Wow, that is stunning! Absolutely gorgeous. Really going to have to try and get my brain into gear and attempt to articulate!

What is the difference and similarity between the meanings of “wisdom” and “knowledge” and how do these words fit into spirituality? Where does “wisdom” come from and where does “knowledge” come from?

The similarity between wisdom and knowledge is that you have information from lessons or experience about a certain subject or situation. There is a certain amount of overlap between them. The difference I suppose is insight. We learn a lot in Wicca and although we get told and learn for ourselves things about the Rede, ritual, spells, practices etc, it is insight that takes us below that surface level. For example, we get given the Rede to look over and live by and we can learn it off by heart - that is adding to our knowledge. But when we look at the symbolism, the deeper meanings of the words and realise the applicability and actually apply to our lives, that is wisdom.

I also see wisdom as more general and more about the self and the way we deal with difficult situations or times in our lives. As spirituality is so much a part of our lives, it's the living that is the wisdom of life. So, if someone is making your life a complete misery and going out of their way to do it, the wisdom that comes from that situation is your attitude towards it - deflecting their negativity, in a non harmful way when you would before let rip at them and tell them what a cretin they are. I have not yet perfected applying this knowledge - it remains in my head, so I suppose this is better but true wisdom is trusting in the Divine and knowing that karma is coming to them, regardless of my own actions - without wanting to retaliate anyway!

Wisdom and knowledge both come from learning and experience. For me, wisdom comes as a slow realisation, that thought process that creeps up on you, resulting in that, 'oooh, I see!' moment. I suppose it's the difference between an intellectual knowing and a knowing in your heart. It's like knowing intellectually that there is the Source - the entity that created the Lord and Lady and knowing in your heart. Or the interconnectedness between everything -  that we are all from the same source. Wisdom is so hard to try and articulate, it's intangible. Although you can share what wisdom you gain, I don't think the other person claims it as wisdom until they fully embrace it. I will have a think on this one and maybe come back if I can focus my thoughts in any more!

I am not entering for obvious reasons :) but would still like to contribute anyway.

Anyone can have knowledge, they can pick up a book and read it thus have a new found knowledge, but to have wisdom takes something else and is less tangible. It's accumlative in the way that knowledge is, but it can't be gained by knowledge alone, although knowledge pays it's part.

Wisdom is comprehension of what is true or right coupled with optimum judgment as to action. Synonyms include: sagacity, discernment, or insight. Wisdom often requires control of one's emotional reactions (the "passions") so that one's principles, reason and knowledge prevail to determine one's actions.

An example of knowledge without wisdom (in a very simplified example) would be to have knowledge, but not the skill. Anyone can pick up a book on a subject it does not equal they then know how to be a plumber for example.

Wisdom comes with both experience and the subsquent use of that experience and it's affects over your world view and, how you interact with others and how others perceive you to be wise.

These two are very much two sides of the same coin since they compliment each other, however alone one does not equal the other.

Come visit me @ my new home!: seraphimianight.blogspot.com

Merry Meet,

  Dear Amethyst you don't make it easy. WOW what a comparison. Well I'll give it a try, here goes:

Knowledge is but the messenger that calls you to wisdom, but it is not wisdom.  One can gain knowledge, but one does not seek wisdom - one meets it when one often least expects it and recognizes it as kindred.  Knowledge puts us in the way of wisdom, but wisdom is experiential; it is a truth one recognizes in the external world that already resides in the internal one.  One cannot *learn* wisdom - one must awaken it.  Knowledge gives you the tools but never mistake the tools for the treasure.  I find that most religions preach the tools and talk wisdom to death trying to reduce it for swift and easy consumption. Shun this habit.  Kahlil Gibran said that height and depth are nearer to each other than the mid ground.  Do not be mislead - there are no fast-food outlets for wisdom.  Simplicity is best understood as we find the endless connections in complexity.  Simplicity cannot be found in one prophet, one book, one religion or one school of study.  It is found in all of life by learning from everything - people, books, experiences, pain and pleasure, this age and ages past.

Wicca wisdom would have us stand tall before the gods in recognition that we are vessels of their blessings.  We are vessels of their gifts and the gift of life they bestow on us.  Wicca wisdom would have us fully experience the greatness that lies within us and asks us to awaken that greatness as a tribute to the gods.  

Knowledge is intellectual - wisdom is divine.  The more you seek knowledge (all knowledge) the more wisdom you will experience.  Knowledge and wisdom use two completely different organs to communicate to you.  One is known, the other felt.  The divine speaks to us through the spirit, not the mind.  Knowledge is only the doorway to wisdom.

When wisdom is revealed to you - it does not explain itself - it reveals itself full blown, like manna from heaven on a silver platter.  It awakens within as an all encompassing flood of warm illumination or like a bolt of lightning that shocks or stuns you.  This is why the sages call it enlightenment.  Wisdom does not need digesting, deliberating, debating or dissecting by doubt or reason.  It breathes within you as calm surety and perfect peace.  It is then that you recognize intellectually that this knowledge has always been with you, just waiting for you find it.  From head to toe, you have everything you need to become extraordinary.

There is wisdom in Nature and knowledge in Scholarship.  Nature teaches us what works and what doesn't work.  Knowledge teaches us how to use our senses, how to observe nature, how to evaluate it, how to record life lessons, and how others before us did the same.  We first learn wisdom in life by experience, (usually painful experience) and then as we grow, we recognize wisdom in life by example.  Through knowledge and wisdom, we eliminate fear, which produces understanding.  We begin to understand who we are and why we are here.  We recognize with generosity, others stumbling while seeking their way, and develop a keen awareness and love for the miracle that is all Life - and that includes oneself.

There is no spell to achieve this.  Wisdom is a life long experience.  You must seek knowledge to awaken wisdom.  The more we know, the more we realize how much we don't know.  The wiser we grow, the more wisdom we sense is yet to be discovered.  With each step, we grow larger in each other´s sight, we grow larger in the sight of the gods, and it follows, the gods grow larger within us.  Experiencing this knowledge, we find true humility and peace from the inside out.

' Knowledge' is information of which someone is aware. Knowledge is also used to mean the confident understanding of a subject, potentially with the ability to use it for a specific purpose

'Wisdom' is the ability to make correct judgments and decisions. It is an intangible quality gained presumably through    experience . 

   Well that is a disjointed try.

   Thank you Seraphimia for your wonderful donation it is a beautiful creation, the talent in O & M just blows me away on a daily basis.

Take Care

Blessed Be

Stone Bear

I believe Wisdom is a very ancient gift that we become a part of as we gain knowledge and how we use our knowledge gained. Knowledge comes from learning, reading, listening. The gift of wisdom comes from the collective consciousness, nature, the universe....the Divine. Wisdom is essentially using the knowledge and experiencing, visualising, believing. It's not something that is just handed to us, it comes to us through knowledge. Knowledge is the substance that wisdom operates with. How you use your knowledge with everything else you know determines whether it strengthens or weakens your wisdom. 

* Thank you Seraphimia for donating such a gorgeous prize.....Someone will truly love and cherish such a beautiful piece of work. You have an incredible talent (I can only imagine what your Book of Shadows looks like! <3)