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Spiritual Shifting in America

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Tirya:
I am always intrigued by the way shelf space at bookstores ebbs and flows. A few years ago, the Wicca section at my local Barnes & Noble was like three sections wide. Now it's not quite a full section, and books about Vampires, Angels, and Spirit Communication seem to be taking its place. And it makes me wonder about the direction of American spiritual consciousness - what are we seeking that we're not finding elsewhere? I'm not thinking there's anything wrong with it, more just musing about the "why".

Ghost Wolf:
Keep in mind that a book chain is a business, and the New Age so-called section simply reflects what is popular at the moment. Vampires and werewolves were given a big boost by that ridiculous Twilight series, and the plethora of ghost hunting shows on have spurred an interest in spirit communication. This trend in no way reflects true spirituality, but economic trends.

Besides, how many "Wicca 101" books can possibly be written?

VisionFromAfar:

--- Quote from: Ghost Wolf on December 16, 2010, 12:39:11 PM ---Besides, how many "Wicca 101" books can possibly be written?

--- End quote ---

Dare we look at Amazon and find out? My guess is waaaay too many. IIRC, there's been a push lately amongst the pagan community to try and get some more advanced books out, given the plethora of beginner handbooks.

dragonspring:
I agree with GW.  I think the reason that the Wicca section was so large several years ago is because of Buffy, Charmed and The Craft.  I don't think that the shelves reflect a shift in spirituality so much as it does new sparkly stuff.

Tirya:
I know that the retailers mirror current popular interest. I guess I was wondering more about WHY (on a psychological level) things like "Twilight" sparked such a huge response and explosion of copycats. What need do they fill? Ditto for the ghost hunting stuff. Is there a growing desire to believe "we're NOT alone" or that the ones we loved haven't *really* left us? I mean, I know that Harry Potter (while not Wicca) spurred a huge interest in magic, and the messages of self-empowerment were probably responsible for the huge attraction - who DOESN'T want to "wave a magic wand and make their problems go away"? I guess I'm just wondering what psychological niche the new wave of subjects is filling.

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