Young teens misconceptions on magic/Wicca

I was sitting at my computer today when my sister walked in and told me about something a friend of her's saw. Some girl had taken a Harry potter book and scratched out the title and wrote spell book on it instead. As my sister told me this she looked at me and laughed. She knows I'm a witch so she told me this and was expecting me to laugh with her. I did at first find it a little funny, but then I realized that it's actions like that that give people the wrong idea about something and then they become disappointed later when they discover the truth. Granted, my first exposure to magic and witchcraft wasn't exactly the best. I mean I picked it up from movies like Harry potter. I guess though it was a little different for me. I knew that real magic wasn't like in the movies. I knew there had to be something more. It was then that I began to do research and learn what witchcraft and Wicca were all about. I can only hope that teens and those thinking about witchcraft chose their resources wisely and question everything they read, hear or see. That is what I believe will be the only way that one can truly find knowledge.

Bullets

We all have secrets. Some are more serious than others. Growing up, it was always an unspoken rule that sharing a secret with someone meant it wasn't gonna leak. I am definitely a secret keeper. I know things about people that their own families don't know about. The same goes for me. There are people out in the world that I have shared information that no one outside knows about. To me, a secret is more than just a secret, its a symbol of the trust between two people. For example, people who pray to a higher power. Sharing information that they would otherwise keep hidden is a line of trust formed between the person and their higher power. I know I have that line of trust with my higher powers.
A lot of the time, secrets can have dramatic effects on people. They can surely make or break a situation. Before I explain this, I want to make clear that this is not to be confused with a lie. Although sometimes a lie is something one says to cover up a secret. Now back to my explanation. I recently had an experience where my secret was gonna come out. The secret I'm referring to is that I haven't told my family I'm a Wiccan. I've mentioned this before in other posts, but this time is slightly different. Now, let me set this up for y'all. As most of you guys know from my twitter, yesterday night I was celebrating Mabon and the full moon. I had driven up to a park high up in the mountains and setup and small ritual. After I ended the evening, I drove back home and tucked away my ritual supplies in the trunk of my car. Now, I didn't get a chance to clear everything out today because I couldn't find a time where no one was home. So I ended up falling asleep after work. That's when the problem started. Apparently my dad needed to make a trip to my aunts house and decided he would take my car. When I woke up I flipped out because I found out he was taking a few items to drop off. I was sure he had opened the trunk. I spent the next few hours thinking about the situation and how it was gonna hit the fan as soon as he got home. A few hours passed and my dad finally made it home. I braced myself for the onslaught of questions, but nothing. A huge weight was lifted when I realized he hadn't found my stuff. I had definitely dodged a bullet there. I wasn't really for this sort of thing just yet. I know at some point it needs to be said, but now is not the time.
So I managed to further elude my parents on my secret once again. Don't get me wrong though, I sure as hell am not ashamed of who I am, but I just haven't figured out the logistics of breaking the news to them all yet. I'll close this with a final thought:
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I am Wiccan and Proud of it!
Pagan Pride All the Way!
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Some Hope.

So today was mabon. I was intent on doing a ritual outdoors. I gathered my supplies and headed for a park high in the mountains. The park was full of people because of a soccer game. I decided it was too noisy to get anything done so I headed further up. I got lucky and there was no one around. As I set up my altar, I kept hearing the rustling of trees from the animals. I have to admit I was a bit intimidated, but I pressed on. After getting everything setup, I began my ritual. I called the quarters, invoked the god and goddess and lit some incense. I sat on the cloth I had laid out and took in the crisp air. I was still in edge from fear of being caught. I tried to relax, but I could sense something was about to happen. Sure enough, about 20 minutes into ritual, some mischievous teens showed up. At this point I has stopped my ritual and was waiting to see how long they were planning on staying. Shortly after their arrival, a police car showed up and drove them out. Upon seeing and hearing all this, I began to panic. Sure enough, the cop called me out with his loudspeaker. I tried to gather everything and leave, but I took longer than I thought. With half my supplies in my hands I ran into the parking area and tried to tell the cop I was leaving. Of course, seeing someone in all black carrying some rather questionable items around brought up some questions. " What were you doing?" he asked. I couldnt exactly think of a lie so I just told him the truth. "I was doing a ritual" I told him. "A what?" he asked again. "Ritual". "I'm a wiccan". I told him. This brought up several more questions as well as some explaining. So I went ahead and explained to him that I was out here enjoying the full moon and celebrating the autumnal equinox with a small ritual. After I told him that he asked me some questions about who or what a Wiccan or witch was. Seeing as how he didn't seem to be afraid or doubtful, I told him a few things and he sort of put it together and connected the dots. "So its like a pagan religion?" "Yes. Exactly." I thought to my self, "whoa thats the first time I heard someone use that term correctly." So after that he apologized for disturbing my ritual and explained that he needed to close the gates so I needed to get going. After finishing up gathering my things, I bid the nice police officer a good night and headed off.

This whole incident really gave me hope. I had always been a bit hesitant to explain myself to people, but so far almost everytime its been successful. I really appriciated the fact that the cop was willing to let me explain and not over react. It felt good knowing that I was able to teach someone something new that he will probably carry for the rest of his life. Just as the apple is a popular fruit for mabon and autumn in general, symbolizing knowledge, I was able to pass along the fruit of knowledge to another person. I think everything that has happened to me has happened because I remember making a promise to myself that I was not going to hide who I was. I wanted to educate people and share a part of history. I'm going to enjoy the rest of mabon tonight knowing that the world is one more person changed. Its kinda funny I was actually thinking of hiring one of those planes that write messages in the sky and get someone to put Pagan Pride for all of glendale to see. That would deffinitely raise some hairs, but still very interesting....

Privacy is expensive.

So as most of you know from either reading my blog or youtube, you know that I'm still in the broom closet with my family. The only one who knows is my sister. This causes a lot of issues when I want to go a quick ritual for something or even just to relax. I can't say to my folks, "Hey, I need some privacy, do not disturb me." As soon as I do, I get bombarded with a million questions as to what I'm up to. I'm not a child anymore. I'm a grown man and I should be able to have my wishes honored. I don't think I can remember a time when I have been able to set up my altar just to relax and meditate or for a ritual or sabbat. Even when no one is home, I cant fully relax because I always have that feeling in the back of my head that any minute someone is gonna come home.
A lot of the time to get some privacy I just take my dog for a walk. I get to be outside and take in nature. Sometimes at night, I even have a little chat with the moon goddess as I walk the pooch. I have to get fairly creative to get some privacy. In the beginning, I used to just light a single candle and chant something in my head or whisper it as I sat on my bed. This would be a possible alternative now, but as I become more in tune with my spirituality, the more I feel justified to be able to worship and practice my craft openly. I tried to get some privacy at a park about 15 minutes from my house up in the mountains. Now that was definitely a good place, but unless it late in the evening, I have to deal with people hanging around and enjoying the park. You have to imagine the look on someones face when they see someone with a bunch of candles lit with a dagger pointing to the sky and chanting.
I mean as a last resort like a mentioned, I can just light a candle and do some silent chanting, but that can only be so much. Sometimes I feel like bursting out and just saying, "Fuck man! People of the Abrahamic faiths bloody have massive temples and churches erected for people to gather and worship! All I ask is for a couple of hours of privacy in my room!"
It's gonna take a lot to get my privacy. Like I said, privacy is expensive.