lately, I've seen a growing and, let's face it, a disturbing trend. it's the perception of wicca being an evil, diabolic cult that worships Satan. this perception is, apparently, being fueled by propaganda and out and out lies perpetrated by fundamentalist Christian groups. these groups accuse wiccans and pagans of being devil worshipers, drug addicts, child molesters, of kidnapping and killing children and household pets, of practicing wild, naked sex orgies where children are encouraged to get involved, and have even taken steps to deny the basic, inalienable rights, afforded to all citizens of the united states by the constitution, to American soldiers who have fought and bled for this country just because they are wiccan or pagan. our children are being denied the right to wear symbols of their faith in public schools or suffer punishment, while Christian children are allowed to where symbols of their faith and receive no punishment. fundamentalist Christian ministers have even declared, openly in the public media, war on wiccans and pagans, and have even encouraged violence towards wiccans, pagans and other non-Christian paths. the list goes on and on.

first of all, wicca is NOT satanism. they are two separate, although somewhat similar, paths of practice. this misconception is due to the fact that, upon the creation of the satanic church in the mid-twentieth century, many of the practices, already in use by established wiccan covens, was borrowed and adapted for use in the practice of modern satanism.

modern satanism cropped up in the united states some time in the 1970's. Gerald gardener, the "father of modern wicca", had already established the wiccan path in the late 1930's and, some time in the early 1940's, had brought his "new" ideas to the western world. so, by the establishment of the modern satanic movement in America, wicca was already a little over 30 years old.

as far as Satan; it is a Christian deity, the opposing archetype of the Christian god, Yahweh. Satan has no association with wicca whatsoever. in fact, the very word, Satan, does not even imply an actual entity. translated from the Hebrew, "Satan", quite literally, means "adversary". this word was used very often in the bible in association to several different characters, many of those characters being advocates FOR the Christian path, not against.

wiccans do not condone the use of illegal drugs. the use of illegal substances is in direct violation of the most important

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