Wiccans Come Out of the Broom Closet

In this age of heightened religiosity, I found this article about Wiccans in the New York Times very interesting and timely. I have always thought of Wicca as a back to nature type of belief but the general press on it has always been more radicalized, extreme and in many cases false perceptions. Movies like Rosemary's Baby are probably contributing to that perception. Perhaps the Broom Closet is another closet we need to open.

Here is an excerpt. To read the full article go to The New York Times archives.

Wiccans Keep the Faith With a Religion Under Wraps

By NEELA BANERJEE

DUMFRIES, Va. — Above the woman’s fireplace hangs her wedding picture, taken in a Lutheran church years ago. Below it, on the mantelpiece, is a small Wiccan altar: two candles, a tiny cauldron, four stones to represent the elements of nature and a small amethyst representing her spirit. The wedding portrait is always there. But whenever someone comes to visit, the woman sweeps the altar away. Raised Southern Baptist in Virginia and now a stay-at-home mother of two in this Washington suburb, she has told almost no one — not her relatives, her friends or the other mothers in her children’s playgroups — that she is Wiccan.

She worries that because most people know little about Wicca, they will assume she worships Satan. She fears that her family and friends will abandon her and that the community will ostracize her.

Wiccans worship the divine in nature. Many Wiccans practice some form of magic or witchcraft, which they say is a way of affecting one’s destiny, but which many outsiders see as evil. The Wiccan pentacle, a five-pointed star inside a circle, is often confused with symbols of Satanism. (The five points of the star represent the elements of nature — earth, air, fire and water — and the spirit, within the eternal circle of life.)