by Rena Sherwood

Created on: July 01, 2009

Not all Satanists are alike and not all Witches are alike, so it's not entirely fair to either side in order to compare the two. Many Satanists call themselves Witches, which makes thing even more confusing to an outsider. However, there are more similarities than differences. Both sides believe in that the individual has the power to make changes for the better. Both sides also believe in questioning everything all of the time and both do not have a definitive holy writ.

Most importantly, both sides agree that whatever God another worships is none of their darn business.

That Satan Guy

One major difference between Satanists and Witches is the belief in the existence of Satan. Witches, on the whole, do not believe in Satan or hell. However, there are Satanists who argue just over who Satan is. Is he the Christian Devil, or is he someone else entirely, such as the Egyptian god of the underworld Seth or Set? There are other Satanists that believe that Satan is just a name people use to talk about the dark aspects of their own nature and not an actual being.

What about the so-called founder of The Church of Satan, Anton LaVey? He was just a famous Satanist, but not exactly the spokesperson for all Satanists. Some Satanists love his writings and some just laugh at them. Arguably, he did things just to get attention and not necessarily because he believed in them. But there were a couple of things that he wrote that many Satanists agree with - don't hurt children and don't bother anyone who isn't bothering you.

Which Witch Is Which?

As with Satanists, there are a lot of different types of Witches. There are Wiccan Witches, feminist Witches, atheist Witches and Christian Witches. Another type is the eclectic Witch, who does not follow anyone else's advice but his or her own. There are Witches that worship in the nude and those who worship fully clad. There are those that hold elaborate rituals with others and those that despise worshiping with others.

But on the whole, Witches believe that a person is free to do what they like providing that it doesn't harm anyone. Some Witches even take this to the extreme and will not perform a beneficial spell to help anyone unless they get that person's permission first.

Other Similarities

Both Witches and Satanists are persecuted groups that tend to keep to themselves. Neither group has a secret agenda to take over the world, because both groups are for free speech and freedom of religion. Both groups are wary of Christianity and Islam but not for the eradication of either religion. Both groups believe that there is hope in ourselves and our own actions because we posses far greater powers than we would dare to admit.

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