my parents don’t agree with practicing withcraft and neither do my friends, but i’ve been on nearly every site availible and all i can find is stuff that i find emensly interesting, but all my friends and family can think of is how : witches cut their wrists and summon taibhs and how wicca is a bad cult. please help as i am interested but can’t find it to be paitent with my friends. peace worried and annoyed (Rosie)

Hello there Rosie, The disapproval from the less than socially enlightened is something that we have, on the whole, had to deal with since time immemorial… and unfortunately even in these modern times of political correctness and social understanding, we still seem to get looked down upon. Unfortunate, but true…. First off though, let me start by saying that if you are a minor and still living at home with your parents, then you should by all means honor their wishes as to whether or not you practice the religion within their home. I realize it is sometimes hard to wait until you are of an age that you are free to do as you see fit, but well, it is not like there is any great hurry to get there. The faith has been around longer than any of us and I doubt that waiting a few more years is going to cause any problems there…. As to your friends… well, it seems to me that their intolerance might speak to the value of their friendship. Real friends accept you for who you are, regardless of whether or not it conforms to their cookie cutter molds of what is and is not acceptable. And so, if they are not okay with you just as you are, maybe it would be wise to scrutinize the friendships a bit more closely and see if they are really as strong as you might think.