The Cauldron: A Pagan Forum

I am carefully considering coming out of the broom closet.

Reasons I should: Honesty with my family, the freedom to practice openly, the ability to freely seek contact with others.

Reasons why I Should'nt: mostly fear. My family are devoute baptist christians, I'm afraid they will kick me out or destroy all my books and suplies. Even if not they might spend the rest of their lives believing I'll go to hell.

Any advise? Please post.

 
If you realy think they will destory your books and suplies, store what you can in a safe place until after their reaction.

I am carefully considering coming out of the broom closet.

Reasons I should: Honesty with my family, the freedom to practice openly, the ability to freely seek contact with others.

Reasons why I Should'nt: mostly fear. My family are devoute baptist christians, I'm afraid they will kick me out or destroy all my books and suplies. Even if not they might spend the rest of their lives believing I'll go to hell.

Any advise? Please post.

It is vastly easier to navigate coming out to people who may react badly if you are not dependent on them for basic life needs. (i.e. if you are not sharing living space with them, sharing food expenses or transportation, dependent on them for educational expenses, etc.)

The best advice in such cases is to focus on getting to a place where you can live independently (which might mean 'with a roommate somewhere cheap'), have money in the bank so you're not dependent on them financially, and *then* tell them. If things go badly, you can then afford to take your time, get needed space, and protect yourself and your belongings.

The question isn't "Is being out worth it". The question is "Is coming out *right now* worth it, or will it be better all round if I wait until I'm not dependent on them and the dynamics in our relationship change?"

I am carefully considering coming out of the broom closet.

Reasons I should: Honesty with my family, the freedom to practice openly, the ability to freely seek contact with others.

Reasons why I Should'nt: mostly fear. My family are devoute baptist christians, I'm afraid they will kick me out or destroy all my books and suplies. Even if not they might spend the rest of their lives believing I'll go to hell.

Any advise? Please post.

 
If you are still dependent on them I would not say anything. Wait and work towards gaining your own financial and living independence first- trust me, it's worth it.
Personally, I don't think it's worth it to cause yourself trouble and hardship for something that really isn't their business anyway
Seriously, I think it's something that can wait- I did and it was the best decision.

Thank you everyone. i will wait until I am independent. However what do I do if they discover it in the meantime. I disguise the purpose for having my books and tarot cards as interest. But If they were to discover my book of shadows I would be in trouble.

 
When I was trying to hide my pagan paraphernalia from my partner (mostly because at that time I was still new to my practice and didn't want to get into a long discussion about something I didn't fully grasp yet), I hid my wand, incense, and stones in a small box in my underwear drawer.

My BOS is on my laptop, which no one else has access to, but if you have shared access on a family computer, there's always the option to password protect files. My mother knew about (and even somewhat supported, despite the fact she's gone on to become a devout Baptist herself) my interest in the occult from a young age so having the books/cards around wasn't much of a problem, but having a personal diary was out of the question since I knew how nosy she was. Therefore I never considered a physical BOS, and if your family is anything like mine, it may be better to forgo it until you move out unless you have someplace you absolutely know no one will find it.

My family became increasingly religious as I got older and such interests wouldn't be tolerated now, especially since one of my brothers got involved in a "Satanic" cult a few years ago. Sometimes when you're still living with people who you have a strong suspicion will not accept your lifestyle/beliefs and could make your life hell, it's not worth starting a shitstorm just yet.

My BOS is on my laptop, which no one else has access to, but if you have shared access on a family computer, there's always the option to password protect files. My mother knew about (and even somewhat supported, despite the fact she's gone on to become a devout Baptist herself) my interest in the occult from a young age so having the books/cards around wasn't much of a problem, but having a personal diary was out of the question since I knew how nosy she was. Therefore I never considered a physical BOS, and if your family is anything like mine, it may be better to forgo it until you move out unless you have someplace you absolutely know no one will find it.

 
I'm afraid it is far to late for that, I've kept a physical BOS since the begining, around ten years ago. I't is well hidden, but I am always worried that someone will go snooping

That's an interesting suggestion. Currently I use Evernote for my BOS since its tagging features are super helpful for me (keeping track of things quickly becomes a hot mess for me otherwise), and like your service, it can be accessed from anywhere (though I think if you're using the software instead of the internet interface, you are leaving evidence of your activities around potentially).

If I were using a publicly accessible pc, it's something I would consider.

 
You guys are so careful...
When I was Wiccan, I just hid my BOS under my mattress on the side nearest the wall and prayed it wouldn't get found. :whis:

You guys are so careful...
When I was Wiccan, I just hid my BOS under my mattress on the side nearest the wall and prayed it wouldn't get found. :whis:

 
Haha, it's just easier for me to write on a computer so it wasn't ever really an issue in the first place when I was young (and I was more tech-savvy than the adults in the house so usually I'd find the files on the family computer they wanted to hide before they found mine). :ange:

It sounds like the OP might have some potential serious fallout if their BOS is discovered, hence all the ninja-like techniques cropping up.