Druidism, Paganism and Wicca
While Wicca has earned a bad reputation over the past years of commercial glamorizing of the different sects, the truth cannot be found in a Hollywood movie, popular television series, or in a best selling novel. While these are great sources of entertainment and may even introduce some small samples of truth, these viewpoints are the fictional ideas of executives who have done no more than perhaps read a book somewhere. This is not to put them down, after all, they are only trying to make a living. And let's face it, Wicca sells! But Wicca is not about chants, spells and curses. Wiccans are not evil. In fact Majik is not evil or good. The way that we use our gifts determines the alignment of our works.
Pagans and Druids are much closer related than most may think. The word Pagan actually stems from the Latin word paganus, meaning "country-dweller" or "villager". This can be traced to the Roman influence on the British Isles, as many of the inhabitants were resistant to conforming to the Roman belief system. "Pagan" eventually became a term for a non-believer in the Christian church, or one who worshiped any other than the Christian God. Thus, Pagan tends to lean towards the oldest of our factions, Druidism. However, although true Pagans were of a similar belief and practiced many of the same rites, they were separate religions.
The Druids were a small number of practicing priests and priestesses who followed their own path rather than that set before them by an influx of other religions being introduced into their society. Shortly after the birth and death of Christ, the persecution of Druids began. Although many Christians and Druids were learning to live in harmony, the few ferverant believers are sometimes more powerful than the many pacifistic followers of any given religion. Thus, it became rather impossible for the different religions to co-exist. Unfortunately, in the long run the Druids were whittled down to a very few. Druids became labeled Pagans as the factions joined forces to keep the ancient beliefs alive.
