Give Me That Old-Time Religion (w/Pentacle) Bumper Sticker

The joke works in one glance. Anyone who grew up with the hymn reads the words in the hymn's tune, then sees the pentacle. That little double-take is the whole sticker.

A pentacle, plainly shown. Not a stylized flourish. A clear pentacle is how other pagans spot you in the grocery store lot, and it is how you claim the symbol in public.

Part of the AzureGreen sticker line. It sits alongside Blessed Be, So Mote It Be, and the rest, so a bumper can build a full sentence over time.

• Slogan: Give me that old-time religion, with a pentacle
• Quantity: one bumper sticker
• Maker: AzureGreen
• Weight: about 0.3 oz
• Size: contact Plentiful Earth for exact measurements

Old-Time Religion is a nineteenth-century American gospel song, sung at camp meetings and revivals long before it was written down. Pagans have been borrowing it since at least the 1970s; there is a well-loved filk version, sung at festivals and campfires, that adds verses for Aphrodite, Odin, and half the pantheons, and the sticker is a one-line version of that same joke. The old-time religion, we are saying, is the one with the pentacle.

The pentacle itself is used in Wicca and eclectic witchcraft as a symbol of the five elements, earth, air, fire, water, and spirit, held within the circle of the whole. It is the altar symbol in most Wiccan traditions and the sign the United States Department of Veterans Affairs approved for Wiccan headstones in 2007 after a long fight. Wearing it on a car is a small piece of that same visibility. Note the pentacle is point-up here, the usual orientation in Wicca; it is not the inverted form that some other paths use.

1. Wash the spot first. A little dish soap and water, or a wipe of rubbing alcohol, takes off the road film and wax that keep stickers from gripping. Let it dry completely.
2. Apply when the surface is somewhere near room temperature. Cold metal and blazing-hot metal both make the adhesive fussy, so a shady afternoon or a garage is ideal.
3. Peel back one end of the backing, line the sticker up, and press it down from the center outward with the flat of your hand or a credit card. That pushes the air out as you go instead of trapping it.
4. Many witches consecrate a pentacle before it goes to work. If you want to, pass the sticker through incense smoke or touch it to the four elements on your altar, then say a short blessing as you smooth it down. Give the adhesive a day before the next car wash.
5. When it is time to take it down, warm it with a hairdryer, lift a corner, and peel slowly at a low angle. A dab of cooking oil or citrus adhesive remover clears any leftover residue.

If you are not yet ready to be that visible, the inside of a locker or the back of a journal is a perfectly good place for a pentacle. It counts just the same.

• Pentagram Bumper Sticker, 3 x 3 Inches: a plain pentacle to sit next to the joke, for a bumper that wants to say it twice.
• Clergy with Pentacle Bumper Sticker: for the priestess or priest who leads the old-time religion in question.
• Born Again Pagan bumper sticker: the same reclaimed-church humor, from a different hymn.
• The Old Ways Are Alive: says the serious version of what this sticker says with a wink.
• So Mote It Be Bumper Sticker: the pagan amen, and the natural last word on a bumper of witchy stickers.

What does old-time religion mean on a pagan bumper sticker?

It is a joke on the gospel hymn Give Me That Old-Time Religion. Next to a pentacle, the old-time religion becomes paganism, which predates the hymn's Christianity by thousands of years. Pagans have sung parody verses of the hymn at festivals since the 1970s, and the sticker is that joke in one line.

Is the pentacle on this sticker Wiccan, and is it point-up?

Yes on both counts. The pentacle here is the point-up five-pointed star inside a circle, the everyday symbol of Wicca and most modern witchcraft, representing earth, air, fire, water, and spirit. It is not the inverted pentagram some other paths use, so it reads as Wiccan or broadly pagan to anyone who knows the sign.

Is it appropriate to display a pentacle on my car?

It is entirely your call, and many witches do. The pentacle is a legally recognized religious symbol in the United States; the Department of Veterans Affairs added it to approved headstone emblems in 2007. If visibility does not feel safe where you live, the sticker works just as well inside a locker or on a journal.

How big is the Give Me That Old-Time Religion sticker?

The listing does not carry exact measurements, so message Plentiful Earth before ordering if you are fitting it to a particular spot. It is made by AzureGreen as part of their standard bumper sticker line, sized to be read from the car behind you at a stoplight.

How do I apply it so it lasts?

Clean the spot with soapy water or rubbing alcohol and let it dry fully. Apply at a mild temperature, peel back one end of the backing, and press from the center outward with a credit card to push out air. Rub the edges down and wait a day before washing the car.