Witchvox Article

Author: Atrum Virgo
Posted: June 28th. 2009
Times Viewed: 1,769

I admit it. The title of this piece is cribbed from a somewhat deliberate mishearing of Barack Obama’s catch-cry ‘Yes We Can’. But it got me thinking. Of a Wiccan in the Whitehouse? Well, yes... (Can you imagine it? One nation, under Goddess...) but mainly it made me wonder upon the fact that many of us who find our faith in Wiccan practices and traditions can find it difficult to stand up and declare this fact openly.

Yes Wiccan.

I like to think of myself as being for the most part a confident, well-spoken individual. I can debate a political or moral issue with the best (and worst) of them, and like many who have come to embrace Wicca as their faith, the path there has been a deep and contemplative one. It is a faith truly earned by experience. Why is it, then, that when it comes time to admit my faith in a public arena, I still often become reticent to share my point of view, and so yet again my voice fades back into the gray murmur of the crowd?

I nearly always rationalize this lapse of confidence to myself – to Will, to Dare, to Keep Silent – but even then I know it’s a cop-out of massive proportions, that a simple declaration of my faith is not divulging the contents of my Book of Shadows, nor encouraging the idea that a sacrifice a goat every morning before breakfast. The deities I call upon will not frown upon me and my efforts in life for divulging my associations with them.

No, I keep silent because then I don’t have to defend, or explain, or endure the abuse and ignorance of those who do not see my faith as a valid choice to have made.

Not a terrible thing to admit...and yet the reality of my choice to deny leaves me unsatisfied. I wonder, if I had said instead, “Why yes, I am a Witch...” would the result have really been all that catastrophic?

Opening the front door only the other day I found two members of another faith upon my doorstep, ready and armed with pamphlets and a thirst to convert. After a period of slightly strained but polite conversation the issue was finally raised about my own religious convictions (what were they; would I be interested in trading them in for a new model?) .

I took a deep breath and thought about how best to tackle the subject, then mumbled something about “having a deep interest in all spiritual matters”, and told the pair I had studied religion at University and found the subject fascinating.

What I did not say was that I regularly call the elements, cast runes, read cards, invite the God and Goddess into my life, carry a pentacle in my pocket for good luck and protection and write sand spells on the beach to be claimed by the hungry tide. Even the mere mention of the pentacle in my pocket would have been something of a spiritual claim; I very much doubt my door-to-door conversion service would have lingered on my doorstep for very much longer.

Seriously, though, if I had mentioned to them my keen interest in the God Pan, would they not have simply interpreted this as an admission of devotion to some subterranean Lord of Darkness? And in many ways, is this unquestioning manner of association not true of the population at large to some degree? It is sometimes a formidable hurdle to clear. And yet I feel that ignorance is to some degree my responsibility. If I would put myself on the line more often, stand up and state the nature of my faith – my faith in nature – would a good deal of this ignorance begin to evaporate in the glow of knowledge, of understanding? I think perhaps it might.

And so, taking small steps, this intensely private Witch is beginning to shuffle out of the broom closet. Yes, Wiccan. My beautiful, much beloved books of divination and the Craft are now proudly displayed for all to see and some have even – gasp! – made their residence on the living room coffee table.

I write ‘Wiccan’ on my MySpace page. I start to make a living casting runes and reading tarot cards, using them not simply for myself or those I am close to but for perfect strangers. I realize now that it is my faith in the precepts of the Wiccan Way that are an integral part of what gives my faith in myself and my abilities.

I think I’ll always be more reclusive about my thoughts and beliefs about divinity than many others. And there’s nothing wrong with that. Faith is, in the end, an intensely personal thing, and there remain times and places where it’s appropriately a transaction between a single person and their concept of the Divine.

And yet it is my experience that Wicca truly blossoms when two or more like-minded people begin a conversation about their spirituality – the air around them fairly crackles with the power and inspiration their ideas inspire in each other. This is the power of Spirit at work. Simple, pragmatic and immensely, beautifully powerful. And despite the clairvoyant abilities that so many of us do our best to nurture, as of yet we cannot have these dialogues with our mouths closed!

We cannot always recognize our fellow Wiccans, Pagans, Druids or nature-worshippers by the clothes they wear, the food they eat or a handy sticker slapped on their chest that reads: ‘HELLO, My name is Creekbed Fullmoon, and I promise I won’t mock your budding Craft practice.’

So, my resolution for this year? To open the door wearing Pan-style horns.

Just kidding.

But when someone does ask me about my faith, there’ll be no more pussyfooting around the truth, no more masking my beliefs for the comfort of others. When I’m asked if I have faith, and who or what I believe in, I’ll take that deep breath and say:

“Yes, Wiccan.”

...Oh yes, and remember to vote for that Wiccan candidate. Free cauldrons for all!

Blessed Be, my friends.

ABOUT...

Atrum Virgo

Location: Bunbury, Western Australia

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