Witches staged an antiwar protest and hoisted placards urging passers-by to "Try Peace for a Spell."
About 30 pagans, with their brooms, gathered Sunday at Bixby Park to protest a possible war against Iraq. They carried signs, some reading "Witches Opposed to War," and they banged drums and sang.
Callista Lee, who began organizing the protest with Long Beach WomenSpirit about a week earlier, said she got the word out about the protest using the Internet.
"It's not our theology to be opposed to war, but for the most part, you'll find that pagans are pacifists," said Lee, who came with her broom and wore a purple witch hat. "The anger that you put out affects you and your community, and comes back to you."
Denise Dumars, an English professor at Long Beach City College, noted that the protest took place concurrently with the Celtic pagan celebration of Imbolc, which celebrates the beginning of spring.
"We do not approve of war and bombing and things like that," she said. "We walk the walk and talk the talk."