Saint Louis University’s class of 2010 is composed of 810 Roman Catholics, 325 Christians of other denominations and 406 who fall under the categories of “other, no preference or not specified.” It might be surprising to learn that of those included in the latter category, some are practicing Wiccans.

Wicca is a religion associated with paganism and magic whose exact definition varies among its practitioners.

Sondra Schroder, a sophomore and self-identified Wiccan, said that Wicca is an earth-based religion in which forms of worship are tailored to the individual. She said that imagery and nature play a vital role in the faith and its rituals.

Popular conceptions of Wicca, however, suggest that it centers around devil worship and sorcery.

These perceptions are largely based on media portrayals of Wiccans, such as the 1996 horror film The Craft, in which four teenage girls use a sensationalized version of Wicca to dominate and control their enemies. ?

While Wicca’s reputation for being magical is true to a certain extent, it is not the Harry Potter, broom-and-wand sort of magic. In fact, Wiccans differentiate their magick by adding a “k” to the end of the word.

The misconception about Wiccan magick is one Schroder and other Wiccans on campus would like to clear up.

“My pet peeve is when people think that doing magick in rituals will make things just-‘poof!’-automatically happen,” Schroder said.

Wiccan magick is used at the discretion of the individual and often involves homemade spells to help someone recover from an illness, obtain a good grade on a test or secure other similar personal gain.

These rituals are performed using candles, and an energy-containing circle is drawn around the individual performing the ritual. Since candles are not allowed in University housing, Wiccans at SLU have found it difficult to perform these rites. Some have overcome this obstacle by finding alternative places to practice, such as off-campus apartments and secluded areas on campus.

Another common fallacy about Wiccans is that they are Satanists. One Wiccan student, who wishes to remain anonymous, because she would prefer that her parents did not know about her faith, said, “It is not even possible for a Wiccan to be a Satanist because we don’t believe in pure good and pure evil-everything’s a mixture, so Satan can’t possibly exist.”

Schroder agrees, adding that “if you worship Satan, you are not a Wiccan.”
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On the contrary, modern Wiccans like Schroder will say that their faith is based on perfect love, respecting and accepting others and their faith traditions and not inflicting harm upon any living thing.

Schroder does note, however, that within Wicca’s history, there are links to the occult, and that traces of this remain.?

While the strength of the occult’s influence on Wicca is a matter of debate, it is enough to place doubt about the Wiccan faith in the mind of Lisa Reiter, director of Campus Ministry.

“With Wicca, what is important, based on my understanding, is that it has links to the occult,” Reiter said. “Based on those links to the occult, I do not see that as a healthy way to develop one’s spirituality.”?

Reiter is quick to add, however, that this does not mean that Campus Ministry ostracizes or looks down upon those who choose to practice Wicca or any other non-Christian religion.
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“SLU recognizes the students’ rights to choose their faith tradition. Our purpose in Campus Ministry is to help them identify and connect with appropriate resources from their faith tradition,” Reiter stated.?

In the fall of 2006, Schroder approached Campus Ministry about starting a chartered Wiccan group on campus. These attempts ultimately fizzled.

Since SLU is a Jesuit university, it might seem odd that individuals practicing Wicca would choose this school. However, the anonymous Wiccan student said that she ultimately chose SLU because she felt that the Jesuit values were in line with her own. For Schroder, who started out as a pre-med student, it was a matter of academics, coupled with her belief that the Jesuits would be more accepting of her faith than some of their Catholic counterparts.

Schroder said that her initial hopes for SLU, however, have proven false. She said that a member of Campus Ministry said that he was “disappointed” upon learning that she was Wiccan.

Additionally, Shroder said that a past roommate was uncomfortable enough with her faith that Shroder ceased to be open about her Wiccan faith when around her. Schroder said that she has also been told on multiple occasions that she was “going to hell” for being Wiccan.?

Reiter said that these acts are disturbing and should be taken seriously.

“If there were a student of any faith tradition that felt persecuted, I would hope they would come forward to have that addressed,” said Reiter. “The key thing is, we want to protect the human dignity of each member of the SLU community. Persecution, harassment and the like are taken seriously.”

Despite some misunderstanding and hostility, Schroder said that she has encountered many students who are interested in learning more about religious diversity on campus. Schroder and other SLU Wiccans said that they have been happy to be able to educate their non-Wiccan friends about their faith, and, in doing so, they hope to end discrimination and false conceptions.