Dealing with people telling you you're not "true Wicca"

i agree with Lisa' just be you and don't pay any mind to the people saying that you are 'less wiccan than them' or 'aren't a true wiccan'

Originally Posted by ravenlord

i agree with Lisa' just be you and don't pay any mind to the people saying that you are 'less wiccan than them' or 'aren't a true wiccan'

i agree with this!

[Jenny Crow]

Originally Posted by Tanith

Yes, I certainly do not claim any lineage from a coven, which is why I take care to add in the words "eclectic" and "solitary" when necessary. I just never thought I'd hear another person tell me that the god(ess)(s) I worship are not gods of Wicca. As I said, I somewhat expected it from non-pagans but not from within. I'm a second generation witch, but not necessarily Wiccan.

QUOTE=Tanith- I have taken heat from a couple of people lately (online) telling me I am not Wiccan and that I should not call myself Wiccan because I have not been initiated into this religion by someone on the British Isles who can trace their lineage back to New Forest.QUOTE

Paganism/Wicca etc is supposed to be spiritual but there is not much spirituality being practiced when this sort of thing goes on and I can understand how hurtful it can be when this happens.

While Gardner originally set up his tradition to be practiced in a group/coven setting, things have changed and evolved over the last sixty years and now there are many Solitary practitioners out there. I see no reason why a practitioner cannot take the rites and rewrite them and make them workable for a Solitary and call themselves Wiccan. And I have to say that nowhere have I read or heard or come across anyone, including Wiccan High Priestesses and High Priests that you have to be initiated by someone in the British Isles, that's just ludicrous, lol. The way that I understand it is, the initiator should be able to trace their lineage back to NOT necessarily the New Forest but to someone who can trace their lineage back to Gardner's coven. It blows me away how incorrect information spreads around.

I feel that everyone should tread the path that works for them. I think the issue is more about those people who do not celebrate the sabbats or the esbats, which is what Wicca is based on. And there are those who celebrate the seasons THEIR way but not the Wiccan way of working in a circle but they call themselves Wiccan.

I think that to honestly call yourself Wiccan you should work the Wiccan rites with an understanding of what they are about and have an understanding of the tools, the elements, the elementals etc.

You said yourself that you are a second generation witch but not necessarily Wiccan so it may be easier if you used a different label to describe your path

Jenny Crow

As a 'newbie', and I don't mean just to this forum, I have wondered what to label myself as. I originally thought I was going down the Wiccan path but must admit I'm heading more down the Pagan path I think.

On another forum, after I'd posted a question asking for people's experiences on following Wicca, a debate ensued regarding whether I could be called a Wicca as I wasn't initiated. It went on for a number if days, I got fed up and just stay on SF now.

I would like a label, but only to be able to explain, quickly and succinctly, what I am, to the friends that know I've chosen this way of life.

There are many wise people on SF - I'd be in trouble if there weren't. ;-)

One thing I have learned on SF...we can probably call ourselves whatever we want. It's what's in our hearts that's important!!!

Now I must off to bed. It's late and I've got work in the morning.

Blessings!
LL