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Unfortunately this is an all too common belief that a lot of people hold, not just Christians. It will take a long time for common misconceptions to change, though there have been huge leaps and bounds in recent times. It is a shame but there will always be people who feel this way about the craft.

I know that one God is all Gods, I was brought up in a baptist church and was baptised in my teens. I always believed in the Divine and communicated with him/her, I just knew that I didn't agree with or believe in many of the other things that came with that path. Now that I have found my true path I know that I am communing with the same Divine being, something so whole and all encompassing it cannot be defined through just one form.

I think that we just have to be certain in our beliefs and open about what it entails and hope that people can see that it is not rooted in evil.

Well where I live, here in San Francisco, diversity is a norm so no one really trips, except the random bible thumper who wanders down the beach in the middle of one of my solar charging rites (a naked serimony).
I have always been a Omniist. I believe that all view points and all opinions of religon are totaly valid. Unfortunatly not every one feels the same way. I have studied paganism for 20 years or so and have heard ALOT of peoples view points on our beliefs and have found that most people are ignorant. Ignorance then spawns fear and hate. I can usually deduce with in a few moments whether the person would listen to the knowledge I would willingly share or let information feed the fire. Remember my brothers and sisters, Our belief has always been and might always be shrowded in our mothers viel of night. To keep our thoughts and intensions quiet and private. It seems that alot of people these days like to wear the mantel of being a wiccan just to be different or shocking, using the symbols and terms as tools to establish style rather than your being. Because of these people who are unarmed with the knowledge and wisdom of our ancient and time honor traditions, Ignorance is spread far and wide. Leaving a trail of misconception and ill in thier wake. Paganism and wicca is a personal way to connect with the magical powers and energies that are every where. To celebrate and honor the elements and Mother and Father and the All encompassing binding and penetrating power of Akasha. I find that people are more willing to spew hate and negativity and personal attack than to stop and listen and be informed and enlightened. Threw the millenia our spiritual way of life has been attacked and feared and tried to be banished. But the sweet Breath of our Moon Maiden Mother Goddess shall not be stopped. So I say to thee: Our way of life is but around the bend my brothers and sisters. Speak only in our circles to like minded folk, and keep our intents beneith our cloaks. The Lady's power is growing and more and more people are coming to bow and kiss the hem of her moon spun garnment. Soon her riegn will be supreme. Pagans hear our Mother Earths voice and do not ignore her, and our united prayers and rites are her manifested voice. The books and writings from our lineage left behind are the knowledge and wisdom of our kind. Read and devour all that you can to strengthen your mental grip on the workings of energy and power manipulation. Give honor and homage to The lady Mother Goddess and Lord Father God.

well there are users in this world and there are vampires. I dont think that it is a "wiccan thing". some people "use" people for various reasons. Material, sexual, emotional, ect. and some people derive thier personal energy bank from feeding or leeching other people. These are vampires. They are every where. I've known many vampires in my life and most of them dont even know what they are. It is a personality defect really. Whether instilled at childhood, or selfishness, or sloth, these people cannot be avoided or warded off but rather we as people aware and responsable of your own actions and the reaction those actions produce must be aware and protect ourselves and reinforce our aura to block out negativity and bane. I have a spell to bolster ones aura against negative and bane if anyone is interested I can post it in the Crones Cottage.

Skeptics I can deal with; I know where I stand, and I know what I believe, and nothing they can say will change that. What gets me are the people who you think you can trust... until they betray you. I had three really good friends in 8th grade, I'll call them Kristen, Chealsea, and Rachel for now. I was just becoming interested in paganism in general, and I was becoming nervous. I had been noticing lately that my viewpoints were slowly drifting from those of my friends. I thought that it would be a good idea to tell them. I went to each of my friends individually, in the order of their names above. My exact words when I told each of them: "I kind of wanted to tell you, I've read a bit about it, and I'm really getting interested in Paganism. In witchcraft." Kristen had already figured that something was up, and was completely cool with it. Chealsea got all stupid and just took it as a joke. I didn't really care about that, she just turned out to be an idiotic bimbo anyway. But when I told Rachel; the first words out of her mouth were: "Then I hate you," in a completely serious voice. I said, "Um... what?" She said, "it's fine."

Me: "Oh, good, I was..."
Her: "I knew you were only kidding!"
Me: "What? No, I was serious, I'm reading a book about witchcraft right now!"
Her: "Then I hate you. My religion (high and mighty voice) says that you people don't really have any powers, and what you do get is from Satan."
Me: (utterly confused and devastated voice) "I don't believe in Satan...
Her: "It doesn't matter. He still works on bitches like you."

And then she walked away, and I was standing there, almost ready to cry. She spread around our school, which is a hotbed of bigots and facists, that I was a witch, and that I put a curse on her and the group of friends she hung out with after she stopped hanging out with me (for the record: Not True). I was so hurt.

Now, though, I'm almost glad that I decided to tell and got it all out then; I really can't imagine how she would've reacted if I told her that I was a witch, bisexual, and so many other things at once. She might've spontaneously combusted. I guess I'm stronger now, though. I can handle people like her, and I don't need anyones approval anymore.

Wow Artemis, your story just might be worse than mine, you got singled out while I was discriminated against as a whole with a bunch of friends.

Anyways... I had always hung out with two crowds in high school. Skaters and the goths. Most of the 'goths' were into paganisim, a few were christian, but we all got along. Suddenly one of the girls who was also on the soccer team, disapeared. Her parents had pulled her out of the school and put her in teh mental hospital. Two days later, I came to school and it was a nightmare. Walking through the courtyards (we had a very open air school, many buildings with various courtyards, it was Florida) I felt like the entire school had gone crazy and was staring at me. They were. Everyone was wispering, a few we not. As I reach my friends and ask what's going on, they hold up the local newspaper.

Page one news.

Local high school girl, good little christian girl, soccer player, turned into satanist by hick school clic.

By the way, the article wasn't one of the sidebars. It took up almost the entire page. And more on page three.

None of us were allowed to visit her, they wrote that we had gone to see her and being barred access to warp her mind further, had performed a ritual outside of the mental hospital, ending with us smearing human excriment on the doors. No one did any such thing.

The paper said we passed each other secret messages and communicated with satan by writing in satanic codes. Turned out to be runes.

Basicly, the article led everyone in the school to believe we practiced black magic, worshiped satan, and killed animals (almost a year later when we brought a seagull that had gotten hurt over to the office so they could call the bird rescue, they shouted "Oh my god, they are killing it for a ritual!")

Everyone taunted us for nearly a month, and even after it died down, people were still nasty to us. The school banned anyone from wearing anything that looked liked it was linked to satanism, like pentagrams, triquetras, etc. I escaped scrutiny thankfully, I had always worn a copper and hematite ankh on my wrist on a silver chain. They didn't see it as a threat.

That was my freshman year of high school.

Oh, the deed was long ago done but then recinded after I pointed out an article that was a response to what another school had done. They had banned the symbols in another school and one girl and her parents raised a huge stink and cause major legal issues. I guess it helped in my case that my step-father's cousin was one of the vice principals and was more than willing to listen to me.

The really sad thing.. that was in Key West. That city has to be the next closest thing to San Fran aside for New Orleans. Seriously.. i think the gay population outnumbers the straight population there so you would think they would be a bit more open. Nope. Just takes a few bible thumpers to cause a ruckus then everyone else jumps on the bandwagon.