Broom Closet

Are you in or are you out?

This is not an easy decision. Much of it depends on where
you live. And who you live with.

I'm 39, married and live with my husband and 3 kids.
They know I practice Wicca.
Do I have circle and rituals in front of them? NO.
I'm a Solitary and my choice of Religion,
yes it's a religion, is very personal to me.
It's a private thing between my mind and my soul.
Most of my family knows what I am.
My husbands family does not.
I'd like to keep it that way.

In the beginning, when you have to think
about making this choice for the first time, you
agonize over it. As well you should.
It can be a life altering decision.
Things such as this demand that you spend much
time thinking about it before you take that step.

Some of the things to take into consideration are:
Where you live
Who you live with
Where you work
What kind of work you do
Do you have children
Are you married
How old you are
How strong are the religious leanings in your community
How accepting our your neighbors
What does the local law officials think of Paganism
And, do you care what others think

When you can answer all of the above
and the answer you get isn't to scary,
then maybe you can "come out of the broom closet".

The decision was not to hard for me.
Most of my friends, at that time, were very accepting.
It also helped that among them was a
Native American who was pretty true to her roots.

You just have to remember that Humanity,
as a whole, doesn't understand Paganism.
And what Humnaity does not understand it destroys.
It all stems from Fear.
If others believe in the Hollywood
version of Witchcraft, they will fear you.
And in their fear, they will lash out and try to hurt you.
They might not come up and physically punch you,
but rumors get started, their kids can't play with yours,
they avoid you, and they tend to try to make others avoid you as well.

Let's put it this way.
Take a group of 10 people. 5 are the
live and let live type, 4 are the
live and learn type and the last is
the kind that will undertake seditious actions against you.

I'm not bashing ANY religion here.
That would be very stupid of me. And I'm far from a stupid woman.
I'm just tired of the flack Pagans get from mainstream religion.
I'm also against a male religious system that
thinks females are only good for housework and breeding.
We have brains, let us use them.
Don't put us down because we think differently.
Paganism celebrates the feminine.
AND the masculine.

We won't hurt you.
It's against what most of us believe in.
We are not trying to break down Society, we want to bring it together.
We think Unity is a good thing.
But we are scared also.
We are also human.
We just go about it in a different way.
And when someone hurts us for the way
we believe then it actually hurts EVERYONE.

I'm Wiccan. I also believe in God.
God is 3 letters, a word. And it's a good word
for the creative driving force behind our universe.
I, and this is MY opinion, do not think God is male or female.
I believe God is both.
Humankind was given life in the image of our Creator.
Men and Women.
Paganism is just celebrating the female and
male halves of the Creator as seperate entities.

So, if we feel secure we live OUT of the broom closet.
I'm secure in my home, spiritualy secure.
Also with my family.

Your decision will depend on how secure you feel in your life.

Written by Lorelai on 11 April, 2001
All opinions are mine. Be courageous, form your own.