Arlington National Cemetery is hallowed ground for witches, too.
Grave markers at Arlington National Cemetery carry the religious symbols of 38 belief systems officially recognized by the Department of Veterans Affairs, including that of Wicca, a k a witchcraft.
Made up of a star — whose five points represent spirit, water, fire, earth and air — and surrounded by a circle emblematic of the sacred space in which practitioners of the religion sometimes perform spells, the pentacle is the most sacred Wiccan symbol.
“You can’t just get anything,” Melissa Bohan, a spokeswoman for Arlington National Cemetery, told The Daily. “There’s a list of preapproved religious symbols.”
Since its addition in 2007 to a list of recognized tombstone icons, the pentacle has begun popping up on grave markers at Arlington and other government cemeteries alongside crosses, Stars of David and Muslim crescents.
“There’s been a large increase over the past few years,” Jeanet Ewing, co-founder of Northern Virginia Pagan Network, told The Daily. “We’re up to near 80 grave markers nationwide.”
The symbol can be found on five Arlington headstones, including that of Army Staff Sgt. Thomas Huffard, a Vietnam veteran who died in 2009, and Army Spec. Charles Heinlein, who was killed in Iraq in 2007.
A testament to the diversity of religious practice in the United States, the Veterans Affairs’ list includes symbols for Mormons (the angel Moroni), atheists (an “A” surrounded by an atom), the Church of World Messianity (an eight-pointed cross within a circle) and Eckankar, a spiritual belief system founded by American author Paul Twitchell in 1965 (the letters “EK”).
“We feel proud that the Wiccan emblem is there,” said Ewing’s husband, David, a Wiccan minister who tours Arlington every Memorial Day. “A person’s faith doesn’t lessen the sacrifice.”
According to guidelines for family members or religious organizations seeking to introduce a new symbol to the approved list, applicants must establish an immediate need for the new icon, such as the death of a soldier who is an adherent of the belief system it represents. In addition, the proposed new emblem must represent “the decedent’s religious affiliation or sincerely held religious belief system,” the Veterans Affairs’ website states.
“It can’t just be someone making up a religion,” department spokeswoman Josephine Schuda told The Daily.
As for the inclusion of Wicca, which involves the worship of a horned god that critics have likened to a Satanic figure, as well as a more benign goddess figure, Schuda recalled that the decision entailed considerable debate.
“Essentially, it boiled down to the issue of whether Wiccan beliefs constituted a religion,” Schuda said. “It took a little while, I’ll say that.”
David.Knowles@thedaily.com
Click here for a full list of the Department of Veteran Affairs recognized grave marker symbols.
Grave markers at Arlington National Cemetery carry the religious symbols of 38 belief systems officially recognized by the Department of Veterans Affairs, including that of Wicca, a k a witchcraft.
Made up of a star — whose five points represent spirit, water, fire, earth and air — and surrounded by a circle emblematic of the sacred space in which practitioners of the religion sometimes perform spells, the pentacle is the most sacred Wiccan symbol.
“You can’t just get anything,” Melissa Bohan, a spokeswoman for Arlington National Cemetery, told The Daily. “There’s a list of preapproved religious symbols.”
Since its addition in 2007 to a list of recognized tombstone icons, the pentacle has begun popping up on grave markers at Arlington and other government cemeteries alongside crosses, Stars of David and Muslim crescents.
“There’s been a large increase over the past few years,” Jeanet Ewing, co-founder of Northern Virginia Pagan Network, told The Daily. “We’re up to near 80 grave markers nationwide.”
The symbol can be found on five Arlington headstones, including that of Army Staff Sgt. Thomas Huffard, a Vietnam veteran who died in 2009, and Army Spec. Charles Heinlein, who was killed in Iraq in 2007.
A testament to the diversity of religious practice in the United States, the Veterans Affairs’ list includes symbols for Mormons (the angel Moroni), atheists (an “A” surrounded by an atom), the Church of World Messianity (an eight-pointed cross within a circle) and Eckankar, a spiritual belief system founded by American author Paul Twitchell in 1965 (the letters “EK”).
“We feel proud that the Wiccan emblem is there,” said Ewing’s husband, David, a Wiccan minister who tours Arlington every Memorial Day. “A person’s faith doesn’t lessen the sacrifice.”
According to guidelines for family members or religious organizations seeking to introduce a new symbol to the approved list, applicants must establish an immediate need for the new icon, such as the death of a soldier who is an adherent of the belief system it represents. In addition, the proposed new emblem must represent “the decedent’s religious affiliation or sincerely held religious belief system,” the Veterans Affairs’ website states.
“It can’t just be someone making up a religion,” department spokeswoman Josephine Schuda told The Daily.
As for the inclusion of Wicca, which involves the worship of a horned god that critics have likened to a Satanic figure, as well as a more benign goddess figure, Schuda recalled that the decision entailed considerable debate.
“Essentially, it boiled down to the issue of whether Wiccan beliefs constituted a religion,” Schuda said. “It took a little while, I’ll say that.”
David.Knowles@thedaily.com
Click here for a full list of the Department of Veteran Affairs recognized grave marker symbols.
PHOTO: Kim Lamb/AP
he pagan pentacle is carried at a Nevada veterans cemetery.
PHOTO: Alex Brandon/AP
Five Arlington headstones have the star.
