Almost coming out and loosing my friend

[Emaleth]

I had an experience which I need to share with people who understand.

The story is simple: my friend saw my pentacle. She's very religious, of course Christian, so when she saw it she started panicking: My God, you're wearing some strange symbol, you're wearing a pentagram, I don't want to know you!" I don't have to tell you how surprised I was at her reaction. I expected something like that, but not to such an extent. I couldn't explain anything to her, she said she's going to tell everything to her husband, who's my friend too. I told her I wear it for protection and she said this is not gonna protect me. I was very upset and tried to talk reasonably to her. I said: "yes, this symbol is used by the satanists, but so is a reversed (I'm not sure about the word) cross. Do you consider a cross to be evil, too?" She said that yes, she thinks that reversed cross is evil. So I said to her that my pentacle isn't reversed. She was like: "Yeah, how can you tell it?" And I showed her how a reversed pentacle looks like a devil's head and an upright like a human. She said: "oh, yeah, it looks like something from Leonardo Da Vinci painting." She seemed to calm down a bit and we didn't talk about it anymore, everything seemed OK.

I still don't know though if she's going to tell everything to her husband and whether I will have to explain myself to him.

This whole business upset me extremely. I really wanted to tell everything to my friends and now I can imagine what their reaction would be like. Fear and disgust:( . I don't think they would understand my choice, not to mention supporting it. I don't want to loose them and coming out would most likely involve it. I don't know what to do anymore:( . What do you think I should do in this situation?

Blessed Be

[Faery-Wings]

I have a friend who I have to hide my faith from in the same way. She isn't religious, but she doesn't like people or things that are all that different. I would hope that you friend, now that she has gotten over the initial shock/conftrontation part of it, will let it go. I don't know how long you have been friends but hopefully she will keep in mind your history together and realize that this *doesn't* make you a bad person, or in fact, any different than before she knew.


If you are forced to come out, do you have Cunninham's booklet, The Truth about Witchcraft today? That might be a helpful read for her.

Good luck, and BB

[materra]

(((Emaleth))) I am sorry you are troubled by this. I know you had a very difficult time with you family about church and your faith as well. One of the folks here wrote her explaination of the
pentacle. It is in just talk...I think it is lovely, very truthful and could apply to you and your situation.

http://www.mysticwicks.com/showthread.php?threadid=21459

See what SnowStar wrote? It is lovely, symbolic and true too. We do emphasis the spritual. Others also have true and good things to say. Please take comfort in that we all have times people say and do things that worry us. And we all survive. Be well Emaleth, tell your friends you love them and that will never change. BB

[Emaleth]

I know this symbolism, too. I explained it to my mother, who had no clue what pentacle meant. But with this friend the problem was that she thought she knew everything and, to tell you the truth, I was extremely nervous, too nervous to answer her in a reasonable way. But I think I'll tell her about the symbolism when we talk more about it.

Blessed Be, and thanks for support:)

[Phoenix Blue]

**Blinks** Are you sure those two are worth keeping as friends if they can't overlook a religious difference for the sake of friendship?

[MidnightSun]

Phoenix_Blue, agreed! 100% If they can't get past that then they aren't worth having as a friend. You find out who your true friends are when something like that happens.

[Leviyah]

I agree with Phoenix_Blue and MidnightSun, as much as you probably don't want to hear it, if these people are your real friends they wouldn't be so outraged to see your wearring a pentagram. But do give her a chance to cool down, because I think you do have to expect some kind of inital shock, but after a time if she's still being "hollier then thou" maybe you need to rethink your relationship with her and/or her husband.
Blessings
Leviyah

[shnen]

my best friend cut me out for months.. and now, we don't discuss it. She isn't religious, but i don't think she knows how to take it... all in time...

[Emaleth]

I was thinking the same thing, if they are not able to accept me, they're not worth being my friends. Of course, I wouldn't want that, I've known my friend for 3 years, we were in the same college and now we are on the same university, so it would be difficult for us to avoid each other.

I guess I'll give them some time. After all, I haven't told them anything, maybe in time I will.

Blessed Be

[Willow_Raindancer]

Sometimes Friendship is more a time and place, than the people involved. You'll grow into and out of friendships your whole life.
I was friends with a girl from th age of 17 to 23. We'd known each other since first grade. We outgrew the friendship! It wasn't a horrible or bad thing. It just happens sometimes. Your supposed to get emotional bonding with friendship. If you cant be who you are, how can you bond with anyone?
It sounds to me like you know this already
so I'll just say Blessed Be! ;)

[Mythrel]

Emaleth, I feel for you. When I began telling my friend's and family a couple of years ago, I lost several long time friends. The biggest shocker was my best friend since childhood. He is a very devout Catholic and just wouldn't even listen to me...we haven't spoken in 2 years.

I wish you the best of luck because losing a friend is hard. I truly hope you can explain things to your friend that eases her mind so that you can remain friends.

[shnen]

actually its funny, cuz since telling my freinds, quite a few have asked me about paganism... its like I opened a new world for them to explore tat they would have never considered (just becasue it has pretty much NO presence from where I grew up)...

its kinda neat having them really ask me about it. :) makes me feel good that I can help them :)

[Flaire-FireStar]

I've been keeping it to myself, because I'm not sure how my friends would react. However, I've not been hiding it, for sure. I've given the the address to my webpage, which contains some pagain-ish stuff (links mostly...:rolleyes: )...So, either they haven't gotten around to checking out my page, or, they have, and they don't care. Either way, it works for me. If they decide to ask me anything, they most certainly can and I won't freak out at them.

[Emaleth]

Last Friday I met with my friend and her husband. Before that day I asked them to lend me a CD of a group I like. They said OK, but they actually brought me a CD of a group that plays a kind of a Christian rock or something. They said they couldn't find the one I wanted and just brought me something else, which I might like. Maybe it's true, but I grow more and more suspiscious and angry.
If they really want to tell me something why don't they just do it and stop beating around the bush:mad: .

Blessed Be

[Willow_Raindancer]

Originally posted by Emaleth
Last Friday I met with my friend and her husband. Before that day I asked them to lend me a CD of a group I like. They said OK, but they actually brought me a CD of a group that plays a kind of a Christian rock or something. They said they couldn't find the one I wanted and just brought me something else, which I might like. Maybe it's true, but I grow more and more suspiscious and angry.
If they really want to tell me something why don't they just do it and stop beating around the bush:mad: .

Blessed Be

Why didn't you just say
"Thanks, but I don't care for Christian Rock."
You could stop all the bush beating
too you know LOL!;)

[Emaleth]

Originally posted by Willow_Raindancer
Why didn't you just say
"Thanks, but I don't care for Christian Rock."
You could stop all the bush beating
too you know LOL!;)

I didn't know it was what it was untill I read the titles of the songs, and it was when they went away. But I'm going to return the CD and tell them what my opinion on it is.

Blessed Be

[Aviendha]

Wow...I never had this problem with my friends. I even got my two best friends back into it and now we are a coven. Yeah, my friends joke around with me, but they don't care. My family...more so my mom...freaked. Then I began explaining things to her, told her to look Wicca up on the internet and read about it. She calmed down a lot and actully wants to read some of my books. I let her look through my class folder, with all my notes and she finds it very intresting. My sister just flat out told me I was stupid, then contiued to tell me how stupid I was and to go hug a tree. I don't like to fight with my sister so I just clinched my fists and shut my mouth. My husband makes fun, but he really doesn't care because he knows what kind of person I am. Your friend should know that you aren't an evil person and whatever her veiws on satanism is, she must know that you don't fit the discripion. I hope everything works out for you!

Blessed be