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The word pagan is a Latin term meaning rural, first used in the fourth century by early Christians to describe any religion that was not Christianity, was a derogatory term. The term Pagan to the Christians presumed the worship of false Gods meaning that if you were not Christian then your Gods were thought to be false. It’s worth noting here that Pagan spiritualities date back before Christianity, for example, Druidry (Celtic), Asatru (Nordic), Hellenism (greek), Kemeticism (Egyptian), Voodoo (Haiti) and Shamanism are Pagan and they all pre-date Christianity.
The word Pagan is now an umbrella term used to describe a variety of nature-based religions. Many Pagans are polytheists meaning they honour more than one God usually a pantheon of Gods and Goddesses.
A Neo-Pagan is someone who follows an earth-based philosophy, is generally polytheistic, and walks a spiritual path that has been revived or has roots in the Old Ways.
Wicca is a religion that falls under the umbrella term of paganism, it is a modern religion that was founded in the 1950s by Gerald Gardner. Wicca involves the practice of witchcraft, but unlike some forms of witchcraft, Wiccans believe in the rule of three, which states that any energy that is put out into the universe will return to the sender threefold. Wiccans worship the Goddess and God, celebrate the turning of the Sabbats and the lunar cycles, live in harmony with nature, and incorporate this into their spell work. There are many different paths of Wicca, just like witchcraft, such as Gardnerian, Alexandrian, Dianic, and Seax-Wicca.
While there are some similarities between witchcraft, paganism, and Wicca, they are distinct practices with their own unique beliefs, traditions, and practices. Witchcraft is a practice, not a religion that can be found in many different cultures and is focused on the practice of magick, harnessing energies of nature and the universe to manifest your intent, it is an extremely individualised practice. Associated with the use of spells, rituals and incantations, to bring about specific outcomes Witchcraft practices may involve the worship or invocation of various deities or spirits. Paganism is a term that encompasses many different pre-Christian, and non-Abrahamic religions, while Wicca is a modern pagan religion that focuses on a reverence for the earth and the cycle of life and death.
All Wiccans are Pagan, But not all Pagans are Wiccan.
All Wiccans are Witches, but not all Witches are Wiccans.
Not all Witches are Pagan and not all Pagans are Witches.
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