Taking the Flight Out of the Broom Closet

By Theodora Pendragon

Some say there is no such thing as witches, but there used to be. Weren't they all eliminated during the Burning Times? Not a chance! Every day witches emerge from the shadows of secrecy. Broom closets are flinging open and witches are taking the flight. Coming out of the broom closet is a tender journey. TAKING THE FLIGHT is brewing with suggestions, strategies, and stories about real witches who have stirred the pot of ignorance and resistance. After all, there has never been a better time to be a witch! Now is our time to shine!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Brock Haus Press
• Release date: Jul 10, 2022
• ISBN: 9798201461508

Book preview

MERRY MEET

I LIVE IN A MYSTERIOUS world, personally and professionally. As a Licensed Professional Counselor, my profession is intentionally mysterious. Secrets are shared and sealed within the walls of my office. I’m the paid friend who experiences incredible moments with my patients. My personal world is mysteriously incredible, too. It is filled with magick and magickal people. We choose our syncretic spiritual practices and rituals independently to fit our individual needs, often referred to as alternative spirituality because our practices don’t fit into conventional institutional religions.

Because of the nature of my profession, my personal and professional worlds don’t intermingle. I do not share personal information with my patients unless I feel it will benefit them therapeutically because therapy is about them and not me.

Occasionally, when therapy shoppers call inquiring about my services, they ask if I am a Christian counselor. I simply explain that I see people of all faiths (or no faith) because I do not discriminate. If they are adamant about a good fit with a Christian counselor, I refer them to one of my colleagues, the ones with Christian Counselor plastered on their website, business card, and signage.

A few of my Christian colleagues have admitted to me they advertise themselves as Christian to attract more business. Well, promoting themselves as such, they are turning away potential clients who are relieved to hear that I am not a Christian: Oh good! I don’t want someone who will judge me because [fill in the blank].

Sometimes I imagine what it would be like to be public about my faith, professionally. I could blast it out there on my website, I am a woo-woo witch counselor! But if I did that, I would probably have to take down my shingle. Even though I don’t make a public announcement, occasionally, the subject of religion comes up in therapy. Naturally, my patients are sometimes curious about my personal life and ask questions. I don’t hide it when they ask about my faith; I answer them truthfully. It is usually well-received when they are familiar with the religion or curious and want to know more. One of my lovely Christian patients even gifted me a t-shirt that says, Not all Witches live in Salem. And another sincerely asked me how I plan to celebrate the upcoming Sabbats. I have only experienced one adverse reaction, and that person ceased therapy with me, even after clarifying that I worship nothing demonic. But that’s okay.

Since I am gay friendly, I attract gay clients and their family members. Sometimes their family issues are about coming out of the closet. I am there to help my patient deliver that message in the safety of my office when they can’t do it on their own.

Being in the closet has always meant something hidden away from the world. Many of us are familiar with the idiomatic expression skeletons in the closet. This phrase was first used in 19th century England. The closet was the water closet or the outside enclosure that housed the toilet. The skeleton, the symbol of grief and mourning, is something scandalous or shameful that we are hiding. The skeleton is most commonly information about a person’s past that can cause embarrassment if exposed. It’s dreadful, but the reality is that we all have skeletons we would like to keep in the closet. My grandmother was the first person to introduce me to this idiom. She enjoyed exposing everyone’s skeletons to me. Your Aunt Dorothy’s husband doesn’t know that she was married before. And then there was, Your Aunt Clara had an illegitimate child she gave away.

When people come out of the closet, it means something completely different. It’s not about scandalous information coming out. It’s a person tired of hiding their authenticity and wanting to be free of that burden. But it’s not as simple as opening the door and stepping out. It’s a process.

Broom closet is the term used by those who haven’t revealed their religion, spirituality, or lifestyle to others. Those who hide in the broom closet live a lifestyle that is mysterious. Their beliefs and practices are often called the occult, which simply means hidden. However, everyone has a different idea of what the word means. It represents a fascinating sphere of paranormal activity, mystery, and magick to some. To others, it implies sorcery and communicating with demons. But very few people call themselves occultists. Those who delve into the occult choose whatever label they want for themselves. That’s the beauty of our spiritual paths. As a diverse group, we have many labels: Astrologer, Fortune Teller, Spiritualist, Psychic, Witch, Pagan, to name a few.

The words Pagan and witch started as historical slurs but have since been revived and reclaimed by those holding these labels proudly. Although there are still people today who believe the occult is sorcery and communicating with demons, and they campaign against occult practices. This ignorance invites misunderstanding, fear, complacency, and deception. It is for this reason many fear coming out of the broom closet.

However, labels are only labels. Spirituality is much more profound and is very personal. Believe in whatever you want. Wear whatever label you want. Witch? Pagan?

But there has never been a better time to identify as a witch. Many courageous witches have emerged in the past century to stir the pot of ignorance and resistance. It always starts with those few brave souls. You will meet some of them in the following chapters. We thank them for they are our heroes, mentors, and role models.

Are you ready to come out of the broom closet? This may not be a yes or no answer. Just as your spirituality is very personal, so is your choice about taking the flight.

GRAB YOUR BROOM

EVERY WITCH REMEMBERS the beginnings of their magickal journey. For me, it was my fascination with the lovely Samantha Stephens, the witch in the American sitcom television series Bewitched from the 1960s. I wanted to grow up to be just like her. When I told my mother that I wanted to be a witch, she smirked and said that witches were only on television; they weren’t real.

Well, witches aren’t only on television. We are real, and we are everywhere! As a diverse group, we follow various crafts, philosophies, practices, and some of us consider our Craft a religion. We are schoolteachers, doctors, lawyers, judges, and your neighbors. Witches are hidden in plain sight.

Through my years traveling around the sun, I have met many witches. The older I get, the more I meet. While writing this book, I decided to find out if there is a census of how many witches are among us. Finding the data is difficult because we are anything but a homogenous group. The information is sparse and comes from many sources. I found that the practice of witchcraft, and the number of people who identify as witches, have seen significant growth in recent decades. Just in the United States alone, there has been a considerable increase: An estimated 1 to 1.5 million people say they practice Wicca or Neo-Paganism.

To clarify, the term Paganism functions much like the term Christianity. Under the umbrella of Christianity and its various denominations and sects, one finds highly variable beliefs and practices that are all united by a small set of core, universal beliefs. The same is true for Paganism. Even though the reaches of Paganism are vast and diverse, each sect respectfully celebrates such diversity, and all identify as a larger community as well as individual branches.

There were an estimated 8,000 Wiccans in 1990 and 340,000 in 2008. Those who practice Wicca refer to themselves as witches. But not all witches identify with the Wiccan or Pagan label, meaning that the number of self-identified witches is likely much higher than reported. The United Kingdom has also seen an increase. According to a UK government census in 2011, there were 12,000, and in 2019 that number increased to as many as 70,000 people who practice magick. If the witch population in the US and the UK has grown, it must be true worldwide.

While writing this book and searching for statistics, a friend sent me a link to the website Witch With Me. They conducted the 2020 Witch Census. This census reached 16,317 witches from 74 countries who participated. Unfortunately, I missed out, but I plan to participate in the future. If you would like to participate in their next census, find their website, Witch With Me. They also have a Facebook group, Witch With Me Community. Let’s stay tuned to watch the numbers grow each year.

Witchcraft has become increasingly popular and mainstream on various social media platforms featuring people sharing their experiences as witches. For example, the hashtag #WitchesofInstagram has been used nearly two million times. A popular hashtag on TikTok is #witchcraftthings, with over 39 million views. All these social media entertainers are sharing their magick. YouTube offers a host of videos about witches and witchcraft. And then there are numerous people worldwide looking for friends and support in Facebook witch groups. The searches and views on these platforms continue to increase, as does the interest in witchcraft.

Even with the increased interest in witchcraft, there are still many witches hiding in the broom closet. Coming out of the broom closet is a very personal decision. I am not suggesting it’s the right decision for everyone. We are all very different and have different circumstances. Whether you have slowly tiptoed out of the closet or are not quite ready to take that flight, this book contains steps and strategies on how to let out the person you really are, instead of the person others think you are or the person you think you should be.

What does it mean to really be yourself in a world that continuously tries to get you to fit the status quo? How do you break the mold when your culture resists change and creativity? Taking the flight to live your true authentic life takes courage.

Authenticity by definition: to be true to one’s own personality, spirit, or character (Merriam Webster), in essence, to be in tune with who you truly are at your core. If authenticity requires us to align with our true identity, then to get there, we must tap into knowing who we really are, getting in touch with our creativity, talent, desire, passion, and preference.

Just like many witches, I, too, have tried to hold back my authenticity at times. My voice and the gifts that are uniquely mine have been seen as strange and not often embraced by those around me. In some instances, I did hide them away to do what I thought needed to be done to be accepted or fit in. But there comes the point in one’s journey where, I believe, we spend too much energy hiding our authenticity. Opening that closet door can be freeing, even if it costs us family, friends, jobs, or what seems like a normal life. Wouldn’t it be nice if that never had to happen, though?

When we, as witches, find the courage to express our authenticity instead of striving to fit in, the culture will begin to change. What purpose do we even have if not to express and explore our true essence? We cannot evolve if we continue to suppress our truth.

"Snowflakes are a fragile thing individually,

but look at what they can do when they stick together."

~ Fernando Bonaventura ~

Each snowflake is delicate and unique. Yet, when they come together, they have the power to create a winter wonderland of adventure. Think of the solitary witch as a delicate snowflake, but as a group, we have a chance to emerge with greater acceptance. When we express ourselves freely and honestly, the outside world will change as a result. Now is our time to shine!

ELIMINATION OF WITCHES

IT’S CUTE WHEN A CHILD believes in the Easter bunny but imagine if an adult told you they expected the Easter bunny to bring them colored eggs and chocolates. You’d probably think they were joking or delusional. When someone tells me they believe in the devil, I have a hard time taking them seriously for believing in such a mythical creature. To me, that’s no different than the Easter bunny, the tooth fairy, or Santa Claus.

My first introduction to the whole concept of the devil was on our ‘black and white’ television. While watching a comedy skit, my dad laughed out loud, and I laughed along with him, even though I didn’t understand what was so funny about that devil character. I was laughing at the silly black man dressed in women’s clothing. Flip Wilson, the comedian, played as Geraldine Jones, blamed the devil for all her poor choices. If she bought an expensive dress, it was because the devil made me do it. I became so enthralled with Flip Wilson, and his alter ego Geraldine that I asked Santa Claus to bring me a Flip Wilson two-sided talking doll for Christmas. That year, I must have been a good girl because Santa did not fail me. One side of the doll was Flip Wilson, and the other side was Geraldine. A pull-string on the doll talked for both Flip and Geraldine. I repeatedly pulled that string to hear those funny words, the devil made me do it, until that doll couldn’t talk anymore.

I laughed every time I heard that silly excuse, The devil made me do it. I also laughed when that pesky little devil showed up on the shoulders of my cartoon characters, acting as a counterweight to the angel that appeared on the other shoulder. As a six-year-old, I didn’t believe that devil character was a real thing. But I was amazed when people told me they believed in the devil’s existence. To them, he wasn’t like Flip Wilson’s act or that red horned cartoon holding a pitchfork, but an evil force, also known as Satan, who lived in a fiery underworld of hell where wrongdoers could spend eternity wishing they hadn’t stolen that lollypop when they were just nine years old.

Mr. Satan, the devil, is almost always synonymous with the archetype created by the Abrahamic religions, the big three monotheistic (one God) religions: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Throughout history, enemies could be said to be in league with this evil force, as well as those who went against the state or its prescribed religion. Satan usually influenced the opposing side. That is precisely what happened when the Romans spread their interpretation of Christianity. To eliminate the old spiritual practices, the threat of Satan was a scare tactic to keep people in line, very much like Krampus, the evil counterpart to Santa Claus, who stuffed naughty children in a sack and hauled them away.

Eventually, children grow up and outgrow their childhood beliefs in Santa Claus and the legendary Krampus beast, realizing these are only folklores. But Satan is a fearful entity that has stuck around for many centuries, and many people still believe in the power of this character today.

We will take a glimpse back in time to understand how the threat of Satan was the catalyst to Christianity becoming the dominant religion and outlawing the ancient beliefs of everyday life. During the first century AD, after the death of Jesus, life for anyone who refused to convert to Christianity became very difficult. Those who practiced their old traditions were seen as twisted and demonic. Christianity was their only option. However, Pagans continued to practice their Craft, their magick and worshipped their Gods and Goddesses secretly. Magick involved spells sometimes mixed with Christian religious elements, such as saying the Lord’s Prayer while concocting a potion. They outwardly wore the Christian mask, but they continued their traditions behind closed doors.

The old spiritual practices are often referred to as Paganism. Pagan comes from the Latin term Paganus; its translation means people who live in the country. The term Heathen means one who dwells on the heath. The names were appropriate at the time, but eventually, Heathen and Pagan became derogatory terms, implying inferiority. Practicing the old religion became collectively known as witchcraft, and anyone practicing their traditions was a witch.

Since people did not have free will to follow their preferred spiritual paths, significant players made it their mission to control and convert outliers. The process of convincing people to convert to Christianity involved indoctrination, propaganda, and conspiracy theories. In other words, the masses were blinded by lies. All those who deviated from the Church’s orthodoxy in any way became labeled as heretics, the enemy in league with Satan.

In the fifth century AD, St. Augustine of Hippo (354 – 430), the influential Christian theologian, philosopher, and bishop, claimed that Satan influenced all Pagan magick and religion to lure humanity away from Christianity. He believed Satan had a lot of power, and anyone who did not follow the Christian truth was evil. But St. Augustine could not keep his story straight. He talked up Satan’s power but then contradicted himself by arguing that neither Satan nor witches could have any supernatural powers, nor were they capable of invoking magick of any sort. Yet, the Church still made its mission tracking down witches and investigating allegations of witchcraft. The early medieval Church accepted this view for several centuries.

During the seventh through ninth centuries, the Church influenced civil law and created anti-witch laws. Practicing the old religion was a crime against society, considered heresy, and a crime against God. It was maleficium, the Latin word which initially meant wrongdoing came to mean malevolent magick presumed to be associated with the devil. Propaganda stereotyped the human being who was a witch. The witch was usually a woman but sometimes a man, or even a child, bound to the devil. The witch was the devil’s assistant. They were accused of cannibalistic killing of babies to gain supernatural powers. Witches could also fly on broomsticks, and they owned cats. Cats were believed to be demons the devil gave to witches to act as advisors and messengers for their sorcery. Witches were considered shapeshifters and caused all evil in the world. They had this kind of power because they had made a pact with Satan. Practicing any sort of witchcraft was a crime. It was not just an ordinary crime but the most notorious of all crimes because it worked against God and all who worshiped God. This stereotype of witches encouraged a growing acceptance of misconceptions resulting in bigotry and intolerance. Conspiracy theories were mainstream. Pagan traditions of rural life and beliefs passed down within families were targeted as witchcraft. The witch craze involved the destruction of a culture that had endured for thousands of years.

About 1230 AD, the Inquisition began when the Catholic Church sought to punish heretics and forced them to change their beliefs. Anyone who criticized the Church or held different views was charged with heresy and executed as a criminal; 85% of those executed for the crime of witchcraft were women. Around this time, Pope Gregory IX (1170-1241) was assigned to carry out inquisitions to trained individuals from the Dominican Order. The Inquisitors acted in the Pope’s name to use inquisitorial procedures with his full authority to use torture. Pope Innocent IV (1195-1254) authorized the use of torture in 1252. Eventually, the secular (non-religious) courts and all Christian churches were involved in the persecution of witches.

In 1484, Pope Innocent VIII (1432-1492) wrote a Bull, an official letter, stating that all those who did not follow Christianity’s teachings were practicing witches. Practicing witches included wise men and women who preserved the old Pagan practices and folk beliefs. Some were accused of being witches simply because they kept cats. Pope Innocent VIII claimed that the clergy were not taking the threat of witchcraft seriously. Word of mouth did not travel fast enough, and the Pope needed a vehicle to spread the falsehoods. So he asked two inquisitors who were monks of the Catholic Church to publish a full report on the suspected witchcraft. This paved the way for Heinrich Institoris Kramer and Jakob Sprenger to publish the Malleus Maleficarum, translated as The Witch Hammer. Thanks to the invention of the printing press in the middle of the fifteenth century, it was one of the first books of mass distribution. This enormously influential book spread rapidly throughout Europe and singled out women as the primary source of witchcraft. Kramer and Sprenger used the Pope’s Bull as the introduction to their book. This orthodoxy held that Christians were obligated to hunt and kill all witches. The Malleus Maleficarum was published thirteen times between 1487 and 1520 and thirteen more times between 1574 and 1669. This book sold more copies than any other book except the Bible until 1678.

The Malleus Maleficarum is divided into three parts. The book’s first part explains how dangerous witches are and that not believing that witchcraft exists is heresy. It describes the many ways for a witch hunter to identify a suspect as a witch. The second part of the book lists the different types of witches and their evil doings. They describe how witches can fly and engage in sexual relations with the devil. In the book’s third part, the monks demonstrate how to legally convict a person practicing witchcraft. It gives instructions on how to test and torture a witch to confess.

Kramer and Sprenger justified their tactics because they thought it necessary to vigorously persecute witches to protect the innocent from the devil’s dangers. Pope Innocent’s Bull and the Malleus Maleficarum led to the deaths of many people in Europe. It was the age of superstition, so no one doubted the existence of witches.

Why were the Inquisitors so passionate about hunting down witches? What was in it for them? Was it really about following the Bible? Christianity? The Inquisitors were motivated by money. It was all about the money! Witch-hunts were a profitable business. There was a charge for every step of the witch-hunt ending in execution. There was a fee for finding the witch. There was a fee for escorting her. There was a fee for locking her up and guarding her. There was a fee for someone to bring her meals. There was a fee for someone to keep the books of all these charges. Every step generated costs, which had to be paid by somebody. If the witch owned property, they seized her assets. She had to pay for her capture, imprisonment, torture, and execution. The witch craze provided fantastic employment opportunities for many people (men): attorneys, judges, and people who sat on the tribunals. Anyone could be accused. Even neighbors accused one another. The witch craze reached a social panic and resulted in massive executions.

The executions mainly happened in rural towns, in the town square. The witch was brought out and stripped of her clothing. Witches were thought to cast spells in their clothes, and the accusers weren’t taking any chances. The hair on the witch’s head and her pubic hair were shaved because it was thought to hold a lot of power. The Malleus Maleficarum was given to the interrogators to refer to the questions to pose to the accused. Torture methods used to extract confessions were also outlined in the book. Some forms of torture were starving the witch and keeping her from sleep for around 40 hours while being interrogated. Witches were pressured to admit their identity as a servant to Satan. Water torture was a well-known method in which the accused was bound and submerged in water. If the accused floated, she was guilty. And if the accused went underwater, she was declared innocent. Most drowned as a result.

The accused were tortured three times. The first time, the accused usually did not confess. The second torture they usually admitted because the agony was unbearable. The third level of suffering ~ where we get the term the third-degree ~ everyone would confess. During the torment, the accused were asked about other witches. Many reported their neighbors of practicing witchcraft just to stop the torture.

Anyone could be accused of being a witch, especially women because they were irrational and driven by their passions. Common traits that could describe any one of us were characteristic of witchery:

Lived alone, unmarried or widowed

Very old

Owned a cat, ferret, or toad

Talked too much

Talked to herself

Argumentative, outspoken, or strong-willed

Promiscuous or immoral behavior

Absent from church

Went out after dark

In a property dispute with someone

Had an odd physical appearance

Uttered curses against people

Women were singled out mainly because of their sinful sexuality; therefore, they were evil and dangerous. Everything harmful and malicious came from the devil. And the devil was the opposite of God.

However, not everyone believed the witch hype. In 1584, Reginald Scot (1538-1599), a member of the English Parliament, published The Discoverie of Witchcraft. He tried to prove that witches did not exist. Scot believed that the prosecution of those accused of witchcraft was irrational and un-Christian, and he held the Roman Church responsible. This publication highlighted issues of proof and evidence regarding the existence of witches. It exposed the irrational beliefs that led to prosecutions, tortures, and deaths. Scot stated that it was impossible that God would allow witches to have so much power. He also argued that the accused were innocent victims of malicious accusations. All available copies of The Discoverie of Witchcraft were burned on the accession of King James I of