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1.: "Eclectic" VS "Traditional" Wicca - From: gaia_d

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1.: "Eclectic" VS "Traditional" Wicca -

Posted by: "gaia_d" Gaia_D@yahoo.com gaia_d

Tue Aug 2, 2011 1:44 pm (PDT)

Hello Everyone --

Here are two more articles by Callisto, explaining the differences
between what is often referred to as "Solitary-Eclectic Wicca" and
"Traditional Wicca": I hope someone finds this helpful in explaining
the differences.

Eclectic VS. gTraditionalh Wicca:

By Callisto; the originals can be found here:
http://www.wiccantogether.com/forum/topics/solitary-wiccans-are-we-lying\
?page=4&commentId=1070680%3AComment%3A2818205&x=1#1070680Comment2818205
<http://www.wiccantogether.com/forum/topics/solitary-wiccans-are-we-lyin\
g?page=4&commentId=1070680%3AComment%3A2818205&x=1#1070680Comment2818205\
>

The point is that there are two very different religions using the
"Wicca" label. There is original Wicca, which has since come to be
referred to as alternately British Traditional Wicca (BTW) and Trad
Wicca. The second form developed separately and independently of BTW. It
takes aspects of BTW to use as a template upon which the individual is
left to build his own practice. That's commonly referred to as
"Eclectic/Solitary/Neo- Wicca".

BTW and Eclectic are nothing alike. BTW is not a religion in the common
sense of the word. There is no separation between clergy and laity. It
has no laity, it's a religion consisting solely of priests and
priestesses. It IS an organized religion, with definite structure and
purpose. It is the initiatory priesthood of a Mystery religion. To give
you some idea, it's patterned after the temple priesthoods of the
ancient Greeks and Romans. It's not solely about addressing personal
needs and growth, it's a calling and the person is part of something
greater than himself. It's not about saying "I believe...." - that would
make it an orthodox religion like Christianity. Instead, Wicca is an
orthopraxy. Part of being BTW is to honor and to be in service to
specific deities, while maintaining a body of lore and knowledge, and
performing certain rites. It's not just about the individual, the
individual seeking personal enrichment and enlightenment is only a part
of practicing the religion.

Eclectic Wicca is more orthodox in comparison. Eclectics will say "but,
I believe this...". It's also entirely about the individual and his
needs, his pursuit, his connection with his deities. It's self-centric
(meaning about the person, not meant in a derogatory way). Eclectic
Wicca uses basic non-initiatory elements of BTW (e.g., circle casting,
observing sabbats, the Rede) as a template. Individuals decide to what
extent they use those Wiccan elements and add whatever else appeals to
them - they draw on different pantheons, borrow philosophies and rely on
general-witchcraft related practices like herbalism or divination or
astrology to "flesh out" their practices.

The issue is NOT one of validity. Paths can be different yet valid in
their own right. The issue is that the word "Wicca" is not being used
for one religion but almost anything anyone wants to claim is "Wicca".
Eclectic Wicca and BTW are not the same practice. What holds true for
BTW most often does not hold true for Eclectic/Solitary, and vice versa.

Labels/Terminology. There's a tendency to use words interchangeably,
even though they are NOT synonymous. Sometimes it stems from laziness,
other times from lack of knowledge. A result of this is that some
believe they understand what a practice is, but actually don't; or
believe they are practicing something when, in fact, they are not. The
most common example is using "witch" and "Wiccan" interchangeably.
They're not interchangeable because witchcraft is an umbrella term,
under which are several practices, including "Wicca". Yet because
they're used synonymously, newcomers often take up practices thinking
they're "Wicca" when, in actuality, they're engaged in practices
associated with witchcraft in general, or paganism in general. Tarot
reading has nothing to do with being Wiccan, neither does herbalism,
spirit guides, various "believing in... (fill in belief)", rune casting
and so forth.

Different ‚ Not Valid. It means DIFFERENT, i.e., Not the same
thing."Wicca" is a label that is being used by two completely different
paths. Yet newcomers are often under the impression that they are
learning "the" Wiccan religion from books, online courses and websites.
They're not. They're told they can learn "Wicca" on their own. They
can't. They're told "Wicca" is "whatever you want it to be," that "there
is no right or wrong way". Not so. Those things may, and do, hold true
for other paths, like eclectic paganism.

The difference between the two does not boil down to "one is a coven
based practice and the other is solitary", or what the pros & cons are
to working in a group vs. working alone. E.g., personal preference for
solitary or group work is mainly irrelevant in Trad Wicca because the
Trad Wiccan experiences both. These social "what appeals to me" points
people often cited are not close to being key distinctions. They are
different across the board.

Trad Wicca is greater than any one individual member, it's not just
about personal growth but being part of something greater than one's
self. Solitary Wicca is all about, and only about, the individual. It
would not be feasible to yank someone from a solitary practice and drop
them into the middle of a coven. He'd have about as much of an idea of
what's going on as if he'd been dropped in the middle of an aboriginal
ceremony. Trad Wicca and Solitary Wicca are not six of one, half dozen
of the other.

Are both "Wiccans"? Yeah, because the word appears in both names.

Are they practicing the same religion? No.

No one has judged or even cares about judging anyone else's dedication.
I still don't quite understand how pointing out that two practices are
not the same thing somehow gets mutated into being about validity and
whether someone is dedicated.

People need to know that there's a lot of misinformation out there. Some
of it is deliberate piles of crap. Much of it is simply a lack of
knowledge that gets repeated. Then at some point, they learn about the
distinctions and it can be difficult to deal with. But it's better to
know than to not know. It does NOT mean that what they're engaged in is
not valid, rather that it's perhaps not what they thought it was. As a
result, many drop the use of the term, "Wicca" because they don't see it
being a correct term after all, and opt for something that more
accurately describes what they are. Such as Solitary/Eclectic Pagan or
Solitary/Eclectic Witch.

~End articles.

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