Iqaluit (Feb 23/04) - Roxanne Simms knows precisely what she doesn't want to see written about her in the newspaper.

"I don't want it to start with, 'She sits in a corner, wearing black,'" the Grade 8 student said recently. She was talking about her new interest: magic and being a follower of Wicca, a religion based on the symbols, the gods and beliefs of ancient Celtic society.

Simms is one of a small number of people in Iqaluit -- she only knows of four people -- who consider themselves Wiccan.

But the students who study Wicca among themselves are far from setting up a club and society for it at their school.

"We try and keep it as low profile as possible," said Simms.

Simms has only been into Wicca for about a month, but she gets regularly teased by a few students for being a "witch" and casting spells.

"People have the wrong ideas. It is just a belief, like Christianity," Simms said.

Kristina Pervis, also in Grade 8, is one of Simms' friends and a fellow Wiccan follower.

"It makes me feel calm and balanced," she said. "It's good and evil. It's rain, it's fire, it's the devil."

Pervis has been tormented by peers for being a "witch," like Simms has, and is getting tired of it.

"We're not evil. We're not going to cast a spell on you," she said.

"I do believe in God," Pervis continued. "But there are a lot of things about Wicca that makes sense to me."

Simms said reading Tarot cards, reading up on different spells you can cast, and using a Ouija board to communicate with the dead all reflect her curious personality.

"I'm an adventurous person," Simms said. "It's interesting. It's a new experience."

You can learn a lot from a Wiccan, whether or not you believe in the religion.

For starters, there are three types of magic: White, Grey and Black.

Casting a positive spell, like trying to make two people fall in love with each other, is White Magic. Levitation, or trying to make something bad happen to get revenge on someone, falls into Black Magic territory. Both Simms and Pervis know they are still young, and may change their minds about Wicca in time. For now it's an alternative educational experience for them.