Pagan Information Question #3 What's the differences and similarities?

Question

The mainstream Religions seem to want to lump us ALL together as ONE single Religion. WE know that is not so but we have been able to accept our differences and come together for comfort and supprt against those who would destroy us.. HOW does our path differ from their commonly help perception of us and how do YOU view the different traditions and Religions that fall under the general heading of "Paganism"? What's the difference between Witchcraft, Wicca, Paganism, Heathenism, Druidry, Satanism, and other Pagan beliefs? Please use YOUR thoughts and concepts and not those of your Tradition. As Pagans, we ALL have our OWN concepts that we typically do not share with even the coven/Grove/Blot/whatever we belong to. Solitaries, this is YOUR chance to shine here too because YOU tend to not follow ANY tradition and use stuff from wherever you find it as long as it works for you.

I told you they'd start to get harder. LOL

Oh crap! help should be held, way back there at the beginning. LOL

Conch, Thaks for the Wikipedia versions but I asked for YOUR version not theirs. LOL

Wow Conch, They were so brief and succinct that I would have thought they were STARIGHT out of Wikipedia. I apologize for the false assumption, my friend. Good job on coming up with all of that on your own.
Raji

Ummm STRAIGHT not staright. LOL. I can spell, just can't type.

Answer 1

witchcraft - the practice of "low" or "folk" or emotion/energy based magic.

Wicca - a specific religion started in the 1940's by Gerald Gardner

pagan - a loose term defined by the context in which it is used - among self-described pagans it LOOSELY means one who practices a pre-Christian, non-Abrahamic influenced spiritual path.

Heathen - a pagan that does not use Hellenistic influenced pre-Christian influences, but rather northern-European, often Norse-based spiritual influences. They often do not refer to thenselves as pagans, and are often also reconstructionists of various Viking religious systems.

Druidry - the modern practice of the Druid faith - the religious belief system of the ancient Celts.

Satanism - NOT a pagan religion, but one that is basically atheist, using "Satan" as a metaphor for the belief in exhalting man's animalistic desires and impluses.

edited to add: Dude! those ARE my versions! I've been at this a long time and have quite decided how I feelabout it.

edited to add: no sweat Green witch, there are those people in the word that can, in fact, think and type clearly and succintly. (if you'll pardon the typos)

Answer 2

I think the term Paganism is a broader term for Earth-Based religions, whereas the others start getting more specific. Witchcraft can be more magic based and does not necessarily constitute religious belief. Wicca takes Witchcraft and adds a highly spiritual context to it. I do not know a lot on Satanism personally, but I do know that it is not the bloody dark cult that has come to be associated with it.
I personally am a Solitary Wicca, although I don't mind being considered a Pagan in general. I also think the main reason that we all get grouped together is because they're so many variations that it becomes difficult to categorise when you don't even understand the basics. So many of the Traditions branched off from one concept so they do share a lot characteristics. Differentiating between paths isn't important, but it certainly can make for a lot of interesting reading! =~}

Answer 3

Yes they are indeed getting harder...

I think I'll try to stay basic and answer the main question...

What's the difference between Witchcraft, Wicca, Paganism, Heathenism, Druidry, Satanism, and other Pagan beliefs?

Witchcraft is a practice. Many religions incorporate it into their practices, however as it stands alone, it is not a religion.

Wicca is a pretty new tradition of paganism- it's one of the less strict pagan religions, seeing as you're given a lot of freedom concerning some things (ie deities).

Paganism, of course... is a big ol' umbrella category. Personally, I do NOT think it means "all non-abrahamic religions"- Hinduism is not pagan, or Buddhism, etc.

I don't know enough about Heathenism and Druidry to definitively write about what they are- but I've noticed they are rather traditional in general.

Most including myself don't regard Satanism as a pagan religion. I know most Satanists don't believe in Satan as a deity, and I know that their main cause is not to bring down all forms of Christianity. I also know that unfortunately they probably have the highest percentage of stupid rebellious dabblers out of all the religions on this planet.

Answer 4

I have always regarded Paganism as a diverse religion with many distinct traditions, with many forms of worship that vary widely. It is a complex intermixed community and therefore has no clear differences between the various names. Some concentrate on specific traditions or practices such as Sacred Ecology, Druids, Wiccans, Shamans, Odinists, Celtic traditions or certain gods. They all make up parts of the Pagan community.
I believe that there are a few common elements in that the Pagan seasonal cycle is often called the Wheel of the Year and most Pagans celebrate a cycle of eight festivals throughout the year.

Answer 5

It’s funny. I started to answer your question by lumping all of the “mainstream” religions together just as other worshipers (note neat sidestep) lump people together that do not agree with their precise interpretation of the structure of the universe. This is my own definition of fundamentalist.

From my own point of view, Paganism is the rejection of the concept of monotheism and uses a format the we hope somewhat matches the template of the Neolithic worshipper. A neo-pagan looks at the world as a wondrous creation regulated by a plethora of non-human entities, not just one “supreme being.”

From the Christian point of view, Paganism is lumped in with anything that is not Christianity. Hence, Paganism ends up in the same category as Satanism. I honestly don’t know what the Islamic attitude is, although I have heard the word “infidel” used for non-Muslims.

Whatever instruction book a religion uses, the resulting dogma is not so much what the books says as what the believers believe it means. (or want it to mean)

I know that this is not much of an answer but without going into an essay on comparative religions, it is about the best that I can do.

Perhaps Robert Heinlein said it best in his book, Stranger in a Strange Land. One of the main characters, Jubal Harshaw put it thusly when speaking about religious factions:
“I may not believe that they are right but I don’t know that they are wrong.”

Answer 6

haha you are right! Well I have read about wicca and satanism and about heathenism I dont really know about Druidry but Im guessing Its like a spiritualist and yes im a solitary practictioner since I live in a bible belt area :O the true difference between Heathen and Wiccans is that while neither religion is monotheistic(or however you spell it), Heathens tend to be much more strongly polytheistic. Heathens see the gods and goddesses as individuals; (Wiccans, on the other hand, often see all gods as aspects of the Horned God, and all goddesses as aspects of the Great Goddess.)many Wiccans also see polarity, especially gender polarity, as one of the key organizing principles of their worldview. In particular, most worship rituals include a symbolic union of the God and Goddess (athame and chalice). Heathenry does not include any such concept. but hey we are all friends! :D satanism and wiccan have ALOT of differences as well liek the pentegram ours is like a star theirs is like ours but its upside down umm another thing is that Satanism is an oxymoron, but you can't convince a Satanist of that. Satanism is usually not really based on a strong belief in Satan, but usually a complete rejection of the God of the Bible. However, since the Bible is the only place you would learn of Satan, it is Bible-based Wicca is a specific religious tradition which only began less than a hundred years ago, but is based on quite a few older traditions of witchcraft-laced nature-based religions. The basic belief of Wiccans is that you should not harm anyone unless it is in self-defense, and as long as you follow that and treat people cheerily and lovingly, being trustworthy and trusting, do whatever you want. Also, they believe that 'all acts of pleasure' are like prayers to their Goddess, so some amount of fairly responsible hedonism (harming none) is also present much of the time wicca and witch craft well like you know witch craft is not wiccan but wicca is witchcraft I cant really explain that at all lol and thats pretty much all I know sorry this took so long I was going through books websites and I was eatiing a pomigranite for lunch Oh my gawd my keyboard is all purple oh well time to clean it up-.- good luck with your question!

EDIT
ok im done cleaning up my keyboard umm not all my words are from book refrences And yes I belive what my books say so I yea

EDIT again

haha I cant spell either

Answer 7

Dear Raji,

Harder yes, but such a great way to show the people who might not know the different ways of paganism.

I'm a Solitary Traditional Witch. I practice alone, I cast spells for myself and I have solitary rituals. I don't know enough about Druidry or Heathenism to speak about their practices. I agree with another answerer who said that she didn't think That Satanism is truly a form of paganism. Since the concept of Satan is Christian in origin, I suppose Satanism could be considered an offshoot of Christianity, although I doubt that Christians would think so! Anyhow, paganism appears to be the common thread that binds and connects the rest of the practices you mentioned in your question. The basic differences that I know of between Traditional Witchcraft and Wicca begin with the concept of Wicca being a religion and Witchcraft being a craft. Wiccans have gods and goddesses that the revere, non-Wiccan Witches may or may not revere deities. Trads worship ancestral spirits more than deities. Both are generally tightly connected to nature, and observe the power immanent fro our planet. Both generally cast circles, raise energy, and follow the changing seasons, and the elements, Air, Fire, Water, Earth, and Spirit.

If I can shine in my own way in my solitary ruminations as a Witch, I want my light to shine on people, on giving and bringing joy where I can, help where it is needed, and especially educating people on the need to take care of our planet. In my journey in the Craft, I have come to know the vital importance of personal integrity, personal responsibility for my actions, and using my abilities in a positive way always. These are my offerings as a solitary, and every solitary has her or his own ways of casting spells, making magic, connecting to the Earth, and doing good in all things.

I know this answer doesn't address the other practices, but I do want to take this opportunity to thank the people who answered here about these other practices, for you have educated me in these ways!!!

Blessings Raji, and blessings to all!
Lady Morgana )0(

Answer 8

Good question.
Asatru started as a seperate movement and so it sort of developed differently.
Heathenism is almost purely Recon. There are branches of it that take liberties but they are in general looked down on (vocally). Heathens are outspoken and unbendable in their beliefs most times. If we have a UPG we state it, otherwise, we are out for blood. If you don't know your stuff, you'll get eaten alive. If you don't know, say so. If you do, back it up. I'm getting to the point where I can even name translations LOL.
We don't practice magic over all, at least in the commonly held concept. Our rituals are generally pretty simple. We don't call quarters, Ve is freeling walked in and out of, and little "ceremony" is involved. Our rituals are about good people, good food, and building community with eachother and the gods. There is a path called siedh which is an earthy magic dealing with the dead, but not everyone practices it. I hear it's a calling. Our rituals are about honoring the gods, and the ancestors not much else.
We believe we are related to the gods, where I know a lot of traditions don't. The Celts do, but we are close cousins. We believe the gods are our Elder Kin. We do not invoke them, we do not command them, we do not channel them. We invite them. We gift ourselves to thier gifts. We look to our bloodlines and ancestors for luck. We are "hard polytheist" but most pagan paths are so that doesn't really set us apart or anything.
I think what sets Heathens apart is our worldview. We tend to offend those who don't understand us, even when we don't mean to. This article is a perfect explination
http://www.webcom.com/~lstead/wicatru.html
But hey we are what we are. Love us or leave us. Just remember, we throw bad *** parties with mead. *G*

Answer 9

Well, the Calendar traditionally used by Wiccans, based on Murray's (erroneous) research begins a day at sunset, as the traditional Hebrew Calendar does. Also, this is reflected in the concept of New Year's being in the fall. Is that what you're looking for? I know you know this, though.... OR....are you pointing out that by traditional reckoning it is now Pagan Friday, as the sun just set (is setting?) in London?

Answer 10

Raji,

They are getting harder and as a Solitary I do not know much of the other form (Paths) of Paganism. I do however know that the practice of Witchcraft is greatly different than the public opinion, because during our time of persecution we went into hiding, which left the masses to speculate who we are and what we where/are up to. Contrary to popular belief we do not worship Satan, in-fact some of us do not even believe he exist. I know Satanism is not the worship of Satan. Wicca is related to Witchcraft, but is not Witchcraft. I know that Paganism is an umbrella term used to lump all of the non-monotheistic beliefs together.

May Athena Bless all who seek Her wisdom.

Goddess Bless.
Blessed Be.