Prison Wicca
The practice of the Wiccan Religion in prisons today
by: Sean M, Curtis, Wiccan and in prison in North Carolina
Being Wiccan in prison today is a lot easier than it used to be. Today, Wiccans can openly practice their religion as opposed to just twenty years ago when it was hared to do so. Even so, modern Wiccans still have to deal with the prejudices of inmates and staff members alike Many inmates believe that if they openly admit that they are Wiccan, they will be singled out by staff or inmates.
There have been instances where inmates have been beaten by staff members or other inmates because they are Wiccan. There are times when to openly call yourself a Wiccan is to invite trouble. Thankfully, we have come a long way in being accepted in prison. Even so, it is still hard to practice our religion due to the restrictions places on us by the administrative staff at the prisons.
The practice of Wiccan is limited by the amount of outside support that we get. The biggest problem we have is that we have no one to be our voice. It is next to impossible to effect change from withing. I have tried numerous times over the years to get things changed, but have been unable due to the fact that I have no access to people that will listen. We need help from the Wiccan community to hep us effect a positive change. Another problems is the lack of volunteers to come into the prisons to help with the study groups and Sabbats. (We don't get to celebrate Esbats.) If one person volunteered to come in for two hours a week to teach things like meditation, divination, scrying, Tarot, how to work spells, and to teach basic Wiccan practices we would be able to actually get things done. I am not saying that inmates can't do those things, but having an outside source of information is better.
As of this writing, in the state of North Carolina, the Wiccan religion is the most under supported religious group in prison. Most prisons do not even have the facilities available to have circles held for Sabbats. Some don't even have a Wiccan function for the inmates. The funds that have been set aside for religious groups ans been limited each year and only seems to get smaller each year The Wiccans are finding it harder to get the things we need to practice our religion. Incense and candles are now deemed unnecessary for our rituals and we can no longer order them. We are only allowed to order things that are “approved” by the prison staff, who are non-Wiccan. We are not allowed to include Cakes and Ale as part of our rituals to any Sabbat because it “is a threat to the stability of the institution”. We are not allowed to have oils for any reason because “they are not part of the Wiccan religion and are not permitted by policy”.
Why is it that even though all religious groups are supposed to be treated the same, only the Wiccans do not have a voice on the North Carolina Department of Corrections board of religions? Every other religion has a vo0ice to speak for them, but not us. Why? Who is willing to step up and be our voice? Who has the courage to stand up and fight for the rights of all Wiccans in prison Goddess knows we need you.
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Comments
Page 329 section B. Congregate Religious Items, includes "anointing oil."
I've been working with corrections here in California for several years now, and I site this manual quite often. I comes in handy and I have had a huge success with it!
You can Google and download it for free or contact me @ josephnichter@yahoo.com
Page 329 section B. Congregate Religious Items, includes "anointing oil."
I've been working with corrections here in California for several years now, and I site this manual quite often. I comes in handy and I have had a huge success with it!
You can Google and download it for free or contact me @ josephnichter@yahoo.com
It might also be a good thing to locate someone willing to present a talk to the staff/inmates explaining exactly what Wicca is and how it differs from Hollywierd's general presentation :).
Rated for eventual success.
I was a Wiccan chaplain for 14 years in the Canadian system. Mostly the authorities were very cooperative (being law-abiding and all...) I was also on the interfaith committee that dealt with religion in government institutions and, aside from the occasional gentle joke, was received with respect.
There is an e-group, http://groups.yahoo.com/group/paganprisonministry/?yguid=134050380
which is composed of people, most of them in the U.S., who do Pagan prison ministry and help each other find people to go in or help inmates in various areas.
Full stop.
GG
It's too bad there is so little outside support. However, Wicca is not an organized movement. This was frustrating for the authorities here who are used to dealing with, say, the Catholic Church or the local Muslim council. They look for some kind of recognized organization who will supply religious visitors and answer questions about practice, and we just don't have that. They eventually came to terms with dealing with Wicca as an individualistic, non-centralized religion (however, for a period of time we did put together an organization to meet the requirement for an authorizing body, but had to fight to have it accepted as an 'association' and not the equivalent of a church).
Also inmates often over-estimate the number of Wiccans on the outside. We're more numerous than we once were, but a lot of the growth consists of casual people, "party Pagans" and essentially not very committed people. And of the committed people, only a small proportion are interested in prison visitation, and not all of THOSE are suitable. (I could tell you some stories...)
We visited the prisons during week days, which is not always possible or convenient for most people - most of whom have jobs. However, staff is less on weekends and, of course, Sunday is Christian time and the chaplains are busy. The chaplains (who in our system have to be on hand when anybody is in the chapel area) work 9 to 5 and are on hand in the evenings only in special circumstances.
So this cuts down on visitation possibilities.
Also, possible visitors and prisons-in-need are frequently not in the same location. Since this is voluntary, not too many people are interested in or able to travel considerable distances and at their own expense. (After many years, we did start getting a little money to cover expenses, but basically this was voluntary. And Wicca not having a centralized organization, there was no $ from the Wiccan community, as there might be from Christian churches or other religious groups for their visitors.)
I don't know what facilities for Wiccan practice Sean envisages. We held our circles in the chapel facilities - not very often the chapel per se, but in one of the rooms in the chapel area. After many years, we were able in some prisons to have the inmates do their circles on grassed areas near the chapel. We tried to make the inmates understand that we make our 'temple' wherever we are and do not require special facilities. Also we try to get the inmates to understand and accept that a lot of the *stuff* is not necessary, and that in fact many Wiccans on the outside don't have and use a lot of 'tools'.
Incense and candles have been a sore point in our prisons. When incense was allowed, it became a racket, with Wiccan inmates selling to non-Wiccans because it was thought to be a good cover for pot or brew smells. The staff are suspicious of incense for this reason and in my experience with good reason. Our inmates are only allowed in recent years to have incense and candles in the chapel and only to meet when there is an outside religious visitor. We have known of places where a self-styled inmate Wiccan "priest" misused his position when there were no outside people present.
Candles are something of a fire hazard and not allowed in cells, and only with some reluctance in the chapel area.
Wiccan inmates everywhere complain that they get second-class treatment. Partly that's right, but partly there is a lack of understanding of what is feasible (especially by way of outside visitation). Budgets everywhere are shrinking, and the majority faith groups get the majority of the $ - just inevitable.
Wicca is essentially a spiritual practice. It doesn't require the bells and whistles (and candles and incense). However, that is part of the attraction...and I really do understand that attraction, especially for people in the terrible sensory deprivation circumstances of prison. But inmates tend to get hung up on such things. (Oil for instance - a blessing, but water will do just as well.....it's the intent, the spirit that counts and not the material substance.)
As for cakes and ale - I read on a Pagan list about some prison in England that had allowed a tiny bit of wine to be brought in and used in ritual on Very Special Occasions, but here in Canada there is absolutely no way the Wiccan inmates can have ale or wine. We used fruit juice, water, or that old standby: nothing. Cakes or whatever had to be supplied by the inmates since we weren't allowed to bring in food of any kind.
This is all very frustrating, I know, but inmates of goodwill can have a satisfying practice if they can forego much of the fancy trappings.
Oh, and a voice on the Corrections religions board: I in fact was on the interfaith committee that recommended re inmates in government institutions, but this is tricky. Again, in the disorganized religion of Wicca, who is to be a spokesperson? There are many different opinions, most street Wiccans are not familiar with the prison system, and there is always dispute about having some one person speak for the whole of the Wiccan community.
I hope this has been a bit helpful even if at first blush discouraging.
Perhaps someone in N.C. on the prison list will be able to do something constructive for you.