Seeing a Christmas gift boxed set called The Nature of Wicca on sale at The Works at the weekend gave me mixed feelings. On one hand, I think it is good that modern pagan witchcraft has become so acceptable that mass-market beginner sets are being sold in high street shops. On the other hand, I feel sad that a serious nature religion is trivialised into a product sold alongside colouring-in books, knitting kits and cribbage boards.
What the kit contains is a 64-page book, 26 oracle cards, a tea-light candle and a pentacle pendant. That's what it says on the box. I didn't see an open copy, so I can't actually say how good those things are. That's another problem with any Xmas gift set - the contents can fail to live up to the promises of the packaging.
However good or bad the book is, I can see that, potentially, this kit could explain Wiccan practices of celebrating the seasons and honouring nature to many people who would otherwise have known little about it. Anything that helps engender a greater understanding that Wiccans are harmless nature-worshippers rather than horror-film baddies, is a good thing.
Having said that, I'm quite tempted to buy that Wicca boxed set from The Works to review it on my blog. No one can really say if a product is good or bad unless they've tried it out.
Links and previous related posts
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2009/01/wicca-witchcraft-finding-out-basics.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2013/02/review-pagan-portals-kitchen-witchcraft.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2012/03/easy-candle-wishing-spell.html
https://www.johnhuntpublishing.com/moon-books/
https://www.theworks.co.uk/
1 comment:
I definitely see both sides of this issue. On one hand, you have blatant capitalism, excessive packaging, probably made in China with child labor, etc, etc, but on the other hand, you have witchcraft goodies easily and readily accessible to those that otherwise wouldn't have access. For some, this may be their introduction to the Craft. I think items like these have a place and a purpose, even if we don't all like them. I think part of it is that we feel threatened by the mainstream and capitalism as if it will taint and tarnish our fringe culture. If you happen to purchase it, I would be interested in your thoughts. I haven't seen anything like that here in the States as of yet, but I also don't go shopping in a store very often. Haha!
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