Facing discrimination

In their nature
Facing discrimination, Wicca pagan followers learn to turn the other cheek.

Original Print from www.columbiatribune.com

By ANNIE NELSON of the Tribune’s staff

Published Saturday, November 3, 2007

That members of local Wicca and pagan groups made a point to introduce themselves as regular people during a discussion panel Sunday - "Which Witch is This?" - was noted and quickly brought up by the audience.

Nick King photo

Rose Wise, right, high priestess of Ozark Avalon Church of Nature near Boonville, talks about Wicca and paganism as Victoria Chance, who is also known as Taz, listens Sunday at the Columbia Public Library. They spoke to a group of about 20 people.

"I moved here from Eugene, Ore., where paganism is very accepted. When you introduced yourselves, you all said, ‘I’m a normal person,’ " a woman said, asking whether pagans experienced discrimination in the Midwest.

The five members from Ozark Avalon Church of Nature, Hearthfires and Mid-Missouri Pagan Pride took a collective breath before beginning to relate some prices pagans have paid for their beliefs in Missouri. They spoke before a crowd of about 20 people in the Friends Room of the Columbia Public Library.

The question is the main reason the witches were motivated to have the discussion at all: to increase understanding of their religion. Misconceptions about their beliefs - which are founded on the pre-Christian beliefs of Celts, Greco-Romans and Norse - abound in Columbia’s predominantly Christian community, said Rose Wise, high priestess of Ozark Avalon Church of Nature near Boonville.

Wise credits movies such as "The Blair Witch Project," "Wicker Man" and "The Craft" with creating the stereotypes of Wicca that caused 15-year-old Heather Galbreath to be singled out by a boy in middle school after he saw her pentacle pendant. "Every day he would come up to me and call me evil," said the teenager, whose Wiccan name is Rowan.

Ozark Avalon’s "poor mailbox" has taken a beating from teenagers wielding baseball bats.

Nick King photos

Above, Kat Koehn writes down titles of books dealing with Wicca and paganism before the panel of local witches discussed their religion in the Friends Room at Columbia Public Library. They tried to dispel misperceptions about their beliefs, which they said are perpetuated by movies such as “The Blair Witch Project,” “Wicker Man” and “The Craft.” Below, items used in Wicca include deer horns, shells, feathers and bells.

And last month, local pagans held a ritual celebration at a local hotel, Wise said. When the room they had rented was found to have a leaky roof, the hotel management moved them to an interior courtyard near the indoor pool. The courtyard was lined with balconies and one guest - at the sight of the witches in their ritual garb - threw a Bible at the group from the balcony, nearly hitting one of them, said Victoria Chance, who is called Taz.

In February 2005, the group’s contract for a spring celebration with the Hannibal Inn and Convention Center - now closed - was canceled after local ministers threatened to boycott the hotel, Wise said.

Wise gave up a job as executive director of a large charity after its board of directors discovered her beliefs and became hostile, she said. "One minute you’re goddess’ gift to the profession until people find out about your religion, and then you can’t do anything right," Wise said.

Wiccans rarely are wealthy, Chance said, and it’s not unusual for progress reports to turn from sunny to critical if an employer takes issue with a pagan’s beliefs.

Discussing discrimination was one part of an hourlong question-and-answer session.

Another focus was the history of Halloween, called Samhain in Wicca, pronounced sow-when. Celts believed the year had two parts - light and dark. Oct. 31, the eve of Samhain, is the eve before the dark period of the year begins. It’s also the time of year when the veil that exists between the lands of the living and the dead is easiest to cross, Wise said, which is why ancestors and loved ones passed on are remembered and honored at Samhain.

For pagans, the night is less about demons and more like a new year’s celebration, said Steven Galbreath, known as Uthyr Riverbear. Resolutions are made, and the tradition of dressing up is actually an attempt at self-prophecy, Chance said. "We dress up what we want to be for the next year," she said.

This year, Chance is dressing up as a successful businesswoman.

"That’s the most upsetting thing. Parents encourage their kids to dress up as horrible little monsters and then are shocked next year when the kid is running around behaving like one," she said, getting a laugh from the audience.

"I didn’t realize it could be so offensive to them," said Allison Johnson, a 23-year-old non-denominational Christian.

Wise said pagans often feel more isolated from mainstream culture during the next couple of months than any other time of the year. While their beliefs are directing them to focus on more internal things - meditating on the future and trying to divine it - the rest of the world is shifting into high consumer gear for Thanksgiving and Halloween.

Halloween isn’t necessarily offensive to pagans; some of their own children participate in trick-or-treating.

"I still trick-or-treat. I love the candy," Heather Galbreath said.

"As long as they don’t stop me from practicing Samhain, they can have their Halloween," Wise said. "I’m more interested in taking my own practice seriously and not being worried about having the most battered mailbox in Cooper County."