Unfortunately, there are some who say that we (and any others who don't follow their rituals or embrace their theology) are worshipping Satan. Not that we know it, of course; Satan is too tricky for that, according to these experts. Such people can't believe that any religion but their own can be meaningful, fulfilling and true to its adherent. So if we worship the God and Goddess, they say, we're denying all good, and are worshipping Satan, the embodiment of all negativity and evil.

Wiccans are not so close-minded. Perhaps it's the greatest of all human vanities to assume that one religion is the only way to Deity. Such beliefs have caused incalculable bloodshed and the rise of holy wars.

The basis of this misconception lies in the concept of a pristine, pure, positive being - God. If this deity is the sum of all good, worshippers believe that there must be an equally negative one as well. Thus, Satan. The Wicca don't accept such ideas. However, we do acknowledge the dark aspects of the Goddess and the God as well as the bright. All nature is composed of opposites, and the polarity is resident within ourselves, as well. We each contain the darkest human traits as well as the brightest. It is only our ability to rise above destructive urges, to channel such energies into positive thoughts and actions, that separates us from mass-murderers and sociopaths.

Yes, the Goddess and the God have dark aspects, but that needn't scare you off. And if you are still with me, at this point, obviously they haven't. Look at some of the manifestations of their powers. From a damaging flood, that leaves many people's homes ruined, and crops washed away, emerges new and replenished soil, rich with minerals for new plants to thrive in. The death of a loved one brings a deeper appreciation of life to those who are still living, and rest, sometimes the end of intense pain and suffering, for the transcended one. "Good" and "evil" are often the same, depending on how you look at it. Eventually, there is always some good out of every evil. For instance, take what happened recently in Littleton, Colorado. Even though those two boys killed 15 people, and hurt many, many others, including themselves and their families, they have sparked our nation to take a closer look at our own relationships with our children, and for the children (like me) a look at our relationships with our parents, and teachers. So there was some good, even though many people don't want to accept it.

Any and all religions are real, the genuine article, to their practitioners. There can never be one "true way" to deity that will satisfy the needs of over five billion people. Each of us must find our own way. And for some of us, that way is Wicca. Wiccans emphasize the bright aspects of the deities because this gives us purpose to grow and evolve to the highest realm of existence. When death and destruction, such as Columbine, or hurt, anger, and pain, such as in Kosovo, appear in our lives, we can turn to the Goddess and the God and know that this is a part of them, too. We needn't blame a devil on these natural aspects of life, and call upon a pure-white god to fend them off. The Goddess and God are of nature, both the dark and bright aspects. We don't worship nature as such; some Wiccans probably wouldn't even say they worship the Goddess and the God. We don't bow down to them, but work with them to better our world.

Hence, this is what makes Wicca a truly participatory religion.