Paganism: Misconception and Truths

Alisha Green

The terms Paganism and Wicca are often confused. Paganism is a very general term which incorporates many different beliefs and caters to the individual. Paganism can include any number of belief systems from around the world, including Shamanism, Druidism, and Egyptology. Wicca has specific traditions and guidelines. Someone can be Pagan and Wiccan, but someone who is Pagan is not necessarily Wiccan.

Paganism is the equivalent of Satanism. False. At various periods throughout history Satan was depicted as being similar to Pan, an important Pagan god, which leads to many misconceptions.  

The place where Pagan or Wiccan rituals are practiced depends on personal preference and the availability of such a place. Most people who have an apartment or house make a room into a sacred space for meditation and rituals. Finding a place in nature is preferable, but often difficult in places with many people around. The sacred space is purified, usually with incense to cleanse away negative energy. Those who follow traditional witchcraft use a broom and some use sound to cleanse the room as well.

Pagans and Wiccans may also choose to practice in a group or alone. A coven is a group of people who practice religion, while a solitary is someone who has their own traditions and guidelines which they do not share with a group.

Some of the most important rituals include Sabbats and Esbat, which occurs on full moons. Four of the Sabbats occur on quarter moons, and another four occur on cross-quarters, or solstices and equinoxes, and often coincide with the changing of seasons. The Pagan and Wiccan New Year, called Samhain, falls on Halloween.

The only holiday that literally involves sex is Hieros Gamos, or the Great Marriage, which is for people who are further on in life and usually married or engaged. 

“They use it to show significance in the eyes of the deities, that they are bonded together,” said anthropology freshman Erica Nicholas.

Contrary to what some believe about Paganism, sex is not an element in many rituals or holidays. 

“A lot of people have a tendency to think that all Pagan rituals are like that, but that’s just not true. That is the only one that is literally sex,” said geological sciences and archaeology freshman Nancy Svinicki.

There are also stereotypes about the magic that is used. Pagans only use magic that helps others. For negative magic there is the “Rule of Three,” stating that any negative magic used against someone else will come back threefold on the person who cast the magic.

“A misconception is that we sacrifice animals, we sacrifice babies…. We don’t do any of those things. We are a nature based religion; if anything we value life above all else,” said Svinicki.

There are many different visions within Paganism of how the earth and life began, and as far as what happens after death they generally believe that there is not a hell.

“A lot of Wiccans believe in Summerland, which is basically like heaven, and you go there and you see your relatives and your family and your friends for a period of time and then you reincarnate,” said Nicholas.

Along with a belief in reincarnation there is a focus on the balance of positive and negative energies.

“It’s a constant cycle of life, death, and rebirth, and that’s what a lot of people fail to realize about Paganism and Wicca, is that with death there is also rebirth. So it's acceptable to have these dark energies as long as it's balanced by the good energy,” said Svinicki. 

The Wiccan Rede, which many Pagans also follow, is “Harm none.  Do what you will.” A common saying is “We are one.”  They believe that everyone is one being and all souls are connected to one another, which means that there is a great respect for nature. 

“There’s a lot of emphasis on caring for nature and caring for the earth,” said Svinicki. 

Pagans believe that people should care more about nature.  They believe in embracing nature, enjoying it and taking care of it.

“A lot of pagans are environmentalists,” said Nicholas. 

There are many gods and goddesses, but each is a part of one god or goddess, both of which make up one soul for which there is no name. The relationship with the gods and goddesses is highly personal. Each person chooses which deities to follow, or the deities choose them, and people may switch deities throughout their life.

 “It’s a lifelong journey finding which deities you want to follow,” said Svinicki.

Wiccans tend to have a specific set of tools for rituals.  There is always a god and goddess symbol. The main objects used are the wand, athame (a ritual dagger), a chalice which represents the feminine energies and is typically filled with water or wine, an offering plate, a pentacle, and chords tied around the waist that signify the level the person is at. The main elements always represented are air, fire, earth, and water.

“Everyone’s rituals are a little bit different.  Everyone does what they feel comfortable with,” said Svinicki.

There is no one book that all Pagans or Wiccans use or refer to, but Scott Cunningham is the author of two books that many solitaries use, and “Rocking the Goddess: Campus Wicca for the Student Practitioner” by Anthony Paige is also popular. It is recommended that beginners of Paganism or Wicca read a book with more cultural than religious significance.

Unlike some of the main religions, Paganism and Wicca have a tendency to focus on a female divinity rather than one that is male.

“We’d like to think that it is completely equal, but it is a very female dominated religion because a lot of monotheistic religions today are more often masculine … this is the only spirituality that’s feminine based, that’s actually matriarchal,” said Svinicki. “There’s more of a revival now in the past 10 years of men in Wicca and finding the god in Paganism, especially, and that’s become a big revival in the past five or 10 years.”

Pagans are generally tolerant and accepting of issues that may be more controversial in other religions. 

“There are a lot of gay people in the pagan and Wiccan communities, but a lot of Pagans and Wiccans see the soul as not having a gender, and that’s why it’s accepted,” said Nicholas.

Abortion is also generally less of a divisive issue.

“I would say that the prevailing opinion is that abortion itself is regrettable, but that a person’s choice and choosing abortion should not be governed over. So are pagans pro-abortion?  No. But are they pro-choice? Generally, yes,” said civil engineering junior Gary Cox, Vice President of Green Spiral.

Green Spiral is the Pagan group at MSU. In a relaxed, friendly atmosphere, lecturers come to meetings and the group has many movie, pizza and bowling nights. During lectures, members chime in to ask questions, add comments and debate ideas. Green Spiral is a social group for Pagans, but it is also open to people who do not define themselves as such. Some people who are not Pagan come to the group because they enjoy the activities.

Questions? Comments? Contact Alisha Green at greena11@msu.edu

Who are you: 
What's Your Major: 
What would you like to say:

Thursday, August 14 at 09:22 AM:
Jason from English/Drama wrote:
"I have always been Pagan but I am unclear as to whether I am Wiccan. My rituals are very earth centered and simple, I spend most of the time reading, meditating, doing trance, visualizations, affirmations, magic...simple practices and I dont believe in God-ONLY The Goddess (Unnamed) because she is all that has ever come to me. I dont follow the wheel either but only because I am often sick, I celebrate Halloween and Yule and Autumn Equinox but other than that just my random ritual days/Nights... Perpetually confused!"