CoG statement on Standing Rock

Covenant of the Goddess, one of the oldest American Wiccan and Witchcraft organizations, has at its very roots, the spiritual assumption that all of nature is sacred, from humanity to the waters of life.  While the members of CoG are diverse in practice, this fundamental spiritual ideal lives at the core of the organization's heart.

In 2014, CoG published a national statement on the environment:

 We, members of the Covenant of the Goddess, honor the sacredness of Planet Earth and Mother Nature. We honor the powers of Air and we rejoice in breathing fresh air and in all the creatures of air. We support efforts to protect the atmosphere that shields our planet and to ensure that our air is clean and refreshing.

 We honor the fire of the Sun above and the fire within our Earth -- the fires that warm us and transform us. We support efforts to provide sustainable energy to fuel our future without further damaging our ecosystem.

We honor the Waters of Life – springs, rivers, lakes and oceans – and the waters of our bodies – blood, sweat and tears --the waters that keep our bodies and our dreams fluid and ever-changing. We cherish all the creatures of water. We believe that access to clean water is a basic right, and thus we oppose privatization of water sources and efforts to deny anyone access to those sources. We support efforts to prevent and reverse pollution of our waters, to preserve groundwater, marshlands and the oceans that embrace our world.

We honor the Earth, our bodies, trees and plants, animals and rocks, and all that is manifest on this plane of existence. We support efforts to remediate damage, to conserve natural resources, to preserve ecosystems and biodiversity, and to maintain wilderness areas.

We stand at the Center, mindful of our interdependence as part of the Web of Life. We commit to support efforts to rebalance our wondrous world for future generations. We know that climate change presents an imminent threat to humanity and other life on Earth. Since this imbalance is caused by human activity, we humans must accept responsibility for our actions and seek to reverse the damage and restore the balance.

We support local, regional, national, and global efforts to conserve natural resources, to seek clean, sustainable sources of energy, and to rebalance our world.

And as such, as a group of many, the Covenant of the Goddess stands together with the Great Standing Rock Sioux Nation, the Lakota, all Indigenous Peoples and their allies in the protection of the Waters of Life and ask for the blessing and support for the Water Protectors in their work to keep the water safe and free for us, our future generations, and in honor of our ancestors.

Jack Prewett
CoG National First Officer