In one such ceremony, people ran through the fields astride a broom to coax the grain to grow, or participants would leap over a broom, telling the grain to grow to the height of the highest leaping. Uninformed observations of such ceremonies could lead to tales of flying on brooms. The gods of Wicca are in no way connected with Satanic practice. Most Witches do not even believe Satan exists, and certainly do not worship him. Historically, the gods of an older religion are often branded as the devils of a newer one in order to promote conversion.
Some traditions have only women practitioners, just as others have only men.
Most traditions admit both. Virtually every religion can look back into the dark corners of history and find a period when it was held in disrepute. Just because a group was or is persecuted and maligned is not a reason for it to change its name. The practices of prejudice and scapegoating seem to be universal human pastimes, and we have had our share of being victimized. Wicca is not a missionary religion and does not proselytize.