Athenia,
These answers are what you should get from most followers of Jesus that
have not been frightened by some authors that say they are former
witches/whatevers...
As to those, since they have only fantasy/horror fiction to go on, can hardly
be blamed for some trepidation. Especially if they are not well versed in
scripture and grounded in their faith.
Wicca was indeed founded by Gardner as he pulled things from various
sources. I am fairly certain it was in the '50s though. I haven't bothered
to look it up in a long time.
While learning to revere our Lord's creation is a good thing, there is much
that is seriously wrong with paganism's most prolific branch: Wicca
The worst of which is that it leads people to worship god's rather than
our Lord Jesus. This gives them no hope when they pass on and end up
separated from God for all eternity.
When thinking of the people on that path, realize that hell is real and they
need Jesus just like the rest of us so they won't have to go there.
Some Wiccans do indeed follow the Rede in a strict fashion, others merely
give it a nodding on the way past it. It depends upon the person and
the flavor of Wicca they are following. After all, there are more flavors of
Wicca than flavors of Baptist.
And that's not counting all the other forms of paganism...
Some looking for converts, some not.
Some polite folks, some not.
Just like folks everywhere, there are all kinds on that path.
Mark