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Old 01-07-2011, 12:06 PM
norseman norseman is offline
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Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: Striding the hedge
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"I think tv and movies show a "commercial" witch but I am sure reality is different, or is it?"

Very much so, George.
Pagan is a catch-all word used to describe anyone following a non-Abrahamic faith. So, it includes wicca and witch.
Wicca - a religion "invented" by Gerald Gardner in the 1950's. Originally, a coven-based, initiatory faith. It had a core of Old Craft with overlays from just about every esoteric order under the sun ! Rosicrucians, Druid orders, etc. These were the source of much of the rituals. More popular in the US than in the UK where it originated. The norm in the UK is now solitary and self-declared. Wicca soon splintered into various varieties.
Witches - practitioners of the Craft [magic users]. Here it becomes a bit vaguer. All Gardnerian Wiccans are witches but not all witches are wiccans.
Deities - rule of thumb, most witches/wiccans follow a goddess faith as do many pagans in general.
By and large, the common thread running through the pagan creeds are "Green" philosophies and life styles.
Magic - deep water here George. MY version is that magic is the control and channeling of natural Earth energies by the Will of the practitioner, and that magic is of this world and not supernatural. Others disagree.

Having done my best to sow confusion , I suggest you sample the various post lines under the Wiccan thread. Have fun !
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Last edited by norseman : 01-07-2011 at 03:47 PM.
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