The Broom Closet

Every Wiccan faces an important decision in their religious life. Should you come out of the broom closet or not?

For those of you who aren’t familiar with this phrase, I’ll explain briefly. Being in the broom closet means keeping the fact that you’re a Wiccan a secret. It means that you may still attend your parents Christian church and pretend to be of their faith. It means you wear your pentacle under your shirt- or don’t wear one at all.

The question I get asked the most is: is this okay? If you hide this fact, are you not being true to the Lady and Lord? If you attend a Christian church to keep peace in your family, are you denying your faith?

No. I don’t believe so, and most Wiccans don’t either. In fact, I attend a Christian church near my college on a regular basis, and I’m openly pagan. I go because I want to learn about that faith as well. But that’s getting off the subject.

Since we believe that all faiths are just different paths to God, there is no reason you shouldn’t attend other religious services. As for hiding the fact that you’re Wiccan, this is a choice that is totally up to you. I was in the broom closet for the first year of my learning.

You must weigh what you want to do with your faith against the risks. I have had friends and family turn from me when they discovered my faith. I was lucky enough to have parents that understand it. Many don’t.

And you must realize that there are people in this country who feel God has given them the right to try and abuse us, restrain us, take our liberty, stamp out our faith, and even kill us (thankfully, the latter seems okay to very few) because we don’t worship the same way they do. Being openly Wiccan can be dangerous.

For example, several Wiccan stores in Massachusetts have received threatening letters in the last few days of my writing this. They are worried that someone might trash their stores. Or worse. We hope that people are better than that. But, history has shown otherwise.

So why come out of the broom closet at all? Some of us do because we feel it’s our right. We want others of our faith to identify us easily. And we want to let the above mentioned folks know that not only can’t they stop us, but they can’t make us hide either.

Have no doubt, it can be scary. But I believe it’s worth it.

In the end, it’s up to you. Make your choice carefully. And never let anyone tell you that you chose wrong. The Lord and Lady will guide you to make the right choice for yourself.

Blessed Be.
Raven Summersong, 1-15-99

Back to Homepage