pagan.
Pagans (including Wiccans, which is a denomination of Paganism) sometimes also refer to themselves at “witches”. This can really intimidate or scare Christians, as they imagine witches as being evil or cruel as history portrays them. This is absolutely not true, and is only a stereotype. Many Wiccans are reclaiming the word ‘witch’ as a word of power, believing that this word has been unfairly maligned. There are people who use the term ‘witch’ who follow a spiritual/religious/ethical path, but who are not specifically Wiccan.
The most common symbol for paganism is the pentacle. Pagans use this symbol much like Christians use a cross or crucifix. Unfortunately, this symbol is also one of the most misunderstood! What the pentacle symbolizes to pagans is the four elements of Earth, Air, Fire, and Water, and the point at the top symbolizes Spirit, which is in everything around us. The circle around the 5 pointed star represents unity. While the pentacle HAS been used in Satanism, Satanists use the pentacle with the point facing DOWN. Pagans never use the pentacle in this manner…the point is always up! (See more information about this in the What we are NOT section.
Pagans generally celebrate 8 “sabbats”” (or holidays!) a year. These are covered more extenstively in our Holidays section. We also celebrate 12 “esbats” a year as well. An esbat is a celebration of the moon, usually when full. We celebrate the moon, because it is a symbol of the Goddess, and it carries her power with it.
Pagans also have “alters”, but these are not evil, archaic things. These are usually a simple table or stand where we place our important magickal items, such as incense, a chalice (which represents the goddess), an Athame (dagger)