From the ABCNews website:

MADISON, Wis. Apr 23, 2007 (AP)— The Wiccan pentacle has been added to the list of emblems allowed in national cemeteries and on goverment-issued headstones of fallen soldiers, according to a settlement announced Monday.

A settlement between the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and Wiccans adds the five-pointed star to the list of "emblems of belief" allowed on VA grave markers.

The settlement calls for the pentacle, whose five points represent earth, air, fire, water and spirit, to be placed on grave markers within 14 days for those who have pending requests with the VA.

The pentacle has been added to 38 symbols the VA already permits on gravestones. They include commonly recognized symbols for Christianity, Buddhism, Islam and Judaism, as well as those for smaller religions such as Sufism Reoriented, Eckiankar and the Japanese faith Seicho-No-Ie.

VA-issued headstones, markers and plaques can be used in any cemetery, whether it is a national one such as Arlington or a private burial ground like that on Circle Sanctuary's property.

Wicca is a nature-based religion based on respect for the earth, nature and the cycle of the seasons. Variations of the pentacle not accepted by Wiccans have been used in horror movies as a sign of the devil.

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For those of you who don't know the difference, the pentacle is a five-pointed star, single point up, surrounded by a circle. The variation used to represent the devil is two-points up, implying demonic horns... and we won't go into the whole sorry tale of the demonizing of pagan horned gods like Pan and Herne.
This is a wonderful victory for pagans in America. What I found intriguing about the entire issue (along the lines of left-hand not knowing what the right hand is doing) is that the United States military itself has long recognized Wicca as being a legitimate religion. Eight years ago there was a minor firestorm over the fact that the commander of Ft. Hood in Texas allowed neo-pagan military personnel space and time to worship on base.

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From the Austin American-Statesman/May 11, 1999 "Practicing their old-time religion":

. . . . Navy Capt. Russell Gunter, executive director of the Armed Forces Chaplains Board at the Pentagon, said the military is obligated to respect and make provisions for the religious needs of its members without passing judgment on their beliefs.

Haberek, the III Corps head chaplain, agreed. "You know, I raised my right hand when I came in the Army to support and defend the Constitution, and that's what I'm doing, defending the constitutional right of soldiers and family members."

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From the U.S. Department of the Army, "Religious Requirements and Practices of Certain Selected Groups: A Handbook for Chaplains," University Press of the Pacific, (2001):

WICCA
OTHER NAMES BY WHICH KNOWN: Witchcraft; Goddess worshippers; Neo-Paganism, Paganism, Norse (or any other ethnic designation) Paganism, Earth Religion, Old Religion, Druidism, Shamanism. Note: All of these groups have some basic similarities and many surface differences of expression with Wicca.

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The rest of the entry on Wicca in the Handbook (which runs for several pages) is very accurate, factual and supportive. So, if the Pentagon has recognized Wicca for at least eight years, what took the V.A. so long?

In the end, even that question is only out of curiosity. What truly matters is that my fallen brothers and sisters can now have their faith publicly displayed on their grave markers. Anyone walking through Arlington National Cemetery from now on will know that Wiccans are Americans too, and we have bled and died for our religious freedom.

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