By Signe K. Skinion

Witches are alive and well on the SIUC campus, however they are not green or wicked with pointy hats.

Tara R. Nelsen, a junior in zoology, said she is a witch and has been for the past six years. She is part of Universal Spirituality and the Wiccan religion.

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Universal Spirituality is a group based on non-traditional belief systems not necessarily believed by society and not part of the big three religions; Catholicism, Judaism and Islam, Nelsen said. A good percentage of the group is Wiccan. Outside of Universal Spirituality we do a lot of full-moon rituals and ritual work and follow the eight seasonal festivals, called Sabbats, that follow the whole circle of life.

The eight Sabbats are spaced six to seven weeks apart throughout the year and coincide with the solstices, equinoxes and midpoints between. Nelsen said.

The next Sabbat is Samhain, also known as Halloween, Nelsen said.

Samhain is the day of the dead. We’ll walk through a graveyard to a barn and we’ll cast a circle with salt and water and make it a sacred spot. Basically, we acknowledge the day of the dead and pay our respects and have a big feast. Nelsen said.

The biggest problem with witches and the Wiccan religion is people do not understand them and believe they are Satanic. Nelsen said this is not true.

Wiccan is a nature religion that follows the cycles of the seasons and the moon and is very environment friendly, Nelsen said. The whole Satan thing is ridiculous. We do not believe in Satan. Satan is a Christian manifestation of the evil things people can do.

Nelsen said most myths about witches came out of Christian stories against people who did not convert to Christianity.

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The pointy hat is kind of an interesting story, Nelsen said. It was fashioned back in France long ago. The fashion quickly changed, as fashion does, but the country dwellers didn’t know that. They were still wearing the hats when Christianity came in, and since the country dwellers were so far behind, the hat became the Christian’s symbol of Satan. The rest of the myths came from stories made to burn people for not converting to Christianity. A good percentage of the people burned were not witches.

Nelsen said black magic does exist, but true witches do not practice it.

It is a touchy subject, Nelsen said. It exists, and a lot of times people think witches are black magicians. And they’re not. They are good and nature-loving. I don’t practice black magic and I try to stay away from it.

Pentagrams, the star within a circle, are a powerful symbol, but most people don’t understand the difference between the Satanic symbol and the pentagram of the witch, Nelsen said.

Pentagrams for witches point up, Satanists point down, Nelsen said. The pentagram for witches stands for the five elements:earth, wind, fire and water, and the spirit. It is a powerful symbol, and most witches wear one somewhere on their body, whether inside or outside.

Nelsen said she hopes education might change all the misconceptions surrounding her beliefs.

The town of Salem makes a whole lot of money off the whole thing, Nelsen said. It doesn’t help change society’s views when they’re making money off it and not educating anyone about the truths.