Are wiccans considered witches?

[nightshroud]

This has been floating in my head - I always thought wiccans and witches were the same.
Are they? I'm confused because they practice witchcraft.
Can anyone tell me?

[The Judge]

I answered this in your introduction thread but I'll put it here as well.

Wiccan's are not all Witches nor all Witches Wiccan. Wicca is a religious belief system and Witchcraft is a craft.

Look around the forum a bit, you'll find all sorts of witches here. Most are Wiccan as that is who this forum is geared towards, however, there are others. I, for one, am an Asatru Witch. (Though it feels weird to say it that way lol) I can't speak for the other members on their personal beliefs or if they are practicing witches or simply Pagans of a different cloth looking for information and guidance in their own faiths. If you have any further questions about it, please let me know. I'll try to clarify further if it is needed.

[nightshroud]

Yeah, I'm sorry for asking the same thing twice.... *facepalms*

[The Judge]

No, it's all good. This was the place to ask anyway, that way if someone else has the same question they can find it here.

[Bychan Wulf]

You can take a look here: https://www.google.ro/amp/listverse.com ... wicca/amp/
I used this a while ago in a project, to give people an idea of what Wicca actually means.

Like the Judge said, there are all kind of pagans and witches here. Some practice both, while some only practice one of it.

There are several types of witches. The most common is the wiccan witchcraft, but all religions and all types of paganism have their own way of practicing witchcraft.
There are witches who mix the conventional religion with the craft (like a christian witch), different pagan beliefs (like a celtic witch or an egyptian witch), the God/Goddess they believe in (dianic, gaian), witches that label themselves after the place they practice ( broom-closet, garden or kitchen witch) and the type of magic they practice (black, white, grey magic.....my advice: go with the white). There are also some that try to find a balance between more types of witchcraft and are called eclectic witches.
And some witches also mix all of the above. For example, I am a gaian white eclectic broom-closet witch.

[TwilightDancer]

And then there's me. I don't even use the term Eclectic anymore. I'm just a witch. I don't want to label myself anything else, It feels confining.

[SpiritTalker]

Wicca is a religion. Witchcraft is secular. A witch does witchcraft.

[nightshroud]

So yes or no?

[SpiritTalker]

Night shroud, your second question sort of irked me at first because people explained, but I figure maybe you didn't understand what has already been said. Short form, yes a Wiccan can also be a witch, but does not have to be. It depends on how the speaker is using the words.

[nightshroud]

Okay, thank you all, may the horned one watch over you today.

[nightshroud]

Night shroud, your second question sort of irked me at first because people explained, but I figure maybe you didn't understand what has already been said. Short form, yes a Wiccan can also be a witch, but does not have to bskiT depends on how the speaker is using the words.k.

Well yeah I noticed that, so my apologies if it did I had a lot on my mind.

I had forgot.

[Lord_of_Nightmares]

All Wiccans are supposed to be witches. But not all witches are Wiccans.

[Newbiewitch94]

I'm both a wiccan and a witch
However while a lot of wiccans walk the white witch craft path I choose to walk what I call the shadow path. By this I mean I use the light and the dark in equal balance whenever needed. This doesn't mean I go around cursing people but it also means if I need to protect my loved ones from someone and I've tried all other options I'm not above using the dark to protect. This is down to my belief that even nature is both light and dark in equal balance loving and cruel at the same time. It does come with challenges though as I have to honour acknowledge and some times tap into the darkness within me it does however mean that I don't fear the dark side of magick as such.

[Shekinah]

I join in with local Wiccans for open circle rituals as Wicca often incorporates open social gatherings. Except for the Wicca Coven circle. I am a Witch and find a solitary circle is far more magickal, powerful and intimately connected to the realm of Spirit. When a circle includes others seldom are all on the same page and it only takes one discordant individual to attenuate the energy. I find it not true that there is more power in numbers. In a solitary circle I enjoy more vivid encounters with other worldly realms and magic is more likely to materialize. Witchcraft is a very personal way of life and degrees of accomplishment is not to be talked about. That be my humble opinion. Lots of Wiccans eventually drift away from the chicanery of ancient Greek/Roman religious ritual and social gatherings more prevalent in Wicca into the more serious, more ancient fundamental way of life of the solitary Witch.