I love to tell anyone who cares that I am a studying Wiccan, I am very happy about it. NO one understands why but that's the path I have chosen for myself even if it's just a very small one.
Due to the area I live in(smack in the heart of the Bible Belt) and the nature of the business I own, I am pretty much in the broom closet myself. I am not ashamed of my choice, and, if pinned down, I would not lie; I just, so far, have managed to steer the conversation anothe rway before I had to go that far.
My friends/family & people who know me, know my beliefs are Pagan & respect & accept me 4 who I am. I need 2b "discreetly" proud of my path due to the nature of my work in both conventional/holistic medicine & cant b seen 2b openly promoting any particular faith/belief system.
This is an excellent subject for discussion. It's SUPER impossible to be fully out for me, at least. I have gotten crap from people when I've tried to discuss the matter. Neighbors have ridiculed my chanting (that I thought I was doing softly, BTW). When I've tried to be open w/others, it's just backfired. I've been accused of being naive, primitive, a little stupid, etc. for NOT going with the mainstream flow of things. I'm proud of who I am, but have decided to halt any spiritual discusions with those of other paths.
I am very out of the closet in my daily life, wear my pentagram with pride, have one on my car and all friends know. Not as out with my family though. My mother's side is strict russian greek orthodox and I don't think they would understand. But otherwise am very comfortable with my beliefs and sharing them.
I guess that I am out of the broom closet. I openly wear my pentacle ring, and a Goddess pendant.
I was raised to respect the earth and the bounty she provided us.
I was always reassured by my Dad that just because I could see certain things that others did not, did not make me weird, but that I had been given a precious gift that I should cherish.
Until I was older, I did not know there was a name for what I was, or what I had been taught.
I will always be thankful for the knowledge that my Dad, my grandparents, and great grandparents shared with me. It was a way of life, the knowledge passed from one generation to the next, but it was never given a "name". To me they were teaching me how to be self sufficient, how to survive if I ever got lost in the woods, etc.....and yes, there were things that" went bump in the night" but how to avoid them, especially those of the two legged variety. ( I should have paid more attention to that part..... LOL).
I am proud to be able to call myself Pagan.
I also got in the habit of keeping my spiritual beliefs to myself because I was in business in a very conservative area. At that time you had to search to find any kind of gas station or store doing business on Christmas Day.
But I've never really hidden my beliefs from anyone, and I would never lie about it. Though once when I was very ill, I had to sign an admission form at the emergency room stating that I had "no religious preference" just because their software had no category for "Pagan" or even "other". I hope they fixed that since then.
I have chronic illness and I'm living on a small retirement income, so I don't have friends except online. My family and I don't get along well, due to problems relating to my illness and my spiritual beliefs, neither one of which they accept. So I guess my beliefs just don't come up in conversation, since I have so few conversations.
If people speak disrespectfully about Paganism, I tell them to get lost...lol.
I was raised to respect the earth and the bounty she provided us.
I was always reassured by my Dad that just because I could see certain things that others did not, did not make me weird, but that I had been given a precious gift that I should cherish.
Until I was older, I did not know there was a name for what I was, or what I had been taught.
I will always be thankful for the knowledge that my Dad, my grandparents, and great grandparents shared with me. It was a way of life, the knowledge passed from one generation to the next, but it was never given a "name". To me they were teaching me how to be self sufficient, how to survive if I ever got lost in the woods, etc.....and yes, there were things that" went bump in the night" but how to avoid them, especially those of the two legged variety. ( I should have paid more attention to that part..... LOL).
I am proud to be able to call myself Pagan.
But I've never really hidden my beliefs from anyone, and I would never lie about it. Though once when I was very ill, I had to sign an admission form at the emergency room stating that I had "no religious preference" just because their software had no category for "Pagan" or even "other". I hope they fixed that since then.
I have chronic illness and I'm living on a small retirement income, so I don't have friends except online. My family and I don't get along well, due to problems relating to my illness and my spiritual beliefs, neither one of which they accept. So I guess my beliefs just don't come up in conversation, since I have so few conversations.
If people speak disrespectfully about Paganism, I tell them to get lost...lol.