Wiccans and Witches, What dont people understand about about the religion, what do they THINK they understand?

People assume that all witches and wiccans are the same.

They're not. There are witches who are non-wiccan. Wicca is a branch of witchcraft created circa 1939 and is one of the very first neo-pagan religions. It is very different than Traditional Witchcraft (aka common historical witchcraft, heathen / pagan witchcraft, or pre-Gardnerian witchcraft).

Wicca and Witchcraft are very versatile paths. You can pattern both to your specific needs, which is why many people are attracted to both.

Not all wiccans practice magic, spellworking, etc. It's your practices and beliefs that make you a real witch--what you're already born with, what's inside you, your intuitions.

As for Fluffies, they are a humiliation to witches and wiccans alike everywhere. We go out of our way to ignore them. Some of us pity them, some of us hate them, and some of us sit and laugh at them. A good way not to get mixed up with them is to avoid anything Silver Ravenwolf and the show Charmed.

I have said it before and I will say it again, I do not believe you are a "fluffy bunny", because you are not pretending and I think you see things pretty clearly.

You have some good answers here.

As far as being pissed off about using the term witch and Wiccan interchangeably I generally don't see it as a problem. Though not all witches are Wiccan, most Wiccans are witches.

When you go to one o the pagan festivals be aware that the real witches will not try to make you look stupid, nor will they assume that you are a fluffy. Real witches will remember that once upon a time they were newbies too. Understanding and knowledge come with time and with time comes wisdom. It is not going to happen overnight. It is my feeling that one day you will be a great witch! What kind I have no idea! But whatever path you chose you will do well. I have been practicing for over 40 years in this life (I have been a witch at least once before) and i do not know it all, not even close, nor do I pretend to know it all. I seriously doubt I will even know it all in my next life!

My advice is to keep your eyes and ears open, do not take anything for granted. There are pretenders everywhere, and many may not even realize it. To me a clue is how tolerant is the person? I see way too many people claiming this path who are no more tolerant than your average Fundie. And frankly some of then scare me!

BB

)O(

Wicca is a branch of Withcraft, That is one of the big problems new comers have .

You can be a Witch and not Wiccan, but you cannot be Wiccan and not be a Witch. People get to caught up in titles anyway.

And people are too quick to call people names. A lot of people called fluffy and simply new comers with out the large store of knowledge they will one day have.

Pretenders are the real problem. Anyone who is truly sincere is always welcome. People forget Witchcraft and Wicca are Religions first and foremost.

Then of course the Science of magick is incorporated, but honestly everything is magickal so it is not a stretch. Witches do not use the Super Natural, we utilize the Natural powers of the G-ds (nature) to help improve our lives and those of whom we care about and love.

No T V Magic

Keep in mind not all Pagans are Witches or Wiccan And follow a totally different form of Paganism

They think they understand Wiccan beliefs about science and magic...and they usually get them DEAD WRONG.

And yuppers, there are people out there using their "Wicca" to make a buck off of newbies and the relatively innocent...it sucks.

I still think the best way is to find a tradition that doesn't charge, doesn't claim to be ancient and encourages you to find lots of source material. Having people who you can ask stuff of is really helpful.

Edit: I don't think naming names of all the people who take advantage of Wiccans is helpful, as a lot of these people view Wicca as their business, and will go to extreme lengths to protect their business. You have to use YOUR TOOLS of discernment. If something sounds too good to be true, it probably is. If a group wants money from you, they are probably MAKING money from people like you. If a group promises you the keys to a kingdom, and can't tell you EXACTLY what they will and won't teach and why, then they're probably lying.

I recommend going to http://www.witchvox.com/xtrads.html and looking there. You can pick out the good groups pretty easily.

I also would steer away from any group that would teach a minor without parental consent, even if you are a minor, since that already shows they lack respect for you and your family. Waiting is never a bad idea for anyone.

For more help, I recommend reading the website http://wicca.timerift.net/ and I also recommend the book Triumph of the Moon by Hutton.

I use Wiccan and Witch together because that is what I AM. So I have to remind myself at times that not all Wiccans are witches and vice versa....But they go together for me. One of my elders is always reminding me that the two are not necessarily glued together. The key to really knowing what or who you are dealing with out in the world is to not speak but listen to the others for awhile before becoming vocal. Really listen to them. You will find that the ones who aren't what you need or are false will reveal it quick when they start talking. And believe me they love the sound of their own voices. The very fact that you are concerned about being a fluffy tells me that you are well on the way of not being one and probably will never be one. A fluffy doesn't want to change while a real practicer of the craft wants to. We want to learn. In the beginning of the learning process we all sound like fluffies. The real test is later when we grow past that point. I don't mind dealing with fluffies. As long as they don't remain fluffy. TO me fluffy is just another word for beginner. Hope this helps.

I use Witch and Wiccan interchangeably a lot. Not because I'm one of the fluffy variety but because by being a Wiccan we tend to change ourselves with or without intentional spell casting. And I knew one guy (in his 30's) who actually believed that at the initiations and elevations people would receive magickal powers and really believed Witches fly on broomsticks. We still joke about the little box of magick powers and that you have to first learn how to fly on a shovel before being granted the power to fly on a broom.

Study and learn as much as possible and don't get stuck in the mind set that the darker side is always bad or negative. We all have our shadow selves that need to be dealt with because life is not all nice and pretty, its also tough and gritty.

I don't think you will ever get away from that word fluffy. There will always be someone who considers you that.

Find a coven of a established tradition to learn from. Stay away from those who read books then make their own tradition and become the High Priest or Priestess. That in and of itself is not wrong and is legitimate, but can be a place of abuse of power.

If you are on the solitary path there are many good authors. Scott Cunningham, Raymond Buckland are my favorite two.

A.J. Drew is also good.

BB

Greetings!

Find a "Tradition", stick with it "Religiously", but keep your Eyes, Ears, and Mind open-and be willing to modify your own Beliefs in the face of Reality.

"Fluffy" only indicates those who "play Witch", not anyone who is sincere about their Path-no matter what anyone says. Wicca and WitchCraft are not immune from Bigotry, Pride, and just plain being Wrong. Those who "play Wicca" are using Powers wrongly, and need to be indentified (not in forums)

I was in a Coven that uses Ceremonial Magick, and when invited to another Groups Ceremony(one that used a different System)little smiles and whispers from behind hands indicated to me, that those who ridicule, are themselves not convinced of the "Correctness" of THEIR Way, even though one of the Maxims of OUR Group, is that, you can not do wrong, if it comes from your Heart.

Christians have the same problem, and many handle it the same; "make fun of others to elevate your position".

Many show True Compassion, and some actually use everything they experience as a Learning Situation.

Will, and Intent are what it`s about. Delivery in Ritual should mirror your intent, and your Will should be Strong and Focused-if you do a booboo, keep going,(without repeating you mistake) if you want to fix it, do it, and be sure that those who are participating, only want you to do well.

/!\

Oh, little lady...... Wicca will get plenty of young adults interested. A lot of the time it is only a passing section, in view that it kind of feels fascinating and specific and in view that ordinarily it is going towards what your mothers and fathers could wish? se... Wicca isnt simply celtic/eire.... there are 'gypsies' arent there? and there's Voodoo and plenty of different varieties. Your Nonna would possibly good have identified a few matters, it's viable... however, all of this Wicca stuff can for a tender man or woman who might not be mature ample, can every now and then, backfire... for what it's valued at.... recognize your mothers and fathers, recognize your background, recognize your self and reside and gain knowledge of. You would possibly discover that afterward you might not be involved in Wicca in any respect. Having mentioned that... particularly a couple of professions have 'roots' in what a few individuals could name Wicca ..for example homeopathy, Wicca isn't all casting of spells etc but additionally the competencies of vegetation ,herbs, the competencies of astrology, astronomy and plenty of different matters. I wish that you just do not forget all matters and particularly... you're younger, love your existence

I don't think Wiccans or witches get pissed about using wicca and witch interchangably, others just don't know the difference, I didn't either at first. It's sad that the media paints such a dark and dumb picture about what being a witch is about. The best thing to do is read, read, read! Learn all that you can before deciding anything. :)