Are Wiccans Satanists?

One of my Dominican lay sisters asked me recently: "Are Wiccans Satanists?"

Here's my answer:

Wiccans will say that the charge of being Satanists laid against them by Christians is false. Satan is a character found in Christian mythology. He's the Evil One, the Adversary of the Christian god. Without the Christian god, Satan is meaningless as a concept. Since Wiccans are not Christians, they cannot be Satanists. In other words, to believe that Satan exists, one must first be a Christian.

Wiccans will also point out that they do not accept the monotheistic belief in absolute good and evil. There is force, power, energy in the universe, but labeling these "Good" and/or "Evil" is a monotheistic obsession. The energy of the universe can be used for productive or destructive ends. The power itself is morally neutral; it's the intent of the power's user that makes it good or evil.

Wiccans will usually acknowledge that there is a distinction to be made between White Magic and Black Magic. White magic is used for healing, attracting luck, finding love, etc. Black Magic is used for revenge, obtaining power, causing sickness, etc. Most Wiccans are quick to denounce Black Magic and ally themselves with the White side of the Old Religion, noting that the Wiccan Reede, "Harm no others and do what you will," is morally binding. Violating the Reede invokes the Threefold Law: "Whatever you do returns to you three times." Some Wiccans claims that this is why witches are usually portrayed as ugly hags--too many Black Magic spells have resulted in the ugliness wrought by the Threefold Law.

In one sense we can see how Wiccans might not be Satanists. It is true that Wiccans do not invoke Satan in their rites nor do they pray to him by name as a god. They are not Christians, so they do not believe in the Judeo-Christian mythos surrounding the origins of Good and Evil. We might say that on a purely historical-sociological level, Wiccans are not to be classified along with Satanists as a cultural-religious phenomenon. Wicca pre-dates Christianity* and most Wiccans do not believe that they worship a Christian devil named "Satan."

For Christians, however, the question remains: is praying to or invoking the name of any other god than the God of scripture the same as praying to His enemy? The answer to this is Yes. We cannot and should not avoid the hard truth that the world is influenced by demonic forces. Precisely what this means is not altogether clear to me. Over the centuries we have found that many maladies and "supernatural" phenomena are actually quite natural to creation; that is, what we once thought to be demonic activity has since been found to be just part of nature. Not only are these phenomena explicable in terms of the natural order, we can defend against them or cure their effects in perfectly natural ways.

In fact, many scientists, like the atheist astronomer, Carl Sagan, believe that science will eventually bring the light of reason to every dark corner of human knowledge. Maybe. I tend to think that the universe is too large and too mysterious for us bring human reason to bear on every event, every object out there. This doesn't mean that the currently inexplicable is attributable to demonic activity. It simply means that there may indeed be some events, some things in the universe that will not be fully explained by human reason.

Anyway, Christians know that when we open ourselves to spiritual influences other than God, we open ourselves to forces and powers that do not create, do not love, do not show mercy. Wiccan magic opens all sorts of extraordinarily dangerous doors. Magic is the attempt to manipulate natural forces by use of the will. Ritual focuses the will to make manifest whatever the magic-user wishes. God cannot be manipulated in this way. Prayer is not magic. The Christian who prays must understand that what she is doing is receiving God's blessings with thanksgiving. Petitions addressed to God are the most effective means we have for growing in humility and faith. Asking for what you need creates and nurtures your sense of dependency on God. We don't bargain with God. We don't make pacts or bribe Him with sacrifice. A contrite heart is sacrifice enough!

Here's my warning to anyone who would dabble in magic: DON'T DO IT! If you were home alone in a dangerous neighbor, would you casually open your front door to just anyone who knocked? Would you leave your child alone in the city park overnight? Post your credit card number on Craigslist? No, of course not. Then why would put something as precious and valuable as your immortal soul in danger of corruption and loss? Tarot cards, Ouija boards, psychics, mediums, astrology, ritual magic, neo-pagan religions--using any of these will open your heart and mind to any number of dangerous spirits that long to possess you. Maybe we don't know exactly what these spirits are. Maybe there is a perfectly good scientific explanation for what they are. But remember: we have a perfectly good scientific explanation for why a high-velocity bullet shot through your head kills you. Do you play Russian roulette anyway?

*In response to Bob (cf comments) I want to clarify this statement. "Wicca" is a 20th century reclamation project. Modern Wiccans readily admit that their traditions have been lost to history. They blame Christians for this in one of their many myths, "The Burning Times." What I am saying in the sentence above is that the practice of worship nature and the belief that natural forces can be manipulated by ritual is a pre-Christian notion. Most, if not all, of the books on Wicca in your local Borders contain rituals, prayers, etc. that are wholly invented by modern Wiccans or in some way adapted from fairly recently published texts. In this modern sense, Wicca does not pre-date Christianity, of course.

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