what is the difference between being a wiccan and practicing santeria?

i am catholic i have always been catholic and am not looking to change religions. my fiance's mother is a Wicca and it seems that its all about nature and the power of the elements and crystals and such she is actually interest to talk to about it...however i have just learned that the ex husband of someone i work with practices Santeria? i think that's how its spelled...and from what i understand its along the same lines as Wicca only much much darker other than a popular song i have never heard of Santeria before and i had no idea it was a religion can someone tell me more about this? and please don't be mislead i am in now way insulting anyone who practices either religion i am just looking for knowledge

Santeria is a combination of roman Catholicism and voodoo from the Caribbean. It in no way resembles Wicca.

They are very different religions. Wicca is Wicca and Santeria is Santeria. Wicca as a movement began with Gerald Gardner, an Englishman in the 1950's. It's kind of re constructionist pagan in essence, and supposedly borrows from early religions like Druidism. It tends to be very earth-centered. Santeria is Caribbean/South American in origin and has a lot of roots in Catholicism and Native American religions. It bears some resemblance to voodoo as both religions grew out of Catholicism and new world religions with a strong African influence.

On Wicca:
http://www.religioustolerance.org/wic_beli.htm
http://www.religioustolerance.org/witchcra.htm

On Santeria:
http://www.religioustolerance.org/santeri3.htm
http://www.religioustolerance.org/santeri.htm

Theres' QUITE difference.

Wicca is a dualistic, pantheistic, Initiatory Oath bound mystery religion with ties and practices of ancient Europe. It has a organized framework and strict rules as well. It's a religion based on experience and was started by a Gerald B. Gardner in the late 40s. It draws upon evocation and invocation, the Quabbalah, Encochian Magick and Prayer, as well as reverence for Nature and the Gods.

Santeria is a Pagan/Catholic religion with it's ties in Mexico and the South. They worship deities as Saints and pay sacrifice to the deities through animal sacrifice. It is also an Initiatory Oath bound mystery religion. There are many mysteries contained within each religion and they all have their sup rises and twists and turns.

I would suggest British Traditional Wicca before you try out Santeria. It would certainly help you attune your energies to the natural world and old gods ... that way if you decide to see if Santeria is right for you ... you won't be knocked on your butt. Some of their ritual and magi ck can be VERY powerful as if deal with the life force(blood).

Good Luck!

I don't know much about Santeria,frankly I've never heard of it until you mentioned it, but I am currently studying Wicca.

Running a quick search on Wiki and skimming through the information, it seems that Santeria is a very different religion than Wicca; it has different beliefs and a different structure all together. To me, it seems much more rigid as well.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santeria/

If you want to learn about Wicca to further compare the two, you can go to the sites listed below and read for yourself.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wicca/
http://www.witchvox.com/
http://wicca.timerift.net/

And remember: Just because two religions are both "pagan" doesn't mean that they are necessarily similar or stemmed from the same belief.

Hopes this helps!

Both are pagan religions of fairly recent origins and have some similarities because of that, but they have different origins and practices.

Wicca is a 20Th century attempt to recreate the long forgotten European paganism. Most practices of it are lost to history so it was re-invented. Santeria came from African slaves in the Caribbean adopting some of the trappings of Catholicism in their pagan worship. The replaced the names of their gods with the names of saints and mimic some Catholic rituals, for example.