may be experiencing some problems accepting your new-found faith. After all, it isn't every day you tell your loved ones that you want to practice Witchcraft. But your situation isn't unique. Most of us have felt the sense of spiritual isolation that you're going through, so know that even when you feel like nobody understands you, you're never really alone. It's tough being a kid when your heart hears a different song, but remember that even if they don't understand you, they still love and care for you. So keep the lines of communication open; someday you may all be surprised at how close you really are.
My name is Bragi, I've been a Wiccan for over two decades, and believe me, my teen years had some pretty surprising moments of their own. I suddenly left Christianity behind me at the age of 13, in quiet and non-hostile way; every soul has its own path to follow, and I just didn't believe in Jesus anymore. At 18 my mother tossed me out of the house, not because of Wicca or Paganism (I was an agnostic at that time), but because her boyfriend and I didn't get along.
A year later I happened to run across a book about Wicca, and so discovered that there really were people in the Western world who still practiced the Paganism of our ancestors. It felt so right that I immediately "came home" to the Old Gods of nature and magic, and thereafter called myself a Pagan. Another year later I finally met up with some kindred spirits with whom I could study Wicca and worship. The rest, as they say, is history.
Five years later I returned home to see my mother again. You can imagine the mutual surprise when, in the same conversation, I came out to her as a Witch and she came out to me as Gay! Well, we knew that we both loved each other very much, so we chose to accept each other as we were and had a good laugh over it. After that we got along pretty well.
If your parents are reading this...
they may raise an eyebrow over words like "Witchcraft", "Golden-Horned" and "Gay". Like everybody else, we Pagans have families of our own, and share many of the same hopes and fears that your family does. The above story, for instance, is meant to illustrate how family members should accept each another despite their differences. Among us you will find almost as wide a range of opinions concerning relationship issues as among non-Pagans, but mostly we believe that people should act towards one another responsibly and with respect.
Also, Wicca neither believes in nor worships a "devil"; the Golden Horned God of the Hunt symbolizes life and the glory of nature. His worship comes from the rituals of stone age priests, who wore horned headresses during prayers and ceremonies to improve their tribe's luck in the hunt (by the way, some Wiccans are vegetarians.) This misconception comes from the Middle Ages, when the early Christian fathers sought to portray Paganism in a negative way by describing our Gods as demons, in order to frighten people into joining the Church.
Do other people call us Witches? Yes, and we make no apologies for it; to us it's an honorable word. Do we call ourselves Witches? Yes and no. Some call themselves both Wiccan and Witch, while some prefer to call themselves only Wiccan. There are also Witches who aren't part of Wicca, and their beliefs, traditions and practices are sometimes very different from ours.
The word "Witchcraft" was originally the Middle English pronunciation of the Old English word "Wiccacraft". "Wicca" in Old English literally means "to bend or twist". The early Wiccans were basically old Wise Women and Wise Men, schooled in herbal medicine and folk psychology, familiar with the ways of the local Gods and spirits, and skilled in the arts of spell-casting. You might say that they bent the forces of nature to their will.
Today our Craft is subtle and intuitive, found in forest groves and cyberspace, and guided by new visions and ancient wisdom. Our women and girls live confident and magical lives, for in the Goddess they now have a God made in their image, too. Our men and boys live by the twin horns of brave spirit and gentle heart; from such are born the heroes of legend.
Suggested free e-books to read:
Anonymous - Reaching Out To WiccansKeith Thomas - Civility And The Decline Of Magic
