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Title: Wal-Mart goes Wicca
Source:
Canada Free Press
URL Source: http://www.canadafreepress.com/2005/cover101805.htm
Published: Oct 18, 2005
Author: Judi McLeod
Post Date: 2005-10-21 11:09:17 by Indrid Cold
Keywords: Wal-Mart, Wicca, goes
Views: 308
Comments: 25
The five and dime department store of the past is where your mother treated you to balloons and lollipops. Now you can buy books at the five and dime that teach you how to cast a spell on mother. Wal-Mart, the company that put Dead Peasant Life Insurance on the map, is going Wicca. Dead Peasant Life Insurance is the loathsome practice of taking life insurance on people without their knowledge and callously cashing in on the policy at the time of their death. Wal-Mart was defendant in five putative class-action lawsuits because of its Dead Peasant Life Insurance policies on unwitting employees. Three of the lawsuits were pending in Texas as recently as last April. It’s not as much fun for Mom to take her brood to the department store anymore. Along with the Barbie dolls and Tonka Toys, 100 items for Wicca can be found at Wal-Mart. The Everything Wicca and Witchcraft Book: Unlock the Secrets of Ancient Rituals, Spells, Blessings and Sacred Objects has been slashed from $14.95 to $9.84. "Always low prices Always is the Wal-Mart mantra. The Witch Book: The Encyclopedia of Witchcraft, Wicca and Neo-Paganism can be had for $49.50. There’s Wicca for Beginners and The Witch Next Door: Separating Fact from Fiction about Witchcraft, Wicca, Goddess Worship and Neo-Paganism. (And you thought your next-door neighbour was only a tad eccentric.) There are people who have had encounters with wiccans, wizards, covens, cults and the magic, and their experiences are captured in a book of the same title. If you’re not getting what you’re looking for out of Bible classes at the church you attend, there’s The Wicca Bible: The Definitive Guide to Magic and the Craft. The Wal-Mart of all things Wicca only includes one anti-Wicca book, Protecting Your Teen from Today’s Witchcraft: A Parent’s Guide to Confronting Wicca and the Occult. If you’re a newcomer to the world of Wicca, there’s the inevitable Wicca & Witchcraft for Dummies. Wal-Mart’s competitor in the United States, Target, is starting its own RFID (Radio Frequency IDentification) testing in Texas and has barred Salvation Army bell ringers at Christmas time. Oh, for the days when the closest thing to witches that could be found down at the local department store was the witch’s costume you bought for Halloween.
Poster Comment: Despite the bitchiness of the tone of this column, this is a good sign for us Wiccans.
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#1. To: Indrid Cold (#0)
Increase in superstition and magical thinking. Yep, it's a bear market.
well, well..there's no place to run and no place to hide and no place to shop.
Wiccan? I thought you were an Odinist. Or maybe Asatru? I'm confused...
There comes a time, thief, when the jewels cease to sparkle, when the gold loses its luster, when the throneroom becomes a prison, and all that is left is a father's love for his child.
-- King Osric
#2. To: Indrid Cold (#0)
Wal-Mart’s competitor in the United States, Target, is starting its own RFID (Radio Frequency IDentification) testing in Texas and has barred Salvation Army bell ringers at Christmas time.
#3. To: Indrid Cold (#0)
 | Gold and silver are real money, paper is but a promise. |
#4. To: Indrid Cold (#0)
I'm holding out for seances myself. I want to see a full body apparition of Sam Walton in aisle 9.
#5. To: Elliott Jackalope (#3)
Technically, I'm a Norse Wiccan. My patron god is Odin. Asatru is a type of paganism which tries very hard to re-create the rituals and practices of our northern ancestors with a great deal of historical authenticity. Unfortunately, in the process of doing that, they've taken out all the fun--some rituals I've been to are as boring as anything the Lutherans hold. So I stick with Wicca, which is fun, workable, and spontaneous.
Wiccan? I thought you were an Odinist. Or maybe Asatru? I'm confused...
I'm through being a grownup. I'm going to kick and scratch and call people bad names in public.--Me
#6. To: Tauzero (#1)
Oh, you doom 'n gloomers will take any news as signs of a bear market. I suppose a bull market is thoughtful, rational, and atheistic? ;)
Increase in superstition and magical thinking. Yep, it's a bear market.
I'm through being a grownup. I'm going to kick and scratch and call people bad names in public.--Me
#7. To: Indrid Cold (#5)
I hope this isn't an offensive question, as I don't meant it to be, but do you really believe there's an Odin, or Thor, or Freya? Personally I believe God is the spirit that animates all things rather than an anthropomorphic figure. The revival of old gods and goddesses seems strange to me as I wonder if people literally believe these beings exist.
#8. To: Indrid Cold (#0)
I'm floored. After reading a book called "The Devil" recently, I'm convinced more than ever, that there is NO SUCH THING AS SPIRITUALITY, and that people are just screwed up little units trying to justify their place in the universe.
 | So many morons, so few bullets. |
#9. To: mehitable (#7)
Yes, I believe they exist, at first as facets of some greater cosmic "diamond", then as unique individuals created by humans via storytelling, art, etc. That is, they tended to take on those attributes which humans ascribed to them. I tend to believe that all gods exist, even if it took humans on the scene to invent them. One could also make a good case that Bugs Bunny exists.
Personally I believe God is the spirit that animates all things rather than an anthropomorphic figure. The revival of old gods and goddesses seems strange to me as I wonder if people literally believe these beings exist.
I'm through being a grownup. I'm going to kick and scratch and call people bad names in public.--Me
#10. To: TommyTheMadArtist (#8)
You may be right, but that's a pretty depressing philosophy to have to wake up to every morning. Even if it's all BS, spirituality has a raft of philosophical and health benefits. Self-delusion it may be, but I'll keep it 'cause it works for me.
I'm convinced more than ever, that there is NO SUCH THING AS SPIRITUALITY, and that people are just screwed up little units trying to justify their place in the universe.
I'm through being a grownup. I'm going to kick and scratch and call people bad names in public.--Me
#11. To: Indrid Cold (#6)
Not exactly. But it likes to think so.
I suppose a bull market is thoughtful, rational, and atheistic?
There comes a time, thief, when the jewels cease to sparkle, when the gold loses its luster, when the throneroom becomes a prison, and all that is left is a father's love for his child.
-- King Osric
#12. To: Indrid Cold (#9)
Have you ever experienced them in your rituals, like through a vision or a dream? Have they ever manifested to you?
#13. To: Indrid Cold (#9)
In reality? Or more along the lines of: "Yes, Virginia.. There's a Santa Claus."
One could also make a good case that Bugs Bunny exists.
BUSH: The man is practicing fuzzy math again. There's differences. Under Vice President Gore's plan, he is going to grow the federal government in the largest increase since Lyndon Baines Johnson in 1965.
#14. To: mehitable (#12)
Of course. It'd be a pretty pointless religion if THAT didn't happen, wouldn't it?
Have you ever experienced them in your rituals, like through a vision or a dream? Have they ever manifested to you?
I'm through being a grownup. I'm going to kick and scratch and call people bad names in public.--Me
#15. To: Jhoffa_ (#13)
Or more along the lines of: "Yes, Virginia.. There's a Santa Claus." Something along the lines of, "prove to me that Paris, France exists". Most people are familiar with Paris only through pictures, movies, and literature. Bugs Bunny has all of that. Many people believe that Jesus exists, aside from the fact we have no body and no Roman records which refer to him. And those would only offer proof that he existED, not that he still exists. Given the fact that there are no historical records, (aside from the New Testament, which is just a collection of stories and best guesses), I'd say that Bugs Bunny has a better case of existence than Jesus does. Bugs Bunny is still making new movies, after all. I'm not trying to be anti-Christian here, I'm just asking "how do you absolutely prove that something actually exists?" And the answer, of course, is "you can't". Likewise, you cannot prove that it doesn't exist--only that it doesn't exist at this time, in this place, using this set of measuring tools.
In reality?
I'm through being a grownup. I'm going to kick and scratch and call people bad names in public.--Me
#16. To: Indrid Cold (#14)
I dunno about that. I think a lot of folks take the say-so of others rather than their personal experience. I've never been much for dogma, but it seems to drive most religion from what I can see.
#17. To: Indrid Cold, Jhoffa_ (#15)
I saw Bugs Bunny at Six Flags Great America, of course he exists.
"I don’t care if people hate my guts; I assume most of them do. The important question is whether they are in a position to do anything about it." - William S. Burroughs
#18. To: Indrid Cold, All (#0)
Wal-Mart pulls an ENRON. Hmm ... doesn't this violate Texas law?
Wal-Mart has been taking out life insurance policies on its employees without their knowledge and naming the company as beneficiary.
"What is this JEWS thing. You sound like a Nazi." -- Mekons4 posted on 2005-06-02 23:41:48 ET
#19. To: mehitable (#16)
I guess I've always been a "prove-it-to-yourself" kind of guy.
I dunno about that. I think a lot of folks take the say-so of others rather than their personal experience.
I'm through being a grownup. I'm going to kick and scratch and call people bad names in public.--Me
#20. To: NOLAJBS (#18)
I wonder if they have a double indemnity clause for being killed on the job.
"I don’t care if people hate my guts; I assume most of them do. The important question is whether they are in a position to do anything about it." - William S. Burroughs
#21. To: Dakmar (#20)
Ha. That wouldn't be surprising.
I wonder if they have a double indemnity clause for being killed on the job.
"What is this JEWS thing. You sound like a Nazi." -- Mekons4 posted on 2005-06-02 23:41:48 ET
#22. To: Indrid Cold (#10)
I've since decided that by sheer will, I choose to be a good person. I choose to do the right things as often as I can. I choose what is right, moral and good. By making THAT choice, as opposed to choosing to be the same kind of primate the rest of humanity chooses to be, I am more than just another screwed up little Earth Monkey. I am so tired of the idea that my great sky ghost is better than your sky ghost. It's ridiculous, it's sickening, and if anything completely divisive. You want change for humanity? Change the things that we live for. Instead of the accumulation of wealth, start living for bringing our species to a higher consciousness, without having to exclude everyone who doesn't believe what you believe. Wicca, Christianity, Judaism, Islam, it's all a bunch of bunk.
| So many morons, so few bullets. |
#23. To: Indrid Cold (#15)
No, no.. I think you misunderstood me. I'm not asking for proof, as such. Or for your religion's "official" (Or "unofficial" As the case may be) stance on the matter. I was actually wondering what you believed personally. Do you believe these beings exist in reality? As opposed to in theory or some other abstract means..
BUSH: The man is practicing fuzzy math again. There's differences. Under Vice President Gore's plan, he is going to grow the federal government in the largest increase since Lyndon Baines Johnson in 1965.
#24. To: Dakmar (#17)
We think he's SKYDRIFTER.
BUSH: The man is practicing fuzzy math again. There's differences. Under Vice President Gore's plan, he is going to grow the federal government in the largest increase since Lyndon Baines Johnson in 1965.
#25. To: Jhoffa_ (#23)
Do I believe Bugs Bunny lives in a mansion in Beverly Hills, CA? No. Could I do a successful spell invoking Bugs Bunny as the cosmic trickster archetype? Sure. It's hard when you restrict me to only one reality.
Do you believe these beings exist in reality?
I'm through being a grownup. I'm going to kick and scratch and call people bad names in public.--Me
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