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Wicca is the best known of all Pagan paths. Beginning in the 1950s with Gerald Gardner, publishers realized that there was a good market for books about Wicca. In this article I will be discussing the basic differences in Paganism (general) and Wicca.
Wicca is a type of Paganism/Wicca falls under the umbrella term 'Paganism'.
Wicca is a type of NeoPaganism. It combines Eastern mysticism, various Western magical systems, and known and speculated beliefs of the pre-Christian peoples. Wicca is a very specific path in Paganism, but because of the variety of inaccurate books published it has become synonymous with Paganism in some circles.
Not all Pagans are Wiccan, but all Wiccans are Pagan.
Traditional Wicca was initiation only.
This is not elitist, as some have claimed. A Mystery Tradition, British Traditional Wicca (Gardnerian, Alexandrian), initiation was a requirement. It aligned the initiate with the group's energy and allowed them privy to knowledge that was once secret. Much supposedly 'oathbound' material has been revealed, but much still has been kept secret by specific traditions. Some Wiccans, traditional usually, feel that the term Wicca only applies to those formally initiated into a coven.
Self-initiation and dedication is now often seen as valid.
However, other Pagan paths may not have any sort of initiation. They may not be descended from a Mystery Tradition or they may be focused on large group worship as opposed to the small coven or solitary Wiccan. Druids, for example, are group-oriented (large group, community, tribe), while Wiccans focus on their covens, which usually do not exceed 13-15 people in number.
Wicca is fertility-based and focused on polarity.
Wicca is focused on male-female polarity and balance and the fertility, creativity, and life that comes from the interplay of these energies. Other Pagan paths may only honor the God, or the Goddess, or may honor homoerotic deities. Some paths, while focusing on balance, reject polarity. Not all Paganism is fertility-based: some is ecstatic, mystic, and some Pagans may be celibate or abstain from sex for sexual reasons. Sex and the creative energy from it features strongly in Wiccan traditions.
(Some may say that paths only honoring the God or Goddess are still Wiccan, but I find that accepting those as Wiccan muddies already unclear waters. A path that only honors one part of the God/dess, rather than a group of wo/men within another group/connected to another group, is different from Wicca.)
Soft polytheism (the God and Goddess)
While Wicca honors the God and Goddess, other Pagan paths reject that all gods are one god or all goddesses one goddesses. Some do not believe in any deity, some believe all deities are individual and not connected, others take a historic view of the deities. Wicca is a form of soft polytheism in which gods are differentiated but still retain the same source: a) God and Goddess, or b)the All, from which the God and Goddess (and all other deities) manifest from.
Seasonal cycles and turning of the wheel.
While the eight Sabbats are used by many Pagans, some following Egyptian, Greek, Roman, etc paths may use a different calendar of holy days. The Sabbats are popular because many people are able to get them as holidays off from work or school now, but Wiccan holy days are just one of a variety of ways of understanding how our world changes. The myth associated with the eight Sabbats in Wiccan is specific to Wicca: other Pagan paths have very different stories, though Wiccans may use mythology from around the world to understand the Sabbats.
Paganism is an umbrella term.
There is still a lot of debate how the term Pagan should be used in todays society. Isaac Bonewits broke Paganism into three categories: Paleopaganism (that of our ancestors), Mesopaganism (verifiable Pagan practices that survived and blended with Christianity during conversion), and Neopaganism (revival and reconstructionist movements, Wicca, core shamanism, etc). It is best described as a blanket term for indigenous spiritualities, New Age spiritualities, and spiritual paths basing their practice and faith on Pre-Christian practices. It has been described as any faith that is not Jewish, Christian, or Muslim.
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I hope this article helped you better understand the differences between Wicca and Paganism.
Wicca is a type of Paganism/Wicca falls under the umbrella term 'Paganism'.
Wicca is a type of NeoPaganism. It combines Eastern mysticism, various Western magical systems, and known and speculated beliefs of the pre-Christian peoples. Wicca is a very specific path in Paganism, but because of the variety of inaccurate books published it has become synonymous with Paganism in some circles.
Not all Pagans are Wiccan, but all Wiccans are Pagan.
Traditional Wicca was initiation only.
This is not elitist, as some have claimed. A Mystery Tradition, British Traditional Wicca (Gardnerian, Alexandrian), initiation was a requirement. It aligned the initiate with the group's energy and allowed them privy to knowledge that was once secret. Much supposedly 'oathbound' material has been revealed, but much still has been kept secret by specific traditions. Some Wiccans, traditional usually, feel that the term Wicca only applies to those formally initiated into a coven.
Self-initiation and dedication is now often seen as valid.
However, other Pagan paths may not have any sort of initiation. They may not be descended from a Mystery Tradition or they may be focused on large group worship as opposed to the small coven or solitary Wiccan. Druids, for example, are group-oriented (large group, community, tribe), while Wiccans focus on their covens, which usually do not exceed 13-15 people in number.
Wicca is fertility-based and focused on polarity.
Wicca is focused on male-female polarity and balance and the fertility, creativity, and life that comes from the interplay of these energies. Other Pagan paths may only honor the God, or the Goddess, or may honor homoerotic deities. Some paths, while focusing on balance, reject polarity. Not all Paganism is fertility-based: some is ecstatic, mystic, and some Pagans may be celibate or abstain from sex for sexual reasons. Sex and the creative energy from it features strongly in Wiccan traditions.
(Some may say that paths only honoring the God or Goddess are still Wiccan, but I find that accepting those as Wiccan muddies already unclear waters. A path that only honors one part of the God/dess, rather than a group of wo/men within another group/connected to another group, is different from Wicca.)
Soft polytheism (the God and Goddess)
While Wicca honors the God and Goddess, other Pagan paths reject that all gods are one god or all goddesses one goddesses. Some do not believe in any deity, some believe all deities are individual and not connected, others take a historic view of the deities. Wicca is a form of soft polytheism in which gods are differentiated but still retain the same source: a) God and Goddess, or b)the All, from which the God and Goddess (and all other deities) manifest from.
Seasonal cycles and turning of the wheel.
While the eight Sabbats are used by many Pagans, some following Egyptian, Greek, Roman, etc paths may use a different calendar of holy days. The Sabbats are popular because many people are able to get them as holidays off from work or school now, but Wiccan holy days are just one of a variety of ways of understanding how our world changes. The myth associated with the eight Sabbats in Wiccan is specific to Wicca: other Pagan paths have very different stories, though Wiccans may use mythology from around the world to understand the Sabbats.
Paganism is an umbrella term.
There is still a lot of debate how the term Pagan should be used in todays society. Isaac Bonewits broke Paganism into three categories: Paleopaganism (that of our ancestors), Mesopaganism (verifiable Pagan practices that survived and blended with Christianity during conversion), and Neopaganism (revival and reconstructionist movements, Wicca, core shamanism, etc). It is best described as a blanket term for indigenous spiritualities, New Age spiritualities, and spiritual paths basing their practice and faith on Pre-Christian practices. It has been described as any faith that is not Jewish, Christian, or Muslim.
*
I hope this article helped you better understand the differences between Wicca and Paganism.
) a definate eye-opener for me 