Coming out of the broom closet, as we witches laughingly call it, is something I have avoided doing for a few years now. I have no clue what to say to my family or when to say it. There are a lot of good articles about coming out but really, when it comes down to it, only you can know what to say & to whom. I live in Lynchburg, VA the antithesis of paganland. I am not sure there is another place in this whole country that could be any more conservative. But, having said that, where there is a right there is usually a left & Lynchburg does have a smallish but not too active, pagan community. We have one store, that sells some pagan items & of course online there are all sorts of resources
But still I trudged on towards the closet door without even really trying. After all, I write a pagan column for The Examiner, blog two pagan blogs & I have a pagan supply store that I run from my home. I have hundreds of books on Wicca, divination, spells, rituals & so on so why I think my family is unaware is a mystery. **snorts**
At any rate, last weekend I was at a track meet to see one of sons run for William & Mary. The meet was here in town at Liberty University, Jerry Falwell's crown jewel. As I was standing around waiting for my son to run, one of his team mates came up to me & said, "Hey Mrs. W! I have been reading your blog. It's interesting." Once I roused from my faint I mumbled something about knowing how weird I was & then tried to change the subject. I was after all, at the Mecca for right wing Christians, standing at their indoor track. I was in their house. But this sweet young man went on to say that, "he knew it was a weird thing to be pagan over at the Liberty side of town but wondered if it was like that over where I lived." And honestly, I didn't know. I just said that, "we rarely talked about religion at all." Bright bulb that I am I realized that if my son's team mate was reading my blog then my son was certainly reading the blog. And that meant that all three of my sons were reading the blog so my secret was actually out without me doing a thing.
I decided that that was good enough for me. My husband sometimes comes into my workshop & peers around at all the herbs & oils & spellbooks but he never asks me anything. I think he is a "don't ask, don't tell" man & that is fine, too. I don't want to push anything his way if he isn't ready. And maybe he will never be ready although this would mean that I would have to write my own obituary so I could mention Summerlands & not have phrases like,"she went home to the arms of her loving Savior" or "she is an angel in heaven with the Lord." But, if he wants to talk, I am here. If he wants to read about Wicca, he just has to walk to the bookshelf.I still haven't told my friends but I think I will wait until they ask me. I won't lie but I won't confess either. So am I out of the closet? I think I am, sort of.
6 comments:
In gay/lesbian slang, it sounds like you're in a closet with a glass door. Technically you're not "out," but everyone can look in and see you there just fine!
Good for you, Mrs. I just hope Lynchburg doesn’t live up to its name. Don’t want them good ole southern folks with God and morality on their side staging ‘strange fruit hanging from the sycamore trees – take two,’ do we?
I met my first Wiccan in about 1974. We were work colleagues. I was the only person she told; not least, I suspect, because Denis Wheatley was the big best seller of the time, and most people didn’t realise there was a difference between a Wiccan and a Satanist. I wonder whether Denis Wheatley did. Anyway, she told me because she knew I was pretty broadminded about that sort of thing, and we became quite close friends. She taught me a lot, too. I made sure my new novel spelt out the difference between a Wiccan and a Satanist, by the way. Let’s fly the flag for a bit of tolerance, here. Is it really anybody else’s business what you believe in?
Excellent post, Luna.
I guess I AM standing behind a glass door! I wonder if I am the only witch who was in the Junior League, too?
What a really well-written story of your "coming out" Luna. I could see it as a tv movie. I would love to see it. I believe your humour, intelligence and confidence has lead to you truly succeeding in a way many wiccans/pagans might not have been able too. You're an inspiration for all.
Luna...I loved this!
But ya know, being outed is sometimes the best way to exit the broom closet. There's no time to be wishy-washy. Ya know?
Luff you!
In an unrelated topic, we need to get signatures as this no longer shows who is posting. It's confusing to the readers, I'm sure.
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