Pagan and Witch.

I am a witch, but not a Wiccian or a Pagan. For me Wicca and Paganism are religions and I do not choose to adhere to any religions rules or any moral, ethical rules but my own and those are for the most part pretty high. You will find as many answers and you will find people because one of the great things about witchcraft and Wicca along with most of the pagan religions is that each person follows the path that is best suited for them. Sometimes they adhere to very strict rules and policies and sometimes they only take the basics from one or more variations. The best way to learn is to ask questions and take what you learn from there.

Actually the modern term "PAGAN" has been defined by Western societies rather broadly in order to encompass all of the religions outside the Abrahamic monotheistic group of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. However, the Western perspective is tributary to the American and British conceptualizations that severelly resume paganism to several religious beliefs connected to its cultural umbrella. For instance, most North Americans reffers at "paganism" pointing out just a few denominations (Witch groups, Wicca, Neopaganism :p etc) while eliminating a myriad of polytheistic, spiritualist, animistic or shamanic religious beliefs world-wide. Although many are opened to public, some of them are mystery religions, initiatory orders, passed from initiate to initiate, like the Eleusinian Mysteries. In the case of Europe, the edict of Theodosius I in 394 that made paganism illegal in all territories of the Roman Empire, let such religions survive only in remote areas. Holly Inquisition played also an important role in destroying alternative beliefs to Christianty. Religious wars did the same in the Islamic world. According to the Abrahamic religions systems of values, Hinduism and Buddhism are considered PAGAN.

Pagans and Witches are not the same, and Wiccan are not actually witches, some do call themselves witches, but most of them just see it as being one with the natural elements. My boyfriend's mother is a Wiccan and yes, she does practice some spells sometimes, but it is not what people think that it is. A lot of times its a lot like prayer, but in a different way.

As its been mentioned "Pagan" is a blanket term much like "Christianity" is...I am Pagan AND a Witch but I'm NOT Wiccan which is a more modern path..Why were Witches burned back in the day? It was basically a way for the Church to attempt to force conformity really...A control thing I guess you could say...As for practices..well in all honesty it varies from person to person really.. A couple of good places to get info would be Witchvox (I dont have the addy on hand though sorry) and http://www.religioustolerance.org/index.htm which is a great site IMO

Paganism is an umbrella term, used to describe quite a large number of different religions or spiritual paths. basically, the common factor is that they honour the creative forces of nature, either as Gods or as just nature. and/or the spirits of the ancestors. Witchcraft is the practice of Folk Magic. it is practiced mostly by Pagans, but also be followers of many other religions, or those of no religion at all. a lot of the history surrounding Witch trials has been vastly exaggerated. and as said already, they were hung. Germany and Scotland used burning, but that was mostly for heresy rather than Witchcraft. in many situations, actual practice of Witchraft would go unpunished, it was when disputes between neighbours arose that the accusation of Witchcraft would be falsely used.

Yes the witches were burnt and drowned. You know why? Because they were not witches!! Most of the time the husband just wanted another wife. Cause if these so called witches were truly witches, they would have easily survived! After they drowned the witch, they were sad. Oh my, she was not a witch, she drowned... But then it was too late! I am grateful we don't live in those days. Take care.

I always thought pagans were those who believed in many gods, like the ancient Romans, Greeks, and the Norse and the Brahmans of today. But if the person is a Wicca, they get very very angry if you mention that they are pagans, and very very angry if you mention that they are not. I know in the Bible, it says "thou shalt not suffer a witch to live' and that includes fortune tellers, mediums, etc. As for the witches burnt in Europe and those executed in early America, I heard that some were suffering from mental illness, and they were thought to be witches. Some were killed because they were too beautiful, had some land the other person wanted (trumped up charges) and some were actual denizens of Satan, and some were what you would call herbalists. I do know that some go into the woods, and worship nature, and some love animals more than people, but other than the movies, and what I heard, I do not know anything about them. Other then I do not like environmentalists who worship the creature more then the creator. Oh if a certain party whose name starts with R and ends with N, decides to copy part of what I wrote I will take that to mean bitter sarcasm and she is making fun of me. I am not feeling rather upset right now and a bit on the blue side.

This has been an interesting conversation. Thanks, I learned a LOT!

is this truth??? because we use Witch If I Say Someone Monster.

I'm a Witch, though not Wiccan. I tend to use the term Pagan when explaining my actual religion to people, as it is an easily understood term. I'm not really Pagan though. :) The initial burning and defiling of witches actually had nothing to do with them being witches, it was an easy excuse for their subjugation of anything female or feminine. That's also where we get a lot of our terminology and regard for the feminine race. Women have always been a mystery to men, and in many cases, the first reaction to anything unknown is fear. It was a complete bastardization of the Christian religion and what it stands for. Later, it was more a case against what many believed as evil, a mass hallucination as it were. Once again though, it stemmed from fear and misguided people...many of whom were lead by the texts from earlier periods. For many, it was an opportunity to remove an obstacle to getting whatever it was they wanted. Greed has always been the highest motivation of man. You can truly see this later in the Salem witchtrials. That all started due to greed. Men who were tired of their shrew of a wife, or a woman unable to bear children, used the ready made excuse the church gave them. Divorce was not yet sanctioned, so when the easy out appeared, many took it. Land was also a source of false accusations. I could write on this topic for days, but I'll stop now. Hope this helps! :)

Because back in the day magic and witches and all things of that sort were considered works of the devil by most christian or catholic religions. It just shows how English people treat people that are different then their normality that they are used to.

Bet there were many different answers to the same question. It always works that way. Here's the thing, what I'm going to type is only MY take on it. To be Pagan means you are outside the Christian, Jewish, or other "Main" religious faiths. To be Wiccan is a religious faith that like christianity had subsets. (that can be argued but would confuse things) To be a Witch normally means you are of a nature based pagan faith. You can be Wiccan but there are rites that must be met under that faith. I am an eclectic pagan or witch. I follow a nature based faith that takes bits from other faiths and allows me to practice peacefully. The reasons "witches" were burned were for the same reason Jews were killed by Hitler. Because Humans are jerks who destroy what they don't like or don't understand. I know that's simply put but again it's just my take on it. People don't understand something, and they get scared. Or they use other peoples fear to get power and raise their own cause up.

i'm a pagan/witch.. i have been since i was 13.. if you'd like to know more about paganism there are a bunch of websites you can look @ www.witchvox.com also try the author raymond buckland & silver ravenwolf.. : )

A pagan is anyone who follows an earth based religion, witchcraft or Wicca (one of its many names) is a branch of paganism. Someone once told me all witches are pagan but not all pagans are witches. Take Christianity for example, there are many branches of Christianity from Baptists to Methodists, Catholics etc. Paganism is much like that in that it is an umbrella term for many different belief systems. A pagan can be a Wiccan, a Druid, a Native American Spiritualist or any number of other pagan paths. The Burning Times, the time when people were accused of and burnt as witches, was when Christians burnt those who were thought to be witches at the stake because the Bible says "Do not suffer a witch to live." Most of the time the people who were burnt as witches were not. All it took in those days was to be accused. You can be accused over anything from someone not liking you, you got the man they desired whatever. Some women were also burnt because they were intelligent. Women weren't thought of as anything more than proprety so any woman who had a mind of her own or practiced herbal medicine was automatically a witch. In America, the SAlem Witch trials are perhaps the most famous of these witch hunts. Books were even published on how to find a witch. Many of the reasons witches were hated so was because they were thought by the Christians to be in league with the devil. Though to those who practice witchcraft this is an absurd idea because they don't believe in the devil.