The short answer is:
A "cowan" is a term used by some Wiccans to mean "non-Wiccan" or "not Neo-Pagan." It was apparently borrowed from Freemasonry, in which it meant "non-intiate."
Some Wiccans instead use "mundanes" or "muggles" to designate "non-Wiccans" or "non-Pagans." The term, "mundanes," is borrowed from science fiction/fantasy fandom. The term, "muggles," is borrowed from British author J. K. Rowling's "Harry Potter" series of fictional novels. The term, "Muggle," in the Harry Potter series refers to a person who has no sort of magical ability, basically a non-wizard.
Other Wiccans and Neo-Pagans just use the terms, "non-Wiccan" and/or "non-Pagan," to indicate when someone who is not a member of the Neo-Pagan/Wiccan/magickal community.
The long answer contains sundry bits of history.
A "cowan" is a term that was used in Wicca to mean a "non-initiate" or "not Wiccan." It apparently appeared in some of the early BOS (Book of Shadows) in this context.
Indeed the first defintion in the Urban Dictionary is:
1. Cowan:When I entered the Maryland Neo-Pagan community in 1984, "cowan" was beginning to drop out of general usage in this area, but it would still crop up from time to time. That led to sundry informal discussions with other Wiccans and Neo-Pagans. Then I would try looking the stuff up to verify the information.
A commonly used word by Wiccans. A cowan is one who does not follow the religion of Wicca, in other words, they are not Wiccan.Tom is not wiccan, therefore he is a cowan.
The term, "cowan," is still used by some Wiccans in the USA to indicate either a "non-Wiccan" or "non-initiate." There is some question about whether the term should be used.
For one thing, "Cowan" is a Scottish family name or surname. Apparently, there are a couple Neo-Pagans or Wiccans in the USA whose surname is "Cowan." (I know one of them--wonderful lady.)
According to "The Internet Surname Database," this family name was fairly widespread in Scotland and Ulster. The surnames, "Cowan," "Cowen," and "Kewon" are Anglicized forms of the old Gaelic "MacEoghain" or "MacEoin." The Gaelic personal name "Eoghan" is from the old Celtic "Oue(i)n," which according to my source means "well-born," The Gaelic prefix "mac" means "son of." Thus, the surname "MacEoghain" meant "son of Oue(i)n" or "son of well-born."
Other forms of the name include "MacOwen," "MacCown," "MacCone," and "MacKeown."
Anglicization resulted in the subsequent loss of the "Mac" prefix. Thus, some folks of Scottish heritage have the proud family name of "Cowan."
What about the term "cowan" as a noun as related to use in Wicca? Wordnik provides the following definitions:
cowanThose all fit with what I verified way back in the mid 1980's: A "cowan" was someone who worked as a stone mason, but did not serve the regular apprenticeship. Later, the fraternal order of Freemasonry borrowed the term, "cowan," for an "untrained stone mason" to mean someone who was "not initiated" into the secrets of the brotherhood. From Freemasonry is probably where Gerald Gardner picked up the term as meaning "non-initiate."
cowan in: Century Dictionary (2 definitions)
–noun
1. One whose occupation is the building of dry stone walls: used especially of one who has not been regularly trained in the mason's trade.
2. Hence One who is not a Free-Mason.cowan in: Wiktionary (2 definitions)
–noun
1. A worker in unmortared stone.
2. (freemasonry) A person who wishes to learn the secrets of Masonry without experiencing the rituals or going through the degrees.cowan in: GNU Webster's 1913 (1 definition)
–noun
1. (Scot.) One who works as a mason without having served a regular apprenticeship.
Apparently, "Cowan," as a family name in Scotland had nothing to do with "cowan" as an untrained stonecutter in Scotland--unless some Scottsman with the surname "Cowan" took up the trade of working with stone without having a proper apprenticeship. Then the term, "cowan," was applied to anyone who worked with unmortared stone, or even someone who worked with stone and mortar, but had never been trained. (I'm just speculating in this paragraph.)
Interestingly, the second defintion in the Urban Dictionary is:
2. cowan:Thus, there is some indication that Freemasons used the term, "cowan" in a negative sense to indicate someone who might persecute the lodge members. Indeed, it may have been used in a pejorative manner to denote an outsider who was attempting to spy, snoop, or snitch--perhaps with the intention of reporting to the authories. (At times, the practice of Freemasonry has been outlawed.)
An old English term adopted as a Masonic term for an outsider who listens secretly to the proceedings of a Masonic lodge outside a lodge building. synonym for eavesdropper.The duty of the tyler is to keep out all cowans and eavesdroppers in order to maintain the secrecy of the meeting.
evesdropper; cowen; busybody; outsider; snoop
According to a book published by Malcolm C. Duncan in 1886, one of the Freemasons has a duty to stand guard at the door and "...keep off all cowans and eavesdroppers, see that none pass or repass without due qualification, or permission from the Right Worshipful Master."
There's a Freemason song found in a book of the Regular Grand Lodge of England which has a verse:
Then round and round me did tie,Apparently the term, "cowan," could also mean a "busybody" who was snooping into things that were none of his business. Although exactly how commonly the term, "cowan," was used in a negative or pejorative manner--either in the subculture of Freemasonry or elsewhere--is unclear.
A noble ancient charm,
All future darkness to defy,
And ward off the Cowans harm.
There is no indication that Gardner ever intended it to be used to mean anything other than "non-initiate." (Gardner loved archaic and unusual words, and seasoned his writings with them.)
It is important to understand that the connotations and meanings of words shift and change over time through usage. A term that is neutral or possibly complimentary can slowly shift in meaning to become somewhat negative or pejorative. Alternatively, a term may begin as a pejorative word and eventually be adopted in a non-pejorative sense.
Way back when I was "newbie" in the community, I got the impression that the term "cowan" had been--in the late 1970's--used in a slightly negative connotation among some Wiccans. I have no idea if this was true or if any Wiccan--in Maryland or elsewhere--ever really used it in such a manner in the late 1970's. 1
I did hear a claim that an old meaning of "cowan" was an outsider to the practice of Wicca--specifically someone who was not a member of the "Craft," and therefore should not be trusted with the secrets of the "Craft," because that person might betray the "Craft." 2
This discussion was circa 1985. The Neo-Pagan I was talking to debunked this claim that a "cowan" primaily referred to an "outsider" who, if given the chance, would take an opportunity to "expose Wicca and its members." 3
He explained the historical meaning of the term, "cowan," had to do with the craft of masonry (stone cutters) and Freemasonry, adding that Freemasonry is sometimes called "the Craft" by its members.
He likewise added that some folks in the community did not like to be referred to as "cowans." Apparently, some unitiated Neo-Pagans didn't like to be called "cowans" simply because they were in a non-initiatory Circle/Grove, or because they hadn't yet joined a coven in which to initiate.
I chattered that I hadn't yet located "cowan" in either of my small dictionaries at home, but I'd learned it was connected with Freemasonry.
He suggested a large collegiate or unabridged dictionary. He mentioned one of the problems with "cowan" was that it was not easily found in dictionaries. I agreed that was a problem. When one did locate the term, the connections with stone cutters and masons made little sense.
In any case, "cowan" was not often used by folks in my neck of the woods back in the 1980's.
The terms I generally heard used were "Wiccan," "Neo-Pagan" (or specific Neo-Pagan trad or group), and "initiate." That was how folks described themselves.
At one point, my HPS started using the term "adept" to mean someone who "had learned a thing or three," but was not part of an initiatory tradition. In other words, an "adept" was someone who was a "non-initiate," but was certainly beyond the level of "seekers," "newbies," "neophytes," or "students."
New people in the Neo-Pagan community were called "seekers," "newbies," "neophytes," or "students."
When we were generally speaking of folks outside the community, we tended to use the terms "non-Pagans" or "non-Wiccans," or refer to them as "mundanes."
The term, "mundanes," was frequently used, rather than "cowans." The word, "mundane," unlike "cowan," could be easily found in any dictionary and simply meant "commonplace" or "ordinary." Thus, "mundanes" were people concerned with the "commonplace" or "ordinary" rather than the "mystical/magical world."
The term "mundanes" was borrowed directly from the subculture of SF and Fantasy fandom. In SF/Fantasy fandom, the term, "mundane," is used to refer a person who is not a science fiction fan and/or does not belong to any related group, like historical recreationists, costumers, film aficioados, etc.
The term, "muggles," is now used among some Neo-Pagans to describe people who are not part of the Neo-Pagan/Wiccan/magic(k)al community. The term, "muggles," entered the Neo-Pagan slang lexicon in the late 1990's. It was borrowed directly from British author J. K. Rowling's "Harry Potter" series of fictional novels. In the Harry Potter series, the term, "Muggle," refers to a person who is a non-wizard and in fact who no magical ability or awareness of the reality of magic as practiced in the books or the sundry magical creatures that inhabit the fictional universe created by Rowling.
Endnotes:
1 I did not come into contact with the Maryland community until 1984 and do not have first hand information of the community in the late 1970's.
2 In the early 1980's the term, the "Craft," was used as slang in the subculture among Feminist Witches, Goddess-worshipers, and Wiccans to mean the "Witch's Craft" or "Witchcraft." "Witch's Craft" or "Witchcraft" was spelled with a captital "W" and meant the "Old Religion."
My fiancee, later spouse, came from a family with a lot of practicing Freemasons. I was surprised when I learned circa 1983 from my fiancee that the Freemasons, aka Masons, had been calling their practice the "Craft" for hundreds years.
3 By the way, please remember I'm digging into my brain about a coversation held sometime around 1985. I talked with a number of folks around this time about the term, "cowan," because I am fascinated with unusual or archaic words and etymology in general.
copyright June 2011, Myth Woodling
Cowan, Urban Dictionary, http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=cowam , accessed 6/1/11
The Urban Dictionary also has a link to "buy cowan mugs"
buy cowan mugs
http://www.urbandictionary.com/products.php?term=Cowan&defid=1303273, accessed 6/1/11
The Internet Surname Database: Cowan Last Name Origin
Copyright, 1980 - 2011 Name Origin Research
http://www.surnamedb.com/Surname/Cowan#ixzz1OAOwNf45, accessed 6/1/11
Sacred Texts, Malcolm C. Duncan, Duncan's Masonic Ritual and Monitor, 1886. http://www.sacred-texts.com/mas/dun/index.htm, accessed 6/3/11.
Malcolm C. Duncan, Duncan's Masonic Ritual and Monitor: Mark Master, or Fourth Degree, 1886. http://www.sacred-texts.com/mas/dun/dun05.htm, accessed 6/3/11.