Interesting, very interesting (from WRAL):
The widow of a soldier killed in Afghanistan won state approval Wednesday to place a Wiccan religious symbol on his memorial plaque, something the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs had refused. "I'm honored and ecstatic. I've been waiting a year for this," Roberta Stewart said from her home in Fernley, about 30 miles east of Reno.
Sgt. Patrick Stewart, 34, was killed in Afghanistan last September when a rocket-propelled grenade struck his helicopter. Four others also died. Stewart was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star and the Purple Heart.
He was a follower of the Wiccan religion, which the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs does not recognize and therefore prohibits on veterans' headstones in national cemeteries.
But state officials said they had received a legal opinion from the Nevada attorney general's office that concluded federal officials have no authority over state veterans' cemeteries. They now plan to have a contractor construct a plaque with the Wiccan pentacle – a circle around a five-pointed star – to be added to the Veterans' Memorial Wall in Fernley.
Did you know that Wicca isn't really witchcraft, but the reverence of the Earth and its elements? Sometimes they worship and Goddess and a God. Sometimes not. The observences and elements are all over the place, but it is basically a religion of good, not of demon and devil worship.
The use of the pentagram is only considered on the evil side when it is used upside down, since the two points up represent the Horns of a Dark being. The normal pentagram with a circle around it is a symbol of faith and of good, and has even been used by Christians to represent the 5 wounds of Jesus.
Which led to reading about the swastika, which was always used throughout history as a symbol of good, and still is by most. I read around to back up what Wikipedia has to make sure it was correct. I would recommend reading about it. Very enlightening.
Oh, PS: Ogre says if you do not have alternate text with your photo's, you can be fined under the American Disabilities Act.
Can I just declare my website not authorized for viewing in California? Or maybe a nice standard “funniest picture you’ve never seen” alternate text.
Wicca and Paganism are both frequently misunderstood. As a result their symbols are often misrepresented as well, and both of them are disorganized enough that they don’t ever seem to be able to point it out when it happens.
It was very interesting reading, re Wicca and the swastika. I never really knew any of that stuff.
As a Wiccan Navy Wife, I was very excited to learn this. The Navy currently has Wiccan Chaplens and several Wiccan Groups meeting onboard its’ ships and at military bases all over the world. It is nice that some are finally standing out for our freedom to practice religion and have our beliefs recognized at our funerals.
[…] a year ago, I discussed a Wiccan soldier finally being allowed to have a Wiccan symbol on his memorial plaque on the Veterans’ […]