I’m Pagan. I have been since I was twelve, and I take my faith fairly seriously. I wear a small silver pentagram around my neck, and I don’t think I’ve taken it off for more than half an hour for years. I don’t even really notice it, usually. It’s as much a part of me as my faith. I wear it when I sleep, when I eat, when I work out, when I make love, and when I shower. When I’m in a situation where wearing a pentagram is probably not the wisest thing to do, I put it inside my shirt.
Something funny happens, though. In Denver it happened all the time, mostly because I took the bus a lot and was out in the general public more. People would ask me about the Star of David around my neck, or make some other comment about my Jewish heritage. Most of it was positive, and I know enough about Judaism to have a brief conversation about it. People didn’t believe me when I told them this happened until they saw it happen themselves. You would think that a pentagram and a Star of David would look different enough that people wouldn’t get them mixed up (and they do look pretty darn different). They use Pentagrams in scary movies all the time, so you think even that much would make the general public aware of the fact that they are differant. My friend Joni started jokingly call my necklace my Jewishness.
I’m still shocked by it when it happens. Of COURSE I’m not Jewish, I’m as obviously Irish as they come. I’m pale, I’ve got freckles, I have reddish hair, and green eyes. My first name is painfully Gaelic, and my last name is as Irish as they come. The Irish aren’t famous for their huge Jewish population, as far as religions go they tend more to the Catholic side of the scale, with some Protestant deviation. The necklace, if anyone pays the smallest bit of attention, is not a Star of David. But people will just assume I’m Jewish, and while it doesn’t offend me, it’s still a very odd thing to happen.
On the other hand, it’s usually a lot safer to say that you’re Jewish, rather than saying you’re a Witch or Pagan. If people are anti-Semitic, they’re DEFINATLY anti-Witch.
So now you know how one very Irish Witch’s pentagram came to be known as Jewishness. I almost feel like I should have a sword and name it something too, in honor my Celtic heritage. Then all I will need to be a classic Celtic hero is a bloody, long, painful, uncomfortable yet honorable death. Or maybe I can pick up gardening as a hobby instead…