Yes. Most importantly to us, it is the religious foundation upon which we build our lives. We wouldn’t do that just for a gag.

There are other measures of reality. Wiccan clergy are becoming more common at ecumenical conferences. The U.S. government has recognized Wicca. Various sects have sought tax exempt church status from the IRS and obtained it. The armed services have enough Wiccans that the Army added a chapter on Wicca to their official handbook for Chaplains. [I find that a little unusual, given that so many Wiccans are pacifists.]

More or less, yes.

Except for one or two exceptions, the unfortunate victims at Salem were devout Christians and God-fearing members of the local church. They did absolutely nothing wrong, even by the strict standards of the court that put them to death. There was no evidence, only false testimony that the court was too eager to hear. The victims were persecuted as part of a feud between two groups in the area. In Salem, the Witch persecutions were simply a handy tool to carry out their feud.

But Salem was only one small part of a persecution fad that swept the world. We call it "The Burning Times". Estimates of the number of men, women, and children murdered during the hysteria go as high as nine million. Once again, many were completely innocent.

But some of those nine million victims were practitioners of something very close to what Wiccans practice today. Those were the real Witches, and we are their spiritual descendants.

It depends entirely on which dead bodies you choose to count.

I count those specifically charged with Witchcraft, those charged with heresy, and the oppression of one religion by another when the target group had beliefs or practices similar to mine. Thus I start counting bodies around 58 BCE when Julius Caesar started his campaigns in Gaul. I also count the Jews, Moors, and Lutherans persecuted by the Spanish Inquisition, which was otherwise unconcerned with Witches. Since I start early, I think 9 million is way too low.

Most of the persecutions were driven by organized Christianity. The Catholic church is often given all the blame for these persecutions, but they merely came up with the idea, set the pattern, and wrote the manuals. Many of the resulting waves of persecution were then started and managed by various protestant sects. Germany was particularly horrible. You don’t want to know what went on there.

I have seen many different body counts. It is often difficult to untangle who is counting what, so one often sees the term "Burning Times" used for the overall persecution, spanning perhaps 1200-1750 CE. These numbers tend to be quite large. Terms like "Great Witch Hunt", "Witch Craze", or "Witch Hysteria" are used for the smaller subset of just Witches, spanning 1600-1782 CE.

One number that appears to be based on astute research targeted just the people explicitly tried as Witches, and nothing else. They came up with 237,000.

Most of the people killed in the Witch Hysteria were women; about 3/4.

Nobody knows for sure what they practiced. They were all killed. The only contemporary records come from the archives of the churches that killed them, and are demented fantasies, some from the fevered minds of torture victims and some merely signed by them but concocted and calculated by the oppressors.

Modern Wicca is a reconstruction. We have put together bits and pieces of mythology, archeology, and outright fabrications of our own when we can’t tell for sure what is missing. Some of us attempt to honor the ancient roots of our religion by referring to it as the Old Religion. I prefer not to do that because it implies a direct descent that I believe tenuous or nonexistent.

Some denominations claim that they directly descend from ancient practices. In some cases, they claim a long family history of Witchcraft, in others they claim to possess ancient artifacts and texts. Are their claims valid? I don’t know, and don’t particularly care. I am happy with my reconstruction.

Imagine this: a thousand years from now, an archeologist digs up a copy of the Bible and the Koran. In that far future world, religion has undergone drastic changes. Let’s say that everybody worships radishes. The rediscovered books are translated and published. Some people recognize that there is a lot of good stuff in those books and attempt to recreate the religion. Are they authentic Jews, Christians, and Moslems? Nobody ordained them, they didn’t inherit their religion from their parents. They just adopted it. And what if they failed to realize that the two books covered three distinctly different religions?

For the most part, they were midwives and practitioners of herbal medicine. They were certainly more aware of nature, appreciated it more, and knew better how to get along with it than modern folks, but back then, just about everybody was.

If your wife was having a baby, you would call her. If you had headaches, he would tell you what bark to chew. If you wanted to know the best time to plant your wheat, you talked to her.

The flip side was, if it failed to rain enough and the crops withered, you blamed the local Witch.

Many are, in the same sense that many non-Wiccan people are. We have opinions on government, laws, and issues such as abortion, the environment, and human rights. There is no political profile that fits all Wiccans, but we tend to be pro environment, pro human rights, and pro equality. That covers equality of gender, race, creed, age, sexual orientation, and most everything else. Most Wiccans believe in individual responsibility, that you pretty much make your life what it is.

Very few Wiccans are politically active concerning issues that are distinctly Wiccan. You won’t find, for example, Wiccans pushing to have our Rede posted in court rooms as other religions have pushed for the Ten Commandments. If you do find such a case, it was probably instituted as a form of religious equality measure in response to some other group’s attempt to have their own religion granted special recognition or privilege.

The rare few who attempt to press Wiccan political issues are usually the ones who are concerned with the discrimination against Wiccans and others. They are rare because within Wiccan society, "everybody knows that The Burning Times are over" and "The Craft needs no defense". No, but sometimes those who practice it do.

I happen to be one of those Wiccans who speaks out against bigotry and hatred. I believe that The Burning Times are not over; persecutions still happen, although on a smaller scale. I want to help fix that.

Friend, you just said a mouthful!

I have seen three schools of thought on this subject amongst Wiccans.

A minority of Wiccans do hate Christians. They figure that 1,500 years of oppression gives them the right to hate the oppressors.

Most Wiccans do not hold an entire group responsible for the actions of individuals. If they hate Christians because of The Burning Times, they reserve that hatred for those who committed the atrocities. Modern day people who make up excuses and justifications for the persecutors, or themselves persecute those who do not share their faith, are as bad as the Inquisitors. Other Christians, who happened to live in those days but did not take part in the persecutions, or have been born since and repudiate the actions of their ancestors in faith, are just good and decent humans. [This is what I believe. I regret that I am unable to be counted in the following category...]

The most spiritually advanced Wiccans forgive the perpetrators of The Burning Times, and even the acts of violence against Wiccans that occur today.

One can put all of this in perspective by comparing it to the feelings of modern Jews concerning the Holocaust. Some Jews hate all Germans because of what happened over fifty years ago. Some just hate Hitler and those who ran the death camps. And those with great souls forgive the lot of them.

We don't worship Satan or any other evil entity. We don't even believe in Satan. Oh, there are people who are fond of Satan. They are called "Satanists"*1.

Wiccans don't like Satanists. We think that they are evil. Satanists don't like Wiccans. They think we are "goodie two-shoes". And to make matters more confusing, sometimes both groups call themselves "Witches".

Wiccans claim the title because of the similarity between our religious beliefs and the actual practices of those labeled "Witches" during The Burning Times. Satanists claim the title because of the similarity between their religious beliefs and the mythical practices of which the historical Witches were accused. Who has the true and undisputed right to the title? I think that our claim is better.

I should also point out that most of the well documented cases of genuine Satan worship in history are renegade Christian Priests. Perhaps the Satanists have a stronger claim to another term and should call themselves "Priests" instead of "Witches".

You might also notice that both Wiccans and Satanists use the symbol of the five-pointed star in a circle; a "pentagram". Generally, Wiccans orient the symbol such that one of the points is aimed straight up. Universally, Satanists orient theirs such that two of the points stick up. There are several reasons for this. First, the two upward points resemble horns, like you-know-who is supposed to have. Second, each of the points has a meaning; the two points that Satanists like to put above the rest stand for fire and earth (read "a great party"); Wiccans put spirit at the top, symbolizing a search for spiritual progression. Third, Satanists like perverting the religious symbols of the "good guys"; they also enjoy displaying crosses upside-down.

This is so stupid, it’s almost funny.

A lot of otherwise well-educated people think this. A couple of years ago, one Reverend Curtis Price was being interviewed on morning talk radio. It was Halloween, and he was telling everybody how Halloween was an old Pagan holiday (that’s true) and that good Christians should have nothing to do with it (that’s their choice). D called up, and just before she got on the air, the reverend said that Halloween was originally held in celebration of Sam Hain, God of evil.

When D got on the air, she made it quite clear that the word that the reverend was mispronouncing means "end of summer" and that the Celts certainly did not worship any "God of evil". The reverend backpedaled, "I never said that!" And in unison, D and the talk show host exclaimed, "Yes, you did!"

The idiots are easy to detect as soon as they open their mouths: the "M" in "Samhain" is silent.

There are people who are so firm in their religious belief that they are convinced that anything else is a tool of the devil. If you believe that, you are welcome to your belief for all that I care.

I find such exclusivity a little puzzling, for sometimes the difference between creeds is slight. If two beliefs are in accord for everything except which hand should hold the prayer book, why must each group proclaim that the other is doomed to perdition?

Of course, there are times when the differences are great. The gulf between any form of Christianity and some Hindu sect is wide indeed. But both cultures manage to produce good and kind people who love their Gods and humanity. Mother Theresa, meet Mahatma Gandhi. Which one is going to hell? I like to think that neither one deserves it.

And in at least one of those, I talked about working on special effects for that church. Does that sound like any church you have been to recently?

I admit that I have written letters using words different from those that I would normally use in conversation. There are two reasons for this. The least reason is "protective coloration". Few people at work know of my choice of religion. Few would care if they knew. But there is always the chance that one out of a thousand would be sufficiently upset that they might attempt to cause me trouble. Substituting common terms for uncommon ones helps keep everything ordinary.

The more important reason is that any specialized vocabulary is only meaningful within the field to which it applies. If I colored my writings too heavily with the jargon appropriate to the subject matter, I would confuse those of my readers who are not familiar with the field. So when I talked about buying a scanner, I discussed what F does and enough of the technology underneath so that even the people who are not computer fans would understand it. And when I write about gun shows or pyrotechnics, again I take special care not to throw in too much jargon. Do I succeed in keeping the text readable? Only you can tell me. But the same goes for religious jargon. So when I think "tradition", I write "denomination"; "coven" becomes "congregation"; and "circle" turns into "service" or "ceremony". In cases where the concept is easy enough to understand, I don’t substitute. "Priestess" stays "Priestess".

I also attend Christian services occasionally, with friends or relatives. I don’t even turn into a pillar of salt!

You are entitled to your opinion. I am entitled to mine, and I respectfully disagree with you. Neither of us will know for 100% certain until we are dead. And by then, it will be too late for whoever was wrong to change anything.

Besides, Wiccans don't believe in Hell.

Differing opinions are held by various Wiccan sects and individuals. We are united in our beliefs that there is something beyond this life; the dead body that you leave behind is of no importance; and that there is no eternal damnation.

Oh, there might be some unpleasantness. We believe that the good and evil people will be treated differently after this life. But even the worst human is not subject to eternal punishment. They just have a lot of lessons to learn about how to be a better person.

Some Wiccans believe in reincarnation; others in union with the Godhead. Some speak of the Summerland, Fairyland, or the Sidhe, where we can be reunited with our loved ones. In other words, some form of Paradise.

Since I won't be needing my body anymore, please donate any useful organs and tissues to those in need of transplant. Please dispose of the rest in an inexpensive and fairly ecological fashion. I suggest cremation. Sorry about the smoke. And don't bother weeping over the ashes either. Turn your sorrow into joy. How about stuffing my ashes into a 12" aerial shell and shooting it into the night sky? [I’ll remember that. - editor D] I like red and green.

Wiccans pay close attention to symbolism, and those who read this might notice that red and green are the colors of fire and earth (read "a great party"). To twist a quote from Sigmund Freud, "Sometimes a color is just a color." But if it makes you any happier, you can use a titanium salute (read "Dennis went out with a bang!").

Frankly, I don't know. I don't have enough firsthand experience to say.

I can say this much: at least I believe that there is a soul, spirit, atman, ka, or whatever; a part of me that is uniquely myself, that will survive death.

A lot of people think that the idea of going to heaven is silly, too.

A lot of good people believe in reincarnation, including most of the non-Christian religions in the world. A lot of early Christians believed in reincarnation until the Second Council of Constantinople stamped it out in 553 CE.

The suffixes 'BC' and 'AD' generally refer to Christ. Why should people who don't share that belief be forced to share the terminology? 'CE' means 'Common Era', which is a nondenominational way of saying 'AD'. This terminology is used by practitioners of many other religions, in addition to Wiccans.

Why not? We are only changing a couple of letters. All other aspects remain the same.

What makes you think that the calendar that most of the United States uses is the best? Calendars are part of a culture. Different cultures use different calendars. Consider this year. Most westerners would say that it is 1996. The billion Moslems in the world would call this 1416. There are quite a few Chinese; by their calendar, the year is 4694. Jews would prefer to say that the year is 5756.

There are plenty of calendars, all equally valid. You should be glad that most non-Christians are willing to adopt the Gregorian calendar at all, even if they feel more comfortable changing a couple of letters.

Actually, Pope Gregory XII’s calendar reform didn’t go down all that well in Christian countries, either. He had to cut ten days from the year in order to get the calendar back into synchronization with the solar year. Thus the day after Thursday, October 4, 1582 was Friday, October 15. This caused riots in some countries, when the peasants thought that they had been deprived of ten days of life. The Pope fixed that by granting everyone an indulgence, so that the time that they lost on Earth would be balanced by time that they would not have to spend in Purgatory. The peasants went away happy.

This is by no means an accident, but you have it backwards!

Since the Council of Ancyra in 314 CE, organized Christianity has exhibited hatred for the long-established Pagan religions. When Rome sent Augustine to British shores in 597 CE, instituting Christianity was high on the agenda. In a letter from Pope Gregory to Augustine, he said, "accommodate the ceremonies of the Christian worship as much as possible to those of the heathen, that the people may not be much startled at the change." This extended to demolishing the Pagan temples and building Christian churches in the same locations. Other ploys included placing Christian holidays on the same dates as the preexisting Pagan festivals, and the renaming of Pagan deities as Catholic saints.

Watch your mouth, buddy. That is quite an insult. But you probably don't know any better, having been raised on too many TV sitcoms from the 70's.

The word "warlock" has been twisted to mean "wizard" only in the most recent century or two. The original and more authentic meaning is much darker and more sinister. It means "oath breaker" and worse.

The correct word for a male Witch is "Witch". Easy, isn't it?

That is indeed what the King James Version says in Exodus 22:18.

The Bible says a lot of things, and sets the punishment for many crimes. If you are going to adhere to the literal meaning of (some translation of) the Bible, you have a tough row to hoe. The next time your kid talks back to you, he must be stoned to death (Deuteronomy 21:18-21). And did you ever cuss out your parents when you were a kid? You should have been stoned for that (Exodus 21:17). Death is also decreed for adulterers (Deuteronomy 22:22), brides who are not virgins (Deuteronomy 22:20-21), and rape victims in the city (Deuteronomy 22:23-24).

There are even punishments for things that few people would consider crimes. Patients who have ever had testicular cancer may not attend church (Deuteronomy 23:1), nor may the great-great-great-grandchildren of illegitimate males (Deuteronomy 23:2). Have you checked your family tree recently? Ten generations back?

This is rather strict stuff, but if you want to subject yourself to such rules, you are welcome to do so. Christians, read John 13:34.

No. It does not.

What applies to me is the secular law of the land and any additional restriction I choose to place on myself, and I don't choose much of the Bible.

If you try to force the Bible or any other set of religious laws on me, you are a criminal, and will be subject to secular law.

If you believe that your book gives you the right to hunt me down and kill me for my beliefs (based on the Exodus 22:18 quote), the law will hunt you down and punish you. Given the circumstances, you would probably qualify for the death penalty, even in the state of California. If you were lucky enough to evade the death penalty, you would still get harsh punishment; attacking someone because of their religion is considered a "hate crime" under both California and federal law.

Of course, that's only if you have any degree of success. I believe that all individuals are entitled to defend themselves, and I am prepared to do it. If you try to kill me, I stand a good chance of getting you first. And I doubt that I would be charged in such a case, much less tried and convicted. After all, I was merely defending myself against unprovoked attack by a religious fanatic.

Look, you are entitled to do anything you want with your life. You can worship any God you choose, in any way you see fit. I fully support your right to freedom of your own religion. But you can not dictate how I am to live my life, no matter what you think or what your book says.

You are entitled to that belief.

Many religions have sacred books that they believe were dictated directly by God. In all such cases, the believers guard their text from accumulating errors. The Koran, for example, is never supposed to be translated into any other language. The New Testament contains a curse (Revelation 22:18-19) on those who would add to the Bible or remove from it.

Despite these safeguards, I do have an English version of the Koran and at least half a dozen Bibles, all different. Some of the differences sprouted long ago, such as the corruption of "Yahweh" into "Jehovah". There are entire religions built on that mistranslation.

So which version is the one and only correct version that must be taken literally? Better choose wisely; there are some fanatics out there who would kill people who pick the wrong translation!

No. The Bible is an important religious text. It just isn't my religious text.

Mahatma Gandhi spoke great wisdom when he said, "The friendly study of all religions is the sacred duty of every individual." Since I take that duty very seriously, I own several different versions of the Bible, and I read them, too. I am rather fond of the KJV; it is not a very accurate translation, but the use of the English language is exquisite. I also have the Book of Mormon, the Koran, a Machzor, and scriptures from numerous other religions.

No. There do exist books with titles like The Witches Bible, but sensational titles like that are only used to sell books. The content is what really matters.

The key attribute of the Christian Bible is that it is said to be the revealed word of God. No Wiccan book makes such a claim. There are plenty of texts sacred to one Wiccan denomination or another, but they are all recognized as having been written by men and women.

If you mean a higher power, yes. If you mean Yahweh, no.

I believe that such a person was born, lived, taught, and died. I believe that many of his teachings are more or less faithfully recorded in the New Testament. I revere and attempt to abide by many of those teachings.

I do not believe that Jesus was the one and only son of Yahweh. We are all children of God.

That question is difficult. Different sects differ.

The general answer is that Wiccans believe that everybody is worshiping the same God, described in different ways through different lands and ages. That's why we feel sad when the Arabs and Israelis engage in their holy wars, and the Catholics and Protestants battle in Ireland. We figure that, if only they were not busy fighting, they would all be good people, praying to the same God under different names.

Since we figure that there is just one God behind many masks, we are comfortable in choosing the mask or masks that we would like God to wear for each occasion. Some groups pick a favorite figure and stick with it; a group of Witches of Scandinavian descent might choose to worship Odin all the time. They figure it's the same God as everybody else is praying to, but they just prefer to think of him with a patch over one eye and a raven on his shoulder. Often the masks are female; Goddesses instead of Gods.

Other groups select a pantheon and rotate through deities within it. A group that fancies Irish mythology might celebrate the New Year (November 1) with a ceremony devoted to The Dagda and celebrate Lammas (August 1) with prayers to Lugh. When one of their number is sick or injured, they might pray to Dian Cecht to help him recover.

More eclectic groups mix and match classical mythology, deities from certain modern religions, figures from folklore, historical figures, and even custom-made deities.

Despite the fact that I have spoken of God as if there were one person wearing a mask, none of us believe that there is an old guy with a white beard sitting on a throne up in heaven somewhere. We think of deity as spread throughout the universe. It is a part of us and we are part of it. A computer person might call it "distributed processing". Others would say that God is "immanent".

And, "worship" really isn't the right word for what we do.

It depends on the sect and the occasion.

Mostly, we consider God to be more of a benevolent big brother whom we admire and seek to emulate than an imperial monarch who must be constantly flattered lest he destroy us. We tend to believe that a little spark of God and goodness lies within all men and women, although sometimes it is hard to see.

As a result of these beliefs, Wiccan ceremonies are often designed to fan the flame of goodness within us and make us better people. At the same time, we invite our deities to join us because we love them and appreciate their presence. If they help us to achieve our spiritual goals, so much the better.

If you want to be initiated as a Priest, it mostly takes study, work, devotion, and time.

Gender does not matter. We have both Priests and Priestesses.

Anyone who really wants to become a Priest may become one. Not all that many people bother, because most sects do not see the Priesthood as an irreplaceable part of the religion. Wiccans tend to have personal relationships with God and do not need a Priest to intercede on their behalf.

Some Wiccans prefer to conduct their services in groups. Others prefer to work as solitaries.

Note that, although most groups do have ordained clergy, they are seldom seen as a mandatory conduit that must be used to contact God. Witches can pray for themselves; they don't really need to ask a Priest or Priestess to pray on their behalf. That’s why solitary practitioners are just fine working by themselves.

That being said, it is very impolite to ask a Wiccan what they group they are with, or even if they are with a group. This is said to be a holdover from The Burning Times, when one member of a group might be "persuaded" to name the members of his group, but the damage is limited if nobody in that group knows anybody in another. That’s another reason why Wiccan groups tend to be small.

No. If we had any child abusers, we would throw them out.

We might have a few who haven’t yet been discovered. I think that every group does. Allow me to digress into another long-winded theory of mine...

There are some things about a person that are obviously genetic, like hemophilia or color blindness. There are things that seem *2 to be the result of learning and conditioning, such as one’s political ideals. There are other things that might well be a combination of both, such as the news stories of studies suggesting a genetic susceptibility to alcoholism.

Traits with a firm foundation in genetics are often distributed differently amongst different racial groups. So if you wanted to know if a lot of Wiccans have blue eyes, you should compare the eye color of white Wiccans with the eyes of other white people. Comparing the eyes of white Wiccans with those of black Baptists is guaranteed to produce meaningless trivia.

Traits with little or no genetic component are probably distributed differently amongst different social groups. You are likely to find more liberals on the west coast than in the grain belt.

As for pedophilia, I doubt that it has much of a genetic component, if it has any at all. So I would expect that, since the general population of America contains some average percentage of pedophiles, a similar percentage of American Wiccans would turn out to be pedophiles, as would American Catholics, American Jews, and American Protestants. That’s if the members of the various religions are well integrated into American society. I don’t doubt that the numbers are a little different for the Amish.

But that’s just the numbers for random people entering into (converting to) a religion. The numbers can be thrown off, however, by social conventions within groups once you get there. For example, pedophilia by clergy of certain churches is treated as a deep dark secret, and hidden from the public. When such a Priest gets into trouble, he is merely moved to another station. The lack of any significant negative feedback makes such a profession a relatively comfortable position for pedophiles, and I wouldn't be too surprised if such churches had a higher percentage of pedophiles among the clergy than one might find in the general public. Wiccans, on the other hand, are more likely to throw a pedophile to the cops. I wouldn’t be surprised if Wiccans tend to have a much lower percent of child abusers and molesters than the general public.

A similar dynamic exists with homosexuality. Wiccans tend to judge people by the good or bad way they treat others. Sexual preference is ignored in Wiccan circles; good people are good people, no matter what the gender of their life partners. In many other churches, homosexuality is considered a sin in need of eradication. If a person were equally attracted by the theology of such a church and a Wiccan congregation, he might decide to go with the Wiccans on the basis of the acceptance he would find there. As a result, Wiccan groups tend to have a higher percentage of homosexuals than the general populace.

Wiccan groups do tend to have a much higher percentage of females than the general populace. 75% female would be a low estimate. D has a theory that, since Wicca attaches no "original sin" stigma to being female, women feel more comfortable there. I think that the gender equality helps more females feel comfortable with Wicca: males and females have equal chances of attaining Priesthood if they want it. In addition, Wicca is one of the few religions around that includes Goddesses in their pantheon. This is very popular with some feminists.

Yes. It usually happens when I am walking from work to the Del Taco a block north. Some girls try to pick me up too. Some are looking for love. Some are looking for customers. I tell them all "no, thank you!"

Oh, you meant Wiccans!

Yes, and some Wiccan women have tried to pick me up, too. In all cases, I take it as a complement, and politely say "no, thanks". I don't go to church to pick up women.

I suppose so. And that goes for many different religions. It isn't hard to understand why they might try it. I see two reasons for it. First, a lot of people nowadays spend a lot of their waking hours at work. They don't have much of a social life. In some cases, the only time that they are around other people and not at work is when they are at worship. Since it isn't appropriate to troll for dates during the service, a certain amount of socializing goes on at church potlucks and other events. The second reason is that lasting relationships are not based on sexuality. Sexuality may be an important component, but if that is all the relationship has, it simply won't last. Other important components of a good relationship are common interests and values. And your chances of finding someone with similar values are higher at the church that you attend.

Choosing one church over another simply on the basis of which one has the cutest babes is just plain silly.

D and I are fortunate in that we have many interests and values in common. That includes our religion. I have seen mixed marriages work between Wiccans and members of more conventional churches. I have also seen mixed marriages where they bickered endlessly over whether the children would be raised Jewish or Christian. I think that if D and I had different religious beliefs, we would still get along well. But good relationships are hard to find and require careful nourishment. I am glad that religion is one less potential source of stress.

No. People are people. There are some good Wiccans and some bad Wiccans. There are good and bad Jews. There are good and bad Christians. Ditto for Moslems, Hindus, Buddhists, and Atheists. In all these cases, I judge them by how they treat other people. Note that most Wiccans try not to judge others at all.

People who are good to others generally don’t socialize well with those who are bad to others. The same is true of Wiccans: should we find out that one of our group is a criminal, we would call the police; if we find them practicing black magic, we would throw them out, and in some cases call the police. And they technically aren’t Wiccans because such practices are against our only commandment.

There aren’t many such aberrational pseudo-Wiccans, but they do exist. Since they are shunned by the Wiccan community, they occasionally form their own groups. Yes, there are covens of black magic Witches out there. Those Wiccans who deny such things exist are guilty of wishful thinking. I would merely point out that people and groups who practice black magic are not true Wiccans at all, for they flagrantly violate the Rede, the only commandment that all Wiccans hold in common, no matter what their sect.

Wicca has numerous denominations and variations. There is no single orthodox faith, from which all the others split off. There is no Wiccan Inquisition that measures and certifies the beliefs of the flock. Small variations in belief are easily accommodated. If a variation is large, the person holding such a belief will probably feel more comfortable moving to a group whose beliefs are closer to his own. If there are no such groups, he is free to start one.

Wiccans are generally tolerant of other religions. Few, if any, would claim that their particular path is the one and only true faith.

Despite these facts, Wiccans are people too. They can sometimes be petty, and some like to believe that their beliefs are just a little bit more sophisticated, authentic, historically correct, or in some way better than others.

No. We don't like to hurt people. Most of us are pacifists.

I wouldn't. I believe in protecting myself and those whom I love. I am not a typical Wiccan and not a pacifist.

Yuck! No. Too salty! *3 You need to watch better movies.

No. We don't like to hurt animals. I would estimate that over a third of all Wiccans are strict vegetarians, entirely for ethical reasons.

No. I eat meat, and enjoy it. No babies or black cats. Just cows, poultry, pigs, and lambs and fish. I have had "buffalo burgers" and enjoyed them. I also consume dairy products.

I happen to purchase my meat from ordinary stores. In effect, I am paying somebody else down the line to do my killing for me. I do that from a standpoint of practicality; I am not so foolish as to believe that having somebody else kill a cow for my sake makes me any less guilty of the death of the animal than if I had killed it myself. So, just to square things, I will have to go hunting one of these days and kill my own furry animal and eat it.

Almost all Wiccans have some type of books, tools, ceremonial robes, or jewelry that has some religious meaning. One of the most common bits of Wiccan paraphernalia is a ceremonial knife. This might sound sinister until you find out that such a knife is heavy with symbolism, but low in practical utility: we never cut anything with it, and certainly don’t hurt anybody with it. Quite a few Wiccans make sure that their ceremonial knives have no sharp edges, just to insure that nobody can get hurt accidentally!

Wiccans differ on the subject of how important these artifacts are. Some sects claim that their artifacts are reservoirs of occult power. I am sometimes amused to see such people lurching around, under the weight of special clothing, lots of jewelry, several amulets, and the like. We sometimes call them "jewelry Witches", in an affectionate way. I believe that the utility of ritual objects is primarily symbolic, useful in waking up the religious parts of the mind.

I often wonder how a Catholic Priest views his vestments. I doubt that he believes that putting on some special clothing somehow invests him with the power to perform a Mass. That power was actually given to him at his ordination. I know that putting on the vestments is actually a non-public part of the ceremony itself. I know that different vestments are used for different times of the year, for symbolic reasons. I don’t know if there is more to it than that.

Do you pray? It is essentially the same thing: asking some supernatural agency to help with something.

When I do pray (or cast spells or perform magic, whatever you want to call it), I stick to white Witchcraft.

Do your prayers really work?

There is a quote from Shakespeare's Henry IV that goes like this:

I am satisfied with my religious observations. I hope that you are equally satisfied with yours.

I consider "black magic" to be any request for supernatural aid that seeks to harm anyone or deprive them of their free will.

Avoiding the practice of black magic requires constant vigilance: it is relatively easy to accidentally frame a simple prayer in a harmful or manipulative fashion. This is true, no matter what your religion.

As an example, people of many different faiths pray for peace, in the world at large or in the country that most concerns them. Undoubtable, many Catholics, Protestants, and others pray for peace in Northern Ireland. Whenever I make such a prayer, I avoid asking things like "make them love each other", because that would deprive the combatants of their free will. Instead, I ask that they have the opportunity to learn that they are brothers, and that they be shown more peaceful solutions to their problems.

I have never practiced black magic, and do not intend to. Black magic is bad. Harming others is bad. Fighting is bad. Killing others is bad.

But I can envision times when I might have to choose between two evils. Do I shoot at someone who wants to kill me and my family, or do I let them do it? Many Wiccans, when considering such a situation, would still refrain from harming the assailant. I am forced to admire their noble pursuit of good over any evil, but I do not share it. I would shoot the assailant, thinking it the lesser of two evils. Note that I don’t claim that shooting an evil man is good. It is still a bad thing, and I believe that I would still have to pay for that, spiritually. It is just a little better than the alternative of letting an evil man do an even worse thing, and I am willing to pay the price.

I would apply similar arguments to similar situations in other areas. If I was being attacked, and the only weapon that I had was my ritual knife, I would use it to defend myself. That would desecrate the tool, and it could no longer be used for any religious purpose. Even the act of defending myself would cost me, spiritually. Having debased a religious object would make matters worse. But I would still do it, thinking it better than the alternative. The same goes for black magic. If I were in a life-or-death situation, deprived of any physical means to escape or neutralize my assailant, I might well pray that the bad guy dies instead of me. And I would consider that prayer as having worked an act of black magic, costing me dearly in the spiritual area.

I am virtually alone in admitting that I might ever pray for the death of the bad guy. Almost all Wiccans are more enlightened than I on this particular point of pragmatism.

Now the previous discussion might seem strange, packed with odd metaphysics. So let’s look at a simple case. Think of yourself as the janitor in the church of your choice. An armed thief breaks in, empties the poor box, steals any other objects of value, and runs into you on the way out. You offer no resistance, but he doesn’t want any witnesses and prepares to kill you with a large knife. You are backed into a corner; there is no place to run. You are holding a polishing cloth that will not serve as a weapon. But you were using it to polish a large brass candle holder that is an important part of your religious services. You could pick up that candle holder and whack the man before he stabs you. It could save your life, and if you are fortunate, you will just knock him out and not seriously hurt him. But it would be sacrilege. Would you do it?

Let’s hope that neither one of us has to make a choice like that in real life.

Sometimes. It smells nice.

No. Nor large animals either. Why are you so obsessed with violence?

We don’t like hurting any living thing. Although some of us eat animals and all of us eat plants, that is a practical consideration and we would prefer that they not suffer. We would never hurt anything in any religious context.

We usually do have personal altars, prayer rooms, temples, or other areas of our homes and offices dedicated to religious purposes. But since Wicca places a considerable focus on nature, we really prefer to perform our ceremonies outdoors.

Most of us do. For headaches, I take Advil. For hay fever, I take Claritin. For high blood pressure, I take Procardia XL and Toprol XL.

Sometimes we make our own. Most Wiccans are fond of "natural medicine", and may take herbs, juices, vitamins, etc. Herbal lore is a long and accepted part of human heritage. Many of the little old ladies who were hanged or burned as Witches were just midwives and herbal healers. It makes me want to cry.

There is no doubt that some herbal remedies are quite effective. Many modern drugs originated as plant products, including: aspirin (willow bark), ephedrine (flowers), digitalis (foxglove flowers), benzocain (cocoa), penicillin (mold), morphine (poppies), Valium (valerian root), and more. A recent study suggested that Saint John's Wort is an effective antibiotic and antidepressant. Some "natural" drugs are so effective that people abuse them: cocaine (coca leaves), alcohol (yeast), LSD (ergot), THC (marijuana), hashish (poppies), peyote (mushrooms), tobacco (weed), caffeine (coffee, tea, beetle nuts). The list goes on. If you want to list animal products, start with blowfish toxin and toad sweat before going on to poison-arrow frogs.

There are also herbs that have a long history of medicinal use that has not been scientifically verified. I suppose that some of them work and some of them don’t. Many years ago, when I was a high school student at a summer camp for gifted children, I got a bee sting. I am rather allergic to the things. We were on an overnight camping trip in the middle of nowhere, and the swelling got large, fast. One of the teachers made a tobacco poultice by chewing up the end of a cigarette and held it on with a band-aid. I thought that it was a silly superstition, and icky besides, but I kept it on. By the time that I got to the infirmary the next morning, the swelling was completely gone. The nurse gave me some Benadryl anyway. Was it magic? No, I believe that it was nicotine. But I haven't seen any "scientific proof" that a tobacco poultice is an effective treatment for bee stings. It worked for me, though.

I believe that everyone has a right to choose their own religion. That includes children, once they have sufficient reasoning power and background information to make such a choice.

E is an important part of my life. So is my religion, and it would be unfair for me to cut her out of that part of my life that touches on religion. So when my custody of E overlaps a Wiccan ceremony, E attends with me. I tell her generally what is going on, but do not attempt to fill her with theology. I answer her questions promptly, honestly, and with enough detail to make the answers understandable.

It would be bad, though, to deprive E of enough information about other religions so that she can not make an informed choice about them. So whenever I discuss religion with E, I attempt to give her a little from each religion. If she attends a Wiccan Yule ceremony, I also tell her about Christmas, Channukah, and Kwanzaa *4.

For the record, E is well behaved and respectful in every religious and social setting in which I have placed her, including Catholic masses, Presbyterian services, Wiccan rituals, and Victorian tea parties.

She is free to make her own choice, which means that she can choose any religion that she wants, or none at all.

There are some choices that I would consider unwise, such as Satanism or Scientology. Were she to choose something like that, it would probably be from a lack of information about that religion. I would do my best to fill in the gaps in her education and then suggest that she reconsider. But ultimately, the choice is hers.

I will support her in any choice that she makes.

I never asked you to do that. Wiccans don’t proselytize. We accept the legitimacy of other religions and the rights of individuals to choose them.

I support you in any choice that you have made. All I ask is that you respect my choice of religion, even if you don’t agree with it. That is all that any Wiccan would ask of you.

If I wanted to proselytize, wouldn’t I have hit you earlier? I have written over 80 of these letters, and very few of them discuss religion.

I am writing this to help you understand me; not to convert you.

I respect the choices of Atheism and Agnosticism as I would any other choice.

In fact, I admire certain traits of the Atheists. They do not hate us simply because our God is different from their God. They just think that people of all religions are a little peculiar for believing in any God whatsoever.

Thank you. I appreciate the kind thoughts of those who wish me well.

But if you pray that I will change my religion to yours, please don’t bother. Coercing somebody else is bad. Coercing someone through prayer is black magic. And, in this case, it won't work.

Wiccans tend not to talk much about their religion to others. We have been persecuted enough to know that a lot of people don’t understand us, think that we are evil, and would harm us if they knew us for what we are. That is why I have not written much about religion in the past.

For an intricate set of personal reasons, I have decided to "come out of the [broom] closet". I love and trust the folks on this mailing list, and believe that I can be more open with you than I can with the world at large.

If you have additional questions, I will answer them to the best of my abilities. Call, send E-mail, or drop a letter in the mailbox. [Me, too. - editor D]