By Kristi Cummins / Staff writer

The girl who sits next to you in class may not have green skin and warts, but she may be a witch. Tonight Pitt-Greensburg students will have the chance to really learn what the controversial religion called Wicca is all about at “Have You Ever Met A Witch?”

Wicca is an earth-based religion stemming from a mixture of ancient Pagan beliefs. In Wicca, the term “witch” actually means “healer.”

Wiccans follow the Wiccan Rede, which states “A’in it harm none, do what thou wilt.” Basically, as long as what Wiccans are doing isn’t harming anyone, including themselves, they can do what they want. The Rede is reinforced by the Threefold Law, which is the belief that any harm or good that a Wiccan does to someone else comes back to hurt or benefit him or her magnified three times over.

UPG student Rachel Kendall has been actively practicing Wicca for over ten years now.

“I’m what is known as an eclectic Wiccan, or witch. I’m actually Jewish as well, but that’s a whole other story in itself,” Kendall said.

The media isn’t too keen on portraying Wicca as anything other than evil, with recent articles of a man who killed his stepdaughter claiming it was because of his Wiccan beliefs. And Wiccans making claims like that sort aren’t giving the religion a good name, either.

“That’s horrible, and doesn’t represent true Wiccans out there at all,” Kendall said.

Wiccans face many judgments and false ideas about their religion daily. The most common misconceptions about Wicca are that they are evildoers who just cast spells on people. That is, however, not true. Many people are simply just uneducated about Wicca, since it’s not a mainstream religion.

“I know that it’s a religion that has something to do with witchcraft, and that’s about it,” said senior Vickie Woodhead.

Anyone with questions about this controversial subject or who would like to learn more can attend the event tonight at 7 p.m. in Campana Chapel. IAV, BSAV and HAV credit will be given for attendance.

“My hope is that people will come away feeling more informed and open-minded,” Kendall said. “And that sometimes if you take the time to learn about other religions you’ll find that all faiths are beautiful in their own way, even if the beliefs aren’t your own.”