i agree that mary can certainly be seen as an aspect of the goddess. it's my understanding that her importance grew in catholocism as a direct result of people having grown used to a goddess in their worship, and when converting to catholocism, insisted on maintaining that relationship.
and i'll add my take on the "pagan/witch" controversy.
the term pagan was orginially used by judeo-christian people to define those who do not fall under either of those religions. modern pagans (or neo-pagans) reclaimed the term to define a group of religions that are nature based, and typically have either deities who are not the judeo-christian god, female in gender as well as male, or none at all - satanists would fall under the last group.
a witch is a pagan who practices witchcraft - the craft of the witch. that would include (but is not limited to) practices such as spellwork, use of herbs and roots for healing and other purposes, and other "natural" workings. some witches see witchcraft as their religion, others see it as a way of life without a religious association. all witches are pagan, but not all pagans are witches.
i'd also make a distinction between witches and wiccans, though many use the terms interchangably. wiccans follow a specific path, wicca, which was developed by gerald gardner in the 40's and 50's. they almost always use a goddess and god in their celebrations, and the use of polarity in the universe (male/female, projective/receptive energy, etc), along with the pursuit of balance of said energies, is almost universal. they follow the "wiccan rede", which in its condensed form reads "harm none". witches and pagans may or may not follow this tenent. an "eclectic wiccan" may employ a variety of other religious practices in her own practice - shammanistic techniques, native american, buddist, and/or a variety of other practices.
all wiccans are both witches and pagans by definition. my definition, anyway.
all three groups typically celebrate the equanoxes, solstices, and the points halfway between those times as their holidays.
i'll add that each pagan often defines what their religion means to them, outside the context of any pre-existing definition. thus all the controversy. we can be as bad as christianity when it comes to the acceptance and/or recognition of other traditions within the whole.
luv and light,
nexy
