{"id":9717,"date":"2014-04-01T01:10:35","date_gmt":"2014-04-01T06:10:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/paganpages.org\/content\/?p=10048"},"modified":"2014-03-29T12:15:18","modified_gmt":"2014-03-29T17:15:18","slug":"a-year-and-a-day-9","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/2014\/04\/01\/a-year-and-a-day-9\/","title":{"rendered":"A Year and a Day"},"content":{"rendered":"

Coming out of the Broom Closet<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

One of the major discussions among Pagan groups is whether or not to be in \u2018the broom closet\u2019. \u00a0This is reference to a person being open about their Pagan beliefs to others, including their friends, family, co-workers, or the general public. \u00a0It\u2019s a touchy subject, which many Pagans have strong opinions about.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Coming out of the broom closet can lead to broken relationships if the person receiving the news feels strongly against your Pagan beliefs. \u00a0Some Pagans refuse to be open about their religious beliefs for fear of persecution or judgement by their friends or co-workers. \u00a0Some Pagans feel that this persecution could go so far as being fired from a job or being disowned by family members.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

However \u2018coming clean\u2019 about your Pagan beliefs can also be cathartic. \u00a0Even though one side of the Witches\u2019 Pyramid is \u2018To Be Silent\u2019, that doesn\u2019t necessarily mean hiding who you are. \u00a0Admitting to others what your beliefs are can lead to some surprising results, including finding support from places you did not expect. \u00a0It can also help you accept yourself and your chosen path, especially if you have struggled to understand why you have been drawn to your current path and where it might lead you.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

One way to decide whether or not to share your Pagan beliefs with others is to ask yourself what you might gain and what you might lose if you do so. \u00a0If the benefits outweigh the repercussions, it might be a good time to consider being honest about your Pagan views. \u00a0Also, admitting you\u2019re a Pagan for shock value or to upset people is never a good reason to come out of the broom closet.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Coming out could be as easy as telling your friends or family that you\u2019re a Pagan. \u00a0Naturally there will be questions, so be armed with answers you feel comfortable talking about and that you feel accurately represent your Pagan beliefs and Paganism as a whole. \u00a0Be prepared for silly or offensive questions, for example, concerns about Satan or Hell. \u00a0But try not to judge the people asking those questions. \u00a0Misconceptions about Pagans, Wiccans and witches are very common due to popular media, and outsiders can find it hard to discern between truth and myth.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Whether you are \u201cin\u201d or \u201cout\u201d of the broom closet, it is still a personal choice that can only be made by yourself. \u00a0Nobody has the right to share your beliefs with others without your express permission. \u00a0Religion is a personal choice and it\u2019s up to you whether or not you want to share your Pagan beliefs with others.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Other Resources:<\/p>\n

http:\/\/paganwiccan.about.com\/od\/contemporaryissues\/a\/Coming_Out.htm<\/a><\/p>\n

http:\/\/paganwiccan.about.com\/od\/contemporaryissues\/i\/Broom_Closet.htm<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Coming out of the Broom Closet   One of the major discussions among Pagan groups is whether or not to be in \u2018the broom closet\u2019. \u00a0This is reference to a person being open about their Pagan beliefs to others, including their friends, family, co-workers, or the general public. \u00a0It\u2019s a touchy subject, which many Pagans have strong opinions about.   Coming out of the broom closet can lead to broken relationships if the person receiving the news feels strongly against your Pagan beliefs. \u00a0Some Pagans refuse to be open about their religious beliefs for fear of persecution or judgement by their friends or co-workers. \u00a0Some Pagans feel that this persecution could go so far as being fired from a job or being disowned by family members.   However \u2018coming clean\u2019 about your Pagan beliefs can also be cathartic. \u00a0Even though one side of the Witches\u2019 Pyramid is \u2018To Be Silent\u2019, that doesn\u2019t necessarily mean hiding who you are. \u00a0Admitting to others what your beliefs are can lead to some surprising results, including finding support from places you did not expect. \u00a0It can also help you accept yourself and your chosen path, especially if you have struggled to understand why you have been drawn to your current path and where it might lead you.   One way to decide whether or not to share your Pagan beliefs with others is to ask yourself what you might gain and what you might lose if you do so. \u00a0If the benefits outweigh the repercussions, it might be a good time to consider being honest about your Pagan views. \u00a0Also, admitting you\u2019re a Pagan for shock value or to upset people is never a good reason to come out of the broom closet.   Coming out could be as easy as telling your friends or family that you\u2019re a Pagan. \u00a0Naturally there will be questions, so be armed with answers you feel comfortable talking about and that you feel accurately represent your Pagan beliefs and Paganism as a whole. \u00a0Be prepared for silly or offensive questions, for example, concerns about Satan or Hell. \u00a0But try not to judge the people asking those questions. \u00a0Misconceptions about Pagans, Wiccans and witches are very common due to popular media, and outsiders can find it hard to discern between truth and myth.   Whether you are \u201cin\u201d or \u201cout\u201d of the broom closet, it is still a personal choice that can only be made by yourself. \u00a0Nobody has the right to share your beliefs with others without your express permission. \u00a0Religion is a personal choice and it\u2019s up to you whether or not you want to share your Pagan beliefs with others.   Other Resources: http:\/\/paganwiccan.about.com\/od\/contemporaryissues\/a\/Coming_Out.htm http:\/\/paganwiccan.about.com\/od\/contemporaryissues\/i\/Broom_Closet.htm<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":184,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"iawp_total_views":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9717","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9717","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/184"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9717"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9717\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9717"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9717"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9717"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}