Deaf Pagan Crossroads

When I first set up the blog site known as Deaf Pagan Crossroads, I decided that I wanted my first post to be about…

Well, being a Deaf Pagan.

But as I sat in front of my computer monitor, staring at the bare page of my Word program, I found myself drawing a blank. Just what is it that I wanted to say, and how do I go about saying it?

In desperation, I paged my friend Alli…who while not quite being a Deaf Pagan herself, is Deaf and does have an interest in Paganism.

Her response was to say…

“Well, considering you just came out on DeafDC and this site (meaning Deaf Pagan Crossroads) will be open to anyone who happens to come by, how about discussing how being out has affected you or is important to you?”

The “coming out” that Alli mentions refers to are two blogs I wrote for DeafDC.com, in which I attempted to express my thoughts about the recent protest at Gallaudet University (my alma mater) from the perspective of a Deaf Witch…a “pagan-colored blog” as the case might be. As Alli put it, it was an attempt to quote from sources which might be foreign to many, but which help me to understand what I am trying to convey; and by quoting such sources, hopefully pass on the message.

Interestingly enough, revealing the fact that I am a Deaf Witch in these blogs did bring other Deaf Pagans out of the woodwork…or out of the broom closet. No less than five individuals posted comments and stated that they too are Deaf Pagans, and were thrilled to see a fellow Deaf Pagan step forward and announce herself as such.

But when Alli first made this suggestion, my immediate reaction was to think that I didn’t really see the writing of those blogs as being a “coming out” per se.

It’s not as if my being Pagan has ever been a giant secret - most people who know me well do know that I practice Paganism as my spiritual path. I’ve never been particularly shy about admitting to the fact that I am a Witch.

Most of my employers were aware of it, as were many of my co-workers. Several would ask me questions about it, and some even borrowed my books on the subject. A couple asked me to do a tarot reading for them, and I even had one or two who joined me to attend a public ritual.

A couple of years ago I was written up as being a Deaf Witch for an article published by the Kansas City Star newspaper on (you guessed it) Halloween…complete with a large color picture of me in my ritual robe and wearing my goddess necklace. A blurb about the article, with the photograph, appeared in the headlines on the first page.

Yes, a number of people - both Deaf and Hearing - saw the article and commented on it. For the most part, such comments were positive. The article might have raised a few eyebrows here and there, but nobody hurled a brick through my window, or burned a cross on my front lawn.

I’ve led public rituals held in public parks, I’ve spoken of being Pagan at conferences, and I have sat as a Pagan representative on Interfaith Councils.

Yup…I’m pretty much out of the broom closet, and have been for some time. When you have been a practicing Witch for over twenty years, a Wiccan High Priestess, and ordained Pagan Clergy, you kind of reach the point where it doesn’t really matter any longer who knows…or what they think about it.

But at the same time, I have learned (sometimes the hard, painful way) that you do have to be careful exactly when, where, and with whom you choose to reveal your spirituality. Not everyone is going to be comfortable knowing that you spent the Full Moon casting a circle, invoking the Goddess, and raising energy in the form of magick.

It’s important to “feel out” every situation and each individual to determine if it is in your best interests to share such information, and to get a sense of what sort of reaction you might expect if you were in fact to reveal your religious beliefs and practices. Some folks will take it in stride, others might be totally shocked. You might get some interesting questions thrown at you, ranging from “do you worship the Devil?” to “can you cast spells?” to a simple puzzled look accompanied by “huh??? What’s a Pagan?”

It’s also important to consider why you want others to know. There have been various reasons why I have revealed my spirituality over the years…sometimes it was simply inevitable - I’d rather my boss heard it from me directly than read about it in the paper. Sometimes it was in response to a question asked - “what church do you attend?” or a comment made - “I think the city is stupid to let those crazy devil worshipping heathens go running amok in the park scaring good folks.”

Sometimes it was just a desire to share a significant part of who and what I am with others, in hopes of establishing a mutual understanding of one another.

Usually I have found people to be pretty accepting of my spirituality. I suppose the fact that I am generally a pretty nice, friendly, intelligent person helps. Mind you…this doesn’t mean that they always understand it, or even that they agree with it. Just that they recognize that it is important to me, and I’d like to be respected for such.

While many within the Deaf Community have known over the years that I am a Deaf Pagan, I suppose to others my announcement of such in DeafDC.com came as a bit of a surprise…or maybe not. I’ve had people tell me that they “kinda suspected that you would have a different sort of lifestyle.” Hmmm - maybe it’s the celtic tattoo on my upper breast that gave me away.  (There’s a story about that, but I’ll save it for another day…) 

I remember that a few months ago I posted a message on a state Deaf message board expressing an interest in finding other Deaf people and interpreters interested in Earth-Based spirituality. I did get a few responses, most of which were positive and expressed an interest to learn more, or a willingness to interpret for Pagan rituals. This was certainly nice to see.

I did get the one email from a Deaf Christian asking some questions about what exactly I believe and practice, since her understanding of the word pagan was a “non-believer,” or one who has no religion…a “heathen.” I sent back a friendly, polite response explaining that Paganism is indeed a religion, and briefly clearing up some of those common misconceptions. I never heard another word from her. Ahhhh well.

How do these Deafies feel about it? I dunno. Like I said, most of my friends are pretty cool about it. Others may be uncomfortable with it. It could very well be that it’s now become a topic for that “infamous Deaf grapevine” we all love so dearly. (”Pssttt…you remember that wild and crazy gal from Gally days? The one with the funny geographical name? Did you know that she recently posted some article stating that she’s <gasp> a WITCH?!?!”)

But for better or for worse…here I am, folks. Out of the broom closet, and proud of it. If my actions encourage other members of the Deaf Community to come forward and acknowledge their own spiritual beliefs, then it’s a good thing. If creating this site gives such individuals an outlet for discussing such beliefs and sharing their own experiences with others “of a Like Mind,” then it’s a good thing. If by coming out of the broom closet we can establish our own identities and recognize our own power, then it’s a good thing.

I still don’t think I’ll wear my “Witches Rule!” sweatshirt at the Deaf Club, though.

 ~ Ocean

Ocean is the creator and administrator of Deaf Pagan Crossroads. Deaf herself and a graduate of Gallaudet College (now University), Ocean is an ordained Wiccan High Priestess who has been practicing the Pagan Path for 25+ years. An ardent lover of all things Celtic, Ocean is currently saving her pennies in hopes of a vacation to Ireland in the near future. When she’s not reading about the Druids, Ocean can be found browsing in antique shops, or buying yet another piece of handmade pottery to add to her large collection.