For centuries people have dubbed devotees of faiths other than their own as heretics and infidels. Most often this is due to some misunderstanding about the practices and beliefs of the offending religion. Wicca, the modern religion of witchcraft, is probably the most misunderstood of our time. Many assume it to be a religion based of devil worship and having very shallow roots, historically. Wicca is believed to have an ethical system based on self aggrandizement and egocentrism. In truth, Wicca and witchcraft have their beginnings in the earliest human beliefs and practices. The Wiccan moral system is based on the same "Golden Rule" ascribed to by the Christian layperson. As for accusations of devil worship, this is an impossibility. Wiccan theology maintains that a separate entity devoted entirely to evil cannot exist, therefore there is no devil.
             Modern Wicca is based mainly on two ideas. First, humans are part of the natural, living world. Common western religious thought maintains that humans are not part of the natural world, they are above it. Humans are the masters and keepers of the earth. They have an authority and a divine right to rule lesser forms of life. Wiccans believe that while humans have great intelligence and capacity for creative thought, this fact does not elevate them in status above the animal and plant kingdoms. Rather, they believe that humans must take the role of participating custodians. Humans should be free to act upon their wills but not at the expense of lesser creatures, or at the expense of other cultures. Most Wiccans are as likely to speak against missionary work to convert citizens of third-world countries to non- native religions as they are to speak out against the clear cutting of the rainforests.
             The second idea is that magic permeates the universe, and that humans may invoke that magic through creative thought and action, force of will and the intervention of...