A lawsuit should not have been necessary to force the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to give in and allow a Wiccan pentacle on the grave marker of a deceased soldier. But legal pressures and a lot of expert convincing have made it possible for five-pointed stars to join 38 other religious symbols as acceptable for the slabs at cemeteries. Crosses in various adaptations, along with the Star of David, Islamic crescent and other unique patterns have long been allowed.Given its ingrained conservatism, the military typically lags behind the culture at accepting changes like that. Military personnel are not as ready to give legitimacy to things pagan — witches, priestesses, casting a magic circle, covens and rituals in the moonlight. But surely almost all religions, examined critically or looked at in the abstract, could be questioned as embracing some far-fetched beliefs and strange practices.It took people like Barry Lynn, director of Americans United for the Separation of Church and State, to press the veterans bureaucracy to allay fears and to convince them of the importance of consistency and fairness. To forgo more litigation, the military accepted a settlement filed in U.S. District Court for the Western Division of Wisconsin. Families of several Wiccan soldiers filed suit last November to win the right to have Wiccan symbols on government-provided markers in Circle Sanctuary, a 200-acre Wiccan nature center west of Madison, Wis. In the lawsuit, Circle Sanctuary vs. Nicholson, Lynns organization said that to deny Wiccan men and women their own symbols violates the U.S. Constitution. Some Department of Defense statistics estimate that some 1,800 Wiccans are active in American military units.This settlement has forced the Bush Administration into acknowledging that there are no second-class religions in America, including among our nation’s veterans," Lynn said Tuesday. Oddly, the same military had already permitted Wicca to be a religious preference pressed into service personnels dog tag IDs.So far, it hasnt accepted Wicca when it comes to chaplain services. The military, which still wont allow openly gay human beings, didnt take to this Wiccan thing easily. Richard Katskee, Americans Uniteds assistant legal director, noted that, in the past, a religious group would petition the military for approval of its symbol and get the go-ahead in a few months. Wiccans request took 10 year and a lawsuit. Wiccans say a general ignorance of their religion and a mistaken notion that they worship the devil were factors for the long effort.Americans United said the 30,000 pages of documents from which the Veterans Affairs worked contained President George W. Bushs 1999 remarks on Good Morning America regarding Wiccans quest to be allowed to worship at Fort Hood, Texas. Then governor of Texas, Bush stated, I dont think witchcraft is a religion. John W. Whitehead, president of the Rutherford Institute, which often joins in legal fights for First Amendment rights, noted, I was just aghast that someone who would fight for their country and die for their country would not get the symbol he wanted on his gravestone. Its just overt religious discrimination.The Associated Press said 11 families are waiting for grave markers with the pentacle each of the five points representing earth, air, fire, water and spirit. Families hope their markers will be ready in the time for the Memorial Day weekend, May 26-28. The symbol is already shown as an acceptable symbol on the Veterans Affairs web site: http://www.cem.va.gov/cem/hm/hmemb.asp.The nature-based religion that once pervaded northern Europe and the British Isles predating Christianity and Islam, for example — is earning its place, begrudgingly, in the American military. Chalk it up as freedoms gain. One more step out of darkness and fear.

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