Of the many fallacies about Neo-Pagan Witchcraft that abound, either from deliberate or inadvertent ignorance, by far at the top of the list is that Witchcraft equals Satanism. There has been so much paranoia over the years in the Wiccan community over this myth. As a matter of fact, on the large majority of Wiccan and Pagan sites I've had the opportunity to visit, the initial introductions to our religion have made it an express point to say that we do not worship Satan or the Devil, etc. Usually following this denial of allegiance comes something closely along these lines:

Wicca's beliefs are based upon a revival of Pre-Christian religions that existed in Europe. Satan, however, is a feature of the Christian religion, and as the concept of a figure representing absolute evil was alien to Pre-Christian peoples, modern Witches (who seek to emanate their ancient counterparts) also do not have this concept. If we do not believe in such an idea, how can we possibly worship it? Satan, in fact, was brought to his status as the ultimate antithesis of God by the medieval Church who used him as a scapegoat for the misfortunes of the time and to oppress those who refused to convert to Christianity.

All of the above is true. However, I believe many of those less receptive to the acceptance of our faith (namely Christians) find this a poor and inadequate excuse. From an objective viewpoint, I can perhaps understand their dissatisfaction with this terse rebuttal. If we honestly expect people to read this and comment,"Oh, okay! I guess that really proves they're not Satanists!" then we are fooling ourselves.

The problem presented to us then is how do we show Christians that we have no association with Satan or his minions? Obviously, appealing only to the intellects of non-Wiccans in and of itself will not accomplish this. In making our typical argument, we have failed to realize that for most Christians, there is no separation between the Bible and academic history (especially among those who take the Bible very literally). It does encompass everything from the creation to the apocalypse in Christian theology. We cannot appeal to them by quaintly referring to historical events we consider to be "outside" of Biblical references. From their point of view, nothing is beyond the bounds of the Bible. Just as it will do a Christian no good to try to prove the validity of the Bible to a skeptic by quoting the Bible at them, it will do us no good to relate history and anthropology to people who do not believe history lies outside of the Bible. We must approach the problem differently. This is really a matter of belief and practice. So, for me, the most sincere way to express the fact that I do not worship Satan is to take it from a highly personal level, from my own personal beliefs and practices. I do not claim them to be the same beliefs and practices universally accepted by all Wiccans, but I feel that many will at least sympathize with them. At long last...here goes!

Christians are quick to point out that Satan is quite the deceptive character. They believe we are paying homage to him regardless of whether we claim to or not. Satan acts as some sort of puppet master, the true animating force behind all of the supposed "false gods" of other religions. He does this with such skill that multitudes of Wiccans, as well as Hindus, Muslims, Taoists, Druids, Buddhists, Native Americans, etc. are utterly convinced they are actually worshipping their God/s or other sacred archetypes. I have often wondered though, if Satan is powerful and capable enough to delude every non-Christian religious person into believing they are worshipping God (even those who are remarkably intelligent and those who are deeply tied to their creed), is he equally as capable of deluding Christians? We know that, from a Christian standpoint, he is capable of tempting them (as well as everyone else) into sinful deeds, and deluding some of them to a limited degree. However, would it be possible for Christianity to be deluded on a large scale (as in a scale comparable to the grand illusions he has created in other religions)? If he could induce millions of sincere followers of other religions to submit to his impressive scheme without their knowledge, is it not possible that he could have done something similar with Christianity? I am positive that many Christians will be scoffing at the idea (and at me for bringing it up!), but what if? Satan being the remarkably deceitful and deceptive creature that he is, and having already demonstrated that he is able to mimic the voices of Deities to millions of other equally human beings ( - all created by God in His image), could he not also try the same trick with the Christian God? How can humans be expected to tell the difference between Satan speaking as God, and God speaking as God?

That entire last paragraph was purely hypothetical. I am not really trying to declare that Christianity is a great ploy of Satan's cleverness, but by the same token I am not suggesting that any other religion or philosophy is either. Hopefully though, I have made my point. However the question still remains: How do I, as a Wiccan, know I am not venerating Satan in the disguise of my Goddess? I suppose the answer is essentially the same as a Christian's response to the posing of the query,"How do I, as a Christian, know I am not really worshipping Satan by some perverse illusion?" Firstly, there is a deep and penetrating feeling I have throughout my very being that tells me, without a shade of doubt, that I am not worshiping something that stands for all that is evil in the Universe. I recognize this as an instinctual knowledge (although this could also be attributed to an ingenious artifice of the Devil). Beyond this feeling, a have a very strong sense of this thing Christians are fond of calling "faith". I have faith that I am not being hoplessly led along by a demon in Goddess' garments.

Christians converse with God by means of prayer, the reading of sacred literature, holy communion, and even through church services. I also converse with Goddess by prayer, but I also do so through ritual, meditiation, contemplation, and communing with nature. The Goddess has never commanded me to murder, sacrifice humans or animals, to be dishonest, to be sexually promiscuous, to desecrate the sacred places and things of others, or in any other way to do the regrettable when She and I have talked. When I have done things that I regret, they were caused by me not listening to Her! If Satan were using Her guise to manipulate me, surely he would not request that I be respectful, honest, honorable, and good? It is true that the Goddess has and will allow me to go through some hard times, some "dark nights of the soul", but that is because She is teaching me to be stronger, wiser. The Christian God has done this to His followers also, and that certainly does not make Him in any way Satanic in nature.

I worship the Goddess, who has manifold faces and names, who gave birth to existence and who will receive us upon death. I worship the Divine Being who created everything. Christians worship the God who created everything. Since we both inhabit the same Universe, and both revere its Creator - how can the two be different Deities? I say that indeed they are One and the same, although I will not debate that our two religions differ on our perceptions of Them/It. The Creator of the Universe is definitely not Satan, therefore I cannot be worshiping Satan. I am Wiccan, I am not a Satanist. Even though our religious ideas are different, both Christians and Witches worship God.

I invite other Pagans and Wiccans to write their own personal reasons for not worshipping Satan. Perhaps among many of us we can find a more convincing response.

*Note* Throught this essay I have written of Satan as the extraordinarily powerful anti-God many Christians regard him to be. While I believe that some not particularly beneficent entity may exist by the name of Satan/the Devil/Lucifer etc., I by no means believe that he is a monumental figure reponsible for every evil unleashed upon the world, and I certainly do not believe that such a creature is powerful enough to be considered an anti-God. I approached Satan here as such because of the argument I was trying to make. I have been trying to address Christian misconceptions, and so have tried to write from a Christian perception of Satan.

    I should also mention that in this essay, I am referring to Satanists as most Christians (and indeed most others) envision them. I am really not addressing those who call themselves Satanists today, but to the much maligned stereotype society thinks a Satanist is. It was not very long ago that I made the same mistake (therefore, I freely admit that I am far from perfect!), but what matters is that I learned from that mistake. To be quite truthful, I do not really know a great deal about modern Satanism and so cannot properly delineate their true beliefs to you. In regards to what some Wiccans and Pagans say regarding Satanism, I found this article, written by a theistic Satanist, to be very enlightening: A Critique of Wiccan and Other Neo-Pagan Disclaimers About Satanism . If you are curious as to the true beliefs of Modern Satanists (who apparently tend to regard Satan as an archetype to be emulated, rather than a figure to be worshipped), might I suggest beginning your research here: Satanism FAQ and Satanism.

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