Dear Editor,
I would have to say that I have a wonderful life. I have two amazing boys and a great fiance. I'm very pro-life, against animal abuse, and the use of real fur. I raise my children to use manners everyday and to be respectful. I keep a clean home and kiss my children at bedtime everyday. We live in a small town yet it is a very religious community. I am religious myself but the religion I follow is not widely recognized as anything but bad.
I am not a Christian or a Mormon. I also do not follow the Jewish faith. I am a Wiccan (Pagan). For those of you who do not know much about this faith let me clarify a couple things for you. I do not cast evil spells or curses. I do not chant long into the night, and I do not worship Satan! Most Pagans do not even believe in Satan. I do believe in God and Jesus I just believe there is more than one God and that there is also a Godesses. It pains me to think of how people just assume the worst because it is not what they believe or because they do not understand. I worship the earth and all that comes from it. The name "Mother Earth" actually comes from a Pagan Goddess. I celebrate the changing of the seasons and what new things the earth will bless us with in each change.
My faith is thousands of years old. Older then Christianity itself. Why is it that just because I wear a pentagram instead of a cross I am looked at as evil? The pentagram actually points to the five elements and again has nothing to do with Satan. I do not understand how people can celebrate Wiccan and Pagan holidays like Thanksgiving (yes this originates back to pagan time) or Valentine's Day(again pagan) and still have such fear and hatred for the Pagans. I believe people need to look deeper into their own faith before judging mine. It’s wrong for me to say "Blessed Be" but it’s okay for anyone else to say "God Bless You."
I am just hoping that by writing this others will see that the Wiccan or Pagan faith is not Satanic or evil. My children will be raised mostly Wiccan (which has been a issue in my children’s schooling, teachers need to understand that not all children in this community are Christian) but they are free to believe any faith they wish. Faith comes from your heart it cannot be forced upon you. You will never see a Pagan knocking on your door trying to get you to convert or banning you to Hell because you do not believe the same that we do. This is how it should be for all of us. Not judged by what we believe but by what we do with that belief.
I hope this brings some understanding and acceptance of my faith and if I have made one person see that Wiccans and Pagans are not the evil Satan worshipers that everyone seems to believe then writing this will be more them worth it.
Blessed Be,
Shawnna Costello
Barrhead
