Clipmarks | wiccantexan's WIcca collection

Stand Up, Stand Up for Wicca

Mon, 29 Jan 2007 23:21:03 GMT

clipped by: wiccantexan

Amidst a sea of memorial plaques at the Northern Nevada Veterans Memorial Cemetery, one space remains blank.

That space is waiting to be filled by a plaque honoring the life and sacrifice of 34-year-old Sgt. Patrick Stewart, who was killed in action on September 25, 2005, when his helicopter was struck with a rocket-propelled grenade as it flew over Afghanistan. But it may be some time before Sgt. Stewart is remembered with a memorial plaque. That's because his war widow and the Department of Veterans Affairs are at odds over the Stewart family's request to have the Wiccan pentacle, a five-pointed star surrounded by a circle, placed on the plaque. As of May 31, 2006, government officials have refused to allow the Wiccan symbol to be placed on Stewart's plaque.

If we are to keep faith with Sgt. Stewart and the other brave men and women who have died in service to the United States, then we must remember that all rights hang together. That is both the genius and the strength of the American system.

Although our country was founded on a Judeo-Christian base, the Framers of the U.S. Constitution understood that religious freedom was for everyone, not just Christians. In other words, the only way that freedom can prevail for Christians is for Christians to stand up and fight for the minority beliefs and religions of others.

Tags: wicca, wiccan, memorial, veteran, veterans, pentacle, religion, religious rights

Editorial: The Rede

Sat, 27 Jan 2007 03:24:14 GMT

clipped by: wiccantexan

Clip Source: www.sibyllineorder.org

Today the Rede is in a strange position as it finds itself being interpreted very strictly and edging into Dogma – a definite authoritative tenet – something that the Wiccan community likes to deny that it encourages.

In the 30 years or so since its been widely known, for many the Rede has become the defining feature of Wiccan belief, and following it is what makes the difference between a Wiccan and other types of neo-paganism, including other types of traditional and neo-pagan witchcraft. Throughout the pagan community there are a variety of opinions regarding the Rede. Some Wiccans have taken an almost fundamentalist approach to construing the Rede, claim dire Divine consequences for infringement of it, and use it to claim moral superiority over other pagan and neo-pagan paths. There is a great deal of debate about what each word means (there are only eight of them that matter), about when and how far it is "permissible" to stretch that meaning, and lots of misunderstandings or outright ignorance about its origins. On the other side, many non-Wiccan pagans consider the Rede to be a wimpy compromise, or something cobbled together by Wiccans for PR purposes. They say that the Rede is ridiculous in that its strictures are impossible to follow and impose an unacceptably passive perspective.

It's a suggestion.

Tags: wicca, wiccan, rede, pagan, neo-pagan

Wicca veterans seek grave symbols

Fri, 06 Oct 2006 01:26:00 GMT

clipped by: invictus
clipper's remarks: Wiccans in the US are taking the government to court over its refusal to allow their symbol on gravestones in military cemeteries.

Clip Source: news.bbc.co.uk

Wicca veterans seek grave symbols

The pentacle is an important Wicca spiritual symbol

Wiccans in the US are taking the government to court over its refusal to allow their symbol on gravestones in military cemeteries.

Relatives of dead soldiers, including one killed in Iraq, are demanding that Wicca symbols be permitted.

Some 38 other religious symbols, including the Jewish star of David and the Buddhist wheel, are allowed.

The Pentacle, a five-pointed star surrounded by a circle, is one of the most important symbols in Wicca.

Tags: religion, pagan, wicca, religious symbols