On Saturday 28 March 2009 the Orange County Local Council (OCLC) of the Covenant of the Goddess (CoG) held an Ostara Picnic in Anaheim. The event had a strong children’s focus with a retelling of the story of Goddess and the Hare, an egg hunt and craft activities.

Alicia, the OCLC Second Officer, invited Jo and myself to talk about Cherry Hill Seminary and how it can be supported through the SCRIP programme which Jo had initiated.

After I had finished my talk, there were a number of important grassroots level issues of concern which cropped up. One of the ladies present spoke of an instance at her child’s school were parents were asked to provide information about non-Christian holidays that they celebrated. As soon as she mentioned that they were Wiccan, the school representative said “not that.” She didn’t push the issue even though she realized that it smacked of discrimination.

Another issue was that of separated mothers who were too scared to teach their children about Wicca or paganism in case the fathers found out.

After the picnic, I discussed these issues with Holli S Emore, the Executive Director of CHS, and fellow CHS board member, M Macha NightMare, in order to obtain a clearer perspective on available options.

As a teaching institution, CHS does not involve itself in advocacy issues, although they do have an excellent course on Religion & the Law, taught by attorney and druid Jim Bianchi.

The main ways that the abovementioned issues should be dealt with is by those affected being proactive and taking steps on their own behalf. There are numerous resources to choose from, both secular/civil and Pagan:

* The Witches’ Voice (Witchvox)
* Lady Liberty League, connected with Circle Sanctuary
* Legal Aid or another legal group
* Local Pagan groups
* Interfaith groups
* Civil rights groups

In the case of the mother with issues connected to her child’s school, she should push the issue, but strategically with knowledgeable advice and support.

In the case of mothers not wanting their ex-husbands finding out about their Wiccan or pagan practices, the mothers concerned should seek legal advice to inform themselves of their rights. Allegations of witchcraft have been known to lead to messy and expensive court cases over custody or visitation rights in certain states.

The long term solution to the issues discussed above is for many more pagans to share publicly, and be available for interfaith as well as other educational opportunities, in order to give mainstream society a new image of paganism which dispels their misconceptions. 

Posted by Tony Mierzwicki
Filed under: Events, Legal, Pagan Issues
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