So, how many Pagans do we ACTUALLY have here?

[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)

I went lookin' online and found there is some debate and confusion over the name's root, so I'd be intrigued to get your take on it.

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)