There are lots of idiots out there.

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That's what I always say about you, boz, you have a good memory for random facts about pussy. -- joh3n
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The designer is trying to make a clever point, so the A is intentional, however the reference requires a certain amount of knowledge to get and therefore as a concept to be anything other than smug, it is stupid.

I have a vaguely atheistic t-shirt based on a Divine Comedy song lyric. Front says ' I Believe', rear, 'in the certainty of chance'.


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Pagan is the overall grouping, Wiccans and witches and druids and shamans and... are all parts of that group, but individually distinct in significant or not so significant ways.

Between Wiccan and witch, there are many minor differences but there are three fundamental differences. Keep in mind also that this is based on my own experiences and that there are many, many variations on both Wicca and especially Witches; to be Wiccan is to be a member of a specific religion that has variant branches, while being a Witch means that you've identified yourself as such and other witches generally don't contradict you. Too much. (Pagans in general tend to be opinionated, outspoken, and not dependent on long tradition to guide them - aside from certain family traditions that mostly keep their mouths shut on the details, anyway - so disagreements are common. Generally, however, good-natured and remaining at the level of discussion and agreements to disagree.)

The first is more of a semantic or organizational difference than anything else. Wiccans are members of organized traditions or groves descended from the tradition created by William Gardner around the turn of the 20th century in England. Both Wiccans and Witches practice "magick" through ritual, spellwork, and various other means; magick, at its core, is simply the direct effect of your will on the world. The "power of prayer" is magick. Positive visualization and the techniques associated with it are magick. Wiccans and witches also both believe that most other groups and religions practice magick, whether they call it that or not; a Catholic mass can raise as much energy and be as powerful a ritual as anything I've seen done by any circle. The important point here is that "witchcraft" is practiced by both groups and, within those groups, there's a fairly general belief that most other people do, too. However, Wiccans follow a specific set of religious beliefs based on Gardner's original religion; he based his on his understanding of past practices, and claimed it was based on at least one old family tradition, but it doesn't quite match any of the known family traditions and I personally - without any facts to back it up, mind - believe he was just a smooth talker who wove some basics into a good outline and liked dancing in the woods with naked women. (Gardner's original adherents all practiced skyclad; today it's a mix, some Wiccans and witches do, some don't, some do sometimes.) Witches are self-identified as intentionally practicing magick through ritual, and I'd say better than 90% follow a polytheistic religion that shares a family resemblance to Wicca, but is not in and of itself Wicca. *DISCLAIMER*: I am not Wiccan and my knowledge of the Wiccan religion is based on casual research and much conversation with Wiccans; I may have some of my facts wrong. For example, Wicca states that there are two primary deities, the Goddess and the God, who are known by many names. These gods are omniscient but not omnipotent; they created us but not necessarily the universe, and while they can and do intervene in our lives they generally do so by giving us the power and ability to do those things ourselves. Other witches (and other non-"Witch" pagans, for that matter) may believe in a pantheon or in many small gods, gods of places for example. (Pele, volcano goddess of the Hawaiian islands, is a common example of a place god; she is associate with the Big Island and Kīlauea in particular.) I've known self-identified witches who also identify as Christian; they break with Christianity on the prohibition against witchcraft, arguing that prayer and magick are the same, but worship the same Trinity and so on. There are even a few witches who are atheists, who believe that there is an energy state we access through prayer and magick but that it's simply part of the physical universe; no gods required.

The second is the concept of the threefold law. Both Wiccans and witches follow a sort of "golden rule", known in its most popular form as "the Wiccan Rede". "And it harm none, do as ye will." Both groups generally believe that this rule essentially means that anything you have the power and ability and will to do, you can and should - but only if by doing so you will not bring harm to yourself or anyone else. There are differing levels and limits on that; some are so strict they could be compared to members of the Hindu Jain, who cover their mouths lest they accidently swallow an insect and commit murder, while others believe intention is all that matters and so long as your intent is positive, anything is permitted. For Wiccans, there's a direct measure applied; the threefold law states that anything you send out into the universe energetically (that is, any spell or magick or intent, from ritual to spell work to good or ill wishes for another person) will return to you threefold. Positive or negative. Witches, generally speaking, don't follow that and find it overly simplistic; it implies that you could do something negative but just do three times as many positive things, and hey, you're back in balance. My own belief, which I generally find to be consistent with other witches, is that each act has to be judged on its own for positive or negative effects. That it's impossible to know all the possible ramifications of an action and for that very reason action should be taken carefully and with deliberate intent, deliberate in this case meaning both "with deliberation" and the more common usage. Both wiccans and witches believe life is a cycle, that we live and die and are reborn after some amount of time in another place (commonly called the Summerlands); witches believe that our lives are judged and balanced in a form similar to the Buddhist concept of karma. Positive or negative acts will affect my next life, the effects on this one will come from the direct results of my actions rather than from the gods. Wiccans, with their threefold law, believe that the results of our actions happen in this lifetime, not necessarily immediately but generally in such a way that it's possible to make the connection between cause and effect.

Third is the concept of balance and control. This one's a bit more nebulous. Wiccans believe the natural state of humanity is to be in balance and harmony with nature; harm none applies to all life; and that magick and energy are good or bad in and of themselves. That there can be "bad energy" or "good energy". And that there are actions and tools that are likewise inherently bad or good. Witches, on the other hand, believe that balance is something that will be achieved one way or another, and it's in our best interest to make sure that balance is one that has plenty of room for us in it. Energy is neither good nor evil; it's energy, like electricity, and can be used for any purpose; the use you put it to and your intent determine its value. Tools and actions are also valueless in and of themselves; the purpose you put them to is what determines how positive or negative they are.

A few examples that I've used before to illustrate this difference; both Wiccans and Witches are "green"; both believe the environment is in need of repair, both believe large and small actions are required to achieve it. A Wiccan believes we should do this because that's the natural state of humanity and it's the goal we should all work for; they're likely to act personally by being Vegan, growing their own food, composting and recycling fanatically, etc. A witch believes we should do this because we're all fucked if we don't. They're likely to act by having their own garden, but less likely to be Vegan or vegetarian, although strongly likely to insist on organic and humane products. Composting and recycling, certainly, but only if it makes sense to do so; they're not likely to spend significant resources recycling where it's not worthwhile. Second, there's a tool used in ritual called the Boline, and another called the Athame. An athame is a tool for directing energy. Most witches use a knife, and it's a real, no-shit knife, usually a hand-forged steel blade and a leather or wood (or both) handle, anywhere from a few inches long to a sword. Wiccans are a little more likely to use a wand of wood, or a knife made of wood or stone or some other natural material, and no matter what the knife is made from, it will be dulled and made as safe as possible; it's meant to be a symbol, and only a symbol, and will never be used *as a knife* even if it's the same knife as my athame - an 8" double-edged dagger intentionally kept razor sharp and ready for use. The boline is a utility knife used for any cutting tasks required during ritual, and a Wiccan's ideal boline is a half-circle of metal, sharp on the curved edge and padded on the straight, perfect for cutting or chopping or slicing but clumsy and useless for anything else. A tool for cutting that is as little like a weapon as possible. A witch is less likely to even have a boline at all, using their athame when a blade is required for ritual, and if not (swords are rather awkward for cutting herbs, for example) then using another knife for the purpose.




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Not all. Hinduism spans a large spectrum of belief as its an artificial label used to categorize all the groups in colonial era India that weren't Sikh, Buddhist or Muslim.

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There is no more degenerate kind of state than that in which the richest are supposed to be the best.
Cicero, The Republic
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