It's about time, VA! - Reader comments at The New York Sun

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Witching Hour In America

Submitted by Cerridwyn Morganne, Apr 25, 2007 05:22

The VA was only following the President's lead, though the fight to get the Pentacles approved for Pagan soldiers' headstones has been ongoing for coming up on a decade now. If you google the Pagan Headstone Campaign, which started before many others (by the often prickly Charles Arnold, though his heart is in the right place) you will see that MUCH hard work has been done for MANY more years than just these past few. It's been a long, hard fight where we have watched other symbols approved....including some that seemed further "out there" than that of Wicca! So why not Wicca? My guess is that there is a portrayal in the media that does not at all mesh with what Wiccan, Witchcraft and Paganism truly is. There is a movement as a result within Pagan communities to try to rectify the situation.

Though I doubt we'll be working to get rid of our parking tickets, the focus will instead be on educating the masses on what Paganism is, what it is not, what Wiccans/Pagans/Witches do and do not do - that we're not Satanists (that's a different belief system altogether! You'll have to go see Anton Lev for that one).
So what are we, then? We are just exactly like everyone else. We are parents, grandparents, children, we live our lives and work here and there - often without feeling the need to wear Goth makeup and clothing. We also don't always feel the need to wear pentacles the size of a Mercedes Benz hood ornament - most of us are, in fact, more subtle than that. You'd never know we were Pagan if you had a conversation with us largely because we choose generally not to advertise our beliefs unless asked. Given the opportunity most Pagans would choose to be silent about what they believe and would choose to live simply, naturally and quietly in tune with the cycle of the earth and the peace that brings. Many, however, choose to live in the public eye where they hope as you state above, that education will be the key to turning prejudice around. I am one such Pagan and hope that will be the case.

Dona Nobis Pacem,
Cerridwyn Morganne
www.witchgrove.org

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