Millinocket, Maine, boasts a population of around 4,400 people who tend to be a rather independent bunch with a live-and-let-live life view. Nearby Mt. Katahdin rises to over 5,200 feet and Millinocket citizens enjoy snowmobiling so much that the Northern Timbers Cruisers have erected the Northern Timber Cruisers Antique Snowmobile Museum next to their clubhouse. Summers are often spent outdoors hiking or enjoying many of the ponds and lakes nearby.

In February 2016, a new resident came to Millinocket. Phelan Moonsong (as he is now known) was amiable, down to earth, and his nonjudgmental bearing fit right in with the community -- with a slight difference. He was wearing goat horns on his head. How did the Millinocket community receive him? Not ones to be very shy, many people asked him outright what the horns were for.

In an interview with Atheist Republic, he said he viewed these encounters as an ideal way to change misconceptions and share his Pagan beliefs, his priesthood and worship of the satyr Pan and and Goddess Gaia. He is known as Reverend Moonsong and once folk understood him they readily accepted him into their community as a fellow of personal independence.

By summer of 2016, Mr. Moonsong had decided that his given name no longer served him and thus he undertook the process of a legal name change. He is now officially known as Phelan Moonsong. As with any person when they change their name there were multitude agencies and businesses to contact with his documentation. Mr. Moonsong had been injured in an accident in 2014 and no longer drives, so in August when an acquaintance of his was driving the hour long trip to Bangor, Maine, he went along to take care of his name change for his state-issued ID. As might be expected, when Mr. Moonsong presented himself for his photo at the Bureau of Motor Vehicles (BMV), personnel told him he could not wear his horns. He patiently told them that his horns were “spiritual antennae” and were part of his religious attire. Still they said no. Yet, he was told that if he could provide documentation that would support his wearing of the horns they would reconsider.

Not one to be dissuaded in pursuit of his religious freedom, he, like a warrior of old, came out to do battle with the dragon. He put together a thorough package as to what his goat horns mean to him, how he practices Paganism, along with published source material. He contacted the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), hoping for help. He sent his package to the BMV and then waited. And kept waiting. Finally, four months later, in early December, after he had traveled back to Bangor to inquire as to the status of his right to religious freedom, his new state-issued ID card with his name change and photo wearing his cherished horns arrived in the mail. The very next day a letter arrived from the ACLU declining to offer him assistance.

His submission to the BMV included his explanation that he had felt a lifelong draw toward Paganism. In 2007, when he attended a gathering of a coven to Pan and Gaia he finally felt perfectly at home. In 2009, at another meeting a friend brought the horns of a goat that had died and Mr. Moonsong was ecstatic that no other person wanted them. He filed the bottoms to fit his forehead and attached 50 lb fishing line through drilled holes at their bases. He draws the fishing line tightly back and then releases his hair from under it so the line doesn't show.

From the first time he wore the horns Mr. Moonsong has remained mindful of their display. He considers them to show respect for Pan and are part of his ministerial work which includes his involvement with an interfaith ministry.  When he is occasionally asked if his wearing of the horns is serious, he responds with “I don't mock anyone's beliefs,” putting to rest any question of his sincerity.

While he is quite aware of the precedent set in his case, he remains astonished that so many people around the world have taken such an interest. As ever, he continues to marry people and perform blessings of homes and children. His friendly, gentle and patient responses to each new questioner are for him an exercise of his testament to Pan.

Photo Credits: NBC Bay Area