March 11, 2006 - Circle Times Update

The Pentacle for vets quest continues to make the news.

"Wiccans want OK for Symbol on Headstones" is a headline on the front page of today's STARS AND STRIPES (http://www.stripes.com), the US military newspaper that is read by American troops around the world.

Also on the front page is this summary:
"The National Cemetery Administration has 38 permitted religious symbols for headstones and plaques, none of them for Pagans or Wiccans. There are requests from two denominations for the Wiccan pentacle, but so far no decision has been made."

Inside the paper is the article: Wiccans wait for VA to allow symbol on headstones at national cemeteries, plus a photograph of Sgt. Patrick Stewart, a Wiccan and war hero who was killed in action in Afghanistan last September.

The photo was taken on his wedding day and shows him standing with the torch marking the South quarter of his handfasting circle.

In this article, his widow Roberta Stewart shared her anguish about the VA having not yet approved the Pentacle.

Roberta also mentioned that the troops who served with her late husband are also upset, and that she hopes that it will be approved soon, since the soldiers are coming home this month: "There's going to be an upset unit, with Patrick not being recognized properly for his sacrifice," she said. "I want them to come home to a memorial, not a memorial and a fight."

Rev. Pete Pathfinder Davis, head of the Aquarian Tabernacle Church, expressed frustration at the long delay in getting the Pentacle approved: "We submitted an application in 1997, and it can't possibly take eight years to review an application."

Rev. Selena Fox, head of Circle Sanctuary, also expressed her concerns: "I find it sad that men like Patrick Stewart were killed standing up for freedoms like the First Amendment, and yet he still does not have the emblem of his belief on his plaque."

The Associated Press, an international news wire service, has picked up the March 2 article by Sean Whaley in the Las Vegas Review Journal, and versions are appearing in other newspapers:

More articles by other reporters will be appearing soon.

Roberta was interviewed by other newspapers this week, including the Reno Gazette Journal. She plans to continue to speak out about the need for the US Department of Veterans Affairs to add the Pentacle to its list of emblems of belief that can be inscribed on government-issued memorial markers, plaques, and headstones for deceased vets.

Examples of how the pentacle may appear on a marker and plaque is now on-line: http://www.circlesanctuary.org/liberty/veteranpentacle/

• Please continue to remember this quest in your circles and meditations.
• Please continue to spread the word about this quest to others.
• Please notify the Circle office of any coverage of this issue you encounter in other newspapers -- email: circle@circlesanctuary.org