Dictionary.com defines pacifism as such:

“pac·i·fism [pas-uh-fiz-uhm] –noun
1. opposition to war or violence of any kind.
2. refusal to engage in military activity because of one’s principles or beliefs.
3. the principle or policy that all differences among nations should be adjusted without recourse to war. “

When did this become a bad thing in Wicca? I’ve seen the word “pacifist” thrown at people as if it were an insult lately.

I am not pacific by nature… quite the contrary, I have a violent streak in me that is rarely easy to contain, especially in regards to protection of the people I love. That said… I also find that the people I love need my protection about as much as I’ve needed the protection of the people I have loved in the past… to wit, not much at all.

Nonetheless, for many many years (even approaching decades), I have felt that the primal beast instinct is what we need to learn to control (not suppress), recognize, and work through in order to grow. Call it a flavor of buddhism or hinduism or stargate-ism, I don’t much care… but that is my opinion. Wallowing in our base nature just encourages us to be… well… base. It is regression, not progression.

I have found that when the clamor of anger, self righteousness, indignation and desire to commit violence are raging around in my head, then I can’t think, I can’t grow, I can only wallow in what I used to be, not what I want to be.

Wicca… well, not many can come up with a hard and fast definition of Wicca, but a general consensus (over many forum or discussion boards, and through many conversations with Wiccans) seems to be that Wicca is a belief system (some dare say a religion) that pays homage to and reveres nature, and worships a dual gendered, polytheistic representation of Deities. There is a focus on living with nature in balance, and (yes, I’ll say it, even though there are many “pagan scholars” that will argue with me about it!) also abiding by some version of the line from the Wiccan Rede that states, “An it harm none, do what you Will.”

So… what about that definition of Wicca, and the dictionary’s definition of pacifism, doesn’t coincide? How did being called a “pacifist” in Wicca become an insult?

I am not trying to say all Wiccan’s should be pacifist (we all have different ways of doing things), but I am saying that I don’t understand why being so is viewed as negative.