
It is International Pagan Coming Out Day.
IPCOD is a project started by Cara Schulz, editor of the PNC-Minnesota Bureau and part of a not-for-profit associated with the Pagan Education Network (website not updated since 2012, hmmmm…..).
As owners of an online Pagan and Metaphysical store it is obvious that Sarah and I are out as Pagans. Our families, our friends, our coworkers at our bills-paying jobs. Just about everyone that interact with on a regular basis know that we are Pagan. Was it easy to come out to all of them?
Yes. No. Maybe. Sort of. It all depends.
It gets easier every time the situation arises that one of us needs to come out of the Broom Closet to someone. That need varies from situation to situation. Sometimes it isn’t even a need, it just happens or is appropriate for us to come out of the closet to people we meet.
I cannot speak for Sarah, she is her own person and may make a comment or three on this subject on her own. For me, though, things have been complicated over the last twenty years when it comes to being out and about in regards to my spiritual and religious beliefs.
Most everyone in my life knows that I am Pagan, many of those same people also know that I am gay. The coming out process is similar in both those circumstances, but one does not equal the other. An example of this:
I came out as gay to one of my sisters in a letter when I was 17 years old. She took it well, saying “I love you no matter what. God loves you.” Good! I am glad that she loves me no matter what, and I am glad that the Divine loves me as well. But it was obvious in the context of the letter that she was fine with me being gay as long as I still believed in the Christian concept of God and went to church and all that wonderful stuff. Nineteen years have passed since I wrote my coming out letter to her. We’ve never actually talked about my being Pagan, but she knows and is okay with that as well. Perhaps not thrilled, but she can see that both aspects make me happy and more complete than if I was fighting my sexuality and arguing with myself about my personal conceptualization of Divinity.
Another example of how things can be difficult or complicated is a story from my current bills-paying job: A customer noticed my pentacle ring one night and started calling me a devil worshipper. Now, before you get too excited…. This guy is a regular customer and it was obvious that he was intoxicated at the time. I didn’t let it bother me. I just simply explained that I would have to believe in the Christian Devil in order to worship him. Being drunk, he was slightly argumentative on that, but he purchased his cigarettes and went back home. Later that night one of his friends stopped in and said some of the same things, in a joking manner. Since then I have seen the first customer several times outside of work and he makes it a point to say hello and chat a bit.
All around the blogosphere today you can find articles and musings on International Pagan Coming Out Day. Patti Wigington on About.com has a good article that made me stop and think a little bit this morning. For the most part I don’t even think about “coming out” of the Broom Closet anymore. I am who I am. If someone sees my pentacle and asks I answer. Do hesitate to go into detail depending on the circumstances. If I am at work and it is busy, then I will answer simple and move on to the next task or customer. If I am in a non-work situation I will most likely go into more detail. For obvious reasons it is not appropriate to go into details at work. Unlike Sarah, I firmly believe that one should not talk about religion, sex, or politics at work. Her work situation is different from mine.
If you feel the need to come out as Pagan, by all means do so. But be aware that there could be negative consequences. What do I mean, negative? People stay closeted as Pagan for multiple reasons. Fear is usually the motivation behind those reasons. Fear of losing their job, child custody issues, housing, even fear of losing their friends and family.
To help understand if coming out as Pagan is right for you, visit the International Pagan Coming Out Day website and read some of the other articles that have been published today (do a web search for International Pagan Coming Out Day) and in previous years.

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