Many people think that all pagan religions are the same. But there are many different pagan religions. I am going to discuss two of them, Voodoo and Wicca. We will start with the religion of each. Wicca includes the worship of the Goddess and sometimes the God (Pan) and the Goddess. In Wicca, most everything involves the moon phase-the moon represents the Goddess.
With actual Wicca, members must follow the Wiccan Rede. It is a list of rules that all Wiccans must follow. In this is contained one of the major rules which is to harm none. There is no black or even grey magic included in Wicca. They also teach that it is wrong to try to control ones free will. Wicca is one of the most loving and peaceful religions that I have ever come across. They do not impose their beliefs on others nor spurn those who think differently.
Now Voodoo is a completely different subject. In the Voodoo religion, members “serve the Loas”. This is not so much a worship as it is a paying tribute for favors done. The Loas are the spirits of Voodoo. There are literally hundreds of them. Normally a member will choose one or just a few Loas to serve. The members will give offerings either on their own altars or will give offerings at a temple or hounfor. Voodoo does not follow the same rules as the Wiccans.
Voodoo is quite alright with controlling a person’s will if it is for the greater good. Voodoo is also just fine with revenge or justice done to a person who has brought intentional harm to another.
Wicca is more of an Earth religion. It celebrates the changing of the seasons as well as moon phases. Voodoo celebrates special days that honor particular Loas. There are some people who claim to be Wiccan but they do not follow any of the Wiccan beliefs. In the same manner, there are people who claim to perform Voodoo magic, but they do not follow the Voodoo religion and therefore cannot possibly be performing Voodoo magic.
Some people claim that there are similarities in the Catholic religion and Voodoo. They claim that the saints and the Loas are actually the same. This is not true. The truth is that in order to try not to be persecuted, the members of the Voodoo community tried to disguise their religious beliefs as those of Catholic religion. Voodoo practitioners even today in some countries are jailed and even killed. Members of the Wiccan religion as well have suffered at the hands of religious radicals who would try to destroy anyone with different religious beliefs from their own.
There are many differences between Wicca and Voodoo, but the one thing that they do share is the fact that they are both very old religions and that they are both do not persecute people with different religious views-even though their members are persecuted not only in the past, but also today.
