Which Witch is Which?

For many Witches, the sound of someone calling them Wiccan can result in quite a sharp intake of breath. The watered down, media-friendly approach does not sit well with those not seeking acceptability for their spiritual beliefs. There are major differences between the two paths, which can be demonstrated by looking at each of them individually.

Witches

They are not all female. The male form of a Witch is still a Witch, not a Warlock. The word Warlock is from the old Scots and is a major form of insult – it means traitor. Anyone calling themselves a Warlock is either a member of the German heavy metal band of the same name, or has taken this title for a specific purpose. It’s perhaps not a term to be applying to people unless they have claimed it for themselves first.

There are other names applied to male magical workers such as Wizard, Shaman and Druid, but these are not Witches. There are things in common, but the source and therefore the construct of each path is different. Witches are of Germanic origin. The only places you will find Witches are Germany, the British Isles, America and where Anglo-Saxon or Germanic people have settled. Anthropologists started calling any groups practising magic Witches, but the beliefs and practices are vastly different. That is not to say that the concepts of sorcery and mystical experiences are not universal, they are, but they are not all Witchcraft.

The spiritual path that is Witchcraft could be defined as the use of sorcery to cause specific events to occur or alter. Forms of sorcery can include healing, divination, spellwork, necromancy, herbology and meditation. Also used are observations of the earth and cosmos to develop the best way to apply these forms of sorcery. (Please notice there was no mention of earth mother worship, vegetarianism or being good to your enemies. No tofu muffins either.)

Taking the above broad approach, a Witch then further defines this to meet with the belief system that they carry in themselves. That sense at an engramic level, which is truly believed. Each Witch is on a spiritual path that is defined by their personal relationship with their own view of Deity. This may be influenced by the work of others, but it is not dictated by it.

Wiccans

The words Wicca and Wiccan are derived from the Anglo-Saxon and share a common root with the word Witch, but that is where any similarity ends.

Since the rise of Christianity, Witchcraft needed to be a path followed with the highest level of discretion. It was still a crime, punishable by prison in most western countries, up until the last forty years or so. As the idea of alternative spiritual beliefs became more accepted or at least tolerated, books about Witchcraft began to published.

One of the first of these was by Gerald Gardner. When the law against Witchcraft was repealed in the UK in 1951, he decided to write a manual and published “Witchcraft Today” in 1954. This basically was the practice of Witchcraft according to Gardner and his working partner Doreen Valiente.

As this was the first book of its kind it received a great deal of media attention and Gardener was considered to be the authority on all matters dealing with Witchcraft. Covens began to spring up everywhere, accepting the practices as truth and teaching his words verbatim.

This was where Witchcraft and Wicca really came to the fork in the road. Witchcraft is still being defined and refined in the practitioner’s head as more knowledge is attained, whereas Wicca is defined for you. It is no different to any of the other book religions and is in fact a religion itself. Once you have man dictating between you and the Gods, you are then following a religion.

And in true religious style, Wicca lays down the law. All 117 of them to be precise. It would be interesting to know how many of those that call themselves Wiccan are actually aware of these laws, let alone how many practice them. It is strange that a path that calls so many women has laws that are clearly sexist and ageist.

All 117 of the laws can be seen here:
http://www.wicca.utvinternet.com/BOS/bos1.html

But here’s a couple that demonstrate the point:

4. As a man loveth a woman by mastering her.

16. But the High Priestess should ever mind that the power comes from Him.

18. And the greatest virtue of a High Priestess be that she recognise that youth is necessary to the representative of the Goddess.

Other authors followed. There are now many traditions of Wicca that have produced works which have also been given the status of laws. From these we get some of the biggest misrepresentations of Witchcraft.

In particular White Witchcraft. A watering down which seems to have nothing to do with magic. Apparently the White Witch only practices benign magic. The actual point of this does not seem to have been defined. In trying to change the order of things without impact, not a lot is going to result. The use of magic for only good purposes implies that what is good is known and agreed. Other paths do not have this colour distinction, for example there are no White Christians as a subset of Christianity.

This ties into intent. The short version of the Wiccan Rede states “And it harm none, do as you will”. This is a bastardisation of the major driving force behind magical work which is “Do as thou wilt. This is the whole of the law”. Two very different approaches. And therefore two very different results.

In addition to it harming none, a tenet of Wicca is not to do any workings for personal gain. Again, this begs the question of the point. Everything we do is for personal gain, otherwise we wouldn’t do it. Even when giving to charity, part of that action is the payoff received, whether its feeling good or expunging some sort of guilt or thinking that the action is buying good karma for the future.

The specific difference is intervention. Witchcraft can be viewed as an open and direct relationship with the Gods, while Wicca is a relationship with the Gods as dictated by man.