Much like how one may be "in the closet" with their sexuality, when they are not environments where they feel safe and confident to express who they are, in the realm of magic and witchery, we label this similar phenomena as being a "broom closet witch."
Simply meaning, family, friends, co-workers, or others in the your life may not be safe people for you to express your pagan practices, mystical beliefs, or witchcraft rituals with.
This could be due to cultural differences in belief, locational regulations or societal norms, or modern religious or political views that label paths that veer from monotheistic or conservative lifestyles as heretical, blasphemous, or evil.
If you were raised in environments where it was unsafe to practice magic and witchery, there's a lot to unpack there in order to heal and thrive again.
Of course, I cannot continue writing an article like this without interjecting a few things that you may need to hear, dear broom closet witch. First off, though, you may hear the labels of heretical, blasphemous, or evil being thrown around, they are misplaced attacks on what the masses do not understand and what religious and political leaders are often happy to further perpetuate as sinful or treaturous.
Let's get some facts out of the way.
Mystical Practices Far Pre-Date Monotheistic Religion
Long before there was Christianity, Judaism, or Islam, there were people who lived in sync with Mother Nature, who directly communed with the spirit realm, and understood the power of intentions and directed energy. They knew the earth, they understood the seasons and cycles, they honored the life that was found all throughout every type of being, and they practiced healing and magical arts.
These practices were rooted in the Spirit. They knew her as Mother. They venerated her as God(dess).
Only when greed, fear, and a need to control people arose, did these common practices become synonymous with wickedness. The feminine view of the divine was all-but-erased from history. The people were separated from the very nature they were meant to coexist within. The earth-based practices were labeled pseduo-science, evil, or woowoo.
In its place, a masculine view of the divine was deemed the only acceptable spiritual practice. The people were shuffled into costly neighborhoods where they must slave their lives away to pay the bills, never having enough time to bask in the beauty and healing energy of Mother Nature. The natural progression of disease and illness became "treatable" with medication and inevitable side effects.
The real villains are not those drawn to the mystical, but those who have tried to erase it and offer fake cures and religious dogma to those who have magic in their bones simply awaiting to be unleashed.
Broom Closet Magic
Since the nature of our modern world, though more accepting than other points in history, still despises the healing power of the divine feminine and the mystical nature of her people, broom closet magic is often a safe transitionary practice. This means that for as long as you need to practice your magic SAFELY, you can do so. And when the time comes for you to exit the broom closet and practice your magic freely, you can transition to doing so then, too.
Hidden in Plain Sight
The beauty of magic is that no physical tools are required, and because of the power of your own magic, intuition, energy, and intentions, you can choose what you want to physically use in your craft.
If it isn't safe to have obvious pagan or occult symbols in your home, on your clothes, etc., you can deem other symbols to be "stand-ins" instead.
For example, if it isn't safe for you to use the ouroboros (snake eating its tail) as a symbol of death and rebirth, you could choose a stand-in, such as a butterfly, that also can symbolize death and rebirth but is highly unlikely to be recognized as a form of witchery or receive any condemnation.
Alternatively, you could also still use your preferred pagan or occult symbols, but you could implement them in a way that is invisible or hidden from view. For example, you can use water or oil to draw symbols on mirrors, walls, or floors for protection so that they won't be easily detectable. If you paint your nails, you could draw the symbols in paint first and then add a solid coat overtop of the symbol to hide it. The same can be done with painting your ways, carving candles, or anything else by concealing with an additional layer.
Tips & Tricks to Keep You Safe
At The Star Village, if you order anything from us and are a Broom Closet Witch, you can mention this in the comments of your order, and we will leave off any identifying labels, stickers, tags, or other packaging elements that may indicate what you've purchased if it were to be intercepted by parents, roommates, or anyone who may be opposed to your practice.
Crystals become "just rocks"...
Deity oils become "just wearable perfume"...
Ritual candles become "just candles"...
Spell herbs become "just tea"...
Enchanted pendants become "just necklaces"...
Divination pendulums become "just decorative ornaments"...
Etc...
Broom Closet Altars
Whether you're divining into venerating your ancestors, your higher self, or deities and spirit guides, broom closet altars can be hidden in a shoe box, chest, or other type of trinket container that can have your candles, photos, or other items for your altar. When it's safe for you to practice, you can pull the box out and set everything up, and when it's time to tuck it away again, you can place everything back inside and keep it wherever feels safest and natural to you.
Broom Closet Rituals
Rituals are a big portion of many spiritual practitioners craft. The beauty of rituals, as well as spells, wards, and other elements of your path, are that they can often be done in mundane ways in your everyday routine. No one has to know that when you're brewing your coffee or tea that you're speaking your intentions into the water, or that you're adding cinnamon, spices, and other ingredients that you're creating a drinkable protection and abundance potion.
Lighting a candle and taking a bath can appear entirely mundane and normal on the surface, but with each choice you make as you run the water, add bath salts and dried flowers and herbs, you pour in your intentions to cleanse and heal.
Having a fire outdoors or in the fireplace, again, can be just a cozy way to warm the house in winter or enjoy a beautiful summer night, but you can set your intentions to burn away what no longer serves you with each stick or log added to the blaze. Even burning trash, which is common in rural areas, can be a covert way to burn letters or other ritualistic things that serve as a metaphor for release.
Ready to learn more about magic?
The Mystic's Journey Wisdom School is an in-depth 3.5 year program that is currently offered virtually through The Star Village website and is coming soon to the physical location of The Star Village that we're building. Through this Wisdom School, you'll have access to learn more than 40 types of witchery alongside the ancient esoteric wisdom of the goddesses as viewed through multiple pantheons and spiritual traditions.
Unlike many virtual classes or courses, The Mystic’s Journey is an interactive gamified quest where you earn crystals as you learn, discover and unlock easter eggs throughout the platform, embark on side quests to learn about specific topics in a deeper way, and be a part of a forum to engage with other spiritual practitioners.
In addition to The Mystic's Journey Wisdom School, Kate Jade also offers a mentorship program called The Death Witchery that exclusively focuses on death magic.
