Pagan Warriors

Off the Shelf:

Women on War: An International Collection of Writings from Antiquity to the Present - Daniela Gioseff (Editor)

Dear America: Letters Home from Vietnam - Bernard Edelman (Editor)

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Sia's Post:

Some time back Beliefnet posted a provocative article by Carl McColman (1) on the ways in which the Pagan community views those of our people who serve in the military. It is still relevant. McColman writes about:

(a) quiet revolution that has been occurring in Paganism, as more and more Pagans enter the armed forces (and increasing numbers of military personnel embrace the old religions.

He goes on to say that

...These Pagans often identify as warriors, blending ancient or earth-centered spirituality with the ethics and ideals of the martial arts. A leading Pagan warrior is Kerr Cuhulain, a Vancouver policeman and former Air Force officer whose books The Wiccan Warrior and Full Contact Magick celebrate the ancient--and still relevant--connection between primal spirituality and the path of the warrior.

Warrior spirituality recognizes that it is a limitation to see the Goddess as some sort of romantic peacenik. Try convincing mythical Goddesses like the Hindu Kali Ma, the Irish Morrigu, or the Greek Athena that Pagan spirituality is all about peace and love. Each of these figures are ferocious, take-no-prisoner warrior queens, far more concerned with security and self-defense than with playing nice in the multi-cultural sandbox.

You can read the rest of the article and post your thoughts about it at the link above. If this topic interests you, here are some other, related links:

Military Pagans Page at The Witches Voice

List of Pagans and Heathens in the Military

Miliary Pagan Network

Pagan Vets

Officers of Avalon

Women Warriors

My thoughts today are with men and women who serve in the armed forces, with their families who miss them, and with all those caught in the cycle of violence and war around the world.

In our family we will remember a dear friend lost in Vietnam and ancestors who served in WWI and II.

Congratulations and grateful thanks go out to all those who made it possible for our warriors' families to display the pentacle (2) on their headstones. May these memorials be proudly maintained but few in number.

Blessed Memorial Day,

Sia

(1) It should be noted that Mr. McColman has recently converted to Catholicism. We wish him all the best.

(2) A pentagram is the name for a drawing, design or image of a 5 pointed star with continuious, unbroken lines. It is most often seen within a circle. The pentacle is that design translated into clay, metal, stone, or some other form. See more information here at Wickipedia, and here, at a Wiccan webpage devoted to that subject.