Leaving the broom closet

[Myst Moonlight]

Loose floorboard under the bed?

The snooping is how my parents found out about my brother. He made the mistake of forgetting his spiritual journal of sorts in his school bag at a relative's house, so someone went through it (granted, he'd given them reason to suspect he was hiding something). So yeah, unless you're super careful/sneaky, someone is bound to find it sooner or later.

 
no I keep it in a cloth binder inside my desk drawer. My family generally don't snoop but I still worry. they know I'm not devout like them. but being pagan would be differnt to them.

[Sisu]

they know I'm not devout like them. but being pagan would be differnt to them.

 
I could see that. I think my mom was more upset by the fact I finally decided to come out as pagan than continuing to identify as atheist/agnostic (less chance of conversion?).

[Nyktipolos]

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

 
What exactly would be stopping you from digitizing it that makes it 'too late'? Is it simply the volume of stuff you have written down?

[Jack]

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:

I also keep my BOS on Evernote, not for privacy reasons but for convenience.

When I was in high school I shelved my pagan books in between fantasy and horror on my shelves and my parents never noticed.

[Siren]

I also keep my BOS on Evernote, not for privacy reasons but for convenience.

When I was in high school I shelved my pagan books in between fantasy and horror on my shelves and my parents never noticed.

 
Ha, yes, I think this could have worked for me too. Certainly enough of my fiction is titled Witch This and Sorceress That that I doubt the nonfiction titles would really stand out. : And my family was also used to my keeping journals and writing notebooks, so if I piled enough books of bad poetry on top of the BoS....

[Oíche]

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.

 
I kept a diary/BOS when I first started (12/13), it was found and I was in BIG trouble (my folks were very sheltered but have now come around- even my devoutly Christian father who hit the roof at the time XD). I now keep a BOS without issue as I'm away from home.
One piece of advice that stuck with me through the years I couldn't have one was an old teacher of mine in school who stressed 'Never write anything down' or something along those lines. She meant never write down anything which could cause you problems if found. Good advice and it worked for me afterwards XD I just wished I'd been a bit smarter at first :ange:

[candlemagic]

no I keep it in a cloth binder inside my desk drawer. My family generally don't snoop but I still worry. they know I'm not devout like them. but being pagan would be differnt to them.

 
When I was a teen and afraid I would be found out I purchased a small safe from Walmart (cost $20) hid all my things in it and then hid it in my closet. Might be something to keep in mind if you really want to hide the things that you can't simply explain away.

[Olivia]

When I was a teen and afraid I would be found out I purchased a small safe from Walmart (cost $20) hid all my things in it and then hid it in my closet. Might be something to keep in mind if you really want to hide the things that you can't simply explain away.

 
These post make me sad. I'm very fortunate that my family have been very accepting of my choices, even if they don't always agree with them. I just want to send all of you hugs.

[Myst Moonlight]

These post make me sad. I'm very fortunate that my family have been very accepting of my choices, even if they don't always agree with them. I just want to send all of you hugs.

 
Your lucky Olivia, do you have any advise on what to do if I am found out the wrong way

[Olivia]

Your lucky Olivia, do you have any advise on what to do if I am found out the wrong way

 
I would explain why you believe and feel the way you do and ask for them to respect your choices. Be firm about it. Point out that you respect and support their choices and that all you are doing is asking for that same consideration. I'm a firm believer in being blunt.

[Little Kingdoms]

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.

I am neither in nor out!  My husband knows that I've always had "eclectic" reading tastes, and we have some new-agish decorations scattered about the place.  But as far as he's concerned I'm still a practicing Catholic.  My DH falls under the "disinterested Christian" category so religion is not a subject we discuss much.  But even if I were to categorically tell him my beliefs I don't think there would be any fallout.  

But I can definitely understand being at home with relatives who might be less than tolerant.  When I was a teenager my mom went so far as to actually burn a Dungeons and Dragons game she found in my room!  Granted, we were living in a haunted house at the time, so I can't really blame her for seeing evil in a fantasy game.  :eek:  My step-brother listened to Led Zepplin and she thought that was Satanic, too.  It didn't make her a bad person of course, she made judgements based on a genuine concern.  I couldn't imagine telling her though how me and one of my high school friends spent our free time in the library looking at books on Wicca!  Even today, my mom is probably the last person I would tell about my religious leanings.

I think "need to know" is a good policy, particularly if you think your family finding these things would cause some heavy fallout.  But bear in mind that if it seems like you're hiding something, the more cause they have to look.  If you are found out though, being very honest about what it is you actually believe may help.  For all you know, they may seriously think you're involved in nekkid animal sacrifice blood-drinking rituals or something like that.  Remember the mainstream doesn't generally have any idea of what pagans actually believe, or what they do.  You may never convince them that your beliefs won't land you in eternal fire, but you can at least put their minds to rest over some of the more tabloid fears they may have.

[Sed]

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.

If they know you have anything like that out of interest that's a good sign.. many devout Christians wouldn't even be okay with interest.
 
For when the time does come, my best advice is to make it seem like you agree with them, every point made shouldn't be combative but sincere..  something like "I respect Jesus and your beliefs, I'm just interested in other beliefs too."

Another thing is the fear of hell, one example of many is Gandhi. A good person who was not christian, but wouldn't deserve eternal fire and brimstone torture. Even if they think your still gonna burn for eternity, after your best convincing, they should still accept and respect you. If they resent your for being true to yourself then that's more of a problem for them than for you, cause you still love them as Christians right?

I never came out of a closet, I showed interest, and more interest until it was obvious i was REALLY interested. At that point they just knew I wasn't christian. Good luck!

[anonymus]

I didn't formally tell my mom, I just stopped trying to hide it; it was... messy. Now we don't really discuss it, I think she just tries to pretend it didn't happen.

[Scales]

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.

 
I contributed to it so this maybe isn't saying much, but I think this all is good advice to go by
http://bookmarkgrimoire.tumblr.com/post/82261095975/when-being-a-witch-is-against-the-rules-at-your-house

But (thought I haven't finished the thread) I don't think you're in that kind of situation. It's really up to you, you don't have to tell anyone, but if you want to and feel safe doing so, you always can if it will make you feel validated.