Witchcraft v. Wicca

actully he disrespects me all the time, he tells me what i believe is wrong, and tells me im wrong in belieiving how i believe. so im going to treat him how he treats me. but witchcraft and wicca are not the same thing now adays, its like saying gay means happy in present time, if you say "o i feel gay" people would think that you are a homosexual, not that your happy.

I second Stone.

I do understand what your perspective is skii, but when you come across in a disrespectful manner, you won't get very much respect back.
It is always important that we understand the history of such things as Wicca, which is what Brysing was explaining. Very enlightening. I can't say I ever took the time to research it. But I'm pleased that I learned this today!

I will never personally label myself Wiccan because it has dogma and doctrine that I do not agree with. I have met "old school" Wiccans (who were practically Gardnerians) that are totally different than the present day norm of "Wicca". And we agree on most things. So I can definitely believe what Brysing is saying.

I think that now, since Wicca has evolved, it has made an image for itself that many pagans that practise Witchcraft (as Lark puts it) disagree with. And that is why Brysing says they come from the same tree but are different branches. If you had read more carefully skii, you would have noticed that. Brysing never said they are one in the same.

to whiterav3n, im just giving back the respect that brysing gave me.

The phrase "if you feel offended, be the bigger person and don't continue the cycle" comes to mind.


Anyway. To me the entire point is about bringing the past into the present. Magic is getting a "revival" as a valid train of thought or belief.

Witchcraft is considered to be the Skill or the Art of magic, as would any catagory.

We consider the old ways to be redundant, or that they couldn't possibly understand things the way we do now. The truth is the older paths and religions Could understand the universe. They understood the idea of everything comming from a basic pattern, they simply expressed it in other ways.

If you really do research the old ways and examine current scientific theory (especially metaphysics) you can see parallels and even places where the old ways had already shown us things that science is just now proving.

The present doesn't invalidate the path or the past, the present is the place where we can mix the old and new for a better Tomorrow.

You're on a roll with these posts Flagg! Again I totally agree. I love reading a science article that just reinterates and "proves" exactly what magickal circles have been saying for centuries if not milennia. History is crucial in order to understand the present. That's why so many people devote their lives to rediscovering history and creating records of past events and people. Why do we create family trees? To know where we came from! It is very important for many people to know the past. It's very insightful!

And to skii, Brysing always has good intentions. He doesn't write things maliciously. If what he writes is against your opinion, so be it! Say that you disagree, state your reasons and move on. Not everyone agrees with each other. If that was the case this would be a very boring world. But there is no need to be confrontational.

skiing33, I think that both Brysing and I would disagree with you on that. For a fair number of Witches who are not Wiccan the practice of Witchcraft is a religious one and they call their religion Witchcraft. As the old saw goes...

All Wiccans are Witches...but not all Witches are Wiccan. And that's true even in considering Witchcraft from a religious viewpoint.

i actully think it just boils down to what you think. i know some wiccans that do not practice magick, and do not consider themselves witches, and then i know some wiccans who will say that they are witches. and then there are those who say they practice witchcraft and do not consider thmselves wiccans. so it just matters who your talking to. and since theres no set defination for witchcraft, it makes it very confusing.

this might seem weird me defending old ways of doing something even though im only 14 but just because its older dosent mean its not right how could Witchcraft change from relgion to practice with new people going into the religion everyday some people may have started mixing and changing wicca and witchcraft . Maybe some people practice it( witchcraft) as practice but theres still people who practice it as older relgion

and about how he ( brysing) was being rude and correcting you well theres kinda no point in doing it now since your just going to get yelled at

Everyone has their own beliefs but Wicca is a religion, it incorporates the belief of deities. Witchcraft is without the religious aspect or belief in deities, you do not have to believe in the god and goddess (or any gods) to practice witchcraft. Magic is simply the word used for energy. Doing a spell is just releasing energy to do your will for a specific purpose. Wicca and witchcraft in my experience, belief, and from what I've studied, are not the same thing. Its as simple as what I've said above. But again, we all have our own beliefs so...

Thank you so much for posting this! A lot of people I know we argue over this same topic. To me witchcraft is an art, but, Wicca is a religion. Blessed Be!