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Nate, see my rant in the rant page.

Worshiping Nature, and worshiping the Goddess, is NOT evil. She's the one that would have to have more education and more open-mindedness when it comes to Wicca and general Paganism. She doesn't have to convert, but she needs to understand the unfairness of how Wiccans and other Pagans are treated.

Meditation isn't even a Wiccan thing to do - there is no religious domination to meditation.

If she's that strict, I advise that you hold off your studies until you are 18, as it was mentioned before, if there isn't any way to try to have her understand that you are not doing anything bad by worshiping nature and learning about Wicca.

When I first started out back in 1996, when I was still in contact with my best friend, I told her I was studying about all this over the phone. She had a Wiccan friend back when we were 14, so I thought she'd think nothing of it. I was wrong. At that time, she was looking into being a Jehova's Witness ... she was yelling at me, like, "Why are you doing this evil thing" .. whatever she said ... and she kept throwing Bible quotes at me. She even sent me her Bible. I wrote her a letter later saying basically ... you should know me by now, would I get involved in something evil? She started to understand.

My parents, however, were a different story. My mother said she was open-minded to it, but she was totally clueless as to what goes on (and she still is). My stepfather became a Born-Again Christian, so basically I had to be careful about what I did and said around him. He and his girlfriend even think that things like Magic: The Gathering, and Dungeons & Dragons, are somehow involved with "evil magic" and "Satan Worshiping".

Especially when you are young, you really need to keep a low profile when it comes to Wicca and other forms of Paganism, as not a lot of people understand that this way of life and religion isn't evil. Even some adults have to keep things mum about it, as if people like members of their family find out and they don't understand the truth, the family members will disown them, and they can even lose their jobs if they work for a boss who isn't open-minded. If you're really serious about choosing this path, it'll be wise to stop spreading around that you're Wiccan, and keep things in a low profile.

Hopefully sooner or later she'll find out what all this is really about and she'd at least understand and tolerate it.

There are a whole mess of em. I highly suggest checking out Witchvox.com, they have directories for shops in different states as well as local events and profiles (Im on there too, check out uh...Shadow in Traverse city ^_^)

I hate it when people try to associate games and movies and books with black magick and evil. For the longest time my mother wouldn't let me watch or read or have anything to do with Harry Potter, though I was (and still am a little) a fan. My dad let me have the stuff and whatnot, so it worked out, but.. still.

I also hate being raised in a Christian family, especially when they try and say they don't convert people - and use Mormons as references - yet when most people come out about being Pagan, of course the Christian families freak out and try to convert them back to Christianity.

Sometimes I just wonder why people follow Christianity without a second thought to all its inconsistencies. I think we need more leaders in the world: people who challenge everything, religions included.

Neris right, you do need to keep a low profile for a while, at least until you can make it out on your own (worst case scenario, like me. I'd get kicked out and I dont have nearly the fundage to survive...).

I agree that you shouldn't lie to your parents, or those around you. Sometimes it really isnt all that easy, especially if they dont -want- to understand. Its a hard thing, to come out of the broom closet. I dont know if I'll ever tell my grandparents, theyre just too old and set in their ways and that would be a lot of pain and stress for them. The day I move out though, and the bookshelves go up, so do the books (as well as everything else). If anyones got a problem with it well...it wouldnt be their house now would it? xp

I do keep a low profile I just figured she wouldn't notice me meditating...I practice Wicca behind her back oh well its better then nothing.

How much to you think I'm blood related to a druid? I'm form England Wales