Misconceptions about Wicca

[Esiris]

I think I want to rework my paper- but I need some ideas about different misconceptions about Wicca.

I want to cover the basics, so maybe we could make a list based on the discussions we've had here on Gaia? cat_sweatdrop

Here are the subjects I plan to cover already:
Dedication and Initiation
Ditheism (the Lord and Lady) v. Cultural Gods
Soft Polytheism v. Hard Polytheism
Nature v. Fertility  

[Sanguina Cruenta]

There's the witchcraft issue, which has two separate arms: first, "not all Wiccans are witches", second, that "Wicca is the modern word for witchcraft" or something (i.e., that it's a synonym).  

[Esiris]

So etymology and the history of Wica, Wicca and stuff?  

[Sanguina Cruenta]

Well, I don't know how you'd want to structure it, really. They're just misconceptions I've seen a few times lately, so they came to mind.  

[Esiris]

Thanks Sang!  

[Sanguina Cruenta]

NP! I'll let you know if I think of any more.

Oh, you could also do a bit on mystery religions, or experiential ritual or something.  

[too2sweet]

The whole orthopraxy vs orthodoxy thing would be good as well.  

[Esiris]

too2sweet

The whole orthopraxy vs orthodoxy thing would be good as well.

Thank you Too2.  

[too2sweet]

Based on a convo I'm having on another site - the whole "Rede" being an absolute law, and/or what it actually means, is another big one.  

[Agent REDACTED]

Well, this sounds fairly dumb compared to the others that were presented, and I'm not sure if you mean misconceptions from people who know nothing about it, or of those who are a part of it, but what about the whole 'worshiping the devil' thing? When I've heard other people discuss it, they seem to not know that there is no devil in the religion, and that the entire thing is a tribute to it...

I realize that that sounds far less smart than the others' suggestions, but I wanted to do something remotely helpful...
o.o;  

[Morgandria]

surrender2music

Well, this sounds fairly dumb compared to the others that were presented, and I'm not sure if you mean misconceptions from people who know nothing about it, or of those who are a part of it, but what about the whole 'worshiping the devil' thing? When I've heard other people discuss it, they seem to not know that there is no devil in the religion, and that the entire thing is a tribute to it...

I realize that that sounds far less smart than the others' suggestions, but I wanted to do something remotely helpful...
o.o;

Something you may not know, but Gerald Gardner (the founder of the Wiccan faith) very much believed that the Devil was nothing more than the Horned God whose image was twisted and manipulated by the Christians for their own ends. So in a way, the Devil -is- present in Wicca -
just not as the figure that the medieval Church created as a scapegoat.

As I understand it, Esiris' paper focuses more on the misconceptions of Wicca that are rife within Neopaganism, rather than the more general misconceptions non-pagans have about Paganism in general. A great deal of what people think they know about Wicca and its' practices isn't correct; her paper attempts to address that.  

[Agent REDACTED]

Morgandria

surrender2music

Well, this sounds fairly dumb compared to the others that were presented, and I'm not sure if you mean misconceptions from people who know nothing about it, or of those who are a part of it, but what about the whole 'worshiping the devil' thing? When I've heard other people discuss it, they seem to not know that there is no devil in the religion, and that the entire thing is a tribute to it...

I realize that that sounds far less smart than the others' suggestions, but I wanted to do something remotely helpful...
o.o;

Something you may not know, but Gerald Gardner (the founder of the Wiccan faith) very much believed that the Devil was nothing more than the Horned God whose image was twisted and manipulated by the Christians for their own ends. So in a way, the Devil -is- present in Wicca -
just not as the figure that the medieval Church created as a scapegoat.

As I understand it, Esiris' paper focuses more on the misconceptions of Wicca that are rife within Neopaganism, rather than the more general misconceptions non-pagans have about Paganism in general. A great deal of what people think they know about Wicca and its' practices isn't correct; her paper attempts to address that.

I see, and thank you. That is rather interesting.
I heard the same went for Christmas, which was supposed to immitate Yuletide from a friend of mine.
Especially considering the actual date of Jesus's birth is supposed to be in mid-summer.  

[Morgandria]

surrender2music

I see, and thank you. That is rather interesting.
I heard the same went for Christmas, which was supposed to immitate Yuletide from a friend of mine.
Especially considering the actual date of Jesus's birth is supposed to be in mid-summer.

The problem with that argument is that there isn't a unified pagan calendar, and never has been. Different cultures celebrated all kinds of different holidays, and not one of them celebrated all of them. Some cultures had a midwinter festival. Some didn't. Not all of them had the same focus - what a Northern culture celebrates is unlikely to be the same as a Mediterranean one.

The modern eclectic neo-pagan 'Wheel of the Year' is not ancient. It is a calendar created specifically for Wicca, and thus can only be dated back to the founding of Wicca some 60-70 years ago. Not many people seem to know or understand that.

You also have to take into consideration that when pagan cultures converted to Christianity, Christianity didn't 'steal' holidays from the pagans. What you had instead were people who found ways to continue their cultural celebrations and holidays within the bounds of their new religion - they themselves reinterpreted their holidays within a new context. To suggest that Christianity was trying to take from Paganism is essentially trying to say that people were stealing their own holidays from themselves. It doesn't make a lot of sense.  

[Esiris]

I think I'll include a thing on Supersition v. Religion and Religion v. Cult too.

Thanks you guys! I'll take any ideas you want to give me!  

[Rebel_Dynasty]

Morgandria

surrender2music

I see, and thank you. That is rather interesting.
I heard the same went for Christmas, which was supposed to immitate Yuletide from a friend of mine.
Especially considering the actual date of Jesus's birth is supposed to be in mid-summer.

The problem with that argument is that there isn't a unified pagan calendar, and never has been. Different cultures celebrated all kinds of different holidays, and not one of them celebrated all of them. Some cultures had a midwinter festival. Some didn't. Not all of them had the same focus - what a Northern culture celebrates is unlikely to be the same as a Mediterranean one.

The modern eclectic neo-pagan 'Wheel of the Year' is not ancient. It is a calendar created specifically for Wicca, and thus can only be dated back to the founding of Wicca some 60-70 years ago. Not many people seem to know or understand that.

You also have to take into consideration that when pagan cultures converted to Christianity, Christianity didn't 'steal' holidays from the pagans. What you had instead were people who found ways to continue their cultural celebrations and holidays within the bounds of their new religion - they themselves reinterpreted their holidays within a new context. To suggest that Christianity was trying to take from Paganism is essentially trying to say that people were stealing their own holidays from themselves. It doesn't make a lot of sense.

That is the one thing I seem to have to tell my mother over and over again. Everytime the topic comes up, she'll say something about them stealing it, in which I tell her basically what you said above. Just not in so many words. I'm positive that my mom has short-term memory loss, which is probably why I have to keep reminding her of that.

As to Erisi's paper. You should definitely include some of the defining factors that separate Wicca from other forms of Paganism, particularly initiation and focus on fertility vs. solitary and nature-oriented. I wish I'd known some of this stuff sooner, myself. Of course, I was the one who didn't look hard enough. Maybe I couldn't see it until I was truly ready to accept it. It all seems so silly, now. ^^; It feels like a lifetime ago, when it was really only short months ago when I began the transition from what I thought to what I know, now.

It's comforting to know I wasn't alone in this error. Still, it's pretty embarrassing to think I blocked out the obvious, before.