This is following on from Esk's thread - I didn't want to hijack it by wondering how open people are about their beliefs. I just was interested to see if people felt they could be open about them, or if they had reasons why they couldn't be.

Open but I don't introduce myself by saying 'Hello I'm Sarah and I'm Pagan' If someone asks, I tell them it's fine. Haven't come across anyone who did worse in response than 1- ask if that meant I was Wiccan or 2- asked if I was a 'white' witch. They were both put straight as to my views there

I am open about my beliefs, like Esk I dont go around shouting it from the roof tops but I wear my penti openly and if Asked about it I explain in basic terms.

I am open like Esk and Herne, I wear a Mjolinir pendant and a pentacle thumb ring, if asked I will explain some of the basics and if they are interested point them in the direction of good resources, I very quickly put people straight if they mention devil worshipping or the any of the other crap promoted about us by certain sections.

Storm Raven

yep same here, open not ashamed.
I too wear Mjollnir n have had some ask me about it, and when told they seem quite interested. Did have one turn round n say 'oh yr an odinist r ya', 'so yr a nazi then', i quickly put them right after removing my boot from their arse .

Only had one problem, was regarding work i asked for yule off, asked why i told my boss, basics about it being new year n i wanted to spend some time with family n friends, he then turned round n said no . but three days later gave my work partner the same time off cuz he said he wanted xmas off n had to go home for his families usual xmas,church etc

Lion

Yeah same. I was a t first worried how ti would be received in a work environment, but people are fine. One lady does the minimum that politeness demands, but then she's very christain, and I respect her beliefs might make her feel uncomfortable around me.

We have good natters, but I certainly don't go around waving banners shouting I'm a raving pagan lol. And leading on to recent threads about dressing "pagany" I don't particularly, certainly not for work anyway dress in a way that would have me labeled "pagan". I do like long flowey skirts - sorta hippy/gypsy style... but I like lots of other styles too.. anyway, yeah... open and not afraid to answer questions/ have discussions.. but not leaping up and down yelling "Pagan here".

Anyone who asked knows I'm pagan. But apart from that I don't go in for the "I'm pagan, by the way I'm pagan, did you know I'm pagan" ( or the I'm pagan give me an award) approach.
Nothing to be ashamed of, but then I don't think a persons religion the be all and end all either.

Most of the people who I have worked with have had their cards read at some point in time or had Reiki healing

If someone asks, they get told, I don't shout it out tho. And because I'm a store manager, doing the rota's and getting Midsummer and Yule off isn't a problem generally I book it off in advance

Some family though don't know - becuase they're all raving Christians! Most friends know- they treat me as being weird in general

Open, but not shouting it from the roof tops.

If anyone asks, I will answer their questions, and I'll speak up if someone is denigrating paganism.

All my friends and most of my family know. I don't really see the point in telling people like great aunts and grandparents, as they are unlikely to understand, and I wouldn't want them to get the wrong idea.

Open enough to have sat on a religious panel at my previous job, but not so open that my parents have been told.

Im out and proud, but i dont go up to someone and say hey im pagan becaus ehtat isnt being open thats just plain weird for any religion. All my friends and teacher know that im pagan and find it really cool so i like them all to know.

i'm open, was fully out at work - but now I'm jobless I don't know what I will do when I get one. I certainly won't say I'm anything other than Pagan, and as far as I am concerned if I had to cover up my beliefs I wouldn't wan't to be there. However, despite the website, pent, talking to animals, trees and rocks etc I don't go out in the street with a loudhailer saying that I am a Pagan, so I doubt there will be a problem.

Don't exactly hide my pentagram ring, and I will quite openly admit to being Pagan. Good way of not having to put up with religious assemblies.

Anyone who says they can't get a job because they're Pagan is talking rubbish. I've never filled in an application form where I was asked about my religion, except when I applied for a job at a Catholic school years ago.

They're just using it as an excuse for not being good enough at interview.

T

Yes, open but don't shout it from the rooftops. Obviously i can't wear visible jewellery to work, but if the discussion comes up I tell people. I work with three other officers in my office, we're all friends and we all discuss where we've been and what we've done at the weekend!

I'm the same as most of the others here. My immediate family know, the others will find out if/when it comes up.

Some people in work know because it came up in conversation. As for the others, they don't know I'm pagan and I don't if they're christian, etc.

I'm a Non-Pushy-Pagan! Most of my friends know and I'm pretty sure my parents do after leaving all my books and cauldron and other paraphanalia at their place when I went travelling for a year. Although my dad's a lapsed Catholic so he doesn't say anything for fear of raising the devil in me.

Like most other people I don't wander around advertising my religion, simply because I think it's a pretty personal thing and I don't want every Tom, Dick and Harry knowing my business.

Saying that, I do wear a Celtic birth symbol pendant around my neck and everyone at work comments on how beautiful it is, but none have ever asked what it is or what it means, but to me it's just the same as the lovely lady I work with who wears her Star of David - you just take it as read no?

I did have a nice moment a while back when we were at a friend's birthday and one of his (very straight laced) girlfriend's friends popped in to say hello and she was wearing a beautiful penti made in a design of roses and I just commented on how nice it was blah blah blah and she was so happy that she'd 'found' another Pagan. It was when we started on about Blue Moons and Beltain that the girlfriend suddenly realised there were 'wierdos' in her midst

Loud and proud ( no comment from you lot at the back )

At least one of my pents necklaces are always on show as are the rings on my fingers.

All my workmates know I'm a Witch, as do quite a few of my students - I teach in excess of 500 students a week, so thats a few

WW

I wear my pent all the time, my family know and work know too. If anyone asks me about it I explain in relatively simple terms - had one of the doctors at the Docs job (who is actually my GP) ask me about it last week cos he was reading UKP over my shoulder He was impressed with the site, and took the web addy down in his diary, so you never know, he might be joining us some time..........!

I am out of the broom cupboard but I dont shout about it...if people ask me my beliefs then I tell them, but I dumb it down a little...only if they ask further questions do I go into detail...I sometimes just say Im spiritual cos I am and I cant be arsed explaining to some people who I know to be narrow minded...I dont feel the need to shout about it cos its only important to me

I'm open about it if anyone ask, but I don't broadcast it.
It's not really anything about me that would say that I'm pagan except my pentie nicely tucked beneath my shirt.
Therefore I don't really get asked a that often, but now for easter I got asked what I did to celebrate, and I just said that I wasn't christian, and that easter was for me more about celebrating the coming of spring and that the winter is over..
The winters back home can be pretty hard, at least up north where it's really cold and there is no sun for the entire winter, so this is really something to celebrate.
how better to celebrate than with a lot of chocolate?

I think it's very personal and not really anyone elses business, so I don't think it's anything I would want to tell anyone anyway unless it's close friends.

I'm open but don't broadcast it. Family accepted it years ago. Colleagues don't mind at all. Friends don't have a problem and a few have become sympathetic to some of the underlying ideas.

I have noticed that when anyone says they're religious these days, most folk almost flinch back a little. I don't think this is usually down to prejudice. More a kind of social awkwardness at not knowing quite what to say, and a bit of apprehension at the possibility of proselytising. It soon passes.

Don't think I've ever seen so many Pagans agree about anything before .

BB,

John Macintyre

I can't say that I'm out of the broom cupboard yet, but the door is open and several people have looked in...

Until I'm more comfortable with a few things (not that I'm uncomfortable - just not used to being this comfortable, if that makes any kind of sense) I'll keep things low key and not mention it in several circles, but I may begin to break them in gently (oo-er!) and wear my pentacle around the place a bit.

Since reading about the current legislation I have no worries about the work environment: so long as I'm not trying to convert people, there can't be any objections.

I am the same as saraguel, I am open but only friends and family know. It hasn't come up at work and I'm still learning (well everyone is) and am not good and explaining stuff to people who ask.

My doc knows though

If I was asked I would say I was pagan but not sure if I would say I was a Witch!

I would love to tell people at work that I am pagan but working in a Church of England school this is very hard. Many of them are christians and regulalry attend church and I don't know how they would take it.
I would love to ask my head if I could abstain from assemblies but not that confident!
Hopefully with time it may come out and I am worrying about nothing. Many of my colleagues use complimentary medicines so may be the response will not be as bad as I am imagining!

I'm semi-open. My friends know it but think of me as a witch. Some co-workers know and just tease me about it and I back. Threatend one wise arse that he may just wake up green the next day saying things like Ribit. The other one now says he's Pagan, because he isn't into christianity having been raised a Catholic. (come to think of it, this kind of things happens toCatholics a lot!)

I just basically explain that it's a belief that goes back to before Christianity and it makes more sense to me than any of the three main religions do. I have given them a historical perspective rather than a religious one. It seems to go down better. Even though most of my friends are not practicing Christians, some will still be very suspicious..

I don't really broadcast but then that's because I'm of the view that religion should only take place in private between consenting adults.

Me with the majority - the signs are all over the place for those who know. Anyone who asks directly will be told, otherwise I excuse us from xian festivals by saying we aren't xian (as the AM's surname is jewish, they assume we both are).

Funnily enough the most sympathetic discussion I have had recently was with a jehovah's witness who was working on the cottage and was delighted to find someone willing to discuss spirituality. He asked intelligent questions and invited us to come to their meetings, just as interested observers, which I thought was pretty nice of him.

And yes, I detest people who walk straight into your face with their religion, I think its mighty impolite and therefore won't do it myself. My first question isn't "What gods do you follow?" so it's not my first answer.

I'd never have known

Im Open to my belief but i usually don't talk about
it unless they ask. I have huge problems telling my family
since there all Christians and for some reason i have a huge
felling that there going to think that wicca is a Demonic religion ehhh

But im very proud of being wicca, and being part of such a great
message board filled with alot of smart and very nice people.

-W.S

(Alexander)

None of the above, I am open to my friends but only some of them. Kind of depends on who they are, what i tell them depends on what they ask me. actually quite a few work people know and everyone is suprising me by being supportive and interested. Not had any negative reactions...probably cos I choose carefully who I tell.

Totally open about my beliefs. I always have my penti on display and am more than happy to discuss my style of paganism.
I also take great pleasure in correcting people who ask if i'm a jew because of me wearing what they think is a star of david . Silly buggers who cannot count.

If people ask (which they hardly do), I'll tell them.
I were my pentacle (a friend's gift for my birthday) visible all the time, with only a few exceptions.
I even kept it on visiting the american bible belt two weeks ago. I only tucked under my shirt for passing immigration and security. Just to avoid possible hassle.

I was thinking some more about this yesterday for another reason entirely after a pm conversation with a friend on another site about pagan prison/hospital visitors. At my last place of work I was very open about being a pagan and sat on a small committee who were looking at the ACAS equality in religious thingy at work paper - not a problem, the hospital is the second largest employer in Birmingham apparently (might be the largest now Rover has folded), people wouldn't necessarily know me from the next long haired chick wearing black and an id badge.

Here at the secure unit we employ maybe 300 people at most. Most of these are nursing staff, and the vast majority of the nursing staff are Christians (note the capital C). A pagan colleague of mine, a care assistant, mentioned to me that they are very zealous about it too. In an environment where a patient who is seen to be "delusional" can be kept in detention until they are better, how do you define "delusional" so that it doesn't negatively impact on a patient who may be pagan or interested in the occult?

I'm not saying we've got any problems with that, I don't know if we even have any pagan patients here (I doubt it, to be honest), but it's something that should be considered I reckon. In the same vein I wouldn't want too many people who work here knowing what I believe in incase I start finding Christian literature in my pigeonhole or start getting evangelised to in the lunch room.

There was a point to this, I think I got a little lost - let me know if that didn't make much sense.

I forgot that I was going to a parent's evening tonight, and happily wore my pentacle all evening without realising or even thinking about it....No one commented, and if they had I would probably have said "I like stars" or something innocuous

A couple of people have carefully *not* commented on it - they've made a comment about another necklace I've worn at the same time instead - which I find mildly amusing.

Maybe I'll edge out of the broom cupboard eventually

Fairly open, I'll happily chat to anyone that asks, but tend to avoid giving myself lables. I bulsh very easily, even if someone strikes up a conversation with me on just about anything, so can you imagin what Im like if I have to talk about myself
The biggest boost to my confidence in being open is actally down to my mum, who dispite being christian, is very supportive. Beside which I can have an open, stimulating spiritual conversation with her. My mother in law ( JW) dosen't really know, but also respects that my belifes are differst from hers, and is always happy to exchange opinions.

I'm very open about my beliefs.
even clergymen/women cross the road from me!

is it cos i is evil? maybe they just think im a pagan like everybody else!
sigh their lack of understanding amuses me

I was thinking the same thing El yesterday actually. Imagine if you were mentally unwell I mean the more serious stuff and you do speak to your God and Goddess, see spirits/angels etc how is that going to go against you? A lot of the things we see, say and do could be miscontrued in certain situations if you had certain abilities etc. And would you lose that belief as you started to get better etc?

Well that seems a bit jumbled hope it makes sense.

Your post is very intersting solstice, but I will digress
I'm pretty open but only if it comes up. I dont walk down the street with my sandwich board painted in illumionus letters shouting yes I am Pagan. No one has ever batted an eyelid when its come up my one very christian friend we are talking extreme christain, she is still my friend and always will be my friend - she has promised to ask god to forgive me for my follies and assured me a place in heaven. I have just thanked her nicely for this!
My partner knows and he is very not pagan he just asks to know in advance when I want to a ritual so he can remove hinself from the house/garden.
The only weird thing I've ever had happen was when wearing a cross, a realy gorgeous antique garnet jobby, when I went to a moot. Some of the members who are all lovely clubbed together to buy me a pentagram, I didn't realise I was offending anyone, but wore my pentagram on every moot I went to instead. Thats pretty much the only weird thing thats ever come up for me myself in terms of my religion.

Till recently out there but taking a lower profile now as am working for a faith based organisation who do damned good work in fact - gotta pay the mortgage and feed the grandkids and anyway their god cant strike me dead I dont believe in him

Hi.
I´m as open as you could ever be.But of course I don´t introduce me as a heathen to everybody I meet,that would just be silly.
Since I live in a country where christianity is very weak,there is no harassment to fear.And people in general view religion as a private matter anyway,so nobody cares.Me and my friends hold blots openly here in the village,put up statues in the wood,and so far noone has commented on that.Nor tried to vandalise stuff,or intrude on blots.I have met a few heathens that have been rather shy about people knowing,but I think they exagerrate the "risks".Anyway,we don´t do anything illegal,so why should we fear anyway?Last time I visited Uppsala,we practicly had to form a cue to hold a blot,because all heathens that chosed to go there for a private blot.And this was an ordinary saturday,when the area was full of tourists.But at least they got something extra to take a pic of if they wished,all for free.And that pretty much sums up how it is around here,noone care much if you´re a pagan or heathen,and what you do is your own business.
Äring och fred.
Tjelvar

Open, but I don't broadcast it... If people ask what I believe in I will tell them, but I'm usually not the one to start on the subject.

I am open and have talked with people before about some of my beliefs, but I haven't used the word "pagan" either, mostly because I don't ahve a clear definition of what "pagan" means yet. Terms like "Christian", "Muslim", "Hindu", "Wiccan", etc denote something about core beliefs. The term "Pagan", at least in my understanding, doesn't seem to. It seems to be a catch-all bin of lots of other things... So while I will say that I am a deist, and that I am "no longer Christian", I don't really use a general label for my beliefs. Maybe as they evolve and I know more exactly where my beliefs do fit, I will find a meaningful term - maybe I never will.

This brings a question - those of you who use the term pagan, do you run into problems where you tell someone you are pagan and they suddenly assume you hold a whole bunch of beliefs that you don't???

Wondering,
Seeker

I make it quite clear that Pagan does not automatically equate Wiccan.

Its been known and clear for many years amongst my nearest and not necessarily dearest that I don't subscribe to a large number of things, including christianity. Some of them accept it, some of them don't understand. The specifics, I don't shove them in peoples faces, but I'll discuss my ideas and beliefs. I'm still forumalting some of them anyway. I won't lie about who I am or what I believe in though, if someone sees a book or an image or an object in my home and they ask me about it, I'm not going to pretend its just a little decorative object from the nice hippy shop down the road or whatever. I'll also challenge preconceptions about paganism as much as I can.

I realise I'm fortunate in that I live in a place and environment where I'm not going to automatically get given a hard time over my beliefs.

At the moment, I'm just hoping no one asks until I'm sufficiently comfortable with admitting it even to myself that I can actually answer them reasonably.

I've spent the past six or so years largely convinced that I'm crazy because of my beliefs. It's not as though I've ever stopped believing them, as after realizing when I was 14 or so what, in general, I think is going on, I couldn't possibly have done so. In fact, I've continued to refine my beliefs and ideas even during the period of time when I was denying them to myself. Odd, the way it's worked-- I told myself and told myself from 18 to 23 that I was 100% Pure USDA-Certified Agnostic, because it seemed not only arrogant but foolhardy to be certain of anything at all on that level. Nonetheless, that never stopped me from turning to Reality in particularly desperate times for intercession or guidance, Four Elements and stones and candles and all. At about the time I met my current boyfriend (early 2003), I'd come to realize that my beliefs weren't something I could change or deny, and all I could really hope to do was accept them and decide I was not, in fact, crazy for having a spiritual system to begin with. (This is a double-standard of mine-- I've never considered anyone else crazy for their beliefs, but I was worried that mine were. I <i>loved</i> talking to people who believed essentially the same things, and didn't think they were odd at all. Just me. Not sure why.) Fortunately, my boyfriend and I have a fairly similar set of beliefs, and I can talk to him about what I think and get different perspectives as well as reassurances that I am in fact not an utter nutball. I suppose one could say I'm "out" to him and one other friend, and an ex-friend who was my Evil Twin (long story). But I fear to really discuss it with most people. I don't so much hide my beliefs as the fact that said beliefs fit into a category-- I'll talk at length with friends about Weird occurrences and my theories and whatnot, but honestly, I've only admitted even to myself that I fit quite comfortably into the category of Pagan very recently. It may be that the Four Elements candleholder series I'm making for myself will induce some people to ask. We shall see. And we shall see what I say if they do, but I suspect I'll tell them the truth-- I'm too compulsively honest for even much evasion, let alone outright lies.

So essentially I'm trying to reconcile myself, right now, with coming out of the proverbial Broom Closet even so far as I myself am concerned. As I said in my Introduction post, I was quite comfortable with this from 14 or so to 17 or so, but things went awry for a while after that. But I can't deny that magic, as it's called, is a part of my life, and I'm really tired of trying to deny my beliefs to myself. It gets messy when you light candles and call on Reality to help protect you from a stalker one night and have to be an atheist the next day to your friends and your boyfriend. I suppose my position could be described as re-entering the broom closet from a little secret room behind it where I've been hiding for the last few years. I'm moving back to the town in which most of my friends live next week, so I'll be very interested to see if I do become more open. Fortunately, I have odd friends, and since they're used to my strange beliefs anyway, I doubt they'd be overly concerned if I told them a little more. Once I figure out how to phrase it myself, of course.