I did it ! I told my JW mother that I am pagan !

by Sirona 31 Replies latest jw friends

• 

  Sirona

  Yes, I did it.

  After the thread in which I asked how I could possibly tell my JW mum that I'm pagan....I decided to take the bull by the horns and tell her.

  Her reaction made me wonder if she reads this board.

  Firstly, to "ease" her in, I mentioned that I'm doing a course in Reiki. Reiki is a complimentary therapy - basically hands on healing. Well, she said she knew a little about Reiki and thought it was a good idea. She said she believes that we have auras and energy centres (chakras) in our bodies. She even agreed to let me practice Reiki on her.

  After this good reaction I mentioned the group I go to and how I believe that we can learn a lot from nature and that I observe the seasons (seasonal festivals). She agreed that we should be more in touch with nature. Then I mentioned animal totems and that we can get messages from animals - again she agreed. Then we got onto the influence of spirit guides and the only JWish thing she said was that we have to be careful we are not dealing with demons who are pretending to be good angels.

  Overall, it was a great conversation, but its left me confused. I've been wondering if she purely played along and agreed with me for the sake of our relationship. Then again, she doesn't have a problem with me doing Reiki on her which I would imagine she'd refuse if she thought such things were demonic.

  Anyway, thanks to everyone for your advice. I didn't mention "witch" or "pagan" as such, but basically she knows now what my beliefs are and it feels good to be out in the open.

  Sirona
• 

  SM62

  Sirona,

  This is really interesting. I have been looking at many different things lately, and Wicca is one of them. The idea of learning from nature has always appealed to me, although I don't know an awful lot about it yet. I almost bought a book about Wicca the other day, but I know if my husband saw it he wouldn't be pleased. I was thinking of maybe saying I bought it simply for research purposes. It is annoying to be in a situation where I have so many questions but I can't do anything about them without causing problmes. Everything I do outside of the 'normal' JW life has to be done secretly - it's a real pain.

  Terri
• 

  Fe2O3Girl

  I am glad to hear that you had a positive response with your mum. You went about sharing your feelings with her very tactfully and thoughtfully. Nicely done.

  Rach xx
• 

  Sirona

  Terri,

  Sounds like you are in a very difficult situation. My JW marriage fell apart after I decided to stop attending. One of the biggest mistakes I made was to imagine that he could handle the information about the JWs - I bombarded him with evidence against the Watchtower. He ended up leaving JWs too - and me! I don't know much about your situation but all I can say is take it slowly when you are expressing your doubts.

  I'm glad you are interested in wicca - its a beautiful way of life. I'd recommend Scott Cunningham's "Wicca - a guide for the solitary practitioner" because its a lovely introductory book giving details of the main beliefs of Wicca and how it can be integrated into your life when you are not part of a group.

  If you have any questions about the religion or other books etc. just PM me,

  Sirona
• 

  Satans little helper

  well done, you must feel really relieved

  I'm glad she wasn't judgemental
• 

  smurfette

  I think you handled the situation really well. I thought it was nice that you broke the news to her gently rather than just throwing the news at her which would have allienated her for sure.

  I found it interesting that your mother believes in Chakras as my JW mom does too, but she calls it "body energy". I think she thinks it sounds less demonized that way. She's also really into holistic and homeopathic medicine. Oddly my mom went from Wicca to JW the opposite of you!

  - Margy
• 

  Sirona

  Smurfette,

  Wicca to JW? Wow. This reminds me of a couple of Born Again Christians I know who were once Wicca / Pagan.

  How long was she Wiccan? I ask because I know that some people become Wiccan and then allow themselves to be scared away, and usually they then seek "shelter" in a Christian religion. Wicca involves facing some deep and scary stuff once you truly take it seriously and this is sometimes interpreted in the wrong way by those who are not truly disposed to be in the religion. The scary stuff is really just facing things about yourself.

  Your mum likely believes in body energy because she's seen it and experienced it and probably finds it difficult to chalk it up to "demons".

  Similarly, my mum has always had psychic ability and I don't think she can deny that some things exist and they're not all "demons".

  Sirona
• 

  neverthere

  Congratulations for making a good transition out of the broom closet!

  Diana (A fellow Witch!)
• 

  Sirona

  Thanks Rach and SLH,

  I'm just glad it went OK. I hope this is a sign of things to come...

  Sirona
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  smurfette

  You hit that nail on the head Sirona!

  My mom was Catholic, then got involved in Wicca and I think she was more about casting spells and quick results than the actual self introspection, meditation, and discipline involved with the real thing. Then she bought a copy of The Satanic Bible. I think she just went way too far overboard especially (and obviously) when she made the leap from Wicca to borderline Satanism. She and actually the whole family were pretty scared towards the end of her dabbling with the occult phase. (more scared of her than the occult, though) The JW's were completely totally the opposite of her previous way of approaching religion and I think it seemed safe to her. Also she was/is totally into yelling "Jehovah" whenever she was/is experiencing a "demon" attack. She definitely still knows there's more to chakras than just "body energy" but I don't know if she'll ever be ready to admit to herself what she already knows again.

  -Margy