1media/7cb1f598b91cdf99f8e70893eacfb47ea9-14-crystals.rsocial.w1200.jpg.webpmedia/7cb1f598b91cdf99f8e70893eacfb47ea9-14-crystals.rsocial.w1200.jpg.webp2023-04-10T11:23:26-07:00Capitalizing on the Wicca11image_header2023-04-14T20:08:15-07:00When beginning my research for this project I very quickly realized that you can't get far on googling the word Wicca without advertisements, books, Etsy stores, crystal deals, and many other forms of monetized information popping up. The pagan and neopagan forms of witchery have been taken up by popular media and commodified so that tarot cards, crystals, herb bundles, and other initially sacred items have been coopted into cheap mockeries. As the number of people who identify with Wicca practices increases so too does the market for tchotchkes and 'witch-y accoutrements'. Many religions have been affected by capitalism, and religious objects (no matter how tenuous the connection to the religion - think WWJD swag) make up a large percentage of many tourism and online markets. But for neopagans, whose anarchistic ideals rebel against late stage Capitalism, a popular association with 'witch' merchandise and a deeply misused societal idea wellness culture have combined into the perfect storm. This movement began in the 1960s, and as the idea of an "eclectic witch" begins to dominate over neopagan ideals the commodification of Wicca objects and beliefs can only grow (Hogan, 2020). Frustratingly, capitalism has managed to sink its claws into the neopagan market by capitalising on the increasing popularity of earth based spirituality and eco-socialism, highlighting the "fine line between the mainstream and counterculture" (Hogan, 2020). The same resistance that Braidotti explains is "triggered by capitalism" (Braidotti, 8) has lead to the opportunities for profit that have made Wicca culture so intrinsically linked to the market. The solution, in my eyes, is to reexamine the pagan and animal origins of Wicca traditions and embrace that which lies outside of the Anthropocene. If a relationship with the earth is the priority, the objects that humans use (or want) in order to commune become irrelevant. Our self indulgence has led to an interest in fortune-telling, crystal protections, and burning sage, but it is not our human egos that must be embraced in order to move away from capitalism, it is the posthuman and pagan roots of becoming-earth and respecting the Zoe of all things.
