Wicca

A polytheistic Neo-Pagan nature religion inspired by various pre-Christian western European beliefs, whose central deity is a mother goddess and includes the use of herbal magic and benign witchcraft. Wicca is a very peaceful, harmonious and balanced way of life which promotes oneness with the divine and all which exists. Wiccans have great reverence for the Earth and for their Goddess and her consort, the horned God. Their main rule of behavior is the Wiccan Rede which forbids them from harming people, including themselves, except in some cases of self-defense. Many, perhaps most, are solitary practitioners. Others form small groups of believers, called covens, groves, etc. Because of centuries of religious propaganda and misinformation, many conservative Christians, and others, associate Wiccans with Satanists even though the two belief systems are as different as Christianity and Atheism. Much of modern-day Wicca can be directly traced back to the writings of Charles Leland, Margaret Murray, and Gerald Gardner. There are many beliefs concerning the origins of Wicca.