Are you a secret Witch? Over time I have become very comfortable with my witch self, but that wasn’t always the case. Many of you may feel you are “stuck in the broom closet” and must continue your practice in secret for various reasons. I am here to tell you are not alone.
I personally grew up in a very traditional catholic household and attended catholic school from k-12. Now, I’m not bashing my parents on how they raised their children, that was their values. I’m just stating that as I grew older my beliefs changed and I did not feel comfortable to tell them or anyone else I knew.
In my infinite wisdom I decided to buy a house approximately 6 blocks away from my parents. Brilliant right? With the surprise visits, and random phone calls of “We will be there in 2 minutes!” I got very good at what I used to call “my emergency take down”
So, here is what I learned…
- Curtains are AMAZING
This one seems self-explanatory, but seriously. CURTAINS. If you venture into my house, I have statues of Goddesses and crystals in basically every room. I used to place crystals on my windowsills along side certain statues that I thought were… a bit much (ya know, woman standing over a cauldron etc. Anything that my parents or unknowing friends could have misconstrued as human sacrifice or something else just as ridiculous.) I put sheer curtains over my windows. So when people came over it didn’t look like I was avoiding the sun, but it was just enough not to draw attention to things.
- Secret Altars and Where to Find Them
My first Altar was a floating shelf underneath the tv in my bedroom. However, if you do not have your own room or space, creating an altar to celebrate your craft is a tricky thing to do. Something to keep in mind is Altars do not have to be large! All of the contents can fit in a small box that you can take out whenever you need, then safely packed away again. Portable and Hidden! If you choose this method, I would recommend using some form of Altar cloth that is packed away and brought out with your tools. This way, you still have a designated and cleansed space to preform your magic!
If you have a room to use and just want your space to be easily tucked away, try emptying out a closet and place your Altar there. This gives you a little more space to work and an easy way to hide it if you have company over. That was my solution when my Altar eventually outgrew my floating shelf, and you know what I used to cover it? That’s right, A CURTAIN.
- Creating Spells You Can Eat
Kitchen Witchery! Adding a little magic to your cooking is a fun and adventurous type of magic. Most ingredients in our cupboards have a metaphysical purpose. Bay Leaves are fantastic for prosperity and protection, Cardamone stirs up passion, Mint for healing, and so much more. There are a million and one recipes online and in books for kitchen spells, and you can even get creative and make your own. Eat the evidence! No one will be the wiser! 😉
It is a difficult time feeling like you cannot be open with your loved ones about who you truly are. Whether you are worried about judgment or complete disregard that people could show you, or something completely different, there are online communities and safe spaces to talk about your craft. I used to just hang out in the New Age section in Chapters to swap notes with other magical people.
If you decide to come out of the broom closet keep in mind a few things
It is completely your call – You are under no obligation to “come out”, there are many solitary witches.
Baby Steps – Take small steps at first, see how it feels first.
You Don’t Need a Neon Sign – there is no rule out there that says you have to say “I’m a witch” in every conversation you have. You can pick and choose who you tell.
Basically, there is no right or wrong way to do this. You work at your own pace and do whatever feels comfortable to you. It’s your craft, own it! You do you Boo Boo!
Always remember, your secret Witch family loves and supports you.
Stay magical,
-D