What's in a name?

I think that people are predisposed to wanting to label things. We like to know what things are and names give a kind of false sense of security....we feel that if we know the name of something we must understand it.

And yet, there is so much confusion and bickering caused by people using different names for different things, or calling the same thing by different names.

I'm a big fan of names, of titles and of specific words to separate one group from another, but I think it is important to also take a step back and look at the essence of a thing. What really makes it what it is? It's not the name, it's the qualities, the heart of the thing.

One of the biggest arguments I see, and it almost always devolves into a virtual shouting match with hurt feelings on someone's part, is the witch and Wicca debate. There is so much mass media that muddles the two terms, so many books that present a version of Wicca that many people who practice traditional lineaged Wicca disagree with. But for many people out there, that is the only version of Wicca they have been exposed to.

I'm probably not going to be liked much by the BTWs (British Traditional Wiccans), but I think both groups have a claim on the word Wicca. Certainly, lineaged Wicca is the more traditional version, but I think that what some might call neo-Wicca has become it's own thing. What I find interesting is that, the way I understand it, the different lineages of BTW practice things quite differently, so they aren't even really the same, and being able to name (and prove) your lineage is a big thing. So why not let the non-lineaged people call themselves Wiccan?

I also get a bit ruffled when someone tries to tell me I can't be a witch because I don't practice the exact same thing that they do. There are flavors and flavors of witchcraft, and what one does may be quite different from another. This doesn't make one any better, just different.

I know quite a lot of people who practice very different things, the whole range of the occult umbrella. And sometimes it can be very hard to talk between different disciplines because the words we use are so very different. I run into this especially with Ceremonials, who have very specific ways of doing things, with very specific and detailed tools and rituals. I've done some work with some of their rituals, and I don't claim to be an expert by any means, but the Qabalistic Cross feels like grounding and centering for me. Journeying, astral projecting and pathworking are all reflections or variations on the same theme as well.

I think it is vitally important, as we move forward and become a community full of individuals who have a varied and unique practice, that we focus not on what sets us apart but what makes us the same. Look into the heart of things, see their essence and try to connect instead of drawing lines in the sand to show how you (or someone else) is different. It is through these connections that we sometimes find the most growth.