Dispelling Myths About Wicca and Paganism

There are many misconceptions out there about Pagans and Paganism as well as Wicca and Wiccans. For some reason all of these words have negative connotations for many and are often associated with evil, particularly by Christians and Christianity. People do not seem to understand what it means to be Wiccan or Pagan. Perhaps by dispelling the myths we can begin to build tolerance and peace between faiths.

Wicca is the same thing as Paganism. It is the same to be Pagan as it is to be Wiccan. No, the difference between the two is that Wicca is a religion. Paganism is not a religion; it is a classification of religions. Paganism is defined as any religion that is not one of the three major monotheistic world religions, which are Christianity, Islam, and Judaism. Pagan religions include Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism, Wicca, Druidism, and many others. Wicca is just one of the many Pagan religions. All Wiccans are Pagan, but not all Pagans are Wiccan. Nature-based Pagan religions are sometimes referred to as Neo-Pagan.

Wicca is one of the oldest religions. No, Wicca is a relatively new religion began around 1950 by Gerald Gardner, who supposedly inherited the traditions from his grandmother. Many beliefs and practices of Wicca are ancient, so Wicca's roots are very old. Wicca itself, however, is not.

Wicca is witchcraft. Wiccans are all witches. No, Wicca is a religion that involves magic and witchcraft. Some witches are Wiccan, and some are not. Likewise, some Wiccans practice witchcraft, and others do not. Witchcraft is often part of Wicca, but Wicca and witchcraft are not the same thing. Wicca is a religion; witchcraft is magic.

Wiccans worship nature. No, most Wiccans do not worship nature. They have a great respect and deep appreciation for nature and believe in taking care of it.

Pagans are all polytheistic. They believe in many gods. No, all Pagans are different. Some are monotheistic; some are polytheistic. Some believe in one god, the All, that has many faces, both masculine and feminine but which are all equal and the same.

Wiccans and Pagans are Satanic and evil. They worship the devil. Absolutely not. Most of us don't even believe in Satan, the devil, or Hell. We believe giving evil a name and a personality gives it power, and we don't believe in punishing souls for eternity for the crimes of one lifetime. We are not evil. We don't murder, lie, steal, or commune with evil spirits. We are just trying to live our lives and be good people.

Wiccans and Pagans believe in human and animal sacrifice. Pagans of old were rumored to have believed in human sacrifices, and some Pagans today may still believe in animal sacrifices. Wiccans, however, do not. Their law is "harm none," and that means they seek to do as little harm as possible--only what is necessary to survive. Sacrifice of any kind would violate that law.

Wiccans are all vegetarian. Many Wiccans are indeed vegetarian, but not all of us are. Some believe that it does more harm to kill animals for meat than to live off of fruits and vegetables. Others believe that plant life is equally important and that it would be wrong to value the lives of animals more.

Pagans all share the same opinion on political issues and morality. Do Christians all share the same opinion? No. We each believe differently based on our interpretation of "harm none" and what does more harm than good.

Wicca comes from the word wicked. No, it comes from an old word "wicce" which means wisdom or "wise one" and may well be where the word witch came from as well.

Wiccans all worship nude or dressed in black. Some adult covens do worship naked or "sky-clad," but most do not. I've never worshipped in the nude. I don't want to be caught naked in the forest in a sudden storm or snow shower!

Pagans perform sexual rituals involving orgies and the deflowering of virgins. Sex is the Great Rite in many Pagan faiths, and it is a rite of passage when a virgin becomes sexually active. There were and still are some Pagan groups who do have such rituals mainly at the fertility festival, but they are not forced nor are they raunchy. Most groups do symbolic representations of the Great Rite, acting it out in pantomime without actually doing it. Some leave sex completely out of the circle.

The pentagram and pentacle, a five-pointed star in a circle, are evil symbols of Satan. No, when two points are up and one is down, the star is associated with the devil. In Wicca, one point is up and two are down, and the star symbolizes the 5 elements necessary to sustain life: Earth, Air, Fire, Water, and Spirit with the circle symbolizing unity and eternity.

Wicca and Paganism are not the same thing, and Wicca is not witchcraft. Wicca is a religion. Wiccans are not wicked, evil devil-worshippers, and Pagans don't sacrifice babies to their gods. We don't worship nature or have raunchy orgies. Our beliefs are all different, because we are all individuals. We can be monotheistic or polythiestic, and our dviews on politics and morality vary. We are just normal people trying to live our lives in harmony with the world.