The Book of Shadows of a Broom Closet Dweller *EDITING*

Coming Out of The Broom Closet

Obviously, I didn't write this book to encourage people to outwardly lie to and deceive their loved ones. Therefore, I think it's necessary to give some advice on coming out and being open about being a witch.

Being in the broom closet can feel like having to be inauthentic and not expressing your true self in front of others. Over a long period of time, behaving this way can feel soul-crushing and sickening. So, sometimes, broom closet witches make the decision to "come out".

But how do you come out? Should you come out? What will happen if you do?

There's no straight-forward answer unfortunately, as it depends a lot on context and the personalities of the people you're coming out to. But I'll try to give you as much advice as I can.

Firstly, are you ready to come out?

What I mean by this is... are you sure in yourself that being a witch is part of your identity, and not just a phase? Will you regret coming out later in life, because witchcraft is no longer something you identify with? Will you be able to answer any questions people may have about witchcraft? You have to be sure in yourself that you are a witch.

This is very important to think about if you are young and in your teens, as this is a stage in your life where your personality is very susceptible to change. Teenagers can go through lots of phases and pick up and put down different hobbies and interests very quickly. So make sure that you are a witch and this is something that is a huge part of yourself before deciding to come out.

Generally, you're probably ready to come out if: you are an adult, you have been practising witchcraft for quite a few years, you can confidently answer any questions about witchcraft, and being a witch is part of your identity.

Who are you coming out to?

Think about who you are planning to come out to, is this a good idea? If you're thinking about coming out to your work colleagues or classmates, it's probably not a good idea. Not only because people might think you're "weird" or whatever, but mostly because it's most likely inappropriate to come out to these people. No one at work or school needs to know your religious/spiritual practices. With these people, it's best to come out if, and only if, it just so happens to come up in conversation. Don't go around announcing to the world that you're a witch if nobody asked. Have you ever got annoyed when someone said "I'm vegan!" when the conversation had nothing to do with veganism? Well, it's the same thing. No one asked, so you don't need to say anything.

If you want to come out to a close friend, again, be careful. Do you wholly trust this person? Do you know if they can keep a secret? Are they going to change their attitude towards you and treat you differently? Obviously, you can't predict with certainty how they're going to react, but generally it's better to come out to a life-long friend than one you've only been friends with for a year. Just something to think about.

You're probably wanting to come out to your family; parents and siblings. It's not really fair on you or them to be constantly hiding things from them right under their noses, so coming out to your family can be rewarding, and is generally the right thing to do.

How will they react?

Obviously this isn't something you can possibly know with all certainty, and it's probably mostly the reason why you're in the broom closet in the first place.

How your family will react is completely down to their personality and their personal beliefs, and only you can know this. But we can generalise people's reactions based on their background, and hopefully this will allow you to weigh up the risks versus the benefits.