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Episode 23: Coming Out of the Broom Closet
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Welcome back Witches! This week we're going to be talking about Coming Out of the Broom Closet! While being out an open as a witch is not for everyone, it can give you a since of freedom should you choose to come out! It can also be difficult to navigate how to be out and open as a witch for those coming out of the broom closet. We're going to talk you through how to know if your ready, as well as how to prepare yourself for how others may react. So get in losers, and lets discuss Coming Out of the Broom Closet!!
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Music by Karl Casey @ White Bat Audio- The Witch
- Maddox, Kelly-Ann. Rebel Witch Extract: Coming out of the Broom Closet. (2021) https://www.watkinspublishing.com/rebel-witch-extract-coming-out-of-the-broom-closet/
- Youtube:
Chaotic Witch Aunt
Scarlet Ravenswood
Hearthwitch
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Transcript
Introduction to Witchcraft Journey
00:00:00
Speaker
Do you feel drawn to learn more about witchcraft and the occult that feel lost from where to start? Then welcome to Get In, Loser, We're Doing Witchcraft, a podcast all about what it means to be a witch and where to get started on your journey. Join us as we navigate through various witchy topics and share what we have learned about the craft.
Coming Out of the Broom Closet: Respect and Identity
00:00:17
Speaker
So get in witches as we discuss coming out of the broom closet.
00:00:40
Speaker
So anyway, let's talk about coming out of the broom closet. This is something I knew I was gonna remember it. I told you, I thought of something and it went. So I was watching and I only came across this once. So I thought I would bring it up and see how you felt. Someone said this was offensive to use the term coming out of the broom closet.
00:01:02
Speaker
Really? Yeah. I mean, I have heard like some people say they don't really like calling it that. Yeah.
00:01:11
Speaker
But I know. I like literally it was only one person, like one thing that I came across, like trying to look a little bit of stuff up, but literally everyone else was like, when I came out of the broom closet, you know, or like, here's how you come out of the broom closet. So I don't, I was like, I'll bring it up just in case, but. I guess like, you know, obviously we're not trying to be offensive with anything. And if you are offended by this episode, just the title of it or anything, sorry, you know,
00:01:40
Speaker
We don't phrase it coming out of the broom closet as a way to be disrespectful to anybody who's coming out of the closet for any of their identity or, you know, sexual preferences or anything like that.
Personal Witchcraft Journeys
00:01:53
Speaker
So I told you, I thought of something and I forgot it. And you're like, you're going to remember it later. I didn't notice. Yeah, there it was. There it was.
00:02:00
Speaker
So coming out of the broom closet means that you're being out and open about your craft. This is something that is a personal journey for each and every individual and only you can decide when you're ready to share this part of your life with others. It's a reason why we thought this topic was important because this isn't a topic that you can just go and research copious amounts of information on.
00:02:22
Speaker
you can find you know personal people's stories of when they told other people that they practice witchcraft or that they were pagan or wiccan or whatever you know your preferences are on that but it's not something that
00:02:37
Speaker
is easy to find information on, essentially. So we thought it was important to talk about this topic and talk about ways that you can practice if you're not ready to come out of the room closet, as well as how to approach this topic with other people in your life.
00:02:55
Speaker
Yeah. And we'll go into more detail about this as well, but this can be just as simple as telling close friends, family, or, or anyone that you want that you are pagan or a witch. It doesn't mean that you need to, or really should tell everyone you meet about your spiritual beliefs and practices. But, you know, of course.
00:03:13
Speaker
Like I already mentioned, this is completely personal to you. And so the people that you choose to tell will vary based on the situation. And the people, for instance, that Tiffany tells or that I tell, it's all going to vary depending on ourselves and the situations that we're in.
00:03:29
Speaker
Yeah. And like who you're comfortable with too. Like you're not going to feel comfortable telling everybody there's going to be certain people. So if you want to tell everybody that's cool too. Like, you know, there's plenty of people that are very open about what they practice and what they believe, but just because someone else's doesn't mean you have to, you can do whatever you're comfortable with.
Societal Views and Stigma
00:03:50
Speaker
So this is a topic that, thanks to a lot of like movies and TV shows and just the general media and Christianity, which is in witchcraft are often just viewed as evil and that carries a negative connotation to it. So, you know, thanks to these views.
00:04:07
Speaker
this topic is important because it's very hard for some people to talk about these things because you're worried about what other people are going to say or think or how they'll react. And we say this not to make you feel bad about your spiritual path. It's just the nature of our world because often what is outside of the mainstream is vilified. So you shouldn't ever feel like what you're practicing is bad or feel like, oh, you know, maybe there is a negative connotation to being pagan or a witch.
00:04:33
Speaker
Nothing like that. Just know that really anything outside of normal mainstream is going to have negative connotations to it. Just how it is in today's society. I feel like pretty much everything, even if it is mainstream, how's the negative connotation? Like you cannot exist without offending someone. Yes.
00:04:53
Speaker
thousand percent. Yes. So these beliefs and the way that others react to witchcraft make most of us practice our crafts in secret. The term witch is just a very loaded term in general. It often makes people shy away from using or identifying with it openly. If you do like a quick Google search, I did this just to test it out. Like if you just
00:05:16
Speaker
search the term, which you're going to get definitions that include the terms evil, ugly. One of them says have malignant supernatural powers. I can't remember. That one might've been the Oxford dictionary definition, which I was like, cool. Thanks.
00:05:34
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. And then they're also often tied to Satan, the devil, and working with demons. The only one that did have a positive kind of definition was Wikipedia, which I found that to be really interesting. Like the actual dictionary definitions are all like evil, ugly, hag, devil, Satan, witchcraft. And then you go to Wikipedia and they're like, witches are women that do these things. And you're like, oh, thanks Wikipedia. Right.
00:06:04
Speaker
And then for more on this particular topic, you can go back and listen to episode two. We covered an entire episode on stigma and how witchcraft gets portrayed in the media. And it's these portrayals and the stigma that make it really hard for a lot of people to be open about their craft and their beliefs.
Navigating Relationships and Finding Community
00:06:23
Speaker
And then something to keep in mind too is that there's just going to be people in your life who are not going to be happy with you or your choice, but that's not up to you to change their mind. The best that you can do is just to ask them for tolerance or a lack of a hostile environment if they can't
00:06:42
Speaker
give you that, then that person doesn't need to be in your life, honestly. If people can't respect you, they can't respect boundaries that you ask them for, then it just wasn't meant to be a relationship for you. Don't waste your time on people who do not accept you for who you are, and some people just don't deserve you.
00:07:01
Speaker
and all that you bring to the table. So yeah and obviously you know this is something that's easier said than done especially if you are young and still living at home but just know that for every person who is not happy with your beliefs or trying to shame you for it there are twice as many people out there who love and accept you for what you believe and there's many ways to find your community and we'll discuss that later on in the episode.
00:07:23
Speaker
With the current shift it is easier to discuss things that are witchy topics with others that aren't in the craft with less judgment but there's still hateful people out there obviously and like we said that's you can just be existing and somebody's going to be offended by it so
00:07:39
Speaker
just expect that there are going to be people that are going to be hateful toward your beliefs or your practices. But with that current shift, so Wicca was introduced to the public in 1954, and it became officially legally recognized as a legitimate religion in 1986. Paganism is now
History and Acceptance of Wicca
00:07:58
Speaker
seen as a legitimate life path. You know, I've run across a few people that I've brought up Paganism and
00:08:05
Speaker
have had some arguments with them on, which Sam knows about. But most people, when you say, oh, you know, we practice paganism, they're like, oh, cool. Or like, we believe in pagan beliefs. They're like, oh, that's cool. You know, like, it's never like the vast majority aren't hateful about it.
00:08:22
Speaker
And then people are more openly identifying as things like heathens or practicing Norse paganism and as a true, just to name a few that are out there now. Being out and open about your craft allows you to live as your authentic self. And it can lead you to feel free and unrestrained, not only in your craft, but just in your everyday life. Like this is a big part of your life. So if you're open about it and people know, and you don't have that burden of keeping that secret, it can make you
00:08:51
Speaker
just happier in general in your everyday life. And then just again, remember that for some people, you may be the first person that they know that believes this way or practices a certain belief. So whether you're pagan, Wiccan, heathen, neo-pagan, whatever, or if you simply just practice witchcraft,
00:09:08
Speaker
They may not have met anyone that also believes our practices that way. So if they're respectful and you feel comfortable, share what you'd like to with them, but don't be afraid to set those boundaries with people who aren't respectful to your beliefs. And, you know, they don't have to believe what you believe or even really understand why you believe in a specific Pantheon, but just having that mutual respect for people who believe differently than you can open their eyes to understand that differences in religion and spiritual paths are okay.
00:09:38
Speaker
But obviously, as long as it's respectful, like you don't want to entertain somebody who is being disrespectful and doesn't respect your boundaries when it comes to your spiritual beliefs.
Living Openly and Sharing Beliefs
00:09:49
Speaker
So some tips for coming out of the broom closet. When you're ready, like this is something that only you're going to know when you're ready. Only do what makes you feel comfortable. If you don't want to share or if you only want to share like small parts of your craft, that's okay. If you only want to tell certain people, that's also perfectly fine. This is such a personal choice and a journey that varies from person to person.
00:10:12
Speaker
Just remember again, not everyone's gonna understand and that's okay. Sometimes they come around to the idea and other times they don't, but their choices and beliefs are not on you. You don't need to or really should tell everybody that you know, unless that is the right path for you, but you don't really need to do that. An example of a person that I would never tell is like my landlord or maybe my boss. Now, if they ask and I'm comfortable disclosing that information,
00:10:40
Speaker
then that's one thing. But do understand that discrimination in all forms, especially for religious beliefs, is still something that happens today. So if you're living in the middle of the Bible Belt in Oklahoma, for instance, and you feel like if a particular person knew it would affect your livelihood, then maybe don't disclose that information and nobody can force you to.
00:11:00
Speaker
Also, remember just to always stay safe. You have all the time in the world to practice your craft. If coming out of the proverbial broom closet puts you in danger, just don't do it. This is especially important to note for young practitioners like Sam said earlier. If you're in a household that holds witches and the craft as being evil, remember that once you move out of that house, you can freely practice and you can be open about it without putting yourself in danger of being
00:11:26
Speaker
homeless or worse, who knows? I've read stories about horrible things that parents have done to their children. So just remember that you have your whole life to practice. So if coming out to your parents about your practice or your craft or whatever is going to put you in danger, just don't do it.
00:11:46
Speaker
And then remember that not all spaces are safe for witches even today. It's horrible and it's sad that we have to say this considering it's 2022, but there's still terrible people out there. There's still, you know, Sam and I have shared a bajillion of videos of like pastors that are like,
00:12:03
Speaker
trying to attack witches or like talking about witches and their congregations and threatening people in the church and accusing them of witchcraft. So just remember that even though it is 2022 and we would hope that you know these things could be talked about openly sometimes they can't be because people suck.
00:12:24
Speaker
And then this is a decision that you shouldn't just, you know, decide on a whim. Like, take your time with the decision and let yourself figure out the parameters of how open you want to be and at what pace you want to share this side of your life. Before sharing your craft, you should ask yourself some questions. So something like, who do I want to tell and why?
00:12:44
Speaker
Think about your why. Why do you want others to know about your craft? There aren't right or wrong answers. This is all, again, it's all going to be very personal to you and they're going to hold meaning to you. So who are you trusting with this information? Are you telling your closest friends and family, do you want everyone to know? It's important to like really think about these answers.
00:13:05
Speaker
And also it's good to reflect on, does this feel right? Does this feel like the right time, the right audience? If it doesn't feel right at all, or if you have like some reservations, then maybe don't do it yet. Wait until it feels right. And then how do I imagine sharing this information is going to turn out? Thinking about what this will look like can help you really think through this decision and prepare yourself for sharing this part of your life.
00:13:29
Speaker
And also be prepared to answer questions. Like Tiffany mentioned earlier in the episode, depending on who you're telling, they may not know anyone who is pagan, Wiccan, heathen, Norse pagan, et cetera. I mean, there's so many different pantheons, but you should feel comfortable and knowledgeable enough in your chosen spiritual beliefs to at least be able to answer some questions about it. Just like if say you asked a Christian about some aspect of their religion, hopefully they should be able to tell you something about it.
00:13:56
Speaker
But understand that phrasing the information is important as well and allow for a two way.
00:14:02
Speaker
respectful conversation because they may have some questions and just because they're asking questions about your religious beliefs or your spirituality doesn't mean that they're being disrespectful. It could just mean that they don't know anybody who believes this way and they want to know more about it because they've never heard of it before. You should also ask, what would the worst outcome be for me? So think about the worst possible response that someone could have when you share this information with them.
00:14:28
Speaker
Like what does that look like and how would you handle it? Thinking this through ahead of time can help prepare you for how someone may react and then help you to work through this response rationally rather than just emotionally and on the spot. And then what are some potential positive long-term effects of coming out as a witch?
00:14:46
Speaker
So think what the positives of this particular decision will be for you and think about how that's going to impact your life for the better in the long run. And because there needs to be a balance, also what are the negative long-term effects of coming out as a witch? Like think about what that negative impact might look like. Maybe the stigma surrounding witches and the craft can make others pull away from you. So you also need to be prepared for those things to happen.
00:15:13
Speaker
And if that does happen, try not to let the negative get to you. Sometimes this negativity has been ingrained in some people since they were very young. We all know that phrase that hate and bigotry are taught. You are not born that way. So understand that some people have been indoctrinated to believe people who do not look or believe like they do are evil. And not that this is okay by any means, but just know that in these situations, there's nothing you're going to do to make them see things as you do.
00:15:41
Speaker
There's no need to argue or try to help them understand. They probably never will and it's not your job outside of just answering respectful questions to educate them. Also ask yourself why is it important to you to recognize that you're not obliged to leave the broom closet. Remember your craft is your own. You don't have to share this aspect of your life with anyone if you choose not to share it. Being able to recognize that there is no obligation could also help you better understand why it is that you want to share.
00:16:11
Speaker
what you're doing or what you believe with other people in your life. Also asked, how can I ensure that I still value my practice even if I choose not to leave the broom closet? It's important to be able to answer this question for yourself because practicing witchcraft is a personal journey. So being open about your craft doesn't make you any more of a witch. Keeping your craft private doesn't make you any less of a witch.
00:16:34
Speaker
your craft still holds value even if you keep it secret or if you shout it from the rooftops. There's no extra added value to sharing with other people what you believe or what you practice. It's not going to legitimize you or delegitimize you. So some simple ways to come out as a witch. This can just be as easy as telling more people about your craft.
00:16:56
Speaker
Like maybe you choose one person that day that you trust and you feel comfortable with and you share your craft with them. You could start expressing your witchy identity through your clothing and your accessories, as well as in your home decor. You can have an altar space and or some witchy imagery displayed openly in your home. Maybe don't hide your witchy resource books.
00:17:17
Speaker
Like I know I have all of mine just out in my office because that's where I do my research. But if you have like a shelf out in the open, maybe put a couple of them up there and keep them out on your bookshelf on display. You can join a witchy discussion group on your social media or follow other witchy hashtags.
00:17:37
Speaker
post about your craft and make witchy content on social media. You can attend witchy gatherings and events locally. And this is also a way that can help you meet other local witches. And you can be willing to bring your beliefs and your practice up in conversation. It's like, you don't have to overcomplicate it. It could be just something simple like that. Yeah. And then to further kind of elaborate on not making it overly complicated, just make sure that if you are willing to, to
00:18:05
Speaker
Bring up your beliefs and practices and conversations. Don't push your beliefs onto others or insist that your path is the best path and others should follow your beliefs for whatever reason. This isn't Christianity, so please don't be that person who tries to convert everyone you know to paganism or Wicca or whatever it is that you believe in.
00:18:27
Speaker
That is one of my pet peeves with Christianity specifically because they are so pushy and they are so demanding and you don't want people to think of you in that same way. Like sharing it is fine, telling people what you do is fine, but insisting that this is the only way is definitely not the way to go.
00:18:47
Speaker
Yeah, you know, for me, I was raised pagan. I didn't feel like I could safely come out as pagan for most of my life. And I was that kid that was like joining fellowship of Christian athletes, youth for Christ. And I was literally in an actual Christian sorority and university, even though I wasn't Christian. Hiding in plain sight. Yeah, straight up. I was who that pastor was talking about in the church.
00:19:11
Speaker
But I did all this to keep people from knowing my personal beliefs. And during this time, I was still doing spell work. I did protection spells and charms, banishing spells, candle magic, but I would never tell anyone. Like even my husband didn't know for the longest time. I mean, he knew that my family was pagan and that I was raised pagan, but he had no clue.
00:19:31
Speaker
for years that I was practicing. And for me, I mean, it got to a point where I was tired of pretending like I was Christian and I didn't understand Christianity, even though like I had a Bible and I would try to read it and try and understand it. It didn't make sense to me and I didn't know what I was doing and it just didn't resonate with me at all.
00:19:50
Speaker
So last summer was actually when I finally came out of the broom closet. I mean, I know that I wanted to live my authentic self and that was really important to me. And I mean, my husband already knew, and then obviously you knew, and I had other friends that knew, but I came out on social media.
00:20:07
Speaker
on what would have been my dad's birthday last year. And I was honestly surprised at how accepting everyone in my life was. And even if they believe differently than I do, they were incredibly accepting. And, but that's just, that's just me though. That might not be everybody's story, but just know that like, if you are thinking about doing it and you are nervous about it, or you're afraid of people's reactions, you might be pleasantly surprised.
Balancing Discretion and Authenticity
00:20:31
Speaker
I feel like we lead in with all the doom and gloom of like, people might not be okay with it because you should know that those things could happen, but that's not always the case. Sometimes you'll have people that'll tell you like, well, it's not my choice, but that's okay. You know, those are things my grandparents say all the time. And sometimes it drives me crazy, but at least it's like a tolerance. Exactly. So it's not always going to be doom and gloom.
00:20:54
Speaker
If you're not ready to come out of the broom closet, here's some just easy tips that can help you continue with your craft without feeling that pressure. So there's everyday items that just aren't gonna seem witchy to others, like herbs. I would hope every person that cooks has herbs in their cabinet, if they don't, please don't cook me food.
00:21:16
Speaker
I like seasoning and my food, but your kitchen cupboard is going to be full of herbs and spices. And if you've listened to any of our episodes prior to this one, you know that we list correspondences for everything in every episode that we're talking about.
00:21:32
Speaker
Um, just go back, listen to some of those correspondences and see what's in your cupboard. And you could use any of those in your practice. You can also just practice kitchen witchery where your craft is built into your cooking and creations within the kitchen. Like if you're somebody that cooks food often, you can use some of these herbal correspondences in your food or, you know, stirring in certain directions. What is it? It's clockwise. You stir your kitchens in and then counterclockwise to pull like bad intentions out.
00:22:02
Speaker
using your herbs to put sigils on your food before you mix them in. Those are things that you can do in your kitchen without anyone even realizing what you're doing. Starting your own herb garden, growing your own fresh herbs. Everyone's just going to see that as simply gardening, but you know, not only are you creating a connection with your land and your soil and these plants, but you also are growing fresh items that could be used as correspondences in your craft.
00:22:29
Speaker
without anyone realizing it. Herbalism and herbal medicine, these aren't necessarily like witchy things inherently, but they do have witchy ties to them. And much of witchcraft does include like herbalism recipes for healing things, for cells, for balms, you know, it's just
00:22:51
Speaker
While it's not witchcraft inherently, it does have ties to witchcraft as well. Candles, pretty much everyone has at least one candle in their house. So if you light a candle and you practice candle magic, this can simply become part of your home decor without anyone else knowing what you're doing with it. And then for more on candle magic, just to make sure you listen to episode 17, we took a deep dive into the history of candle magic, how to practice candle magic, and a lot of correspondences for that. For an altar,
00:23:20
Speaker
You can just create a sacred space that doesn't have to appear witchy. You can just, you know, use a shelf, maybe like you have a big bookshelf, set one section of it aside where you add a candle and maybe like
00:23:34
Speaker
A crystal or a rock that would just appear to be decorative. You can use moonwater or Florida water to cleanse it or draw sigils on that area and help me get more sacred and connect to it yourself. Yeah. And then as far moonwater, this is something that a lot of people that I know who are not witches use a lot in their daily life. So if you aren't ready to come out of the broom closet, this is a great way to stay under that radar because it's so common practice, especially right now. So, I mean, no one's going to think you're a witch.
00:24:03
Speaker
I mean, you know, I had no clue that what I was doing was something that, you know, I made Moonwater with my grandparents as a kid, and it was just something that I did, but my grandparents, because I grew up in
00:24:17
Speaker
such a harsh Christian household, a Pentecostal household. You know, I wasn't allowed to know what we were doing. And I wasn't allowed to tell my parents that I was doing these things. And they would use things like, oh, we're going to charge, you know, the moon's going to charge the slaughter so we can grow a bunch of tomatoes. But if you tell your mom, it won't grow. And then when we would go out and harvest the tomatoes, it would be like, oh, you kept your secret. And so now we got all these tomatoes. So I had no clue that I was doing these things until I became an adult. And I was like, huh,
00:24:46
Speaker
Interesting. Thanks, Grandma and Grandpa. Some materials used in witchcraft can also come from nature. So things like plants, rocks, sticks, pine cones, et cetera, like pretty much anything outside out in nature or out in your yard can be used. This helps you connect with the land that you're on and then using these items as a way to work with it. It also lets you practice witchcraft without bringing anything inside of your home unless you want to bring it in and put it on that
00:25:14
Speaker
secret little shelf altar that we talked about earlier. So just building a relationship with your land and working with your land is a way that you can practice in private and then books. A major part of witchcraft just involves research, research and more research. I feel like my whole life is research at this point.
00:25:33
Speaker
between doing the podcast and learning more about witchcraft and, you know, doing my herbalism thing right now. I feel like all I do is read research books, but I love it. And you can check books out of the library. You don't have to buy them if you're nervous about going into a store and buying a witchy book. If you're nervous about checking out of the library, you can just get them on like Kendall or like some sort of e-reader or just, you can do a simple Google search as part of your research as well.
00:26:01
Speaker
And the Libby app, I mean, if you have a library card and like Tiffany said, you're nervous about going in, checking out books, just link your library card in the Libby app. And there's like so many witchy pagan books just in general on the Libby app. And you can do eBooks or audio books on the app as well. And this is a great way to read or listen to them discreetly.
Building Community and Accessing Resources
00:26:26
Speaker
And no one's going to know.
00:26:27
Speaker
Yeah. And with that, like the, we, well, you canceled your Kindle unlimited. I'm so sad. Yeah. So Kindle unlimited, if you have that, it's obviously a monthly subscription that you have to pay for. So it's 9.99 a month, I believe, but there is a ton of books on there that you can learn from for witchcraft, paganism for Wicca, like pretty much everything that you would need to know. There's at least one book on there. So.
00:26:57
Speaker
witchy items don't have to be purchased at metaphysical shops either. So if you're nervous about going into a metaphysical shop, you can purchase a lot of your items from everyday stores like Target, the dollar store, or even like your local grocery store. Obviously, you can get fresh or dried herbs at local grocery stores. I also buy witch hazel from our grocery store. What else do I get there? Rosewater. Not all grocery stores are going to carry rosewater, but Dearberg's is kind of fancy.
00:27:25
Speaker
Yeah, like a fancier one. They will carry other things, but in this Dearberg, I already just knew what you were talking about. Yeah. Yeah. I would know. Yep. Yeah. I get my witch hazel there. And sometimes I get rose water there. I love it. But obviously fresh herbs, dried herbs, you can get those there. And sometimes they have flowers too. So I have flowers. That's always nice.
00:27:48
Speaker
One of the best things that you can do that seems incredibly mundane, but it is a wonderful way to further develop as a witch is meditation. And we have an entire episode dedicated to meditation. This is episode five. So I'm not going to go into the ins and outs of it on this episode, but visualization is huge in witchcraft practice. So the better you are at visualization, the better results you're going to have in spellwork.
00:28:13
Speaker
So even if it's just something as simple as visualizing the breath leaving your body, practice that daily. It's something quick and easy and something you can do in front of anybody in front of your family or friends, or say if you're like on a train or something and you're coming home from work or wherever, this is something you can do anywhere. And it's a great way to practice, especially if you are in the broom closet.
00:28:38
Speaker
Lastly, we kind of wanted to discuss ways in which you can find your wishy community. Whether you are in or out of the broom closet, there are many different ways you can find people who believe similarly to you. I mean, Tiffany, you already mentioned this already, but like online and using like
00:28:53
Speaker
social media and Instagram. These are great ways to connect with other people who are like-minded, but one of the easiest things you can do is listen to podcasts, like our amazing podcasts. There's tons of wishy podcasts out there, but you know, ours is the best, obviously not biased at all. Not at all biased. We're just the best wishy podcasts.
00:29:15
Speaker
We are. And a lot of podcasts also have private Facebook groups or Patreon groups, or in our case, we have our Supercast and we also have the Wisdom app. And through this, we interact with our listeners and you can also interact with people who have similar paths as you. So this is our shameless plug. But if you are interested in the community that we are building online, check out our Supercast where you can see how you can subscribe to our podcast and be a part of our growing community of like-minded individuals.
00:29:44
Speaker
So another one is YouTube and some content creators have discord servers or community boards on YouTube to interact with their followers and you can interact with other people on these on the servers or on the community boards as well. Facebook, of course, there's tons of Facebook groups.
00:30:04
Speaker
And you can search for local groups as well. So there's like pagans and witches in the UK, if you are on the side of the pond. Um, there's also one in St. Louis. I'm not sure if I'm still in that one, but I found it when I was living in St. Louis and that was a really awesome group as well. I know I'm in, um, I think there's pagans of Illinois. I think heathens of Illinois is another one that I'm in.
00:30:29
Speaker
Yeah. And it's, I know it says heathens and the name, but it's a lot of pagan people are in that one, just simply pagan, but, um, honestly, search like wherever you live, you can search like pagan and your state or your city and see like, there's probably a group for them.
00:30:47
Speaker
Yeah, literally there's so many out there. Amino is another, I guess it's an app, which it's like a condensed community inside of an app. And so there's different communities within this. So there's two that I've seen recommended on YouTube videos are the witches circle and the pagans and witches.
00:31:05
Speaker
And so on these, in these little groups, you can read or like read posts or articles that have been shared, chat with people that are looking for information or if you have information, you can gather information from this app as well. Also Reddit, there's tons of subreddits on a lot of different witchy topics, literally anything you can find it on Reddit. So, I mean, that's a great resource. Obviously with anything online regarding social media,
00:31:34
Speaker
Definitely just be careful. Don't like give away your personal information to someone you met online. Don't go to meet somebody that you've never met before, never talked to, you know, just be careful and practice online safety, but just know that while there are people out there who are not so great, there are some wonderful people out there and there's some amazing people that I've met online that I've never met before, but we've conversed over witchy topics and they're amazing people. So just keep an open mind, but also be safe.
00:32:02
Speaker
And then some in-person ways to make friends and find your community. Metaphysical or occult shops are great ways to build a community within your local area. So if you have a local metaphysical shop or occult shop, many of them will have flyers of like upcoming events or meetings. A lot of them will also purchase from small businesses to sell in their shops. So they may know about like different festivals,
00:32:29
Speaker
Or they could connect you with the small businesses if they don't know. And then a lot of these occult shops will offer workshops. So this could be a way to learn more about the craft, but also meet people who are along the same path as you. And then Moots, which I'm not sure if these are in America, but I know they have them here in the UK. And I'm just now learning about them. And I'm so sad that for the last two years we've been in COVID and they've been non-existent.
00:32:59
Speaker
So now they're starting to come back again, but in the UK, if you just search for pagan moots and then where you live, there are so many like local moots. They will meet up once a month in person, usually at a pub. And it's like the same people that go every month. So you create these lifelong relationships with pagans that are in your local area. And it's a great way to just meet up and.
00:33:26
Speaker
talk about pagan stuff and just build that family and community. And I think it's great. I know like out here, the pagans of Illinois group, they do pagan picnics. Oh, I love that. And so like, obviously there's
00:33:40
Speaker
people from all over the state of Illinois. So usually what they do is they'll say, who wants to host one? And then the admin will get with them to get all the details and to help them get an event set up. And it's always done like at a local park in public, you know, everybody does like a public style. They bring food and they just hang out and talk. And if somebody is like willing to do some kind of educational thing, they will also do that at them as well.
00:34:08
Speaker
Oh, that's really cute. Yeah. Also just with like how it's, you know, more mainstream to be pagan or a witch. There are now university groups for pagans and there's like societies or weekly meetup groups that, you know, you meet up, hang out, develop.
00:34:29
Speaker
or practice together and just develop community with. So this would be a great way if you are a younger witch or you are younger and you're in university or you're about to go to college and you're at home and you don't know how to come out of the room closet. Once you get to college or university or however you want to call it, there might be some groups for you to engage with.
00:34:50
Speaker
And then also along with just festivals and events, mind, body and soul holistic fairs, even though they're not inherently witchy, oftentimes you will have like people that are selling witchy products or tarot readers, a lot of things like that. So just keep an open mind when you're going to these holistic fairs, because oftentimes there will be a lot of witchy people, a lot of pagans there. And it could be a great way to get to know some of the people in your area.
00:35:19
Speaker
And usually, I mean, in the States, they have them a lot here in the UK. They have them like every damn weekend somewhere. So it's pretty cool. I will say like, yeah, I don't think it's like, as like, when I go there, there might be only like a handful, like maybe like three or four really like two type stalls, but it's still really fun.
00:35:39
Speaker
Yeah. And then lastly, covens, obviously, you know, we did a whole episode on covens and this was episode seven. So look into that if you have not listened to that yet. And also if you haven't, shame on you.
00:35:54
Speaker
Please don't listen to it, but this is a great way to, if you are, you know, you're interested in a particular covenant and you're interested in a particular sect of paganism or Wicca or witchcraft or whatever, and there's a covenant for it. If this covenant is a good fit for you, this is a great way to develop community and lifelong relationships with people in your local area. So.
00:36:16
Speaker
Check that out if you are interested, but you can even just like do a quick Google search of covens in your area. Some might pop up on Facebook or, you know, check out your local metaphysical shop. That's a really great resource.
00:36:30
Speaker
And to piggyback back to the Discord, I know you mentioned it in terms of like YouTube content creators. I use Discord a lot. Now I used to not, I used to only use it for like one thing, but now I use it for, you know, we have a D&D group that I play with and sometimes we do virtual and I'm in like, I feel like every single one of their channels, cause we've done it in one of them at some point. But if you go on Discord and search, there are a
00:36:58
Speaker
on of witchy groups that started through Discord that, you know, some of them, if they're local to each other, we'll get together and meet up. There are really great places to learn a lot of information, to ask questions if you have questions. It doesn't have to be a content creator. There's just, there's tons of groups on Discord for that.
00:37:18
Speaker
Also, like it's going to seem weird, but I know for me, I found a lot of the events that we go to through farmers markets and out here, like we're fortunate that we have a ton of various farmers markets. We have a ton of farms that we'll put on events out here. One of my favorite is such and such farm in Missouri does an occult night market once a year.
00:37:44
Speaker
When the weather starts to get a little bit chillier, they do a huge bonfire, they cook a big feast, and then they have a bunch of witchy, I guess, creators, I don't know, crafters, whatever you want to call them, come up and set up booths like Forst and Meadow goes and sets up herbals. There's usually like a tarot reader, that kind of thing.
00:38:04
Speaker
So don't be afraid to look outside the box for some of those things because we've been pleasantly surprised with some of the events that we've gone to that were more geared toward the witchy community. So it's just another food for thought idea. I love that. Yeah. So just definitely keep an open mind and know that oftentimes to everything that's happened to me as far as communities go.
00:38:26
Speaker
It's like it's just presented itself to me. Like I haven't really had to look very far or if I have looked like I'll look for a little bit and then the universe just brings people and opportunities into my life. So just be open to really anything.
00:38:51
Speaker
That's it for this episode of Get In Loser We're Doing Witchcraft.
Conclusion and Next Episode Preview
00:38:54
Speaker
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00:39:14
Speaker
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