Reflections on Samhain and life as a gay witch
Dakota Shain Byrd
Contributing Writer
The leaves rattle in the trees as an ever-more- chilling wind makes its presence known. An explosion of sullen reds, crisp spark yellows, ember oranges and dry browns mark this time of year, while paper ghosts and inflatable goblins take up residence in yards and windows.
At least, that’s what many people think of when they hear the words “autumn” and “Halloween.”
Here in Texas the trees might not be — or get — as colorful as they do in Vermont or Maine. But we still celebrate this season and Halloween by decorating and carving pumpkins, finding a corn maze to navigate or testing our courage at a nearby haunted house.
And with Halloween just days away, children are screaming about what cartoon character they want to dress up as for trick-or-treating, while parents allow the children to drag them from one aisle at the store to another, looking at costumes. Teens who feel they are too old to trick-or-treat are planning parties where they might use a Ouija Board to attempt a conversation with the dead.
Also at this time of year, you may notice more people wearing pendants with pentacles and pentagrams, the stars upright and often simple in design. You may walk right on by, giving them only a fleeting glance without really thinking about what those icons might mean to them.
But what if the jewelry is a symbol of who that person really is, a statement of their beliefs?
What if by wearing a pentagram or pentacle, they were coming out, and wearing that symbol was as freeing to them as being at a gay Pride event is for the newly out gay person? What if proudly wearing that pentacle pendant is their way of coming out of the “broom closet,” so to speak, as witches, practitioners of Wicca.
Let’s clear something up before we go any further: real witches — true Wiccans — do not use magick (spelled with a k to differentiate between reality and fantastical magic found in books) for evil.
We do not worship the devil; and although we have a horned god, he is not Satan, he is the god of the hunt, said to have antlers like a stag.
We don’t curse people, kill babies or drink blood. Heck, most of us are soccer moms and dads, college students or grandparents taking their grandkids to get ice cream.
Yes, we are normal, everyday people. And yes, men are called witches, too; the word warlock means “truth-twister,” and nobody wants to be that, now do they?
The only way we differ from others is in our spiritual beliefs. And we practice actual tolerance and acceptance of all people and beliefs — with the exception of religious practices that are actually harmful to ourselves or others.
We practice magick, cast spells, make tonics and grow herbs. We do not use magick for evil. We believe in karma, and we follow the Law of Three: “Remember that what you cast returns the magic times three. Lest it harm none, so mote it be.”
What that means is that whatever you put out there in life, you get back times three. If you put out negativity, you will get three times the negativity coming back at you.
Many people come out as witches, as practitioners of Wicca and believers in the goddess in October. And so in keeping with that tradition, so am I.
It’s a tad bit ironic that I’m coming out as a witch this month, since the LGBT community celebrates National Coming Out Day on Oct. 11, and since October is also National Gay History Month. Still, many outside the pagan community don’t realize the allure of coming out as a Wiccan in October.
In Celtic culture, Halloween — or Samhain, as we witches and pagans call it — was New Year’s Day, marking the end of a year past and the beginning of the year yet to come.
To the Celts, Samhain was the day when the veil between life and death was at its thinnest. This wasn’t a bad thing, though.
In fact, it was a day to remember those who had died earlier in the year and before, and to be close to them once again.
In some traditions of Wicca (think faiths or denominations when you read traditions) and lore, the dead family members would reveal the location of buried treasure or a secret bit of knowledge that would help the living.
Often, Samhain is a celebration of continued life, and since many witches believe in reincarnation, we know that our dearly beloved who are dead will be reincarnated in the future.
Samhain is also the third and final harvest celebration of the eight Wiccan holidays. It’s the largest major feast of the Turning of The Wheel. Contrary to popular belief, on this night witches don’t take anything from their gardens. They might decorate their altars with small pumpkins, hay, Indian corn or other tokens related to the season. Children might put candy on their own altars as a gift of to the god and goddess.
The cauldron is another item of great importance often used in some Wiccan traditions. The ceremony of Samhain may involve inviting the Crone (a wise grandmother-type figure; think a sharp-tongued, wise matriarch) to grant wisdom to the witch or witches who invoked her.
Grandparents or a high priestess or priest may retell the legend of the goddess Cerridwen or tell a mourning story for the dying god, which is similar to how a Good Friday service in the Christian religion focuses the death of Christ.
People may also make totems and raise totem energy by making and wearing ceremonial masks to depict personal or group magick and powers. There could be drum circles to praise the god and goddess and thank them for another year, to celebrate life and summon good energies to help with the coming year.
Those who have a gift of divination might try scrying or reflective meditation to see all that they were supposed to learn within the past year and find how to take that knowledge forward with
them into the next year.
Those looking for love might also try using a small mirror to catch the face of somebody they might have a relationship with, or bob for apples with another person with the hope that two people catch the same apple in their mouths. If this
happens, the people might try to pursue a relationship with each other, and even bury the apple, in the tradition of the Celts.
To the Celts, apples were sacred and they highly valued apple magick. They believed that when a witch caught an apple in his or her mouth, part of their soul trickled into the apple. The witch could then eat the apple to attain prosperity, or bury it whole on their property in hopes that it would bring continued bounty over the next few months of winter.
So as you can see, we witches aren’t so bad. Sure, we do things a little differently, but we’re not chopping up people or drinking blood.
We chop up plants for rituals, spells and tonics, and drink water and soda when we’re thirsty — just like everybody else.
We’re as normal as you are.
Oh, and we also don’t consider being LGTBQ as sinful. To us, everybody just is who they are. Gay people, in most Wiccan traditions, are seen as having both masculine and feminine traits — being balanced and in touch with the god and goddess.
If you’re interested in learning more about Wicca, you can always check out books from the library or buy them. If you see a book with the “Llewellyn” name and the icon of a crescent moon at the bottom of itss spine, it’s almost a guarantee to be a good and informative book on what real magick and witchcraft are like.
You can also find lots of information online, and you can do an online search for a CUUPs group near you.
To all who read this, be you a fellow witch, a Christian or somebody in between religions and trying to find your way: I wish you a bountiful fall. And in closing: “Merry meet, merry part, and merry meet again,” which means that when we encounter each other, may you be doing good, may you be doing good when we part ways, and when we run into each other again later on in life, may you be doing well still!
Blessed Be!
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DEFINITIONS
• Wicca: noun: (sometimes initial capital letter) witchcraft, especially benevolent, nature-oriented practices derived from pre-Christian religions.
Word Origin & History: An Old English masc. noun meaning “male witch, wizard, soothsayer, sorcerer, magician.” Use of the word in modern contexts traces to English folklorist Gerald Gardner (1884-1964), who is said to have joined circa 1939 an occult group in New Forest, Hampshire, England, for which he claimed an unbroken tradition to medieval times. Gardner seems to have first used it in print in 1954, in his book “Witchcraft Today” (e.g.: “Witches were the Wica or wise people, with herbal knowledge and a working occult teaching usually used for good ….”). In published and unpublished material, he apparently only ever used the word as a mass noun referring to adherents of the practice and not as the name of the practice itself. Some of his followers continue to use it in this sense.
In the late 1960s the term came into use as the title of a modern pagan movement associated with witchcraft. The first printed reference in this usage seems to be 1969, in “The Truth About Witchcraft” by freelance author Hans Holzer.
Alex Sanders was a highly visible representative of neo-pagan Witchcraft in the late 1960s and early 1970s. During this time he appears to have popularized use of the term in this sense. Later books c.1989 teaching modernized witchcraft using the same term account for its rise and popularity, especially in U.S.
• pagan: noun: 1. one of a people or community observing a polytheistic religion, as the ancient Romans and Greeks. 2. a person who is not a Christian, Jew or Muslim. 3. an irreligious or hedonistic person.
Adjective: 4. pertaining to the worship or worshipers of any religion that is neither Christian, Jewish nor Muslim. 5. of, pertaining to or characteristic of pagans. 6. irreligious or hedonistic.
Word Origin & History: late 14c., from L.L. paganus “pagan,” in classical Latin. “villager, rustic, civilian,” from pagus “rural district,” originally “district limited by markers,” thus related to pangere “to fix, fasten,” from PIE base *pag- “to fix.” Religious sense is often said to derive from conservative rural adherence to the old gods after the Christianization of Roman towns and cities; but the word in this sense predates that period in church history, and it is more likely derived from the use of paganus in Roman military jargon for “civilian, incompetent soldier,” which Christians (Tertullian, c.202; Augustine) picked up with the military imagery of the early church (e.g. milites “soldier of Christ,” etc.). Applied to modern pantheists and nature worshippers from 1908.
• pentagram: noun: a five-pointed, star-shaped figure made by extending the sides of a regular pentagon until they meet, used as an occult symbol by the Pythagoreans and later philosophers, by magicians, etc. Also called pentacle, pentangle, pentalpha.
Word Origin & History: pentagram: “five-pointed star,” 1833, from Gk. pentagrammon, properly neut. of adj. pentagrammos “having five lines,” from pente “five” + gramma “what is written.”
• pentacle: noun: 1. The same figure as a pentagram, except in magical usage, where is has been extended to other symbols of power, including a six-point star. 2. a similar figure, as a hexagram.
Word Origin & History: 1594, from M.L. pentaculum, a hybrid coined from Gk. pente “five” + L. -culum, dim. suffix. But the exact origin is obscure. It. had pentacolo “anything with five points,” and Fr. pentacle (16c.) was the name of something used in necromancy, perhaps a five-branched candlestick. Fr. pentacol “amulet worn around the neck” (14c.), however, is from pend- “to hang” + a “to” + col “neck.”
— SOURCE: Dictionary.com
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THE WHEEL OF THE YEAR
The Wheel of the Year is a neopagan term for the annual cycle of the Earth’s seasons. It consists of eight festivals, spaced at approximately even intervals throughout the year. These festivals are referred to as Sabbats.
While the term Sabbat originated from Abrahamic faiths such as Judaism and Christianity and is of Hebrew origin, the festivals themselves have historical origins in Celtic and Germanic pre-Christian feasts, and the Wheel of the Year, as has developed in modern Paganism and Wicca, is really a combination of the two cultures’ solstice and equinox celebrations.
When melded together, the two European Festival Cycles merge to form eight festivals in modern renderings. Together, these festivals are understood by some neopagans to be the Bronze Age religious festivals of Europe. As with all cultures’ use of festivals and traditions, these festivals have been utilized by European cultures in both the pre- and post-Christian eras as traditional times for the community to celebrate the planting and harvest seasons.
The Wheel of the Year has been important to many people both ancient and modern, from various religious as well as cultural and secular viewpoints.
In many forms of Paganism, natural processes are seen as following a continuous cycle. The passing of time is also seen as cyclical, and is represented by a circle or wheel. The progression of birth, life, decline and death, as experienced in human lives, is echoed in the progression of the seasons.
This cycle is seen as an echo of life, death and rebirth of the God and the fertility of the Goddess. While most of these names derive from historical Celtic and Germanic festivals, the non-traditional names Litha and Mabon, which have become popular in North American Wicca, were introduced by Aidan Kelly in the 1970s. The word “sabbat” itself comes from the witches’ sabbath or sabbat attested to in Early Modern witch trials.
FESTIVALS
• Samhain
Samhain is considered by most Wiccans to be the most important of the four “greater Sabbats.” It is generally observed on Oct. 31 in the Northern Hemisphere, starting at sundown. Samhain is considered by some as a time to celebrate the lives of those who have passed on, and it often involves paying respect to ancestors, family members, elders of the faith, friends, pets and other loved ones who have died. In some rituals the spirits of the departed are invited to attend the festivities. It is seen as a festival of darkness, which is balanced at the opposite point of the wheel by the spring festival of Beltane, which is celebrated as a festival of light and fertility.
The Wiccan Samhain doesn’t attempt to reconstruct a historical Celtic festival. In actuality it was also widely believed that on Oct. 31, the veil between this world and the afterlife is at its thinnest point of the whole year.
• Midwinter, or Yule:
In most traditions, Yule is celebrated as the rebirth of the Great God, who is viewed as the newborn solstice sun. The method of gathering for this sabbat varies by group or individual practitioner. Some have private ceremonies at home while others hold coven celebrations.
Christmas, celebrated on Dec. 25, continues a pre-Christian festival, and was adopted by the church to commemorate the birth of Jesus, although the information that is given from sacred texts points to spring, and astrological information points to late April/early May as the time of Christ’s birth.
• Imbolc
Imbolc (or Candlemas) is one of four “fire festivals” of the Wheel of the Year. Among Dianic Wiccans, Imbolc is the traditional time for initiations. Imbolc is strongly associated with the goddess Brighid.
Among Reclaiming-style witches, Imbolc is considered a traditional time for rededication and pledges for the coming year.
• Vernal Equinox
The vernal equinox, often called Ostara, is celebrated in the Northern Hemisphere around March 21 and in the Southern Hemisphere around Sept. 23, depending upon the specific timing of the equinox. Among the Wiccan sabbats, it is preceded by Imbolc and followed by Beltane.
The name Ostara may be related to the word for “east.” It has been connected to the Anglo-Saxon goddess Eostre by Jacob Grimm in his Deutsche Mythologie.
In terms of Wiccan ditheism, this festival is characterized by the rejoining of the Mother Goddess and her lover-consort-son, who spent the winter months in death. Other variations include the young god regaining strength in his youth after being born at Yule, and the goddess returning to her maiden aspect.
• Beltane
Beltane is one of the four “fire festivals” or “greater sabbats.” Although the holiday may use features of the Gaelic Bealtaine, such as the bonfire, it bears more relation to the Germanic May Day festival, both in its significance (focusing on fertility) and its rituals (such as maypole dancing). Some Wiccans celebrate ‘High Beltaine’ by enacting a ritual union of the May Lord and Lady.
• Midsummer
Midsummer is one of the four solar holidays, and is considered the turning point at which summer reaches its height and the sun shines longest. Among the Wiccan sabbats, Midsummer is preceded by Beltane, and followed by Lammas or Lughnasadh.
Some traditions call the festival “Litha”, a name occurring in Bede’s Reckoning of Time (De Temporum Ratione, 7th century), which preserves a list of the (then-obsolete) Anglo-Saxon names for the twelve months. Ærra Liða (“first” or “preceding” Liða) roughly corresponds to June in our calendar, and Æfterra Liða (“following” Liða) to July. Bede writes that “Litha means ‘gentle’ or ‘navigable’, because in both these months the calm breezes are gentle and they were wont to sail upon the smooth sea.”
• Lammas
Lammas or Lughnasadh is the first of the three pagan autumn harvest festivals, the other two being the autumn equinox (or Mabon) and Samhain. Wiccans mark the holiday by baking a figure of the god in bread, and then symbolically sacrificing and eating it. However, Lamas/ Lughnasadh celebrations vary, as not all pagans are Wiccans.
Wiccan celebrations are not based on Celtic culture, despite common use of a Celtic name Lughnasadh. This name seems to have been a late adoption among Wiccans, since in early versions of Wiccan literature the festival is merely referred to as “August Eve.”
The name Lammas (contraction of Loaf-mass) implies it is an agrarian-based festival and feast of thanksgiving for grain and bread, which symbolizes the first fruits of the harvest. Pagan / Eclectic Neopagan rituals may incorporate elements from either festival.
• Autumnal Equinox
The holiday of Autumn Equinox, Harvest Home, Mabon, the Feast of the Ingathering, Meán Fómhair or Alban Elfed (in Neo-Druidic traditions), is a pagan ritual of thanksgiving for the fruits of the earth and a recognition of the need to share them to secure the blessings of the goddess and the god during the winter months. The name Mabon was coined by Aidan Kelly around 1970 as a reference to Mabon ap Modron, a character from Welsh mythology. In the Northern Hemisphere, this equinox occurs anywhere from Sept. 21 to Sept. 24. In the Southern Hemisphere, the autumn equinox occurs anywhere from March 20 to March 23. Among the sabbats, it is the second of the three pagan harvest festivals, preceded by Lammas / Lughnasadh and followed by Samhain.
DATES
Dates for the festivals vary widely. There are many forms of Wicca and Paganism, all of which may have somewhat different traditions associated with the festivals. Therefore there is no definitive or universal tradition observed by all the groups. Most Pagans are somewhat flexible about dates, tending to celebrate at the nearest weekend for convenience.
HEMISPHERES
As the Wheel originates in the Northern Hemisphere, in the Southern Hemisphere many Pagans advance these dates six months so as to coincide with the natural seasons as they occur in their local climates, which oppose and complement those of the Northern Hemisphere. For instance, a Wiccan from southern Australia may celebrate Beltane on Nov. 1, when a Canadian Wiccan is celebrating Samhain. The appropriate set of festivals for an Equatorial Wiccan is problematic.
— SOURCE: Wikipedia
This article appeared in the Dallas Voice print edition October 28, 2011.
Thanks so much! This is a great article. Hopefully, it will open some minds. I am often shocked and dismayed at the narrow-minded bigotry of so many gay Christians, especially it seems, in the Dallas area. Blessed Be!
Congrats, love! Welcome to the fold and wear your pentagram proudly! Blessed Be!
I have a few issues with the article… not all “true witches” are Wiccans. There are still some of us who follow the old ways. We never worshiped satan either. It does not matter how you spell magic or magick. Warlocks hunted witches. Wicca is fairly new and is a religion. Celtic is a lifestyle like Buddhism. I am a witch with no religion, I have a belief structure and a lifestyle. I do not practice evil. I am tolerant of all other belief structures and religions until they start harming others and restricting the rights of others. I am pansexual as well. My beliefs come from my mother, who follows her grandmother, who’s way of life was handed down from her mother and so forth as far as the family line is traced back to the isles of England, Ireland and Scotland. We were all witches or wise women or medicine women. Some died for our talents and beliefs. Please do not categorize me in your Wicca religion. I do not fit with you. Blessings to you and yours but I am not one of you. Yet, I am a witch. I do not consider myself better than you, just different. Most of the Wiccans in this area treat me as bad if not worse than the Christians. There are bad apples everywhere I know.
Thank you Terri for pointing that out. I am also a Witch and not a Wiccan. This is one of the issues that really bother me with Wiccan articles or news. Wiccans are quick to judge Witches who not only point out that they are different from Wicca but Witches who may have views that are different from the Wiccan Religion. The two can be connected but are not exclusive to each other.
To Teri, I’m saddened that anyone would treat someone like that. I don’t know where you are, but could it be that some of those in your area are just Wiccan for the fashion of it? Some folks just do it to be cool. Please do not think that all Wiccans are like that. I myself do no exactly fall under the category of being Wiccan either, but it is often a more convienient (sp?) way of explaining my beliefs to folks AND of shopping for the few things that I do buy. (I’ve been known to googlesearch Wiccan and find sites to explain myself to friends and coworkers).
Please dear Teri, do no think that the bad apples spoil the whole bunch. Some of the apples are still good if you wish to relook at them and wash them. With Love…..
Anyone who wants to read more detail about wiccian culture can find information at The Inchanted Forest book store in Fort Worth located at the corner of Halbert Street and East Lancaster ave. In historic Handley. With over 250 different religions on this plant, I feel being informend to different religions is the best way of understanding how another person relates to the world. Some day I pray for a universal religion: it would stop a lot of wars.
As a Wiccan I am sometimes mocked because someone has been around some kid pretending to be Wiccan to shock and dismay people, or some poser claiming to be a high priest/ess without either the training or the ability. Like the family trad Witches, we vary person by person in our ability, our personalities, and our sense of personal responsibility. I am also aware of many of our reconstruction Pagans who try to follow the old religions of our ancestors, and they have totally different beliefs and ways of doing things. Being Pagan does not only mean Wiccan, just as being a Witch does not mean you have to be either Wiccan or religious. Still I think we accomplish nothing if all we do is take pot shots at each other. Simply by not being in the mainstream religions we share some of the hopes and problems that that brings with it. So we should do our best to give the respect that we would like to be treated with. I am an initiated first level Alexandrian with much experience, but I am not a high priest. I will leave that to those with more training and the organizable and people skills that requires.
At Craig, I pray for the opposite of universal religion… I pray for universal spirituality. More horrors have been done in the name of religion than any other. I am a firm believer that everyone has the right to believe what they wish as long as they are not harming anyone else. As for where I got the information I have on the Wicca Religion, I spoke to one of the female leaders in MN as a seeker.
At Christopher, I understand your problem. I have run into it as a non Wiccan as well. I was not trying to take pot shots, I am just tired of being told I am not a witch simply because I won’t give up the old ways and join a religion. I try my best to follow the golden rule and treat everyone as I would be treated, even if I am not being treated that way. My usual course of action is to simply walk away from the haters. I am not a High Priestess or anything like that either, I am simply a person who walks a path of enlightenment.
I am simply asking that we do not turn on each other. It really bothers me that Wicca claims they are the only true witches. I have tried to ignore it. I am trying to rise above it. Pardon the comparison but that is like Mormons saying they are the only true christians.
Harm none is a good start. But then you have to realize with enlightenment comes responsibility. Then there is consequence for every thought put in motion, action, and choice. This is not a Sunday walk in the park. This is a responsibility. What you bring into this world YOU are responsible for. What ever you take part in, even if it is someone else’s idea… YOU are responsible for. I hope I am preaching to a choir. I have met too many that do not believe me and think this is but a game to play. I am simply that wise woman/medicine woman/ creepy cat lady in the haunted house by the cemetery (except I am in an apartment and am working on a Doctorate degree) . What do I know?
Teri,
I think we agree more than disagree. A universal religion sounds a bit more like something the major religions tried to become, by getting rid of everything else. We should remain individual without feeling threatened by those who are something else, and be true enough to stay on our own path even when someone else feels threatened by it.
Harm none is a ideal, perhaps not totally possible, but I think it keeps us away from doing anything major wrong. Sometimes we run into cases where we cannot avoid creating some harm to somebody and then I think we might try for create as little harm as possible.
But our actions have unexpected consequences and we are responsible for the unexpected results as much as we are for the intended results. Sort of like driving down the street and having a person dash out in front of us and hitting them. Whether we meant to, or it was an accident, or the person was committing suicide, the person remains just as dead and we are part of that death, for having hit him. I an no suggesting carrying a heavy guilt trip around, but we can’t change what happened. We only have the power to decide how we will react to it.
Sometimes even bad experiences can teach us useful lessons that help us develop. By nearly dying I learned how to enjoy life more fully and to live more intensely. Learning those lessons is our main reason for living, in my opinion
“True witches” are all wiccans, I guess that makes me a heretic. Bad poetry does not = magic. lol
Iachon,
Not even all Wiccans believe that nonsense. However that was what the christian church often claimed as their excuse for chasing witches, though mostly they just caught other Christians. Few actual Witches got caught.
While there’s definitely room the discussion of how Wiccans are witches, but not all witches are Wiccans, this article is pretty clear that it’s talking about Wiccan witches. Most Wiccans do call themselves witches, despite that the fam-trads certainly used the term first. The author made enough effort to state things like “some traditions” (not all), and “often” (not always) that it the phrase “real witches — true Wiccans —” struck me as meaning “real witches, in this case true Wiccans.” So, bringing the conversation back to this article, I’d like to say THANK YOU thank you thank you for the positive portrayal of Wiccans (too rare, sometimes), and that I very much enjoyed the parallel between “coming out” as a witch and as a LGBTQ. Well done, Dakota Shain Bird!
When I wrote the one four word phrase that seems to have garnered the most attention “real Witches- true Wiccans-” I meant it as Wiccans who are serious about the Craft, and aren’t into Wicca just to freak people out or for shock value. This entire article was about Wicca and centered around Wicca, although I did mention that some tradtions did things differently, and that often certain things are part of a practice. This article was about Wicca, from its inception to the publication. I apologize for any feathers that got ruffled by this piece. I do appreciate that you all took the time to read it and to start a discussion on here. I did not intended to offend anybody, but rather to open minds and create dialogue with this piece. I am pleased at least that it has gotten people reading and discussing Witchcraft as a whole.
Mr Byrd, If I were offended I’d have emailed you personally. Just commenting is all I was doing; if I offended anyone – eh grow a thicker skin. lol I like the way Warlock sounds even if it does mean oath breaker. Sounds butch tho.Brujo does too,
Dakota, Feathers will get ruffled no matter what you say or do. That is up to the person wearing the feathers. You did your best and generally it is a very good article. As an Alexandrian Wiccan, and some of us can be stuffy about who is called Wiccan, I certainly have no problem with what you said. If you get results and are dedicated to what you do, I really don’t care if you are British trad or not. I am a great believer in what works is right, at least for that person. Most of the squabbles are about ego tripping. I have even had beginning eclectic Wiccan teach me things and have let them know it, sometimes to their shock. [Grin] We have so many discouragers, we could use a few more encouragers helping keep them trying until they find their own way.Breaking the spirit of a young man or women is easy as few of them have developed self confidence, but then you never will find out what they might have accomplished and what you may have lost as a result.
Just like gay people, some may make you cringe and some will make you proud, why not give them a chance to show what they can do?
Dakota, I apologize for misunderstanding what you wrote. As a witch that is non-Wiccan, I get judged more than I should and it wears on me. I have just started to ask Wiccans to respectfully stop calling themselves the only true witches. I am getting a lot of ridicule for this (from pagans and Wiccans) and being called egotistical as well as many other names. I do not mean to discourage anyone in either path, spiritual or LGBT. As I have walked both and both can be difficult. I just want to walk my path in peace, being able to call myself what I really am without being attacked by local pagans and Wiccans that I am not part of the local Wiccan Religion.
Teri,
Sorry that you have some trouble with unknowledgeable Wiccans and Pagans. As I say a person that cannot give respect does not deserve respect and that includes Wiccans and Pagans. Best of luck.