The Wiccan religion is all about nature and the spiritual world around us. It is based on ancient beliefs similar to paganism. Wiccans are accepting of everyone regardless of their religious background, race, sexual orientation or cultural background. Some wiccans come to this religion because they believe they have unusual or supernatural abilities. Because of these abilities they may not be accepted in the religion they may have grown up with. People come to the wiccan religion because they feel more accepted and embrace the idea of living in harmony with nature.

Not all wiccans are witches, and not all witches are wiccans. Witches can be both male and female; warlocks are witches, either men or women, who are shunned from their wiccan community.

There is a misconception about witches or wiccans which has, pardon the pun, been brewing for years. The popular media has perpetuated the myth that witches practice black magic, cast evil spells, worship the devil and so on. While I don't dispute that some people, not necessairily wiccans, are satan worshippers, the majority of wiccans you will meet do not do this.

A wiccan practitioner will concentrate on their natural powers to improve their own lives, the lives of those around them, and their family members. It is more about love than hate; wiccans don't like negative energy and work hard to avoid it. Things a witch or wiccan will work towards in their lives include:

• Live a "green" life
• Conserve energy and gas
• Plant trees
• Clean up their community
• Volunteer at many community businesses
• Recycle
• ...and anything that can help improve the earth and environment

The Council of American Witches (which is now defunct), drew up a list of principles that are still followed by most witch and wiccan practitioners today. Of special importance is the following principle:

"We do not accept the concept of absolute evil, nor do we worship any entity known as "Satan" or "the devil" as defined by Christian traditions." (See Pagan Lore link below).

Did you know that the wiccan religion is recognized in the United States? Wiccan practitioners are protected under the U.S. Constitution. In 1986 a federal appeals court ruled that it is a legal religion. Because of this many people have found the courage to announce that wicca is their religion of choice. Practitioners may also wear pentagrams in public schools or the workplace and cannot be forced to remove the jewelry for religions reasons.

As previously stated, wiccans and witches believe in the power of three. This means that whatever you do, whether for good or bad, will come back to you three-fold. Wicca practitioners believe in Karma- negative actions will cause negative things to happen to you. Positive things will impact your life in a positive way. This is why wiccans strive to "harm none" so that they can live in peace and harmony with the earth and the people around them.

After centuries of propaganda, wiccans and witches have been labeled as evil. This can be traced back to organized religions in which those that do not believe in Christ must be against Christians. Christ is good and those that don't believe must be bad. And as we know, courtesy of the Spanish Inquisition and the Salem witch trials, those that don't embrace the Christian religion will never make it to heaven and should be eradicated.

Oddly enough, those that claim to be athiests suffer considerably less than those who claim to be wiccans or witches. Wiccans and witches do believe in a higher power; they just don't believe in the Christian religion. This makes them no different than many other major religions, including the Jews who also don't believe in Christ.

So in closing, I would like to encourage you, the reader, to explore the wiccan faith, as well as other faiths that are different from your own. Not so that you will convert to a different faith, but rather to learn about other religions and to help dispell some of the misconceptions that are perpetuated by ignorance.

Please check out the links below for information on the wiccan religion and practices.

Blessed be!