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This coming weekend! The family and I will be there! Hope you all can too! Let me know here or on my email!
There will be all sorts of Beltane/ May Day activities!
A small victory for Wiccans
Tuesday, April 24, 2007, 06:53 AM [General]
MADISON, Wisconsin (AP) -- The Wiccan pentacle has been added to the list of emblems allowed in national cemeteries and on government-issued headstones of fallen soldiers, according to a settlement announced Monday.
A settlement between the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and Wiccans adds the five-pointed star to the list of "emblems of belief" allowed on VA grave markers.
Eleven families nationwide are waiting for grave markers with the pentacle, said Selena Fox, a Wiccan high priestess with Circle Sanctuary in Barneveld, Wisconsin, a plaintiff in the lawsuit.
The settlement calls for the pentacle, whose five points represent earth, air, fire, water and spirit, to be placed on grave markers within 14 days for those who have pending requests with the VA.
"I am glad this has ended in success in time to get markers for Memorial Day," Fox said.
The VA sought the settlement in the interest of the families involved and to save taxpayers the expense of further litigation, VA spokesman Matt Burns said. The agency also agreed to pay $225,000 in attorneys' fees and costs.
The pentacle has been added to 38 symbols the VA already permits on gravestones. They include commonly recognized symbols for Christianity, Buddhism, Islam and Judaism, as well as those for smaller religions such as Sufism Reoriented, Eckiankar and the Japanese faith Seicho-No-Ie.
"This settlement has forced the Bush Administration into acknowledging that there are no second class religions in America, including among our nation's veterans," said the Rev. Barry W. Lynn, director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, which represented the Wiccans in the lawsuit.
The American Civil Liberties Union said the agreement also settles a similar lawsuit it filed last year against the VA. In that case, the ACLU represented two other Wiccan churches and three individuals.
VA-issued headstones, markers and plaques can be used in any cemetery, whether it is a national one such as Arlington or a private burial ground like that on Circle Sanctuary's property.
Wicca is a nature-based religion based on respect for the earth, nature and the cycle of the seasons. Variations of the pentacle not accepted by Wiccans have been used in horror movies as a sign of the devil.
Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
A new beginning
Thursday, January 25, 2007, 02:43 PM [General]
So! A new community where I hope to find like-minded people! This shall be an adventure!
I am relatively new to the pagan path, altho I've been a spiritual searcher all my life. I'm a recovering Catholic, but my grandmother was from the Old Country, and brought a lot of that knowledge with her (she had Hungarian/Gypsy in her.) I've studied many faiths, and many paths and have decided that I was tired of having my religion dictated to me when I felt so strongly AGAINST much of what "they" were saying. The corruption of its leaders, the way their manipulation is unbounded, and the death and suffering they've inspired, the lies about pagans & other religions that they've propagated, all lead me to find my own way.
Quite coincidently, 7 years ago, I met a wonderful woman who had been a solitary Wiccan since she was 15. 3 years later, we were Handfasted, and I've been learning from her and loving her ever since.
I've done a lot of research since I've had to defend myself and my choice since then. I've found the lies I was taught, and gently counter any claim my Christian family and friends throw at me. I'm a little too militant to be Wiccan
I look forward to hearing from anyone out there! Blessed be.
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