Wiccan? Witch? Magaly and Robin Discuss

A few weeks back, Magaly Guerrero, the wonderfully "sexy, dark and bloody" writer at the Pagan Culture blog, and I exchanged an email discussion regarding a commenter on Magaly's blog who was wondering about the difference between being a Witch and being Wiccan....are they one in the same or is Wicca removed from Witchcraft? This discussion between us led to Magaly coming up with a scheme for us to collaborate on a post addressing this question. She suggested we each make a list of 13 things (a Witch's dozen) that describe our Path. We exchanged our lists and are both posting them on our blogs today, along with a compare/contrast summary.  Here is the link to Magaly's blog with her post: Pagan Culture Blog
What do you think? Are Witches and Wiccans the same thing, totally different or a bit of both? 

I now present our Lists, beginning with Magaly:

When a new friend said to me, “I didn’t know you were Wiccan.” I responded that I was not. She gave me a puzzled look and added, “But you just said you were a Witch.”

I smiled, asked her to sit by me, and started a conversation that ended with, “Witch, Wiccan—tomato, potato.” The middle was filled with something that resembled the following list:

1. I am a Witch.

2. I revere Nature and all her creatures.

3. Magic is wild energy that can be twisted and changed.

4. To me, deities are different aspects of Nature.

5. Magic is as benevolent or evil as its intent and outcome.

6. Good invites better and bad summons destruction.

7. Spells are prayers with a flare that makes flesh dance and soul sing.

8. My pentacle is fire, water, earth, air, and spirit dancing together in the circle of life.

9. Darkness is as beautiful, powerful and necessary as light.

10. In my life, sex is physical and spiritual magic.

11. Evil is manmade and man-fed.

12. Spirituality is the garb of the soul.

13. Words have power.

My friend was quiet for a while, and then asked, “What do Wiccans believe?”

It was my turn to stay quiet for a while. I explained that I could tell her what I thought Wiccans believed, but that wouldn’t be true. But a couple of weeks later, I asked my dear friend Robin, from Wiccan Writes, for some help. Here is her answer:

(and this is my list below)

I am happy to have been asked by Magaly to collaborate on this post. I am a solitary practitioner of Wicca. This list reflects my personal path. Other Wiccans may have different views. I consider myself Wiccan and Witch; for me they are one in the same.

1. Honor both God and Goddess.

2. Adherence to the Wiccan Rede: (to paraphrase) Spellwork, rituals and other activities must Harm None; therefore do what you believe in.

3. Three-Fold Law of Return:  Good begets good (three times over) and Bad begets bad (three times over).

4. In rituals/spell work, I use Witch’s tools: wand, besom (broom), cauldron, stones, candles, herbs, incense, altar and more.

5. The Moon and the Sun are symbolic as they represent Goddess and God, respectively.

6. Phases of the Moon are vital to my Path.

7. Celebrating the turning of the Wheel of the Year and 8 respective sabbats (holidays) .

8. Natural magick (directing  Nature‘s energies to effect a change).

9. The Unseen World. There are energies and spirits that may not exist on the human level, but may still be seen, accessed and interacted with by the use of meditation, divination and other methods.

10. Stewardship of our planet and the higher love felt for Mother Earth is a guiding force in my practice.

11. The pentagram is a sacred symbol, the points representing the Four Elements necessary for life and magick: Earth, Air, Fire,Water with the fifth point  representing Spirit.

12. Positive and negative energies influence every aspect of life. I walk on the so-called right hand path, the Light path focusing on positive Work. I do not practice Magick centering around revenge, hatred, violence or manipulation.

13. Wicca is an evolving pagan religion, just as Nature evolves, neither is static; there is always something new to explore even as one keeps Old Ways alive.

And so you can see, in many ways our Lists are very similar. Magaly has such a flare, a rhythm that sets her List a'dancing and a'fire!  We both revere Nature, treasuring all things on this Planet. She embraces Darkness in a way that I don't, not that Darkness is equated with evil, by any means. I prefer to stay mostly in the Light (though I will admit to Dark Moon workings, and a familiarity with the goddess Hecate).  As Magaly says, "Potato, tomato".  Each in our own way celebrate the energies that exist, acknowledge Intent as the key to working magick. We are Witches. My Wiccan Ways enhance my Path, just as Magaly's magical lifestyle enhances hers.  This is my humble opinion.
Magaly is such a dynamic person, her writing reflects her fiery soul and she seizes life by the horns and hangs on! I am thrilled and honored that she wished to collaborate with me!
Be sure to visit Magaly's blog to read what she has to say on this subject. (The link is above)!!