shimmer

This weeks questions were donated by: Liv

Do you wear any religious symbol jewelry/clothing? If so do you wear it openly in public?

I used to always wear a pentacle on a chain around my neck. Now I wear a black heart on my chain, as this is more specific to my path. However, I wear a pentacle ring on my first finger of my right hand, have a pentacle tattoo on my ankle, and sometimes wear "witchy" t-shirts (eg, "Nothing says lovin' like something from the coven!"). If people have a problem, mainly I feel the problem is theirs. Generally, I find that people don't know what the symbols mean anyway. I've always worn Pagan jewelry openly.

How do you feel about the issue of wearing religious symbols in schools and how some young teens are forced to remove their religious fashions?

I support the right of religious teens to wear their religious symbols in school... whether they are pentacles, headscarves, or those obnoxious T-shirts with the bloody Jesus on them. It's a matter of the First Amendment and civil rights to personal expression.

Have you ever experienced a confrontation about wearing your jewlery in public? How did you handle the situation if so?

I have had a few things happen, but not for some time now. Actually, the most recent thing was a few years ago, when someone assumed I was Jewish because of my pentacle. She assumed it was a Star of David. "Oh, no," I assured her, leaning over, "I'm not Jewish... I'm a Witch!" Her eyes became very big, which amused me greatly.

Really, though, you'd think people would be able to tell the difference between the six-pointed Star of David and the five-pointed pentagram! I used to have a dear friend who liked to respond to this confusion: "Oh, I used to be Jewish, but I lost a 'point' for behavior!"

Upon seeing my pentacle, a few people have cautioned me about going to hell, but I generally ignore them. Mostly people just ask what it means, and my standard response is "the four sacred elements, plus spirit as the fifth element, and the circle binds them together." That doesn't weird them out too much, usually.

Posted by Jean on Monday, October 18, 2004 at 11:28 AM | Permalink