I met Helen in the late '80s/early '90s when she was beginning this research, my coven was among those included in it. I think she does solid work but I tend to disagree with her use of terminology and subsequently some of the statements made. For example, "Pagan" interchangeably with "Wiccan" and references to "Pagans" and "The Goddess". Granted, when she started her research, Wicca was the most visible segment of Neopaganism, it would be another 10 years before Reconstructionism would gain visibility (it'd been around all along but various traditions didn't make gains or even appear until the early '00s). But today, a lot that calls itself Wicca is simply Eclectic Paganism or Witchcraft, mainly of the Solitary variety. With no continuity or connection among these groups and individuals, it can be messy to refer to all these ways as the same thing. The general tendency to use certain words as synonyms when they're not is and always will be problematic, IMO.
As witchcraft becomes a multibillion-dollar business, practitioners' connection to the natural world is changing
As paganism has grown we have seen a large segment of it become very commercialized, and even widely advertised. The Halloween store chain "Spirit" was even selling tarot cards and Wicca kits last year.
The store names change but the kitsch seems the same. Twenty-five years ago it was Spencer's with more worthless pewter ankhs and pentagrams than you could shake a gawdy pewter chalice (also for sale!) at. For that pagany-goth vibe, there was Hot Topic.
What has your experience with this commercialization been? Do you see it as a good thing or a bad thing? Is this just a fad that will end, or is this a continuing trend?
Oh, it's definitely not a fad and will continue to be mostly kitsch. Overall I agree with her on commercialism, which I didn't care much for but didn't mind back then, now I dislike it but also ignore it as I'm not actually their customer base. Most of the items I've ever acquired have either come from nature, homemade, repurposed, or occasionally from retailers that aren't Pagan related. But then I'm rarely in the market for anything other than consumables (candles, incense, food, wine). I would say one thing that's changed is 30+ years ago, most people looking to buy things were big-eyed newcomers, so enamored with their new journey and eager to get their hands on all manner of things. But that phase would wane and once a person settled down into their practice, found themselves donating most of those items to gift swaps and fundraisers. Far more people today see Paganism as an aesthetic and need to collect "pagan stuff", but it's not a phase to outgrow.
The article states that this has been a growing trend, and also that it is leading to a more isolated community with the focus being more solitary. Which is something I don't think is a good trend, as community building is important imo.
Paganism may be more visible but it is stagnating due to the emphasis on individualism. In previous decades, the emphasis was coven and group/grove based. People had a FAR more difficult time finding others than anyone has today... yet they did so, anyway. The internet has made many lazy and self-centered. There's no longer a need to prioritize and commit, to genuinely reflect on how important is it to the person to practice a certain thing, you just need to buy stuff, profess X and call yourself Y. Communities don't develop and grow if everyone is doing their own thing, their own way, using their own definitions, yet are all calling their individual practices by the same name.
