Wiccan is someone who practices the Wiccan religion. Someone who practices magic is a witch. You can be a witch, a practitioner of magic, and not be Wiccan. You can be a Wiccan and not do magic at all. As you said, there can be overlap.

Answer 10

Not everyone who practices the Craft is Neo-Pagan, Wiccan, Druidic, Fae, Asatrun, Elven, gay/bi, wears black makeup, worships in any one way, or can be assigned any particular generalization. Ask 100 Neo-Pagans if they are Witches, and you'll get 150 answers. Ask 100 Witches if they are Pagans and you'll get the COG meeting in Seattle a few years ago where there was so much disharmony they decided to disband the chapter. I say let people label themselves any way they want and respect someone's label even if you think it's silly or doesn't fit someone's dictionary definition. Someone called me a Crazy Witch today, and I think I'm going to embrace it as my new label!!! :) :) :) My circle has several Christo-Pagans ad Buddha-Pags because they feel drawn to spirituality in several flavors. I say spirituality is a beautiful, individual, mystical thing, so let's start respecting each other and quit trying to validate whether someone qualifies for a label.