This is a big question. How to tell your family you are a Witch. Coming out of any closet even the “Broom Closet” on something that is controversial or socially unacceptable especially when it comes to your family can be difficult. The biggest question I have is why tell them anything? Are you sure you want to carry that label? Identifying as a Witch can be about finding a label to fit into. I do it, you do it, they do it, we all do it.

It helps to understand why people use labels. We use labels to give brief descriptions of something. It is easier to say, check out my new “car” than it is to give the complete description. It’s confusing and long winded to say “Hey,  come check out my new thing that I sit behind the wheel and step on the gas pedal to make it move after I turn the key and I can go places” than it does to use the word “Car”. So, to sum it up, we have common terms that many people should obviously know the description of. Rocket Scientist, Doctor, Attorney, Police Officer, Christian, Buddhist, girl, boy, friend, just to name a few. 

The biggest problem we have as human beings is our labels. Unless the person or people with whom you are using the term has the same understanding as you, they may not really understand what you mean or they may not have the same understanding as you intend. This can cause a lot of misunderstanding and a whole lot of grief.

If you are new to witchcraft, I would recommend not telling them until you are sure you know what it means to be a Witch and feel secure in claiming that label and can describe it accurately as you mean it. If you have been a Witch for a long time and you are sick of pretending you are something else and you feel it would be in your best interest to tell your family and you are prepared to answer any questions, then it may be a good time to tell them. It is also necessary to keep in mind that you will have to face the results of preconceived misconceptions of what it means to you when you call yourself “a Witch” such as being called a Devil Worshiper and the fears they may have of being Hexed. Then yes, you may want to consider when, how, and why you want to tell them.

All my life, I had felt out of place with my crazy arsed family. I had deep feelings of compassion and empathy for other human beings and my family doesn’t. I have always had deep “spiritual” beliefs since I can remember, my family’s ideas of spirituality are very different. I have never felt like I belonged in my family. There are many things that make me different from them. I didn’t come from a family that loved me or was even kind to me in the first place.

When I discovered Wicca, I felt like I might have found the religion, beliefs, and practices that are the closest to what I already believe and do than any other theological philosophy I had yet to find. I was excited and I told everyone I knew that I was studying Wicca and was a Witch. I ended up fired from my job, called crazy and among other things when I realized why it may be best to keep it a secret. Against my wishes, my newlywed husband (now Ex number 2) told all my neighbors I was a Witch.

I found myself in a long 3 week battle with all my surrounding neighbors who wanted me out of their neighborhood. From harassment using the police, the frivolous complaints to the Land Lord, right down to ending with a group of neighbors at my front door to demand I leave the neighborhood. My Ex made them afraid of me by perpetuating misconceptions. It had to be handled with tender loving care and a warrior’s attitude.

It caused me a lot of unnecessary grief. Every time I professed to be a Witch, I was not met with the same enthusiasm that I felt. Many people have a different understanding than the actual Witch has about her craft. We know that we have the power to do both good and evil and we develop the understanding and self-discipline to manage that power of knowledge. That is similar to the story of Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden when they ate the fruit of knowledge only many witches don’t really believe that knowledge is a sin. We don’t deny or relinquish our gift of “Free Will”.

As we develop as a Witch, we reclaim our personal power that in most cases was taken from us through our childhood lessons. To become a Witch means that we have taken responsibility for our own lives and choices. Witches are on the road of personal growth through healing the wounds that are caused by living in this physical world. It is common for Witches to use herbs, Tarot Cards, oils, and incense to help us on our quest to improve our lives. Learning the true meaning of what we can change and what we must accept as a fixed obstacle simply means we need to work around them. We develop an understanding that our limitations are self-imposed and we can do anything we desire. We simply have to learn how to move around and beyond the obstacles that get in our way. We have the power to achieve and often it is called manifesting.

We discover on our long life’s journey that sometimes what we “think we want” is not always what we “truly desire”. We eventually come to realize that with all that we may know, we don’t really know much at all and we continue to learn and grow as human beings until our last breath has been taken.

Before you tell your family that you are a Witch, it would be good to give them the description of what it means to you when you call yourself a Witch. Start with “I think”, “I feel”, and “I believe”.  Finish with “…and this is why I am a Witch”. This process may take months or even years or it may only take days. It all depends on you and how much you have discovered about yourself as a Witch. It will take just as much for your family to understand what you mean when you identify with the Label Of Witch. I recommend before you tell your family you are a Witch that you firmly establish what you mean for those you wish to tell.

May your path always be blessed,

Summer Song