I have resently adopted the wiccan religion and only one of my absolutely closest friends know. The problem is, I'm from a small town in Alabama where the only religion here, is Christianity and everything else is, to be honest, frowned upon. Even my friend refuses to speak about my new choice, and that leaves me with no personal outlet. Today, I told my mom that one of my books got me interested so I looked up wicca, just to see how she would react to that, and I'm honestly surprised that she didn't snap. My family isn't like hard core Christian, we don't normaly attend church, but I mean my only other choice is my brother who may or maynot be hard core, he's in the army so I don't know. Please help me!

Hi Selena.  Not sure how I could help you, other than listening, living here in NY as I do, but I don't know that much about Wicca.  How about a Wicca crash course?

 To tell or not to tell? Thats a hard choice to make. If you come out to your family, you run the risk of rejection, persecution, and making your life miserable. However they could accept you with open arms. You know your family better than anyone.

I live in the Bible belt and I have found people that accept me for me. My family doesnt care for it, but I dont loose any sleep over that.

However, when I was still living with them ( as I suspect you are ) It was hard and I was so unhappy. My brother was my biggest opponent.

Now I talk to him once every few years.

I have had friends that have told thier parents before they moved out, and ones that waited till they were on thier own. Both choices have consequences.

You probably have an online group in your area ( love the internet!! ) that will help you get in touch with like minded people near you.

Some people practice a solitary path, maybe that is what is best for you right now?

You can always PM me. I will be more than happy to respond. ;)

Selena, please feel free to PM me also.  I'd like to learn more about Wicca, also I've been a freethinker virtually all my life, so I have some practice in dealing with others' shock.

Nora

I just wanted to tell you how much your responses mean to me in the case that I am to busy to PM you personally.

Thanks so much!

Since I'm getting assistance with this problem, I was wondering if anyone could help me find a way to obtain some books without my mother, whom I live with, finding out.I would really appreciate it!

Selena, the easiest way to read about something privately is at the library.  If you have time to sit, you could just read everything you can find out of the house.  The internet is also a valuable resource. 

Best of luck on your new path.  Hopefully someday you will be able to practice your new religion proudly without fear.  Until then, enjoy learning about it.

You can also write your own book. Gather info from the web and from those library books. Put it in a note book or 3 ring binder.

Your book will be as good as anything published. Better even because you can tailor it to your wishes. Find a good place to hide it.

When I lived with my parents I hid my forbidden items in the air duct in my room.

I noticed this hadn't been mentioned so I thought I'd throw this out there: http://www.witchvox.com it has lots of articles and personal postings from people in your area. You may also be able to find email listings on there or on yahoo or google groups.

If you wanted to talk about it I would suggest bringing up the subject to who you're talking to. Just something like for example, "I heard a woman in CT was fired for being Wiccan, what do you think of that?" (source) and see how they react. If they react badly then it might not be worth telling them. It's always good to test the waters when it comes to the subject.

Agreed about the library - it is your friend.  You can request books through inter-library loan and read them at the library or check them out and take them home.   It may be possible to have books sent to your work address and I don't know about a post office box, but you could check into that.  And yes, the internet is a great tool for finding people who think, believe as you do.  Best of luck to you.

Most Wiccans do not like to tell people that they are in fact Wiccan. For some odd reason, people think that if you are Wiccan, you are a devil worshipper, which is absolutely not true. It is hard to look up stuff on the internet because you can never be sure if what you are reading is truly on the Wiccan path. I recommend reading The Real Witches' Handbook by Kate West. It is very informative, and there is a section in the back called "out of the broom closet," which is about whether or not you want to tell people that you are Wiccan. Kate even includes a sample letter to explain to people the Wiccan way. I hope this post has been some help to you. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.

Brodi

I second the idea of keeping your own notebook - and surfing through WitchVox.com. That's basically how I started. Now I've got a notebook full of articles that I'd printed out from way back in '96 or so along with some journalling that I did. If you have a place to keep books and not be "found out" (if that's what you wish), I've got a short list of books for recommendation if you want them (PM me and we'll talk). You can also start with 'The Truth About Witchcraft Today' (ISBN 0-87542-127-X) by Scott Cunningham as well as the book by Kate West mentioned above. 

I am "out of the broom closet" to most of my friends and my immediate family. My grandmother and my in-laws don't know - I don't want to give any of them a heart attack. My mother, being raised Lutheran, was understandably concerned but she read a couple of books that I loaned her and basically decided that I was old enough to make my own decisions and since I was "living a good life" she was ok with it.

 

Ok, PM me for more information- the baby just woke up. :)

Hi Selena and everyone. I am hoping you are doing well with your path. I have Kate West's book and I wasn't impressed. ( I got it through Paperback Swap but it is really unpostable. If anyone wants it just pick out a book on my shelf and I will send the two together. Please PM me about it ) *** Update 11/10- I no longer have Kate's book***

I am going to make a suggestion that may sound a little odd to us book lovers and that is this; you don't need a book to tell you about Magik. It's inside of you and just waiting for you to remember. Magik is in the air, earth, water,food,animals,plants, and people that surround you. Magik has been visiting your dreams and weaving in your waking life, just waiting for you to see.

As you gather these experiences and are reminded of what you already know, write them down. Let that become your book.

I haven't been on for a while and I've been meaning to come back and thank you all for your responses. They helped me out a lot and I just wanted to say thank you. I finally found what really helped me in my boyfriend. An outlet. And I just wanna say that if anyone else gets into something like this, which there will be, find an outlet. Whether it be a VERY close friend or a jornal, get one. It does wonders :)

Isn't this the wrong forum for this? What does this have to do with atheist, freethinking, or agnosticism?

As for helping you with your problem, just be ready for tough times, and learn all you can about yourself and what you believe. Be ready to discuss it rationally, and explain why you don't believe as they do.

Jeff from the 9 pages I read on the thread pagan/agnostic/atheism/etc from the r&s thread this is the new eastern religion/paganis/wiccan/atheist/agnostic/etc forum.  At least I'm pretty sure....I'm kinda new to these threads.

Well, you certainly could have chosen a worse religion. I can't think of ANY wars offhand that have been started in the name of the Wiccan religion.

I'm not a wiccan, but I am an eclectic Pagan.  If you want to practice/learn about wicca or anything else in that general direction you can simple study it.  If you don't feel comfortable toting around a book like 101 Ways to Use Herbs in Moon Magick, than get a book over mythology or herbs in your area.  It doesn't have to be over magic or witchcraft at all.  Just learning more about what you are studying can help.  Also, if you don't feel comfortable doing it, don't practice spells.  I know qutie a few people who have cast maybe two spells in five years, and they are still "hardcore" pagans.  I personally waited till I moved out of my parent's house.

This appears to be in the wrong category....

Free-Thinkers,  Atheists, and Agnostics----where are you?  and what do you have to say to each other here?

This particular forum was started because the Pagans/Agnostics/Atheists/Freethinkers, as a group, felt ostracized in the Religions forum at one point.  As an agnostic, I don't really feel all that bothered that Wiccans, Pagans, Animists, Buddhists, etc. feel free to post here.  I think that all falls under the "freethinkers" category.  I do know that not one of them has ever tried to proselytize or convert anyone on here, that I recall, so they're welcome here. 

Don't like a thread title, don't click on it.  Want to talk atheism, Agnosticism, Skepticism, but you don't see those thread titles?  The answer is simple, start one.