Hello everyone, I’ve practicing for a few years now but very low key. I wanted to do something ‘feasty’ for lughnasadh tomorrow but I’m not sure my family will be that bothered. How do you approach this - do you just ‘do you’ and if anyone wants to join then great? I’m just not one to push my stuff on other people, who I think just humour me. But it would be so lovely to be ‘out out’ if you know what I mean.
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I’ve been thinking about this too and I’m also keeping things quiet. I have an old family recipe from Ireland for bread and thought about making that. I will add my own intentions to it and my family will eat it and enjoy the bounty of the harvest. I’m not even going to bring it up. Like you, I don’t just want to be humored.
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Fabulous Friday CatW,
Is it possible to express to them that you want to celebrate and would they wish to be a part of it?
If so, wonderful. If not, I would maybe take advice from Jenny, make your food, and blessings and they do not have to be the wiser. You can also, just celebrate yourself. If they are completely against it, then I would have a party on my own. When they realize how deep your commitment is, it might make a difference to them. After all, why do you need to humor them? Sometimes, we need to stand our ground for what we believe it.
Lady Gene 
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Welcome Cat!
“Non-Believers” lol. I’ve always taken the approach of “doing me” but also being open about what I’m doing. If anyone is open minded or curious, they will want to join!
Being out of the closet has its pros and cons. By the very nature of being “unusual” you are going to attract the attention of others and it’s up to you to decide how to go about that. Some may be genuinely curious, but others will only want to judge and you’ll have to take up the task to pick out the wheat from the chaff.
I know Lughnasadh has come and gone at this point, but maybe this will help for the next occasion?
Cheers.
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Hello and welcome to the forum. Even in the most serious things there is something funny, but one should not make the serious funny and vice versa.
I wish you health!
Tihomir Valchev 
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Greetings and blessing three fold
I would do your own thing, without drawing attention.
I am fortunate that my hubby supports my “witchy” stuff fully. He even purchased my first book on the subject for valentines day.
El Hombre Bruja
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How was your day? I hope you were able to celebrate in a way that felt meaningful to you.
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Hi Jenny… we did a little lunch in the end but I didn’t make a thing of it being lughnasadh or anything. Odd thing is it’s been accepted in this house that, although I do the whole Christmas dinner thing, we celebrate Yule… and Samhain not halloween… so I guess the idea is to just keep brining these things in and they’ll eventually ‘accept’ them… trouble is I look for validation way to much… definitely something I need to work on.
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I did say I wanted to celebrate it - I get half of them not caring in a ‘oh she’s off again’ kind of way 
and my daughter who was ‘oh people only go for these revisionist made up religions because they’re missing something in their lives’. Thanks hon, way to completely negate my life and half of my identity. So that’s why I thought why bother. I really need to stop seeking validation - you’d think at the ripe old age of 57 I’d have got past but hey ho.
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You are lucky indeed to have a supportive husband… mine just humours me I’m sure… and considering his hobby is to build little armies and push them about on pretend battlefields that’s pretty rich
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You are lucky indeed to have a supportive husband… mine just humours me I’m sure… and considering his hobby is to build little armies and push them about on pretend battlefields that’s pretty rich
I used to do that in the 70’s in HS, made armies of plastic middle earth orcs for sand table..
That’s where D&D came from:
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World of Warcraft?
Sometimes that’s the best thing, especially if you know your family is more on the judgemental side. I could see how you could disguise Lughnasadh or Beltaine even in a picnic or outdoor party with some creativity.
LOL, sounds like a tabletop wargame like Warhammer 40k. If that’s the case it looks like they have an entire category of fantasy-themed wargames. You could ask him about those and humor him by offering to play together! In an innocent way of course. 
Cheers. 
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That’s what I thought too
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Warhammer … sometimes 40K but usually just Blood Bowl… he has two of every team and sometimes (for special occasions) three
Yes Warhammer although mostly Blood Bowl - honestly I’ve played a few times but I’ll NEVER remember all the rolls and strengths and whatevers… I guess you have to be interested and I’ve tried but it just not me 
and it really is his neurodivergent specialist subject … I mean he know EVERYTHING about it
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Oh man, lol…
I’ve never played Warhammer/Blood Bowl or any tabletop wargame. I have played D&D and other tabletop rpgs, but not those. I’m afraid I can’t help you there. lol!
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Hi all,
Blessings and greetings all round.
I’m new to this coven (first coven I’ve joined as well), thank you for having me. Sorry for my first post being a long one 
I’ve had an altar in my hallway for years that no one has ever known about, it’s in full view, not hidden, and I use it when I’m alone to reflect and to use for my ‘stuff’, which I always do alone. My family know that I’m a witch. I don’t hide it but I never push it. My granddaughter has also become a witch, not because I have ‘taught’ her but because I chat to her about the festivals and why they are important to me and she has developed an appreciation for the gentleness of the festivals and how they celebrate our mother and the strength of women. I think my husband is quietly proud of me being a witch, although I’m not quite sure he would appreciate me dancing skyclad around the garden! 
I celebrate the festivals by routinely holding gatherings and by talking about, for example, ‘our first harvest’ or ‘last harvest’ which brings the craft to life in a very seasonal way. We’ll decorate yule logs this year and my grandchildren will learn about my little ritual of sending wishes and blessings up my chimney and into the beautiful night sky. Everyone in my family loves Halloween (Samhain) and they appreciate the significance of All Hallows’ Eve to me, and how it remembers the lives of loved ones who have moved on. I cook for all the festivals, pouring love, hope and blessings into the food I serve. So, in many, many, ways, celebrating in my own way keeps our family at the centre of my world which I am so truly grateful for.
We live in strange, intolerant times so I’m always mindful of how our beautiful craft can be so cruelly interpretted and how it can be used against us. Media has shaped our craft into either a scary tool of evil or a very shallow aesthetic. Our real history and deep traditions have been stripped away from us and our sacred practices have been furned into simple entertainment which includes cartoonish monster that make us look foolish. Sad, it’s not where we should be, but it’s where we are.
I celebrate the wheel of the year quietly, honestly, and in a way that honours the seasons, mother nature, mother earth and everything that binds us together.
Thank you for reading. I sincerely hope that I haven’t offended anyone or sent you all to sleep 
Blessed be, beautiful people.
Debs
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Welcome to the Forum!
That’s wonderful, I’m still in the closet with my family. I’ve tried to explain my Familiar to my Ex…
didn’t work out very well. You made me think of this meme:
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Hey Sedim-Haba,
Thank you! That was a funny image! I think my husband would have been converted though if I actually looked like that 
Come out of the closet quietly, carefully and with caution - we shouldn’t have to, but that’s the way it is…for now anyway. We’re all doing our bit to bring spirituality back into humanity but we’ve been oppressed (remenber the long-term, cruel, and unjust treatment of our sisters, hung, burnt at the stake, drowned…) and surpressed (our actions and practices quickly shut down as being ridiculous) for so long that we’ve lost touch with each other and have been forced into isolated practice. This platform should give us a safe place for discourse, courage to be ourselves, strength to honour our beliefs, and a little something that we have propbably not experienced as witches…respect.
Have a wonderfully, blessed day sister.
Debs
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