{"id":3310,"date":"2014-03-03T18:08:05","date_gmt":"2014-03-04T01:08:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/panmankey\/?p=3310"},"modified":"2014-03-04T07:36:53","modified_gmt":"2014-03-04T14:36:53","slug":"wiccanate-i-think-not","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/panmankey\/2014\/03\/wiccanate-i-think-not\/","title":{"rendered":"Wiccanate? I Think Not."},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\"\"<\/a>I run an open, local, public, Pagan group, and as such I try to be as friendly as possible during our \u201cgather time\u201d before rituals. This past Imbolc I was making the rounds and saying hello to everyone when I noticed a newcomer. I slowly made my way over to her and eventually she met my gaze.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cHi, I\u2019m Jason,\u201d I said. \u201cIt\u2019s nice to have you here with us tonight.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m Laura\u201d she replied, \u201cI\u2019m so glad to have found a an open Pagan circle to do ritual with.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re glad to have you. Do you follow any specific Pagan path?\u201d It\u2019s a question I ask most newcomers, since we want to be inclusive.<\/p>\n

She nodded and said \u201cI\u2019m a Wiccanate.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s great\u201d I said with a big smile on my face, \u201cbecause most of our rituals are Wiccanate . . . . .\u201d<\/p>\n

Of course that conversation never really happened because I don\u2019t know of anyone who calls themselves a \u201cWiccanate\u201d or describes their faith as \u201cWiccanate.\u201d Perhaps I live a sheltered Pagan existence, but until the last couple of weeks I had never heard the term before. I\u2019m familiar with the terms \u201cWicca\u201d and \u201cWiccan,\u201d I\u2019ve even come across the word \u201cWitta\u201d before, but never Wiccanate.<\/p>\n

Apparently it\u2019s being used in the ongoing discussions<\/a> about Wiccan<\/a><\/strong> Privilege<\/em> and is meant to signify those who aren\u2019t in a recognized Wiccan Tradition but call themselves Wiccans. Strange . . . . for the past two years I\u2019ve been reading a great deal from people who used to think of themselves as Pagans but now want to be called something else. That\u2019s cool, so when did anyone ask to be called a \u201cWiccanate?\u201d<\/p>\n

Before we proceed I acknowledge that Wiccan Privilege is an on-going problem within Modern Paganism. Pagan and Wicca are used far too interchangeably and books about \u201cGeneric Paganism\u201d are often simply providing bare-bones Wiccan-type ritual structure. Pagan-pride days are often (but not always) dominated by Wiccan groups, and the programming at many large Pagan festivals tends to be Wicca-centric, but that\u2019s changing. The presence of non-Wiccan Pagans has been on the upswing at a lot of Pagan events, and many of the best (and also some of the loudest) voices in the Pagan Blogosphere belong to folks outside of Wiccan traditions. Look around Patheos Pagan, Wicca is simply another Pagan tradition in an online sea full of diversity here. The Wild Hunt<\/a> has always included non-Wiccan news and voices. There\u2019s certainly still a bias and people who self-identify as Wiccan are still a majority within Modern Paganism (especially in the English speaking world), but that\u2019s changing. I think it\u2019s also something that many of us are trying harder to be conscious of on a daily basis, we can do better, I can do better, and I think that many of us are.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>I understand wanting to make a distinction between the Wicca written about in books and Traditional Wicca via initiatory traditions. They can be very different beasts, however one is not better than the other, and there\u2019s no reason to insult anyone whose introduction to Wicca came from a Llewellyn book. Initiatory<\/em> or Traditional<\/em> are pretty good words for describing a particular branch of the Wiccan tree, terms like General<\/em>, Eclectic<\/em>, and perhaps even Non-Denominational<\/em> also get the point across. I haven\u2019t even gotten to the most descriptive terms yet; words like Gardnerian, Dianic, Alexandrian, and Odyssean. All of those terms say plenty. I don\u2019t see why anyone needs to use the term \u201cWiccanate\u201d as a descriptor. (If the changing definition of the term Wicca bothers you, how about blaming the publishers who put it in on the front of their books, instead of the people who bought those books. If you own fifteen books with \u201cWicca\u201d on the spine you probably feel as if you are a Wiccan.)<\/p>\n

I think there\u2019s often an unnecessary dismissal directed at anyone who practices General Wicca (look, there\u2019s another term) and it\u2019s completely unwarranted. Some of the finest Priests, Priestess, and people I\u2019ve ever met practice Wicca sans tradition, and I say that as an initiate. What they do is both different from what I do in my own tradition, yet also familiar. On a similar note, the things practiced in other Initiatory Traditions are that way too, both familiar yet different. That\u2019s why there are lots of traditions, so people can find the thing that calls to them. Whether that comes from a clandestine coven or a book ordered from Amazon is of no consequence to me, only the sincerity of the practitioner. (And for the record, I have met some very serious Wiccans whose only lessons have come from books and life, and some less than impressive Trad-Wiccans who have studied with amazing teachers.)<\/p>\n

So yes, let\u2019s continue to call out General Paganism when it gets a little too Wiccan-centric. The Pagan Universe does not revolve around four quarters, a circle, Gerald Gardner and a cloud of dust. My Pagan table always has plenty of room for any interested in breaking bread or bacon* with me, and always will. I have friends involved in Hellenic Paganism, Druidry, Voodoo, Norse Traditions, Thelema, and all kinds of other things. Heck, I even practice a few different traditions myself. Perhaps \u201cWiccanate\u201d was not meant to slander, but until I meet someone using that term to describe themselves, I will continue to think it sounds dismissive and uncomplimentary.<\/p>\n

*I don\u2019t eat it myself, just trying to help the gluten-free and Paleo crowd.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I have met all sorts of Wiccans and have even read a book with the word “Witta” in the title. What I’ve never come across is anyone describing themselves as “Wiccanate.” <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":493,"featured_media":3316,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[788,792,400,402,403,93],"class_list":["post-3310","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-pagan","tag-paganism","tag-privilege","tag-traditional-wicca","tag-wiccanate","tag-witchcraft"],"yoast_head":"\nWiccanate? I Think Not.<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"I have met all sorts of Wiccans and have even read a book with the word "Witta" in the title. 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