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For the record, Jennifer Kemper doesn't have a magic wand, she doesn't cast evil spells, and the only thing she uses her broom for is to clean her house. Oh, and that black cat sitting on her lap? Spriggi's arrival into Kemper's life has more to do with serendipity than sorcery.
In fact, Kemper, a self-employed potter in Oneonta with more than 14 years experience as a practicing Wiccan, looks nothing like the public's ill-informed image of a witch. There's no pointy black hat, no threat of evil curses, no warts or hunchbacks. And when she and her fellow witches celebrate the spring equinox, or Ostara, today, none of them will be sacrificing virgins or worshipping Satan.

Those images, say witches, are a bunch of hocus-pocus.

What Wicca is about, they say, is a gentle, "duo-theistic" religion that places emphasis on nature and harmony. While Wicca is not a proselytizing religion -- one that seeks converts -- its adherents are ready to educate and inform the sincere and curious.

Wicca "is a spiritual journey. It's very holistic because it involves everything, all the senses," said Kemper, a member of the Wiccan Study Group of the Unitarian-Universalist Society of Oneonta.

Wicca an early religion

As a pagan religion, Wicca predates the conventional faiths and denominations of today. Pagan means non-Christian; it doesn't mean godless, as it has often been described. Wiccans, or witches as many of them like to be called, have faced persecution for centuries, most notably in Europe during the Burning Times of the 15th through 18th centuries, and in America during the 17th century Salem Witch hunts.

Today, many witches still fear reprisals, both socially and professionally, for their beliefs. In fact, many Wiccans refused to be interviewed for this story, for fear they or their children would lose their jobs. Though Wicca is a recognized, and therefore constitutionally protected religion, hesitancy to step forward publicly, to "come out of the broom closet," as Kemper says, means the number of known Wiccans is hard to count, with estimates ranging anywhere from 30,000 to 1.5 million in the United States.

Wicca, while not necessarily more accepted, is certainly getting more positive exposure than it did centuries ago thanks to television's Charmed and the Harry Potter series. Both have perpetuated mistakes about Wicca, but neither of them portrays the faith as evil.

Covens aren't rare

Some Wiccans practice individually, some meet in groups or covens. The Northeast in general and the Southern Tier in particular are rich with Wiccan groups.

"I know of seven covens between Binghamton and Albany, not including covens in those cities," said Brett Percy, 33, of Oneonta, a practicing Wiccan for the past 18 years.

Percy, a male witch, observes Wiccan rituals in a group. Johnson City's Billie Forse, 30, prefers to observe them individually. Both will set aside time to celebrate today's equinox, one of the faith's eight holidays, or Sabbats.

Unlike most conventional faiths that require fixed places of worship, depend on a single, recognized ritual leader, and follow a written religious text, Wicca can be observed anywhere, anytime and without a priest or priestess.

Welcoming spring

During the equinox -- the time of year when the length of daylight equals that of night, and warm, productive months lie on the horizon -- Wiccans celebrate the Maiden Goddess and fertility by decorating eggs and planting seeds, among other things.

Decorating eggs, like other Wiccan rituals, were assimilated by early Christianity in an effort to convert pagans to the new faith. Other ritual elements, like the pentacle, were distorted. For Wiccans, the five-pointed star represents the four elements of wind, earth, fire and water, as well as the spirit. It has no satanic meaning for Wiccans, who do not believe in the idea of a devil, of hell, or even of sin.

Forse will be wearing her pentacle pendant when she sets up an altar in her house, to "have a welcoming of spring ceremony," said Forse, who has been a Wiccan for the past 12 years. Although rituals vary from Wiccan to Wiccan, they generally involve invoking the four elements, and inviting the dual divinity to join them.

Wicca recognizes two divine forces, or deities -- the female and the male. The immortal Goddess symbolizes the creative force, the maternal figure, and is associated with the phases of the moon. The mortal God, associated with the agrarian season, is symbolized by the stag or grain. Like other religions that talk of a dying and resurrected God, the Wiccan male God dies each year and is reborn at Yule or the winter solstice.

Wiccans choose their beliefs

Forse, like many Wiccans, came to it from another religion. She was raised a Christian, but never felt fulfilled. Slowly, she learned about Wicca, realizing that there was a denomination and community associated with the beliefs she had.

"They were things I always felt, but never knew there was a name for," said Forse, who is raising her three children, ages 21 months through 8 years, with exposure to Wicca but will let them decide for themselves what they want to do in terms of choosing a religion.

Religious tolerance is a fundamental principle of Wicca, and a Wiccan's behavior is guided by the Wiccan Rede "An it harm none, do as you will," which means that if it harms no one, not even yourself, only then can you do what you will.

Although frequently distorted in movies and television shows, Wiccans do cast spells, but would never think of casting an evil spell or black magic. The Law of Threes states every action, both good and bad, will come back to you three times over.

"We're personally responsible for our actions," said Oneonta's Deborah Blake, 41, who has been a Wiccan for three years, and previously was a Jew. "Spells are partly a prayer, partly a mindset. You might ask for prosperity, but you can't just sit back and wait for it. You have to go out a look for a job or something."
 

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