| Central to this post is a symbol. A five pointed star, | | | | symbol of the Church of Wicca - a Church with over |
| frequently referred to as a pentacle. | | | | 400,000 members in the USA alone. In addition, there |
| No symbol has been the subject of more | | | | are roughly 1,800 active-duty Wiccans serving in the |
| misinformation, disinformation and superstitious | | | | US military. |
| conjecture than the pentacle. Some Christians claim it | | | | These are proud Americans with constitutional rights |
| is a symbol of the devil. Others associate it with | | | | like any other citizen ... and yet, when Wiccan service |
| diabolism and black magic. The truth is much less | | | | people fall in action their Church is denied the right to |
| sensational. | | | | place the pentacle on their gravestone as a religious |
| The five pointed star isn't a symbol exclusive to | | | | marker. Since service people of every other religion |
| pagans. It has a long history. | | | | are entitled to the religious marker of their choice in |
| The pentacle or pentagram symbolizes the elements | | | | the case of their passing, it appears on the surface |
| of nature and the spirit that animates creation.The | | | | that the banning of the pentacle is outright |
| upper point symbolizes spirit, and the four other | | | | discrimination. |
| points - the elements of earth, water, fire and air | | | | In a cemetery aptly named Circle Sanctuary, lie the |
| respectively. That's as sinister as it gets. No devil or | | | | remains of a Vietnam veteran and a Korean war |
| other horned denizen of the deep involved. | | | | veteran named Jerome Birnbaum. A memorial to Sgt |
| The five pointed star can of course be adapted and | | | | Patrick Stewart, a Wiccan who served in the Nevada |
| used in religious and magical rites for all sorts of | | | | National Guard, is also in the cemetery. Stewart lost |
| different purposes. But the adaptation of the symbol | | | | his life while on active duty in Afghanistan. |
| by a given group introduces a secondary meaning | | | | In November 2006, Americans United for Separation |
| peculiar to that group's purpose. The truth is, religious | | | | of Church and State sued the U.S. Department of |
| symbols are often used in ways for which they | | | | Veteran Affairs on behalf of Circle Sanctuary, arguing |
| weren't originally intended. For example the KKK | | | | that the constitutional rights of Wiccans are being |
| makes use of the symbol of the fiery cross. | | | | violated by the refusal of the military to allow the |
| Obviously a Grand Wizard's understanding of the | | | | Wiccan pentacle as a religious gravestone marker. |
| efficacy of the symbol will differ significantly from | | | | Actively involved in this lawsuit is a Wiccan priestess, |
| that of Pope Benedict XVI. | | | | Selena Fox, and the widows of Stewart and |
| The pentacle is an ancient symbol. The Pythagoreans | | | | Birnbaum. |
| associated it with "life" and "health". It was | | | | I think it is demeaning that the families of men who |
| sometimes named Pentalpha, a reference to the | | | | died in the service of their country have to plead |
| interlacing of the birth letters. The pentacle is also | | | | their case to the authorities. The pentacle has long |
| associated with the Egyptian goddess Isis and | | | | been a symbol sacred to the Wiccan community. The |
| sometimes called "the star of Isis". Again the meaning | | | | refusal to place the symbol as a grave marker clearly |
| is entirely positive and in no way associated with "the | | | | relates to some of the outdated perceptions I |
| dark side" - unless you happen to be Pat Robertson | | | | mentioned at the top of this post. |
| on a particularly paranoid day. | | | | Time to move on. |
| The pentacle also happens to be the central religious | | | | |