Many people have misconceptions about the Wicca religion, and instead of believing myths one should learn from the religion’s concepts, said speaker Todd Herriott, an ordained minister from the Church of the Goddess.

Herriott presented a discussion Wednesday in the Memorial Union titled “Wicca 202: From a Male’s Perspective.”

He outlined the history of Wicca, from its origin to its impact on modern-day society.

“It began in the time when most of the religions and most of the spirituality of people during those times were much more matrifocal — that is, much more centered around the concept of a female deity as a central focus of the religion and belief,” he said.

Modern-day rules of Wicca include the threefold law, which states that everything one does comes back threefold, good or bad, and that one can do whatever one wants to in his or her life as long as it doesn’t harm others, he said.

“You need to live your life as if it’s sacred. That means that you don’t pollute, that you don’t treat others poorly, that you don’t have power over dynamics,” Herriott said.

Clark Ford, a faculty adviser for the ISU Pagan Community, echoed Herriot’s message about Wicca.

“It is oriented on ecology and earth: It is a nature religion,” said Ford, associate professor of food science and human nutrition. “Wicca is unlike Western culture, which teaches us to dominate over nature and has led to catastrophic ecological circumstances. Wicca asks us to think about how we fit into nature.”

Herriott went on to address misconceptions about witchcraft and Wicca, such as an ultimate source of evil.

“There is no devil in the Wiccan concept. The devil was an angel of God in the Christian and Hebrew tradition and part of their mythology and religion,” he said.

Herriott said the Wiccan religion teaches necessary lessons.

“The concepts of this spirituality are essential to our society as a whole if we really want to co-exist into this next century,” he said.