Pagan Journeys
Pagan Journeys => In the Broom Closet => Topic started by: rainshadow on May 14, 2012, 04:24:20 AM
-
Being on this board has been a blessing. I know I haven't posted much or often (yet), but it's nice to be able to go somewhere and not feel judged.
I'm a member of a military spouse board (I'm a military spouse) and there aren't many there that are like me so to speak. I know there are pagans in the military, but everywhere we've been, they've been hard to find, although I have found a few. My husband is very accepting of my path (he isn't religious at all, but accepts my beliefs and is okay with me doing witchy things around the house). My in-laws are very strict Christians, but thankfully they still let me in their home, etc. and don't try to preach to me. As for my parents, they tell me that they accept me and love me no matter what, but my mother continually turns around and tells me to put down my tarot cards and pick up a bible. She's constantly telling me I'm going to hell if I don't stop practicing witchcraft, so on and so forth. I didn't tell her I was a pagan until she asked me last summer. Her and my step-dad used to kick people out of our house when I was a kid (mostly my brother's friends) for being pagan, so I was terrified to tell them.
Being here at Pagan Journeys, I feel like I've found what I've been searching for... a place where I can go and ask questions and just chat with other pagans. There are covens where I live, I've been to a few rituals for all but one group, but they seem to feud more often than not, and that's not something I want to be involved in nor have get in the way of my spiritual practice.
So thank you guys for making me feel welcome here, I'm a little shy, but I'll come out of my shell :)
-
Jen, everything to it's time. I remember when I was starting this journey, still living with my parents. I was fairly sure my father wouldn't freak: he was the type who believed everyone had the right to their own beliefs (hell, as a US soldier, he FOUGHT for that right, among others)... as long as you didn't preach in his face. I wasn't so sure about my mother, who was (and is) devout Catholic. But she'd gone through so rough, dark times with me, and when she saw me more at peace than I'd been for most of my teens, she accepted that not all paths to the light are the same. She even ended up doing an informative talk on Wicca for her college English class!
We can't change those around us, just ourselves. Don't get mad, or retaliatory.. just let it flow passed.
-
I am glad you found your way here and feel comfortable. I agree that letting things flow with your parents is probably best. When I spend time with my fundamentalist family, I try not to argue with them and mostly just say "I am glad you are happy in your faith". When they get preachy, I might say something like "We do not agree on this. Maybe we should stick to something we can agree to. Look! A squirrel!"