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Originally posted by DanaC
.......I am curious as to what draws you guys to Paganism? What about it makes sense to you ( or rather why does it make more sense to you than th'other religions/philosphies)?
Also. I am curious how modern Paganism acquired the name "Wicca". I always thought "Wicca" was derived from "Hwicce" ...The Hwicce were Angles who settled what is now East Anglia in the British Isles and gave their name to many places in the form of "Witch" as in Witchwood ( Hwicce wudu)
If ( as conventional historians tend to suggest) the name is derived from Hwicce, I am interested to know why their name has been adopted to describe a particular type of paganism. They were pagans...but they were one kingdom/tribe amongst many and my impression of them has always beenthat they followed a similar creed to the other Germanic tribes ( many of whose royalty tried to claim descent from Wodin ) until more and more of them began to take on Christianity ( 6th century onwards)
So.....if any of you Pagans can shed a little light or give me your impressions of how Wicca developed in the modern context and what the word means/where it came from, I would appreciate it. ( and no I am not being cynical)
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Let's see...where to start? I can only speak for myself, but here goes....
Looking up the definitions of the word, I've always found the words "to bend" or something similar. Maybe the fact that I've looked up Latin or OE may have made a difference. I've also taken both languages, and while I can't really speak them as well as I can read them...aagh...getting off the subject.
Anyway, you'll hear a lot of wiccans say that while all wiccans are pagans, not all pagans are wiccans. Obviously, that's because while all pagans share a similar belief system, for the most part, other pagan religions tend to be pantheistic, whereas wicca tends to have a representative God and Goddess, which are the two aspects of a single being. There may be many aspects to each, but basically it's God/dess.
As far as why I was drawn to Wicca: not only does it make more sense to me, but it also jibes with what I've always believed in the first place. Wicca, and paganism in general, gives one more participation in ritual, emphasizes questioning and responsibility for one's actions, and is very tolerant of other beliefs because it does not believe that there is only one way to Deity. Wicca does not emphasize a fear of a wrathful and ascetic god; on the contrary, we see God/dess as a loving parent figure, who encourages an enjoyment of life and the gifts that we've been given. It doesn't rely on threats of hell to keep it's followers "in line."
I've never believed that Deity is wrathful, jealous, angry, vengeful, or the like. Those are human failings, and if God is perfect, then He would not have human failings.
I also don't believe in asceticism. Why would Deity give us such a wonderful experiential world if it were not meant to be experienced? Rejecting that is like spitting in God's face, IMO.
Most Christian or Christian-derived religions have a satan-figure, a being that is all evil and is forever plotting to tempt mankind into bad behavior. Paganism doesn't use that excuse. Everything, positive and negative, comes from the God/dess, and if you engage in bad behavior, you can't blame it on the devil. You have to take responsibility for your actions.
Also, most Christian/Christian-derived religions don't like questioning. They tell you what to believe, and you're supposed to believe it and not ask why. It's a mystery, they say, or, it's God's will....I think that we were given a brain for a reason--to use. Paganism encourages one to question and explore different avenues of thought.
Paganism also doesn't proselytize. I hate it when people come up to me and tell me I'm going to hell, then try to convert me to the religion that would send me to hell at the drop of a hat.
There is no hell in Paganism. IMO, you don't get your degree right out of kindergarten, therefore, you cannot perfect yourself in one lifetime. You can't experience everything in one lifetime. You don't graduate (go to "heaven") until you pass through all the grades you need to pass through (experience everything you need to experience through however many lifetimes it takes). I think that sending someone to an eternal punishment for a temporal sin is like giving someone the death penalty for a traffic ticket. It doesn't make sense.
So that's MY reasoning. Others may be totally different. Of course, that's the beauty of Paganism--there is no ONE particular path you have to follow; no ONE belief system everyone MUST adhere to, or risk eternal punishment.....
Sidhe