Attempting to change the world can make waves that can be dangerous and damaging to the point that most of us are fearful of doing anything of the sort. Fighting back takes a lot of conviction, energy, and motion that many just don’t have. Many individuals practice in the quiet and privacy of their own homes or with close friends and are grateful for the freedom to do that at least. That was not the case with Starr Ann RavenHawk; she definitely deserves some much-earned applause from the Pagan Community.
Starr Ann firmly believes and fights for the right to practice her spiritual beliefs openly and without harassment, just the same as any other churches have been allowed to do for the past 40 years. She has done the work, jumped through the plethora of hoops laid out by her state, and still fights daily to combat naysayers and protestors dead set against her and her follower’s right to believe and practice those beliefs whenever and wherever they are.
For Starr Ann, her followers, and most within the Pagan community; spirituality and practices of our beliefs is not something we only practice on certain days, it is every day! It is the core of who we are and guides our moves, every single day.
I’ve met with Starr Ann several times over the past 6 months. We met the first time on the Iowa Pagan News Radio Show when I interviewed her with Earl Williams. We did a few Pagan Rights Coalition Round Tables with Ed Sott together also. We shared a lot, discussed things openly despite differing beliefs in some areas, and still managed to work together after the fact. It’s been a beautiful thing to experience.
We met outside of those things several times after we purchased the newspaper and explored how we could work together to help grow attendance at the WitchsFest USA event this summer and expose our readers to the many different offerings Starr Ann and her NYC Wiccan Family Temple. She gifted MT with a free ticket to the online portion of the event to give away to one of our readers and placed copies of our first issue (Beltane 2022) on the info table at WitchsFest USA’s one day live event. We are hopeful to be able to attend the live event, as well as have a speaking panel at the online event next year.
To hear that protestors made aggressive attempts to disrupt the live event, and mostly succeeded, this year broke my heart more than a little bit. Starr Ann is a fighter for what is right, and we believe in and support her because we know that she will not stop fighting this. She will take this through the proper channels to ensure that things are different at the event next year, and the many years after. We support and encourage that willingness to fight on behalf of every pagan 100%.
The fight takes more than just energy and effort. It takes money. Money to pay for permits, for attorneys to help bring changes in policies, and for buildings where trespassers can be prosecuted. This is to guard against aggressive behaviors from protestors. You can help support Starr Ann and her ongoing fight against protestors, even up to the Federal Level if she has to get them. We can support the pagan community, by fighting for the right to practice how and where we see fit. Visit the NYC Wiccan Family Temple today!
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