Commercializing Wicca

This afternoon I spent some time looking around on eBay at items listed using the keyword "Wicca". There was the usual assortment of stones, jewelery, herbs and candles. There were also some handmade Books of Shadows, and quite a few pages for them available, something that I feel isn't quite right, but not offensive. (I'm of the opinion that one should create all the pages within one's own Book, rather then just slap in some pages bought off of eBay.) I was, however, offended by a series of listings from a lady calling herself "Canada's most powerful psychic and Wiccan Witch."

Putting aside the fact that I've never heard of her (which is odd if she really is what she claims to be), I question the ethics of what she is offering. In one of her listings she promises that the man you love will marry you after she casts the spell--he will be "in love with you hopelessly and passionately even after the marriage." Yikes! This is so far outside of the Rede that the mind boggles. If she had only claimed to be a witch, and not Wiccan, I wouldn't be anywhere near as annoyed as I am.

This eBay witch also offers a pregnancy spell guaranteeing a beautiful and healthy baby with the man you love (I wonder if you get a refund if the baby isn't beautiful; I'm pregnant, I can say these things), a money spell to make you a "money-magnet" (with my luck all I would attract are pennies), and a love spell (to attract a man so she can then cast the marriage and/or pregnancy spell for you).

My disappointment in seeing these listings (and others from different sellers) comes from the fact that they use Wicca as one of their selling points. At the risk of sounding redundant, Wicca isn't about casting spells. It is about developing a relationship with the divine. Yes, some Wiccans do cast spells for themselves and others; but it is repugnant to use Wicca as a selling point for spells that are meant to manipulate another person, a clear violation of one of the basic tenants of Wicca.

It serves me right of looking through eBay.