Author: Amy Winn

Source: Poughkeepsie Journal

http://www.poughkeepsiejournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061030/LIFE/610300322/1005

For most Americans, Halloween is a secular holiday of costumes and candies.

To the ancient Celtic people of the British Isles, Halloween marked the final harvests and the beginning of winter. They saw close parallels between nature's transition between seasons and the...

Author: Lara Farrar

Source: The Boston Globe

http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2006/10/29/ordinary_people____except_for_the_witch_part/?page=2

[Lori] Bruno, 66, founded her witches' coven, Our Lord and Lady of the Trinacrian Rose Church and Grove , in 1992 . Initially, the church met in the basement of Bruno's Medford home , then briefly in the back room of a Bickford's in Woburn. Since...

Author: ERIC LONG/CRAIG S. McKIBBEN

Source: Williamsport Sun-Gazette

http://www.sungazette.com/religion/articles.asp?articleID=10967

Along with the fall season that leads up to Halloween, many people think of witches on broomsticks and all the concepts that have been popularized over centuries.

But two members of a coven that operates in this region say that Wicca, the religion of witches, is not what most people think it is....

Author: Scott Williams

Source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=521771

Waukesha - Amber Braun is one witch who does not want to frighten anyone this Halloween.

Amber Braun is president of the Pagan Student Alliance at the University of Wisconsin-Waukesha. As president of the Pagan Student Alliance, a new club at the University of Wisconsin-Waukesha, Braun hopes to show non-believers that they have...

Source: Progressive U

http://www.progressiveu.org/204311-pagans-and-the-media

On October 1, 2006 Progressive U published a blog by Fallon Glen, "Today Pagans United officially kicks off phase one of the Pagan Awareness Project. Since early 2004, Pagans United members have worked diligently to bring forth awareness of what Paganism is (and what Paganism is not), and to engage in activism within a framework that benefits Mother Earth. And since 2004, members have...

Source: ACLU Press Release

http://www.aclu.org/religion/discrim/26970prs20060929.html

On September 29, 2006 an ACLU Press Release reported, "The American Civil Liberties Union today filed a lawsuit to protect the right of veterans and their families to choose religious symbols to engrave on headstones in federal cemeteries. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of two churches and three individuals to compel the government to approve a long-pending application for use...

Source: Nevada Appeal News Service

http://www.nevadaappeal.com/article/20060927/NEWS/109270084

On September 27, 2006 the Nevada Appeal News Service reported, "Wiccan widow Roberta Stewart announced Tuesday at the Americans United rally at Powning Park in Reno that an official notice was sent to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to respond within 14 days demanding the approval of the Wiccan symbol of the pentacle as a grave marker or a lawsuit would be...

Source: The Salt Lake Tribune

http://www.sltrib.com/ci_4345167

On September 15, 2006 The Salt Lake Tribune reported, "As much as Salt Lake's Pagan Pride Day is about celebrating the harvest and honoring pagan identity, it is more about educating the broader community, festival organizers say. It's about dispelling stereotypes, promoting understanding and just having a good time. 'There are no funny things going on,' says Lisa Gift, the local coordinator, who emphasizes the event...

Source: Lahontan Valley News

http://www.lahontanvalleynews.com/article/20060915/Opinion/109150025

On September 15, 2006 the Lahontan Valley News reported, " For the family of Sgt. Patrick Stewart of Fernley, we hope some form of peace has arrived.

With Wednesday's announcement that a plaque for Stewart bearing the Wiccan symbol of the pentacle will be placed on the memorial wall at the Northern Nevada Veterans Memorial Cemetery, some closure...

Source: The Virginian-Pilot

Source: Americans United press release

http://www.au.org/media/press-releases/archives/2006/08/presses-va-for-r.html

On August 3, 2006 an Americans United press release reported, "Americans United for Separation of Church and State is stepping up its effort to persuade the US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to approve a Wiccan symbol for headstones, plaques and other memorials of deceased veterans.

Americans United is now...

Source: The Virginian-Pilot

Source: Chicago Sun-Times

http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/cst-nws-wiccan06.html

On July 6, 2006 the Chicago Sun-Times reported, "A Schaumburg company allegedly fired a woman, and one employee is accused of calling her a 'devil worshipper' after she disclosed she practiced Wicca -- a pagan religion viewed by some as witchcraft.

Now, the woman is suing.

Rebecca Sommers said the company fired her in 2004, citing poor job performance. She...

Source: KWTX.com

http://www.kwtx.com/home/headlines/3279581.html

On July 5, 2006 KWTX.com reported, "The widow of a U.S. soldier killed in Afghanistan is appealing the government's refusal to put a Wiccan symbol on his memorial plaque.

Roberta Stewart was scheduled to meet Wednesday with an undersecretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs, and is threatening to sue unless her demand is met.

Her husband, Nevada Army National Guard Sgt. Patrick...

Source: Las Vegas Sun

Wire Service: AP

http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/nevada/2006/jul/03/070310047.html

On July 3, 2006 the Associated Press reported, "The widow of a Nevada soldier is taking her fight for a veteran's memorial plaque recognizing her husband's Wiccan religion to the nation's capital.

Roberta Stewart will a guest speaker Tuesday at a Fourth of July interfaith religious rights...