Wiccans do you feel lonely when it comes to your religious practices?

Question

Lets face it , there are not that many fellow wiccans living next door to people like us.Some of us have to hide our preferences for the fear of being judged , ridiculed , and put down as my parents will do if they discover what i am! so the only option left for us is to go online and find a forum , but still we dont feel as happy as having our little group like any other religion , at least me)
I wanna know how being lonely impact your practices?have any of your friends left you alone when he/she discovered this about you?...it happened to me , this stupid boy believed i put a spell on him after he had an accident , i cant believe him anyways...
What can all of us do to let people see this is not a religion of the devil as they say...
and i wish a happy , magical new year! btw
blessings
)o(

Answer 1

I am very fortunate. I live in a city with a thriving Pagan community, and I have a full moon worship group with a core membership of five people which has met every month for the last two and a half years. I am not lacking for Wiccan company.

If you're looking for other Wiccans in your area, you might try the Witches of the World section at Witchvox:

http://www.witchvox.com/xvn.html

Or try Meetup.com and see if any local groups are meeting in your city/town.

Public education is an ongoing process. We can educate people one person at a time, by letting people get to know us and realize that we are not that different from them in most respects. We can educate in a larger sense by writing letters to the local paper's religion column (among other things).

Wicca is coming more into the mainstream. In time, information will trickle down.

I'm sorry to hear you're feeling lonely, and wish you the best of luck in finding others to practice with.

Answer 2

I would be happy to start a conversation with you. I don't know where you live, but I am guessing it is someplace where there isn't a strong, public pagan community. Most pagan communities have at least one 'open' group where solitaries and others can gather in community at the Sabbats. I have been pagan for over 13 years, and while my husband is one also, kinda, I don't do much public ritual anymore, as I didn't feel comfortable with the larger pagan population. If you can get it, may I suggest you get and use Scott Cunningham's book "Wicca: A guide for the solitary practitioner". Even if you aren't Wiccan, the book is full of good ideas for one who travels this path alone. Ideas on Beltane: It is a time of growth and fertility. Pagan or not, ask your husband to share a special Beltane night with you on the 1st. If possible, have a picnic, gather flowers, have 'bedsports' with lots of laughing and dancing and real enjoyment. Go someplace you can be totally alone and private together and revel in each other's company. Good things to eat together would be bananas, apples, strawberries, melons, and bread, especially bread sticks or baguettes. If you want protein, then shellfish or beef is best. You don't need to do elaborate rituals on the Sabbats, they are festivals/parties. Even if your friends aren't pagan, you could have a May Day party if you wanted. You could know the meaning of day and have the intent of the laughter and companionship bringing healing to the earth (or any other intent you wanted), the power would still be there and would still 'work' even if the participants where not aware. Take a more ecological focus and Tell your friends it is a party to celebrate the earth. Go out and work in a garden or yard or plant a tree or just go on a hike; all these things can be done to celebrate the day.

Answer 3

Actually the pagan community is a bit wider them most people think. You just have to really dig it out.
I'm in the Dallas area and I have a wide and large range of pagan friends, some of them Wiccan. It took the last year to find them all but it was worth it. I have Heathen's, Kemetics, Sumerian, Wiccan, Eclectic and New Age type. All great people. Online I have an even wider range.

Answer 4

When I feel lonely, I go to the local ADF Druid rites each Sabbat, or study groups held all around my city. You're not alone, and Bright Blessings.

Answer 5

I am not Wiccan, but I am Pagan. I moved from an area that was very accepting of what I believe, and now live in the Bible Belt -
Yet, I dont feel lonely at all. I have made some wonderful friends of all faiths, who accept me as I am and love me for being myself. I have also connected with a small group of Pagans.
I have always been a solitary and prefer it that way, as I feel a stronger connection to the Elements when I am alone and able to focus.

Answer 6

I feel sorry for what you are going through. People tell me I am going to hell for believing that all people who are good, respect a power(God, Goddess, Earth, Buddha....Whatever) more powerful than you, see the good in most people and respect peoples wishes to practice what they believe in their hearts (as long as it is good) (Atheist...I include you in the good to0). I belong to a Church who believes this and according to other Christian Churches I am going to hell for it. So you are not alone in the larger sense of being judged. I hope you find your way to comfort and offer you blessings and positive thoughts.

Answer 7

My husband is fully supportive and has adopted many practices. We are actually still trying to figure out all the things we want to do for the holidays and such, but we are doing them together.

I would say I am fortunate enough to live in the Pacific Northwest where there are lots of pagans and alternative beliefs. But "fortune" had nothing to do with it. I got tired of my close-minded neighbors in the Bible Belt telling me I was going to go to Hell, so I chose to move across the country. Ain't it great to live in a land where we can do that? :)

Sure some people may get their undies all uppity when they find out I'm Pagan, but whatever. They will usually say, "Well, I never thought that about you." At which point, if I know they're okay with it, I usually say, "Well, I'm Bi, too. What else do you want to know?" or I just let them go on their way if they're uncomfortable.

I'm very happy in the Unitarian Universalist church - lots of Pagans and Wiccans there. They even have a program for it called CUUPS (which is at most of the churches). You just gotta look real hard and find some people. They are everywhere. Go out to the woods near you on the full moon and see if anyone is dancing naked under the stars. Or try meetup.com - maybe there are some people near you. :)

Also, going to the bookstore always cheers me up because there are LOTS of books on stuff I believe in - which must mean there are lots of people who like it, right? BTW, have you gotten your 2008 Spell-A-Day Almanac? :)

Answer 8

I'm not Wiccan, just Pagan. But I don't exactly feel lonely. I enjoy my experiences as a solitary practioner. I don't take ridicule. Those who ridicule are not very knowledgeable and therefore don't know what they are ridiculing. My parents have known since I was little what I am. They are borderline Christian as they belief in Christ, but also have a Pagan outlook onlife. I don't do online forums except for one and that's through MySpace.

I am not lonely. I have not lost any friends, that includes ones who are Christian. The only thing we can do is educate and remain patient. We can't expect everyone to just listen to us. No more than we listen to their rhetoric. ^_^

Blessings to you as well. MM, MP till we MM again.

Answer 9

I don't feel lonely. I pretty much went in with the idea that I wasn't going to be walking into a huge, tight-knit community of Pagans and/or Wiccans.

EDIT: iluvtaro-I get the feeling that you don't know much about Wicca or Paganism in general, but are very good at digesting what your own religion tells you. Please educate yourself a little more before you come onto a question like this and post that crap. Our gods are no more "idiots" than yours is to others, please keep that in mind. And I also have to wonder, if you came on here with the intention of spreading your god's word, how successful you think you were at it. I was under the impression that you should teach and be symbol of your god's love, grace, and kindness, not come in ranting and raving about the supposed "silliness" or "wrongness" of another person's faith. It doesn't convince the rest of us of anything about your religion other than its followers can be misinformed and very rude.

Answer 10

The whole neighborhood thinks I am a witch....

Thank God!