Pagans, what are the most common misconceptions other Pagans have about Paganism?

Question

I know, strange sounding question. But in my years in the Neopagan community, I have noticed that, not only are there many different Pagan paths, there are many different reasons and motivations people have for becoming Pagan. That having been said, I've noticed that some Pagans assume that all other Pagans practice, believe, and were drawn to the path in the same exact way. I've also noticed, especially with newer Pagans, an ignorance of the history of the movement.

So, my fellow Pagans, what are the most common misconceptions about Paganism that you have heard *from other Pagans*?

Answer 1

That there is any sort of common belief or breed among all Pagans, including, but not limited to:

We're all "earth-centered"
We all follow the Pagan Rede (the what!?!)
We all follow the same holidays
We all have the same ethical codes

In addition, there's the misconception that we all got into Paganism specifically because we missed the divine feminine.

Answer 2

Hi! Great question! I have to say that the one broad range of misconception I hear is that One person's way is better than another. I recently was told that I am not Pagan from a fellow Pagan, because this Sunday I'm getting married in a christian church, christian wedding..etc. I also get a lot of nagging because I believe that a Pagan can believe solely in Christ, and be Wiccan. There are just too many things to point out.

Answer 3

Hmmm - perhaps the most significant mis-conception is that pagans are, or should be, something more or different to the rest of humanity. Paganism has as many misconceptions as it does paths under its umbrella (quote thanks to Tamzin) and one of them is that pagans - by pagans - seem to think or want pagans to be better at being human. But - and here's the truth folks - we are just that - HUMAN - with all the frailties, defects and weaknesses of every other human. And the upshot is - we still have the same capacity for hope - hope that we will be nice, kinder, more balanced and less likely to hurt the earth and each other. But make no mistake - most of us will still fight (in some way) for what we believe in. We will still do whatever is necessary to protect ourselves and our loved ones - survival. And we still wont fully believe that the other person is fully correct if we do not wholely agreee with their perceptions of - well of anythng really. Probably the most confusing, upsetting and damning faculties of being human - logic reasoning, and an intellect that allows us to stand alone - which makes each and every one of us a target for the other as well as a support.

Answer 4

That we are all witches
Most recons do NOT consider themselves witches in any sense. I have a lot of bad *** witch friends don't get me wrong, but I am not a witch
That we all practice magic
Lots of recons and even many WICCANS do NOT practice magic. Nothing irks me more when people assume I "cast circles" or "know the runes". Not every damn Asatru does Rune work. I use them as letters, nothing more.
That I'm racist because I am Asatru, hence why I use Heathen more then not. While I do believe that blood lines are important and that one should FIRST look to thier roots, the gods call who they will and it's not my job to decide any of it. Besides we ALL have a little viking in us ;)
That we have the same holidays. Not all the traditions follow the Wheel of the Year! Yule is about the only thing we share and even that is celebrated completly different and means completly different things.
We don't all worship the earth. Asatru is mostly ancestor worship. While we honor the earth for what it bears and respect it as our home, we don't worship it.
Our gods are SEPERATE. Not ASPECTS. LOL Nothing will get a Heathen going like telling them that Frigga is the same as Athena or Isis. I always want to laugh and say "Really? Have you asked them how THEY feel about that?" By making our gods aspects of any other god/ess you insult our ancestors. It's complicated. Just trust me.
Not all of us use the pent. We don't. Our ancestors didn't, there fore we don't. We have lots of other symbols, just not the pent.
I'm sure there is more but those are the big ones.

Answer 5

One common misconception that I have come across is that most people even some other Pagans think that all Pagans are or even should be promiscuous and/or into alternative sexual lifestyles such as polyamory.

I am not and I know many Pagans who prefer committed monogamist relationships.

Another misconception is that all Dianic Wiccans are lesbians. This is also not true. While many women who practice Dianic Wicca are bi or lesbian there are many who are not, myself included. Well I'm more of an eclectic Wiccan but my coven is predominantly Dianic.

There is another misconception that one has to be from a lineaged coven to be considered a "true Wiccan" and that anyone who is self initiated is not a true Wiccan. Not so. As long as you follow the main principals of Wicca you are Wiccan.

Answer 6

This may be hard to follow, but here goes.

As a Wiccan, the biggest misconceptions I hear are from Non-Wiccan Pagans about what Wicca comprises. This includes the clueless harm none people but also the fact that when some MONOTHEISTIC, REINCARNATIONIST New Ager asks about The Goddess people go, OH, that's Wicca....

...and it's not.

Traditional Wicca does not discuss the afterlife with outsiders, is polytheistic (our gods are not aspects, archetypes, thought forms or anything other than gods) and has, at the minimum, two gods, who have names.

Answer 7

Pagan on pagan preconceptions....

that we are all about the goddess
that we are all pacifists
that we are all anti-human/ pro-earth
that we are all so liberal that we believe everything is OK if it feels right to a person, or, in other words, that we are all so open minded that our brains have fallen out

Pagan and new age are not the same thing

Answer 8

That we all practice a recreation of an ancient religion of some sort, or that it has to be based in something old (and that nothing modern is magical)

That we all follow the Rede or a variant thereof

That we're all wonderful people and better and more tolerant than those Christians (just ignore the witch wars...)

That those of us who do practice magic are less mature or advanced than those who do

Answer 9

A star for you...interesting question. I guess for me it would be the assumption that I adhere to the rede and the threefold law, which I don't. I know those are primarily Wiccan tenets, but most non-Wiccan Pagans that I know also tend to abide by them. I've found others who feel as I do, but the majority tend to view me as some kind of heretic or "black" practitioner, when in truth for me it is about being balanced and maintaining balance.

Answer 10

That you must be Wiccan to be a Witch, that Wicca and Witchcraft is one in the same, that Wiccans were burned at the stake, and that the Wiccan faith goes back thousands of years. I could go on and on about the misconceptions that those irritating little fluffies spread.