The Five Paths

If you are an opponent of Wicca, then this is absolutely a series you will want to stay away from, especially this volume of the series.

This particular volume basically defends a person's right to practice Wicca moreso than any other volume in the series. The arguments in favor will come as familiar words to those who already are open-minded; they will come as utter nonsense to those who are intolerant of those who follow the Wiccan path.

The basic problem stems from Cooper's desire to wear a pentacle necklace. She wears it to school, and there's where the problem is. She's called into the principal's office, and the principal tells her that she needs to remove the necklace, that it's presence is something some other students and teachers find upsetting.

In fact, the story, around p. 57, has the principal saying how the teachers had attended a workshop that “was a program designed to help educators identify students who might be...having personal problems or who might be potential threats to the other students.” In other words, wearing a pentacle was being interpreted as making Cooper a potential threat to other students in the school, the teacher's and students associating the necklace with Satanism or, perhaps even worse, as a sign of a possible school shooter/killer/major troublemaker.

She refuses to stop wearing the necklace and, as a result, she is suspended. She's allowed to get a petition up to present to the school board to get them to reconsider her suspension, but another student who hates her gets up a petition to force the board to keep Cooper suspended.

Her father tries to argue for her, pointing out that students are allowed to wear crosses, Star's of David, or head-coverings as part of their religion, so why shouldn't Cooper be allowed to wear her necklace as part of hers. The principal's response is that Wicca is not an “established, official” type of religion.

The rest of the book continues Cooper's battle to protect her right to wear the necklace, the tremendous opposition she gets from some adults and students, and her ultimate confrontation with the school board.

The book is excellent in how it shows that Wicca is thought of by many people as not being a “real” religion since it doesn't have an established text of beliefs or a hierarchy of priests/ministers/rabbis who direct the religion and serve as go-betweens between the “faithful” and the “god” that they worship.

Main Index

Young adult Index