My kids have followed on my path. My three boys (14, 16, and 18) have all decided to follow the same deities I follow. I do not allow them to work with candles or anything like that nor have I encouraged it but I have answered them on questions as I have shrines in my home. Of course I have made it easier to understand to the youngest. They have just decided this is the right thing, it is cute in a way, but I wonder if others think it’s wrong for them to go towards anything on the left hand path.
Generally what are your opinions or experiences? Did you choose your path at a young age or after a parent?
I renounced my christian faith when I was 8, of course I was still forced to go to church and stuff up until I was 13, but I stayed with my occult practices during. I chose my path as a kid, as for my own kids if I were to adopt I’d love for them to get into energy work but it’s up to them.
When they’re ready they should. Forcing religion on children is rather terrible and I know because I was lightly forced to worship some cunt . Now at a young age I knew that lot if worship is bs and now in my 20s I made my choice to be a Witch.
I tell my younger cousins about the Gods and they love to play games and pretend to be them. Imo if they decide to become witches in the future, at leadt they know when to start?
Exactly, I have never vibed with the idea of forcing a religion on a child based on fear and such. Hell, they could convert to Islam if they so choose. As long as they are true to themselves.
I am personally against religious schooling as I was made to go to one by my Parents.
I believe children should pick their own religion,if any when they are able to read and understand what the meanings are.
I laugh now at the irony of my parents not allowing me to watch anything violent on TV or films as a child but it was fine to read and have classes on the Old Testament consisting of murder, mass genocide and Women taking second place to Mens word in the book of Timothy. The old testament God was scary AF as a child!
I’d say let them choose and discuss and questions about any religion with them as best you can.
I like to think I was a bit more self aware as a kid, I never really had the luxury of believing in Santa Claus I was very aware that those presents came from my parents because I was always curious and when one of them left to get them I’d watch.
As for plastic figurines, I was more of a hot wheels kid my interest started with books about merlin.
I should mention they are my fiance’s biological children, but I have had them quite a while at this point, a good portion of their life I’d say.
I guess I’m overall worried that it is some sort of manipulation of them like a christian family would, my fiance has no issue with it (he is basically generally spiritual, formerly agnostic and raised christian. and accepting of everything, has said most of what the replies have said “they can choose whatever they like”) but I have got it in my head. I guess it is just paranoia, or what others would think of me. Could you imagine the reactions from people? “You made CHILDREN devil worshippers!” It’s hilarious to think of… but I know some people take these kinds of things oh so serious.
My husband and I aren’t religious people. We’ve never gone to church unless it was a wedding funeral, baptism, etc. Just before my son’s 14th birthday, he told me he was an Orthodox Christian. It kind of threw us for a loop, because we are not ethnically the type of people who are East Orthodox. I let him do his thing, even though never went to any service. He is 18 now and he says he is Christian. I’ve seen a bible app on his phone. He says “Oh my goodness” instead of “Oh my God,” even though I hear f-bombs galore come out of his room when he’s gaming or on Discord with his friends. He once chastised me for owning a GoM book (Magickal Protection). I reminded him that I let him do his thing, he should let me do mine. He goes away to college this month, so a lot can happen these next four years.
I was raised believing in a loving God, and that magick is real. My mother taught me how to protect myself when I needed it.
I think it’s ok to let your children decide for LHP st that age. You can guide them.
Children can never choose how they are raised, their parents always influence them. No matter if religious, atheist or whatever.
There is always the possibility that your children choose another path and be angry at how you raised them. It’s a matter of how you do it.
Growing up christian can be a pain, but so can be growing up atheist .
It’s a journey, even for people who are born into a religion and stay in it, they change their understanding over time, have crises of faith or times when they want to engage more, so I’m not sure there’s an age like learning to drive that you do it, then it’s done.
I was thinking about the big questions like what is God, does it exist, is there life after death at a very young age, and definitely doing magick by age 9.
So long as they don’t see it as a free pass to be assholes, I don’t see why.
I was raised Christian, and tried really hard to follow it into my 20s, mostly to make my mom happy. I never really found this magical relationship with God.
I’m now 40. Over the last year, I decided to officially walk away from Christianity. I had no connection to it and found too many inconsistencies and fallacies to continue claiming to be a follower.
I’ve always been drawn to the path of nature, witchcraft, and other ‘occult’ type beliefs. I’ve spent the last year or so dabbling, researching, and finding what’s comfortable. I settled on Satanism. I haven’t really told anyone as I know this can damage some of my relationships.
I have a 9 year old daughter. I’ve always told her from a young age that she’s free to pick whatever she wants (or nothing at all), as long as she remains tolerant, open-minded, and kind. Just this week, I opened up to her about my beliefs and being a Satanist after she asked me “what I am” as far as religion, and then went into more detail about what it encompasses, its tenets and beliefs, etc. After all of this, she decided she wants to be a Satanist too. I’m sure that could change as she gets older, but she seemed really comfortable with it and really appreciated the tenets. I did tell her, though, that she may not want to reveal this to people (and definitely not to her grandparents - I don’t need anyone having a heart attack) until she’s sure and she’s comfortable with her decision and has gained some knowledge, since I know that announcing that one is a Satanist can cause some shock and even dissolve relationships, since it’s such a misunderstood path.
I was teached from an early age that there was a dude in the sky, who knew everything and if I didn’t do exactly as he wanted, he would throw me into a pit of fire where I would be tortured for all eternity. It took me a while to learn the right word for such dude: tyrant.
It took me a LONG while to reconcile my own sexual interests with this understanding of the world. And I’m straight. I became an atheist around age 12-13, but it is a process. I might have become a man who doesn’t really believe maybe at 22 or so. Those ten years were filled with burst of “there is no evidence” followed by “I might be wrong” to “Yes, I’m going to be tortured for all eternity” to “Suck my dick, Jesus” to “Fuck you, god” to “No, there is no way this dude exist” to (to, to, to, etc).
It’s hard to answer OP question. Maybe there is no true answer and is just another thing that’s up to parents to do their best and remind themselves that none of us is perfect (one of the reasons I would never be a father, I know I would suck at it).
I think your kids are old enough to make this choice. Having said that, though, some children are just more naturally drawn toward religion/spirituality than others.
By the age of 7, I had already developed a keen interest in world religions, and always loved finding out about religions, particularly obscure ones.
I was adopted as a preteen and shoved into the same cult as my new family. I wasn’t asked; I was forced. Don’t EVER do that to a kid. I could write a book about what that did to my mind.
One thing I’d advise about children and spirituality is to make it clear that they can GET OUT if they want to. There is always an exit door. It doesn’t matter how intense a ritual they went through to join, how deep into the faith they’ve gotten, or who in their family practices the religion. They absolutely have a right to leave, with no apologies to anyone.
Yeah I’m always very careful to tell them that, whatever they do is their choice and whatever religion they choose. The eldest, he was already interested in magick when I first became a part of the family. He is an adult and decided this is his thing. Very cool. For the younger ones, I always answer questions and they love to see my candles and ask about things. I always answer for them.
At first my middle son was concerned if he didn’t pray he would be in trouble (I’m guessing from school, knowing christian kids, or the internet) one of the fears I had to squash because that is unhealthy. I told him it’s not like that, you won’t die if you don’t pray and there is no need to do that. As he got older he is much more casual about it, he still prays I believe it’s just something he wants to do but no longer has the fear of “If I don’t pray to this deity I’ll be hurt!”. Youngest likes to “see” them through black mirrors (tv off) and gets excited, I don’t know if he actually is seeing them or is seeing just shadows. I think it’s cute.
Honestly fuck anyone who think it’s wrong, I will have them make their own decisions (religion wise… at least) and if they choose to follow mine or change later on, nothing for me to worry about. People online always call it “Satanic Child Abuse” as if it’s exposing them to graphic things.
I say: let them pick and find their own path.
Fear should not dictate the behavior of anyone with consciousness.
I went from Catholic to agnostic once I read the Bible and the Quran.
Later I found even greater roads, roads that do not judge. Roads where you can truly be free with yourself.
I would say at 7 years age you are already ready to take your path
at this age Saturn squares for the first time with your natal Saturn
this is the time you start making the foundations to understand your own path in life
plus you no longer mistake your father with your own identity
you start recognising him as he really is for you
this can start open your eyes you are not longer naive about hierarchy and even if you dont protest you start to doubt whatever it is been imposed on you
My parents are not religious at all, before I was seven feel attracted to my path, but it was at my 7 years of age, when I started to take the reading seriously, and started to build my path, as at that moment I already knew that was what I believed.
you dont need to make a child too choose that early in life, in my case Jupirter retrograde activated, opening me the doors to my karmic religuious mission
but other children might not have a religious planetary transit at this age, nevertheless they willat 7 years develop a tendency, which it can be reasured at 14 (saturns oppposition) or finally at 28-30 saturn return
there is also a transit of jupiter at 21 which is the planet of religions, so you might have all your path chossen at this age as well
. Now at a young age I knew that lot if worship is bs and now in my 20s I made my choice to be a Witch.
my interest started with books about merlin.