Attending a Modern Witchcraft Expo

The prevalence of cultural appropriation in spiritualist circles.

Two weekends ago, I had the opportunity to go to Allentown’s Mum’s Spiritual and Holistic Expo and speak to a variety of professional spiritualists. Though I had never been to a convention like this before, I knew that certain culturally appropriated spiritual staples would be there: chakra sprays taken from Hindu culture, white sage and dreamcatchers from Indigenous culture, palo santo wood from Latin American culture, etc. However, out of all of these items, the last thing that I expected to see was a vendor selling sweetgrass.

Sweetgrass is something in Indigenous culture that I have only recently learned about through Robin Wall Kimmerer’s Braiding Sweetgrass. In the novel, she explains that sweetgrass is burned in ceremonial fire keeping at powwows (Kimmerer 26). It cannot be sold or bought as “Because it is given to us, it should only be given to others” (26). The practice is rooted in environmental gratitude which is deeply ingrained in Indigenous culture. A gift’s value increases as it is passed down through generations,

and nature is the most important gift we can receive. Kimmerer explains that sweetgrass “cannot be bought or sold and still retain its essence for ceremony” (27). Though I have been, unfortunately, desensitized to many of the appropriated aspects of spiritualism, the most shocking part of seeing sweetgrass at this convention was the store that was selling it: a crystal stall. The woman running the stall was clearly white, and after speaking to her, I learned that she sold the item because smudging is so ‘in’ right now. Needless to say, I quickly excused myself from that conversation.

Now, there were true Indigenous women at the convention selling Native art like prints with wolves and deer on them and dreamcatchers. These women sold such items in hopes to spread awareness and appreciation for Indigenous cultures, but not all individuals follow this line of reasoning. I brought my friend, Taylor, to this convention with me whose grandmother was part of the Lenni Lenape tribe. While she also appreciated the sharing of Indigenous culture, she stated that it would feel wrong to her to purchase anything. She had not lived through and experienced the negative attitudes that her indigenous ancestors faced. Because of this, she felt that no colonizer could ever fully understand the implications and usages of the items being sold. Rather than thinking of them as spiritual tools, she viewed them as pieces of art whose meaning could only be grasped by those who worked to understand a different culture. Taylor is new to the spiritualism scene, but she has already declared that she doesn't want her practice to rely on images of appropriation.

My other main reason for coming to the convention was to talk to and learn from the other spiritualists that were there. Of those vendors that I found the time to talk to, I asked each one the same question: what led them to a career in spiritualism? They all came from different walks of life. Some started as teachers, some were born into sales, others were unemployed. However, they all had the same bullshit answer: spirit guided them here. No one seemed to want to tell me about their first experiences with psychic abilities, ghost stories, or when their interest in the occult began. Of course, I must give these people the benefit of the doubt. I am sure that none of them came to a vendor convention to talk in depth about their own spiritual experiences; they probably came to make a paycheck. Additionally, some witches choose to remain private about their practices as they do not want to open their spells up to criticism and negative energy. I wanted to use my time there as a learning experience, but you cannot learn if everyone refuses to teach.

Though the main gist of this post has been about the more negative aspects of the convention, I absolutely had fun. I spent hours with my friends digging through boxes of books on witchcraft, flipping through tarot decks, picking out and bargaining the prices of crystals, and even getting my first psychic reading. The day was exhausting, but incredibly rewarding. I can’t wait to go again next year.

Kimmerer, Robin Wall. “Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants”. Milkweed Editions, 2013.