I’ve been seeing a strange trend lately… well, strange to me. Since acquiring the store a few months ago, we have heard a few times that people were concerned that the energy there would become “too dark” now that we have taken over. Now, in general the response has been overwhelmingly positive… but as for the negative responses, I can only assume it’s because of our involvement in the Craft.
For example: A woman came in a couple months ago and said, (with a definite tone of sharp concern) “The store’s not going to become more WICCAN is it???”
I let her know that, yes, it WAS going to become more Wiccan… and more Buddhist, and more Christian, and more Native American, and more Voodoo, and more Thelemic, and more everything else, to boot.
I am wondering how that would have gone over if she was concerned about the store becoming more Jewish, or more Buddhist, or more <fill-in-the-blank>? Certainly there seems to be a disconnect here. These people honestly believe that they are part of the open minded elite, and I’m sure would be shocked to learn that they are just as small-minded as those fundamentalists that they look down their noses at.
Anyway… I think it’s a good thing, actually. Mamma always said if you weren’t pissing somebody off then you weren’t doing anything important. Our goal has been to change the clientèle of the place and I think it’s happening organically. Even just the colors we have chosen to paint the place changes the vibe dramatically… and I’m sure will contribute to some feeling that the store has changed too much for them. That’s fine. We know that change is good… and let’s face it… the place had gotten so damned saccharine that I’m surprised no one ever went into a sugar-coma. We’ve been working hard to ground the place. And I am finally really happy with how it is turning out.
So if you are one of those people who is out there reading my blog because you are concerned about how the store might change… that it might become “too dark” for you… then don’t bother coming back in. The store is not for you anymore. We are more Pagan… more Santeria, more Hoodoo, more Islam… we are more Taoist, more Feng Shui, more everything. We are a bit more enlightened (and yes, a bit more endarkened!) now. And if that scares you well, good. We are a mirror. The demons that you see are your own.