Who Counts As Wiccan?

You know that person at the party who is constantly correcting people’s grammar and word usage? “Actually, the plural of octopus is octopuses, not octopi. Octopi came from an incorrect assumption that the word octopus derived from a second declension Latin noun, when in fact it derived from a Latinization of a Greek third-declension masculine noun.” That person sucks. You people who are going around saying 90% of the books in any used book store don’t use the word Wicca correctly? You’re that guy. Cut it out. You’re making a fool of yourself, and it’s annoying to have to go around after you at parties and on the internet apologizing for you.

Languages change over time. They change because people begin to use words differently. That’s okay. We have lots of words to separate different kinds of witches: traditional, initiatory, British, Central Valley, eclectic. The concept of different kinds of witches isn’t going to disappear just because you let go of one word. Society at large now accepts wicca to mean anyone with a pointy hat and a broom who initiated themselves by smacking a rubber chicken on their forehead during the full moon. Get over it. Accept it. Let’s move on.