My semi-regular round-up of articles, essays, and opinions of note for discerning Pagans and Heathens.

This week Roberta Stewart and Americans United have threatened litigation against the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs for stonewalling approval for the pentacle to be placed on Pagan veterans’ grave markers. Now the Rev. Pete Pathfinder Davis, head of the The Aquarian Tabernacle Church (along with the ACLU) has gone ahead and filed suit yesterday against the VA.

“ATC was the first federally recognized Wiccan church organization to request the U. S. Veterans Administration include the Wiccan pentacle emblem among the nearly 40 faith symbols that may be requested on the headstone or markers of deceased U.S. military veterans. The litigation in the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims in Washington, D.C. will be in the rare and unusual form of a request for the issuance of a Writ of Mandamus, an order of the court directing the VA to act on the nine year old pending request and summarily approve the symbol. Mandamus relief has only been used three times in the history of the court. The petition requests the court direct the VA to do its duty by granting this petition without further delays. The Aquarian Tabernacle Church is also joined in this action by the Correllian Nativist Church of Albany, N.Y., another large Wiccan denomination and applicant, together with Scott Stearns, an ATC member and retired disabled Navy veteran, and the survivors of deceased veterans Abraham Kooiman and James W. Price.”

It remains to be seen how successful this tactic will be, or how this will affect the plans of Roberta Stewart, Circle Sanctuary, and Americans United.

The Toronto Star seizes on the journalistic perfect storm of interviewing a Witch, in Salem, on the eve of the city’s month-long October celebrations.

“…there weren’t any real witches in Salem in 1692, but there sure are plenty of them now – the local tourism bureau claims that 10 per cent of the population are “practising witches” (that would be about 4,000)…The town calls itself ‘The Witch City’. That would be Salem’s modern witch hysteria, and it escalates to scary proportions around Halloween, which coincides with Samhain, the Wiccan new year festival. People from all over the world – witches and non-witches – converge on the town for Haunted Happenings, a month-long celebration that includes parties, parades and other special events.”

Could Salem with its high density of Witches be the first town where modern Paganism really influences local politics? How long before we see a Witch becoming the Mayor?

While Salem gears up for Halloween (and Samhain), Fox Meadow Elementary School is experiencing controversy for canceling Halloween celebrations and replacing it with a “fall celebration” instead.

“Students, dressed in Halloween costumes, made signs with frowning ghosts and jack-o-lanterns. The signs read, “Save Halloween” and “We want Halloween.” When a television news camera began filming, the students began chanting, “Save Halloween.” Principal Jacqueline Hazen, in her first year as principal at the South Elgin school, said she canceled the Halloween festivities because they excluded children of certain religions and cultures…Some religious organizations frown on Halloween, as the holiday’s origins come from pagan rituals, symbolized by witches, devils and creatures of the night.”

The funny thing is that a “fall celebration” would most likely be just as “pagan” as a Halloween party. Then again, public schools have become expert at sucking the fun out of things kids enjoy.

While he was a committed atheist, Sigmund Freud also had a deep love for pagan antiquities.

“Freud was not alone when he entered the sea of dreams; his companions were the gods of Egypt, Greece and Rome. In the late 1890s, while writing The Interpretation of Dreams, Freud became an art collector, developing an obsession with antiquity, beauty, myth and archaeology that led him to amass a brilliant private museum of more than 2000 statues, vases, reliefs, busts, fragments of papyrus, rings, precious stones and prints. In Freud’s study at Berggasse 19, Vienna, every available surface was so crowded with antiquities that he barely had room to move.”

You have to wonder if things were a bit different, if he was born in a different time or place, would Freud have approved of the modern Paganism movement?

Denise Noe at MensNewsDaily peddles the old myths about black cats being sacrificed around Halloween.

“Unfortunately, for some of the small, furry, four-footed creatures that share our world, this season is one that threatens in a way that is all-too-real. The long association of witches and the occult with black cats means that not only are their paper likenesses harmlessly hung on walls but that some emotionally disturbed people ‘sacrifice’ them around this time. David DeWitt, Public Relations Director for Fulton County Animal Services in Georgia, explains, ‘I know that around the country, there are more cases of animal abuse involving black cats around Halloween.’”

Snopes.com reports that evidence was “inconclusive” that any sort of widespread danger to cats around Halloween existed. The Witches Voice spent years debunking this myth by publishing photographic proof that modern Pagans love their cats.

Finally, for those of you still “in the broom closet”, if the boss (or family member) hears the word “Wicca” and wonders what it means you can tell them its an acronym!

“Behind two strong efforts in the season’s first two events, the Valpo women??s cross country team is ranked eighth in the Women’s Intercollegiate Cross Country Coaches Association (WICCA) Great Lakes Regional Poll, the first ever ranking for the program.”

I wonder if there are any Wiccan members of WICCA? In any event, that is all I have for now, have a good day!

You usually expect such stories to manifest in the “red states”, not in true-blue New York. But Adirondack Community College (part of the State University of New York) is up in arms over a school-supported Pagan Pride Day event.

“After scrambling to reconsider their decision to sponsor a daylong “Pagan Pride” festival this weekend, student leaders at an upstate public college decided last night to support the festival despite outrage from Catholics who complained to trustees of the State University of New York system that the event ridicules Christianity and Jesus Christ. The activists say the pagan festival…constitutes hate speech that few would tolerate if other groups were being disrespected.”

William Donohue from the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights goes so far as to publicly regret the fact that Christians don’t erupt into violence at perceived insults!

“Everyone knows that you couldn’t even show a picture of Mohammed without them closing down an event like this – and that’s because radical Muslims will kill you.”

You can almost hear the envy in his voice. Maybe Donohue is getting tired of living in a secular society bound by laws that prevent the lynching of Pagans. Donohue isn’t the only one pouring out bile upon the Pagans, SUNY trustee Candace de Russy* had this to say about the situation.

“Standards for campus activities in my view cannot sink much lower into the slime. It would be a very encouraging sign if the student leaders led the way in reconsidering such a loathsome event.”

So what prompted such an uproar over a tiny amount of money for a small Pagan gathering? A concerted campaign of misinformation by Donohue and his conservative Catholic cronies. Last year one of the presenters were John and Lillee Allee. John Allee is a confirmed Satanist and runs the First Church of Satan web site. Even though Lillee Allee is a Witch and not a Satanist, and despite the fact that their talk wasn’t on Satanism that mere whiff of sulfur was enough to trigger this modern-day Witch hunt.

While student leaders did reconsider granting the funds to this years event, the earlier decision was affirmed. This lead a spokesman for the college to opine that the students would “be responsible for taking the heat.” I’m not sure if he means the “heat” of “hell” or if the students will be blamed if enraged Christian activists egged on by Donohue decide to start trouble.

* Dr. Candace de Russy is also a member of neoconservative outfits The Democracy Project and the Committee on the Present Danger. In addition, she is an editor of the ultra-conservative Catholic magazine Crisis, so it is little wonder she backs William Donohue. It is possible that she may have been the one to tip him off to the event.

If you are a fan of underground Pagan, Heathen, and occult-themed music, you’ll be glad to learn that my yearly music special “A Darker Shade of Pagan” is being reborn as a weekly hour-long podcast and streaming radio show. Starting the week of October 8th, you can either subscribe to the podcast feed, download each show directly, or tune into the Pagan Radio Network twice a week to hear an assortment of the best music from modern Pagans and other fellow travelers.

The show will range all over the map musically. From neo-medieval to wyrd-folk and back again. I hope you’ll tune in. I have a great show in store for the inaugural edition, including new music from Monica Richards, Circulus, Arcanta, Unto Ashes, The Knife, Sumerland, and much much more! Also, if you happen to use MySpace be sure to friend the A Darker Shade of Pagan page.

After endless delay and foot-dragging by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, military widow Roberta Stewart has sent forth an ultimatum.

“Wiccan widow Roberta Stewart announced Tuesday at the Americans United rally at Powning Park in Reno that an official notice was sent to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to respond within 14 days demanding the approval of the Wiccan symbol of the pentacle as a grave marker or a lawsuit would be filed. Americans United, the legal representatives for Stewart and another Wiccan widow, sent the letter to the Veterans Administration regarding the religious of Sgt. Patrick Stewart, Roberta’s late husband, and an alleged violation of the U.S. Constitution.”

It looks like the battle over Pagan symbols on military headstones will end up in court.

Meanwhile, Jim Kasuba of The News-Herald illustrates the kind of attitudes that have held up progress and mainstream acceptance for modern Pagans.

“If bin Laden’s terrorist group would ask permission for a meeting in Bishop Park, would the mayor and City Council give him a permit…please give some thought as to where you need to draw the line on who can acquire a permit and come into our city park and hold such a disgraceful show.” – Kenneth and Hazel Woodruff

In addition to Pagans being equated with Osama bin Laden, we were also likened to poisoned water. Despite that, the event went off without a hitch.

Some Christian attitudes towards Pagans are so informed by magical thinking that they believe the mere presence of a Bible will destroy us.

“We were talking and laughing in our discussion group one night when someone came and threw a Bible down in front of us. It was very disrespectful. What most people don’t realize is that we’re not Goth, many of us are in our mid-40s, own homes, have children in the school system and work alongside of them every day. They think we’re running around barefoot and burning babies, but that couldn’t be further from the truth.”

This is why we have to fight. This is why I think it is important that Pagan Pride days are held in public spaces, and why individual Pagans like Roberta Stewart are so important. These things are connected, as we fight for dignity and respect on multiple fronts it will be slowly awarded to us (despite the protests of small-minded religious cowards) by society at large.

If you want to get some controversial rule-change passed, bury it in a bigger piece of legislation that is sure to pass. At least that seems to be the tactic of U.S. Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-CA) in the 2007 National Defense Authorization Act. (H.R. 5122). Buried in section 590 is a innocent-sounding passage about military chaplains.

It reads:

“Each chaplain shall have the prerogative to pray according to the dictates of the chaplain’s own conscience, except as must be limited by military necessity, with any such limitation being imposed in the least restrictive manner feasible.”

While that idea sounds nice on the surface, what it would do is essentially eliminate mandated non-sectarian prayer. Which means that the vast majority of prayers to soldiers would be prayers to Jesus Christ. This hasn’t escaped the attention of the Union for Reform Judaism.

“This innocuous-sounding provision would open a Pandora’s Box of religious proselytizing in the military by giving chaplains free reign over where, when, and how to pray, regardless of the religious preferences of other military professionals, and regardless of the carefully thought-out existing policy. This harmful language would circumvent the religious protection guidelines instituted by the military and codify into law the acceptability of religious proselytizing. This is unacceptable and deeply hurtful to people of all faiths.” – Mark J. Pelavin, Associate Director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism

Meanwhile, certain Christian groups* are trying to spin the rule-change as benefiting non-Christian faiths in the military.

“The question that faces all of us is whether chaplains, regardless of their faith tradition, should be legally allowed to pray in a manner that honors their religion in both public and private settings. The answer is clearly yes, hence the bill should be passed with the provision included. This means that I, an evangelical protestant Christian, will listen to a Muslim chaplain pray to Allah at an official military meeting. It means that I will sit in a room and listen to a prayer offered by a native American pagan. She will offer this prayer officially as a chaplain of one of our military branches. Not a problem. This is a small price to pay to sit in a meeting and hear men and women pray with integrity, no matter their belief.” – Michael S. Heath, Executive Director of the Christian Civic League of Maine

But even the Military Chaplains Association thinks that the new rule would create a “host of new difficulties”.

“While apparently intended to acknowledge military mission and order, the condition will not totally prevent disruptive consequences. As now framed, this congressional intervention will reach far beyond the grievance(s) it seeks to remedy and foster a host of new difficulties…For this leg of our American journey to reach its best possible destination, we must stretch our capacity to recognize, understand, affirm, and even promote the rights of others while caring for our own. Among other things, this will likely require substantial departure from the evolving notion that the Constitution guarantees absolute freedom from ever being offended for any reason. It will also likely require that we resist the tendency to seek new laws or file suits in order to mitigate if not resolve conflicts over religious practices. In matters of religion, such actions frequently only further impede any efforts to alleviate injury or achieve just arbitration of competing needs, interests, and perspectives.”

This new rule would damage the military, and could well make military service an explicitly Christian activity. As it stands now, an overwhelming number of chaplains are Christian and 60% of all chaplains are evangelicals.

“Only 14 percent of the U.S. population is evangelical Christian, compared to 40 percent of the military’s active duty personnel. More than 60 percent of military chaplains are evangelicals.”

How friendly do you think the military will be to Pagans (or Jews for that matter) if the rule is passed. While one Pagan body has been approved as an Ecclesiastical Endorsing Agency for military chaplaincy, there are currently no Pagan chaplains. Jewish and Muslim chaplains both number in the low double-digits (29 and 13 respectively). Instead of the religious utopia sketched out by evangelical Michael S. Heath, we would instead create a de facto “Christian” military.

Currently Senator John Warner (R-VA) has asked that the phrase be dropped from the legislation before it comes to a vote on the floor (the Senate version doesn’t have the provision, only the House). I think it might be time to contact your Representative and tell them (politely) that section 590 of the 2007 National Defense Authorization Act is at its heart a discriminatory change to how military chaplains operate and would create a chilling environment for non-Christian service men and women.

*Religious groups opposed to section 590 include: American Jewish Committee, Anti-Defamation League, Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty, The Episcopal Church, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Washington Office, Friends Committee on National Legislation, General Conference of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, Jewish Council for Public Affairs, National Council of Jewish Women, Presbyterian Church (USA), Washington Office, Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund (SALDEF), The Interfaith Alliance (TIA), Union for Reform Judaism, United Methodist Church, General Board of Church and Society, and the Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations.

According to the BBC, Druid Chris Warwick has started a new organization called “Dead to Rights”. Its purpose? To have ancient burial grounds in the UK considered sacred sites in the same manner that modern graveyards are, and to stop scientific “grave-robbing”.

“A retired engineer from Swansea is campaigning for ancient burial sites to be considered sacred ground. Chris Warwick, who is now a druid, said places like Paviland cave on Gower should be treated the same way as modern graveyards…”We have formed a little group called Dead to Rights, to work for the return of remains to the sites they were buried in and hopefully have them reburied there with due ceremony. The sites would be regarded as sacred thereafter”…Mr Warwick said he was happy for archaeologists to photograph and examine burial sites.”

While Warwick seems a bit “off” in the article, he brings up some serious issues. Is it proper for ancient burial sites to be unearthed and the bodies kept forever for scientific study and display? Shouldn’t we honor the sacred grounds of pre-Christian society as we do for the sacred grounds of Christians? How do we strike a proper balance between learning more about our past and respecting cultures older than our own?

A helpful hint. When you cover Pagan events, you must make the same considerations that you make covering any other religious event. For instance: if you interview a Christian priest, you find out which denomination he is. Otherwise we have no context for that priest’s beliefs or actions. The same holds true for Wiccans and other Pagans.

“With peacock feathers dangling from her ears and rings on all fingers except her left thumb and pinky, Lady Silverwolf (Micheline Vogt) could be mistaken for a witch. And she is, but not like most people think of one. By her definition, she’s a WITCH: Woman In Total Control of Herself. The third-degree high priestess of the pagan faith who reads tarot cards shared the history of paganism Saturday at the third Cape Fear Pagan Pride Day.”

Now many Witchcraft/Wiccan traditions have a three-degree structure, but there is a vast array of beliefs within different ‘trads’. Is she Gardnerian? Alexandrian? Blue Star? 1734? Black Forest Clan? Thalia Clan? Or is it a small tradition started by her (or possible by local people she knows)? While this may not seem like a big deal (especially for a local-interest piece on Pagan Pride Day) it can mean quite a bit to modern Pagans reading the article and to those interested in Paganism looking for a contact. When reporting religion, context (and doing your homework) is everything. If we don’t know what she believes, then how can we make any sort of judgment on what she says about her faith?