Questions from Readers

I've received several questions from Pagans of many paths, but one in particular I would like to share with you from a girl in her early 20s who is new to the Old Religion.

Question: "What does Wicca really mean? Does Wiccan mean something evil like people say or devil worshipping? Can you practice somethings out of the Wiccan faith and things from another? What is the difference between Wiccan and Pagan?"

Answer: Being Wiccan means you’ve associated yourself with followers of the Old Religions, which were typically followed by tribes and cultures in theRoman Empireprior to the forced Christianization of Europe that began with the rule of the Roman Emperor Constantius II, who openly persecuted non-Christian religious groups and sought to wipe the Old Religion from existence. This persecution and demonization of followers of the old polytheistic tribal religions was practiced openly until as recently as the 1950s. In many cities and town in theUnited States, being a Wicca is looked upon like Demon-worship, which it isn’t, but more on that later.
By becoming a Wiccan, you have chosen to follow a polytheistic path, filled with nature worship and an acceptance of all creatures on the earth; plants and animals alike. Wiccans seek to live in harmony with nature, but you cannot simply call yourself “Wicca”. The word Wicca comes from the Anglo-Saxon term Wita, which means “Wise Ones”. These were priests and priestesses of the Old Religion who studied for years to attune themselves with nature, who learned rites and rituals, learned to listen and speak to spirits of their ancestors. In other words, these people were spiritual leaders who spent their lives becoming one with that which they worshipped. Calling yourself a Wicca cannot be done suddenly—you cannot take the title of Wicca lightly, for it is a title given only to those who have sought knowledge in the Old Ways and committed themselves to nature and the study of it and all the magickal ways of nature, including worship of the Lord and Lady, or God and Goddess.
As far as to whether Wicca, Witchcraft, or Paganism is evil and/or devil-worship, the concept of such is purely Judeo-Christian. As my favorite author, Raymond Buckland said in his book Complete Book of Witchcraft, “The gods of an old religion become the devils of a new. This was the case here. The God of the Old Religion was a horned god. So, apparently, was the Christians’ Devil. Obviously then, reasoned the Church, the Pagans were Devil-worshippers!”(p.5) In other words, only mono-theistic faiths have a “supreme evil”. The Wicca believe in duality of nature—there is both positive and negative in nature, both growth and destruction, but neither is solely “good” or “bad”.
Because Wicca and Witchcraft are very specific and in-depth religions, like a lot of religions, I would not recommend mixing beliefs between conflicting religious groups, such as Wicca and Christianity. Both are very different, and in order to be a part of one, you cannot possibly be a part of the other, especially when one teaches that the other is Satanic, even though it is far from it.
Paganism is a generic term for all Earth-centered religious groups and belief systems. Pagan means that you believe in the existence of more than a single diety.
I hope this helps you along your journey.
Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christianization
Complete Book of Witchcraft by Raymond buckland