Letters We encourage readers to send us comments! We may assume that they are available for publishing and forwarding to relevant parties unless you state otherwise. If you do not want your name or city printed, please let us know how you would like your letter signed. Opinions of authors in New Moon Rising and especially in the Letters section do not necessarily reflect those of New Moon Rising. Burning Questions Dear Friends: The last decade has seen incredible growth in the number of people who identify themselves as Pagan. Despite this swell in our numbers, Paganism (in its myriad forms) is still far from being accepted by most Americans as a valid religion or way of life. As a result, many Pagans are unable to publicly assert their beliefs or worship, as they would choose. Coming out regarding one's spiritual path can jeopardize one's employment, housing, and personal and professional relationships. Raising the issue of a spouse's religious practices is an increasingly common ploy to try to wrest custody and/or visitation rights from Pagan parents during divorce proceedings. We are also facing an expanding threat from the religious right, which has built a well-financed and influential political machine of immense proportions, and which has anything but benevolent intentions toward persons of unconventional beliefs. These matters have been the subject of numerous conversations in my home over the past several years. As a result, below are two questions I would like to pose to the Pagan communities at large, in hope of determining from our amazingly diverse population some consensus regarding what to do about these issues and the form our collective future might take. As a starting point for debate, I have answered my own questions (and, I'm sure, posed a few more along the way). In responding, please feel free to add your own questions to the pot. Question 1) What steps can Pagans take to achieve legitimacy, so that we are not perceived by mainstream America as lunatic fringe, devil worshipers, child abusers, or otherwise dangerous nutcases? My opinion: I think that until we begin to raise future generations of children as Pagan, with our own recognizable cultural imagery, and encourage our children to be unafraid to share that culture with their peers just as children of other religions do, we can never hope to be accepted as something other than freaks. Other world religions have stories they teach their children which illustrate the values of their faith; in the case of Christianity, some of those stories and their imagery have become so ingrained in the common parlance that everyone knows them, even people who were not raised in that religion. Pagans have no literature equivalent to the Bible, the Talmud, or the Koran, but we do have a wealth of myths to draw on which model the concepts/behaviors we choose to live by and, I assume, would also want to instill in our children. (NOTE: I am currently considering writing a curriculum of myth-based materials that would teach children ethical/moral concepts from a Pagan viewpoint, and I would welcome information on existing resources of the kind.) A common set of metaphors learned in childhood would go a long way toward unifying us (not making us uniform). I also believe that people do have to take a stand and come out. I recognize the potential for substantial harm which can come from such action; however, I feel there is greater danger in the long-term in disguising one's religious practices than in revealing them. If someone suspects you follow a different spiritual path and wants to make your life difficult, they can do a lot more damage to you if you are closeted than if you are out. (I'm not saying you should dress in full ritual regalia every day, but neither should you have to hide an amulet beneath your clothes for fear of having to explain its significance.) Thanks to the civil rights, gay rights, and women's rights movements, a lot of the necessary groundwork has been done for us. There are legal protections against discrimination on the basis of religion (the Civil Rights Act of 1964). All that legal backup, though, doesn't mean anything unless we want to go to court. More often, we just want to be accepted as we are, without having to fight to be treated fairly and with the same respect that people of other beliefs receive as a matter of course. But that's mostly up to us. Unless we demonstrate for our non-Pagan family members, neighbors and co-workers that we are no different from them in most ways, they will continue to fear what they don't understand, and fear breeds antagonism. As a small and mostly invisible minority, we need all the goodwill we can get, and we can't count on anyone but ourselves to portray us accurately and promote our interests. The only caveat I'll offer is to pick your battles carefully and use your judgment as to who you decide to reveal yourself to. Just because you're protected by law doesn't mean that you want to undertake a lawsuit, and realistically, it may be difficult to prove that your job termination, denial of housing, etc. was motivated by your religion. If you do decide to go public, be alert for possible problems and document everything! Question 2) Do you feel we would benefit from having some sort of national panel of representatives, made up of persons of some recognized authority/stature in the Pagan communities, who could be called on for purposes of clarifying public misinformation, representing the interests of Pagans in public debate, etc.? (For example—in situations where legislation inimical to the interests of Pagans in general is being considered; when a crime is committed which is alleged to have occult overtones; when an act of discrimination has occurred which appears to be as a result of the Pagan beliefs of the individual?) My opinion: There are numerous small groups across the country which have acted in this capacity as the need has arisen (Witches' Anti-Discrimination League, Witches Against Religious Discrimination, AMER, etc.), some of which specifically have as their purpose the education of the public and some of which exist for other reasons and were thrust into such a role by exigent circumstances. None of these, however, have national standing or recognition as the official mouthpiece of Paganism (for lack of a better phrase). I believe that the primary obstacle to such a body would be the Pagan communities' own resistance to having anyone speak on their behalf without specific, individual permission to do so. Past attempts to address various Pagan-oriented topics on a national level, to my recollection, have usually resulted in someone taking issue with the credentials or legitimacy of a particular participant, and that then becomes the focus of discussion/dissension rather than the original topic which people were brought together to address. Also, the diversity of our practices and beliefs under the umbrella term Pagan would probably lead to lengthy discussion about what would be presented as the Pagan viewpoint on any given topic. The only safe way to do this, I believe, would be to elect a very diverse group with no majority leaning and no specific axe to grind. If an issue arose in which one or more members of the panel had a proprietary interest in promoting a particular viewpoint, they could be asked to abstain from public comment on the matter until such time as they were no longer publicly associated with the group. In order to promote at least the perception of a fair representation of various viewpoints, representatives would need to trade off the position of spokesperson. In terms of content, the group itself would probably have to be granted autonomy to decide what would be presented. Even so, there could be nearly endless debate every time an issue arises, preventing a timely response to situations as they occur. Other questions which come to mind: Who would elect the group and how would it be accomplished? (Possible suggestion: nominations at various festivals/gatherings and via various publications one year, with voting to be conducted the following year?) Thank you for your input. Written responses should be sent to: Lisa Hutton Kublen
P.O. Box 14021
Columbus OH 43214 Annual Award Suggestion [Following] is a copy of a letter sent to the Houghton Mifflin Company who are believed to have published the first inclusive set of definitions for the word WITCH in their Student Dictionary. I feel that it would be a great idea for an Cowan of the Year award to be given to that non-neo-pagan person or group who has contributed most to the abolition of Wiccaphobia in North America. If anyone is interested in organizing such an award, I would like to nominate Houghton Mifflin for 1994. Samhain would be a great time to present it. Sun 1994 October 9 Mr. David A Jost, Senior Lexicographer,
The American Heritage Student Dictionary
Houghton Mifflin Company, 222 Berldey St., Boston MA, 02116 Dear Mr. Jost: CONCERNING WITCH & WITCHCRAFT THANK YOU VERY MUCH! Yours is the first dictionary that we have found to include a definition of Witch that includes both nature based present-day witches (also known as Wiccans) and the evil, Satanic, imaginary witches of the Middle Ages: witch
1. A woman believed to have supernatural powers and practice sorcery.
2. A follower of a pagan nature religion, having its roots in pre-Christian Europe.
3. A hag. Your definition is important in a number of ways:
It will simplify our efforts to convince other dictionary publishers to reflect the current reality of Witches
It will weaken the efforts of some extreme conservative elements within Christianity who project the image that there is only one form of witchcraft, and that that form is totally evil and Satan based. I will circulate this letter to a number of leading Witchcraft publications in the hope that they will encourage their readers to buy your dictionary and to purchase copies for their schools and libraries. Essentially all of the 150,000 Wiccans/Witches in North America practice their religion in secret, because of the hatred and loathing that the public has for anything called Witchcraft. Those who go public risk firebombing, shootings, assault, etc. by some very devout, very well meaning, but terribly misinformed religious people. The long-range effects of your definition will be unknown, but you might easily have saved lives. Fear of witches is perpetrated by five main groups:
manufacturers of Halloween decorations and candy
dictionary publishers
elements in Evangelical Christianity which find the concept of evil witches useful
movie producers
publishers of children's story books It is interesting to note that the portrayal of the evil witch is losing ground to the pleasant witch at Halloween. A Canadian longitudinal survey indicates that the former is running about 6% in 1994 (vs 11% in 1993 and 15% in 1992). We hope to strike the first two groups from the above list by the start of the next decade/century/millennium. Two criticisms:
1. Your definition of Witchcraft only covers the first type of Witch. This implies that Wiccans practice sorcery, which is not true. Might I suggest a simpler definition for Witchcraft: The practices of witches
2. Since you recognize Witches as practicing a nature-based religion, shouldn't the word Witchcraft be capitalized? Sincerely,
C.M. Kern
Office of the Wiccan Information Network Ontario Co-ordinator
829 Norwest Rd. #333
Kingston ON
CANADA K7P-2N3 A New Organization for Solitaries I am writing to inform you and your readers that a new Wiccan organization is being formed. We would be happy to receive inquiries from readers of New Moon Rising. What is planned is an action and support group for solitary Wiccans. We will share ceremonial themes and our creative, ritual-related work, but we will celebrate at our own altars on holy days. We may also do lunar work and healing work. Anyone interested in more information is invited to contact: Erik Felker (Vanegir), 414 E. Cedar #9, Burbank, CA 91501. Erik Felker (Vanegir) | 
