column
by BlackCat
The open circle on the U.S. Army base at Fort Hood, Texas, has been vandalized for the second time in six months. The first occasion was prior to Samhain. Military police have been notified. Although damage to the permanent altar stone was not as severe as in the October incident, the stone, which weighs several hundred pounds, required eight men to reposition it. It seems evident that a group of individuals is carrying out the vandalism.
The Sacred Wells Circle is the local community group that sponsors the rituals for Wiccan Army personnel at Fort Hood. The Army recognizes Wicca as a religion, and the rituals being performed at Fort Hood caused a minor sensation during the presidential election campaign, when then-candidate George W. Bush was quoted as saying, "Witchcraft is not a religion," and that the Army should rethink its policy.
"In the spirit of diverse religion in our community, would you allow myself and other citizens an opportunity to invoke a prayer to our gods without having us arrested?" asked Charles Schrader, a Florida Wiccan priest. He had earlier been ejected from a Citrus County School Board meeting. While school board chair Patience Nave was beginning the meeting with a Christian prayer, Charles began to speak a Wiccan invocation aloud at the same time. The issue between the two has been ongoing for several months, since Charles found that all school board meetings were begun with a Christian prayer. One school board member tried to institute a moment of silence instead, but failed. Charles returned to the school board, speaking on the need for separation of church-state functions.
Police deputies were on hand and shadowed Charles for the whole meeting. He later filed a complaint with the sheriff's department, which was rejected. "Your instructions to continue using police officers to protect me is rejected," Charles responded in writing. "I don't need your intimidation disguised as protection. Perhaps you may consider assigning these officers to other duties, including combating drugs, homicide, robbery and speeders, if they have nothing better to do than to be paid bodyguards of Chairperson Nave."
The spring Gathering of the Tribes festival was held as planned in Virginia for the second year in a row. Gathering over 300, attendees and organizers were faced with a large number of local fundamentalist Christians holding signs and attempting to change the pagans' religious views.
At the gathering, early arrivers said they were confused but not angered by the evangelism. Deborah Foley, a Celtic high priestess who runs Mystic Moon -- a store in Norfolk that sells pagan books and jewelry -- said those who object to her beliefs don't know much about them. "I don't know why they're so afraid of us," Deborah said. "If they took the time to talk to us, they'd find out we're all headed for the same destination."
In the Northwest, the Aquarian Tabernacle Church's Spring Mysteries Festival in April faced similar harassment when a group of local Christians came onto the festival grounds and left propaganda on cars in the parking lot.
Over 150 people showed up for a public Beltaine ritual in the downtown square in Cleveland, Ohio. The Pagan Awareness Coalition of Northeast Ohio facilitated the event for the second year. Organizers reported that the event went very well with no problems. A traditional May Queen ritual was performed with all participating in a May Pole dance. Other pagan events, such as the Renaissance Pagan Festival in Oberlin, Ohio, were occurring at the same time and cut this year's attendance down from last year's.
Pagans from all over the United States launched a letter-writing campaign to the Southern Poverty Law Institute's Intelligence Report over an article that appeared in their Spring 2001 edition. The article, titled "The New Romantics," was about racism as found in the "radical right" Odinism movements. Odinism is a racist movement that borrows imagery from the Norse pantheon. Popular media often links Odinism with Asatru, a legally recognized religion of the Norse pantheon that espouses a high ethical code of conduct and honor for ancestry and family. Editors at the Southern Poverty Law Institute did issue an apology for any misunderstanding, saying it was not their intention to slander Asatru, but to report on the racist element of Odinism.
The article nonetheless clearly links the two, reporting that the racist faction of Asatru is referred to as Odinism. The author stated that the article "tried to make clear the distinction between the racist and ethnic positions, as these two very different interpretations of Norse traditions often are confused." Yet the article went on to say, "the racists make up more than 40% of Asatru or Odinism adherents." Practitioners of Asatru were astounded to read the figure and quickly went to work asking for clarification.
A similar misreporting by the Richmond, Virginia, Times-Dispatch covered a stabbing death that occurred during an Asatru ritual in a state prison. The stabbing was reported as being over a difference of religious views. However, it would seem that not all of the participants were of the same Asatru beliefs, and that racism and violence were involved. The paper did not confer with any representatives of the Asatru religion but instead interviewed a local Christian minister who did not even know that pagan rituals were occurring in the prison system.
Asatru is a recognized religion in the United States.
Famous author, environmentalist and feminist activist Starhawk called on fellow women to journey to Quebec City, Canada, for protests of the Free Trade Agreement of the Americas (FTAA) meeting held in April.
Starhawk and many pagans are opposing groups such as the FTAA and the World Trade Organization. They claim these groups would allow corporations to sue governments in corporate courts for loss of potential profits if governments attempt to regulate unsafe foods, ban pesticides or chemicals, protect natural resources, regulate logging or enforce safety standards.
A new school year schedule mandated by United Kingdom government officials removes the Easter holiday from school calendars and replaces it with a spring break. The Church of England and other Christian groups were critical of the plan, but officials pointed out the many reasons for the change. One was simply the difficulty in planning around a holiday that occurs on a different date each year. Now school personnel will be given 10 flexible holidays so they can have time off when they need it.
"Many schools will now have as many as 12 religions represented in the classroom," according to Chris Price, head of the Independent Commission on the School Year, which came up with the plan, to be implemented in Autumn 2003. "We want schools to be able to reflect that."
The Open Hearth Foundation, a nonprofit pagan group in Washington, D.C., has been invited to be present at an upcoming rock concert festival, "HFStival," a two-day event expected to draw over 100,000 people. The Open Hearth Foundation will be among other groups at the Non-Profit Community Action Fair during the festival.
Fourth graders from some Michigan elementary schools recently started their first day of focus on earth conservation with the "Earthkeepers Program." Now 10 years old, the program introduces children to nature and emphasizes the interconnectedness of the biosphere.
The group recently encountered criticism for having a religious orientation and for introducing children to the Wicca religion. Some of the activities questioned include the students standing in a circle touching elbows, reciting the phrase, "All living things on the Earth are connected," and sitting silently in "magic spots." Also, the use of a sun symbol was criticized as being connected with Astrology. A picture of the sun -- with 12 radiating points directed toward living creatures -- depicts the web of life and the relationships between plants and animals, program coordinator Emily Wallace said.
A representative from the neo-pagan Church of All Worlds said, "I see the author [of the Earthkeepers curriculum] as being very creative. He drew tenets from several cultures. I would say it is certainly not Wiccan."
Sources for this Speculum include The Witches' Voice, The Alternative Religions Education Network (AREN), St. Petersburg Times, The Daily Press (VA), The Times-Dispatch (VA), The Observer (UK) and The Times-Herald (MN).