What Is An Eclectic Pagan?

Over the years that I have been an eclectic of the Pagan paths, I have seen confusion and lack of understanding when I use the term "Eclectic Pagan". From my experience and knowing very many Eclectic Pagans, I can safely say that many are witches.

Not so much confusion, mind you, of the word Pagan, but the word "eclectic". It appears that to most, it is not a word that is in their vocabulary or hanging around from being taught what it's meaning is. Not to put myself above anyone else, as I had no idea or concept of what it meant either, and had rarely heard of it until about 12 years ago. At that point, I saw that I had finally found the correct word to define my way of life (my spirituality).

I started out be a staunch Christian as a youth, but as time went by, my inquiring mind started reading, researching and studying various other Paths. I found many different things in many different paths that are out there. There were some things I liked, enjoyed, and applied to my life, while some of the teachings were just not clicking in my heart as feeling right for me, so I ignored these.

As the years went by I found it hard to describe my spirituality in terms. When asked, I would tell people that I was Wiccan. This is due to the fact that for years I have been the High Priest of a Wiccan coven. However, I was not comfortable with that, as I follow no set Tradition in Wicca, and again, pull from various Wiccan Traditions as well as witchcraft and use what works for me and resonates with me. Pagans that do this often do consider themselves to fall into the classification of witches.

Then I started using Wiccan/Pagan, and this alone started creating confusion, plus much of what I write includes Native American thoughts and traditions. So, then it went to Wiccan/Pagan/Native American. As you can see, now it was getting hard to even type!

Within our coven, most members do as I do, pull from various paths, pick and choose what resonates with their heart and put into practice such things. While discussing this confusion as to what actual path we could refer as "ours" the term eclectic came up, and this term, when researched, fit what we practiced perfectly. So then we started using the term Eclectic Pagan, as most of us pull from the Pagan Paths. Some members also pull from the Christian Path as well, and they will refer to themselves as simply "eclectic".

So there you have my perspective of what I refer to myself as being, and Eclectic Pagan, one who pulls from various paths what resonates with his heart, and incorporates this into his daily life and spirituality.

For a definition of "What is Witchcraft" - What is Witchcraft Series: An Attempt at Defining Witches and Their Craft