My Use of Terminology
How the Words Witchcraft, Wicca, and Paganism Are Used Throughout My Website

The debate as to the correct meanings and definitions of such words as Witch, Witchcraft, Wicca, Wiccan, and Pagan is not a new one. It is an issue that has been brewing (please excuse the pun!) in the Pagan community for quite some time now, and everyone has their own take on the subject. I, of course, have my own as well. I feel it's important for me to express these opinions here because it directly affects the meanings of some terms I frequently use on this page. Someone with a differing idea as to the implications of the words "Witch" and "Pagan" will no doubt interpret my essays a little differently than I had intended. Taking this into consideration, I would like to clarify my use of such labels.

Witchcraft
Firstly, I consider Witchcraft (note the capital W) to refer to the religion, philosophy, spirituality, and way of life that I describe on my website. I freely acknowledge that "witchcraft" has various definitions, not all of which are mutually exclusive or have anything to do with an individual's spiritual beliefs, but on this website I am utilizing the term in a more specialized manner to refer specifically to Neo-Pagan religious Witchcraft. (This particular definition of Witchcraft is, in fact, a neologism.) Modern, Neo-Pagan Witchcraft encompasses a wide range of loosely-related belief systems spanning from the oathbound, highly-structured, formal realm of British Traditional Wicca; the collection of more informal, solitary-oriented religions known as Eclectic Wicca; the activist, consensus-governed, Goddess-emphasizing approach of the Reclaiming Tradition of Witchcraft; the ecofeminist, exclusively female, exclusively Goddess-worshipping strands of Dianic Witchcraft/Wicce; to the ecstatic, shamanic paths of Feri Witchcraft, among many others. It also, of course, includes those myriad of diverse religions which are derived from and/or influenced by the aforementioned forms of modern Witchcraft, one of which being my own personal form of Witchcraft.

Virtually all of these facets of Neo-Pagan Witchcraft are examples of more-or-less modern religious creations intended to recapture the more primal spirit, beauty, and mystique associated with both Europe's pagan past and other indigenous and tribal cultures. By no means are any of these belief systems literal, historic reconstructions or direct continuations of what is often referred to as "the Old Religion" (in fact, even the idea of a singular, universal pre-Christian European religion is inaccurate), although some Witches have claimed it to be so in the past. Rather, they are all different visions of what the ancient, nature-affirming, and indigenous panentheistic pagan religions of our European ancestors may have been like, if not in specific form but at least in spirit and feeling. To quote Skytoucher, Neo-Pagan Witchcraft "is not a survival from the pre-Christian past, but an eclectic/creative construct meant to imitate what such a survival would ideally be." Perhaps one of the most evocative (though obviously slanted towards the recognition of the feminine divine) descriptions of Neo-Pagan Witchcraft I have encountered is in T.M. Luhrmann's Persuasions of the Witch's Craft:

Witchcraft is meant to be a revival, or re-emergence, of an ancient nature religion, the most ancient of religions, in which the earth was worshipped as a woman under different names and guises throughout the inhabited world. She was Astarte, Isis, Cerridwen - names that ring echoes in archaeological texts. She was the Great Goddess whose rites Frazer and Neumann - and Apuleius - recorded in rich detail. Witches are people who read their books and try to create, for themselves, the tone and feeling of an early humanity, worshipping a nature they understand as vital, powerful and mysterious. They visit the stone circles and pre-Christian sites, and become amateur scholars of the pagan traditions behind the Easter egg and Yule log. Above all, [W]itches try to 'connect' with the world around them. Witchcraft, they say, is about the tactile, intuitive understanding of the turn of the seasons, the song of the birds; it is the awareness of all things as holy, and that, as is said, there is no part of us that is not of the gods.
Witchcraft can be distinguished from other varieties of Neo-Paganism by the prominent integration of Magic within its spirituality. Many Witches practice theurgy, magic to encourage spiritual growth and to facilitate a deeper connection with the divine, and religious magic is also fairly common. Deities are often invoked and/or asked to aid in spellwork. Indicating the degree to which some Witches conceive of Magic as sacred, prayer and Magic are often expressed as opposite faces of the same coin. Magic can be regarded as the very lifeblood of Witchcraft, although Witches themselves do not necessarily define, ascribe, or view Magic in the same manner as the general population. For example, Marion Weinstein chooses to define magic simply as "transformation," Scott Cunningham articulates Magic as "the art of working with the forces of Nature to bring about necessary changes," and Phyllis Curott's definition is stongly tied to her spirituality: "Real magic is your relationship with immanent divinity, and it is how you craft yourself as a Witch." My own essay on Magic as Te and Dianne Sylvan's essay Spiritual Magic also illustrate this point.

In this context, Witchcraft does not positively include the practice of sorcery, thaumaturgy, spellwork, or divination nor is it a synonym for those practices, although most Witches do engage in such activites. When I am referring to the practice of sorcery or spellcraft, I will use those words, NOT the word witchcraft (note the lowercase w).

Wicca
I use the term Wicca to refer to a particular, and very prominent, subset of Neo-Pagan Witchcraft. Wicca itself includes a variety of separate paths, each of which typically can be classed as belonging to one of two main categories I will describe as British Traditional Wicca and Eclectic Wicca. There are certainly those who will disagree, saying that only those who are initiated members of a British Traditional Wicca coven can be properly described as Wiccans. However, I believe the term "Wicca" itself has irreversibly evolved to now indicate adherents of both British Traditional Wicca and Eclectic Wicca, at least within the United States of America which is my current vantage point (this does not seem to be the case in Britain though). Although those who hold to a more limited application of the term "Wiccan" may argue for their stance on a technical basis, the reality is that the common usage of "Wiccan" in most books, periodicals, websites, discourse, etc. includes both British Traditional Wiccans and Eclectic Wiccans. I have also chosen to include members of both groups under the umbrella of "Wicca" in order to respect that these individuals self-identify as Wiccan. I still maintain that British Traditional Wicca and Eclectic Wicca are distinct and have their fair share of differences, but they also share many similarities regarding both belief and practice which tie them together. Some of these commonalities often include:

British Traditional Wicca (a.k.a. Traditional Wicca, Initiatory Wicca, "of the Wica," acronym: BTW) refers to a number of orthodox Wiccan sects which, not surprisingly, have their ultimate origin in Great Britain and typically developed somewhere between the 1930's-1950's. In this instance, "Traditional" refers to the importance these groups place upon faithfully passing down a body of ritual forms and liturgy to new members and the to the importance of keeping that information intact; those who choose to deviate significantly from that body of ritual, etc. are no longer considered to be practicing said Tradition. Integral parts of these Traditions involves a set repertoire of rituals, ritual structure, liturgy, and pantheon of Deities. British Traditional Wicca is usually quite coven-oriented (in most cases, it is essentially coven-necessary) and exists as Initiatory Priesthoods/Priestesshoods, meaning that in order to be a member of one of these Traditions, one has to meet certain requirements and undergo an initiation ritual into a Traditional coven; one cannot self-initiate. Lineage, the ability to legitimately trace oneself back through his/her initiator, to their initiator's initiator et al. back to one of the founding members of his/her Tradition, for instance the ability to trace one's lineage back to Gerald Gardner, Alex Sanders etc., is often considered important as a sign of validity within those Traditions. In a sense, lineage can be regarded as a Wiccan take on the Catholic concept of apostolic succession. There are typically three Degrees of initiation within Traditional covens, and covens are lead by High Priests and High Priestesses who have attained all three degrees. British Traditional Wicca tends to be quite secretive and members of traditional covens are Oathbound, i.e. they have made a promise not to reveal certain information to those outside of their Tradition, and even within Traditional covens a member may only receive certain information upon the earning of a particular Degree. Notable examples of British Traditional Wicca include the Gardnerian Tradition, the Alexandrian Tradition, and their various offshoots. Although these traditions started off as eclectic, composed of elements from various sources including mythology, Co-Masonry, Asian religions, and ceremonial magic, they have basically solidified into a form all their own. Recommended books relating to British Traditional Wicca: Witchcraft Today and The Meaning of Witchcraft by Gerald B. Gardner, A Witches' Bible by Janet and Stewart Farrar, Wicca: The Old Religion in the New Millennium by Vivianne Crowley, What Witches Do by Stewart Farrar, and The Triumph of the Moon by Ronald Hutton.

Eclectic Wicca (a.k.a. Neo-Wicca, American Eclectic Wicca, Solitary Wicca, Wicca-based Paganism, Non-initatory Wicca) refers to a variety of sects loosely based on and inspired by British Traditional Wicca, yet also with numerous other influences sometimes including world religions, neoshamanism, the New Age movement, feminism, environmentalism, etc. Eclectic Wicca can be viewed as the heterodox branch of modern Wicca. Although Eclectic covens and Traditions do exist, this variety of Wicca is also open to those who wish to practice alone as a solitary. One can perform self-initiation (although, technically, self-dedication is a more correct term for this phenomenon than self-initiation) into a form of Eclectic Wicca, and most Eclectic Wiccans learn about this form of Wicca from books or the internet. Eclectic Wicca is much less formal and structured than British Traditional Wicca; adhering to a set ritual formula and pantheon of Deities is not nearly as important. Members are often encouraged to highly personalize their religion and to incorporate practices which they find meaningful and relevant. Eclectic Wiccans may work with members of different cultural pantheons. I should be clear in stating that the variant of Wicca referred to in my older essays and which I have discussed from a personal standpoint is Eclectic Wicca/Neo-Wicca rather than British Traditional Wicca. Recommended books relating to Eclectic Wicca: Wicca: A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner by Scott Cunningham, The Circle Within: Creating a Wiccan Spiritual Tradition by Dianne Sylvan, 21st Century Wicca: A Young Witch's Guide to Living the Magical Life by Jennifer Hunter, Out of the Shadows: Myths and Truths of Modern Wicca by Lilith McLelland.

Paganism and Neo-Paganism refer to a collection of modern religions and philosophies which are generally polytheistic, pantheistic or panentheistic; are non-Abrahamic (i.e. do not fall within the realms of either Christianity, Judaism, or Islam) in nature; and/or which are contemporary reconstructions of ancient pagan religions. Thus, I consider Witchcraft to fall under the umbrella term of Paganism, and, therefore, all Witches can also be considered Pagans. The scope Neo-Paganism extends far beyond Neo-Pagan Witchcraft (i.e. not all Pagans are Witches) to encompass the variety of forms of Druidry; Asatru, Odinism, and other Heathen paths; the Church of All Worlds; many forms of Goddess Spirituality; as well as a broad spectrum of traditional and reconstructionist faiths including Hellenismos, Greek Reconstructionism; Kemeticism, Ancient Egyptian Reconstructionism; Senistrognata, Celtic Reconstructionism; Canaanite Reconstructionism; Religio Romana, Roman Reconstructionism; etc. Typically, when I choose to use the word "Pagan" (note the capital P) I use it in reference to Neo-Paganism rather than in reference Paleo-Paganism or Meso-Paganism. Recommened reading on Neo-Paganism: Drawing Down the Moon by Margot Adler, and Contemporary Paganism by Graham Harvey.

Obviously, my use of these words are not the same as other webmasters or authors. Not everyone uses the terms Witchcraft, Wicca, and Paganism to mean the same things. I am also aware that I simply cannot please everybody with my particular usage and definitions of these terms. A word to the wise would be to do some background research of the particular author's or webmaster's beliefs regarding the use of these terms in order that you can better understand their writings. However, since this is indeed my website, I will use these words as I feel is appropriate.

All contents (unless otherwise noted) are copyright Desirée Isphording 2004, 2005 and may not be copied, modified, or distributed without prior express permission.

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