How often do you go into a bookstore? If you’re like me, it’s a fairly regular experience. Although I don’t go there every day, it’s not unusual for me and my friends to go on an outing to Barnes and Noble, and my shopping sprees often involve a stop at the Borders Express.

While there I peruse the shelves, looking for things that interest me. Often I look for books on religion. Since I can’t read Wiccan books at home, the bookstore offers me a nice opportunity to browse works on pagan theology. But wait! Where do I find books on my religion? Not in the “Religion” section, as one might expect. Rather, books on Wicca are relegated to “New Age”, or “Supernatural”, or something similar.

As a Wiccan, I find this not only irritating, but also harmful. It’s not just a matter of “I wish we could be treated equally,” although, in my mind, the fact that bookstores give other religions’ books preferential placement isn’t right. But it’s more than just a sense of justice that drives me; keeping Wiccan books out of the religion section promotes the idea that Wicca is not a true religion.

Let’s say you have never heard of Wicca before in your life, and you begin browsing through a bookstore. When you see the Christian books, the Muslim books, the Jewish books, the Hindu books, etc. all in a row in the “Religion” section, you think to yourself, “Aha, these must all be religions”. Well, duh. But then you continue on and see the Wiccan books not in the “Religion” section, but in “New Age”. “Well, I guess they’re not really a religion, no matter how much they claim to be,” you decide. And out you walk, and one more person believes Wicca is not a valid religion.

Or what if you were on the fence about your own beliefs, and considering Wicca? Seeing that Wiccan books aren’t in the “Religion” section might be enough to push you away. Maybe Wicca would have been the best path for you, but you were discouraged because it didn’t seem “real”.

I know my parents, who refuse to accept my interest in Wicca, probably fear on some level that it isn’t a legitimate religion, but instead some sort of wacky cult. Seeing Wiccan books excluded from the “Religion” section will only encourage that idea. They can just brush Wicca off as "not real", and not a true religion I could follow.

So I am asking each and every one of you to write a letter to your local bookstore. It’s very simple, can take as little as five minutes, and you don’t even have to leave your computer. Just open a new Word document and tell the stores that you’d like it if they moved Wiccan books to their rightful place in the “religion” section. Hopefully, if enough people do this, the bookstores will finally get the message and recognize Wicca for the true religion that it is.


~~~ADDRESSES~~~

Borders Customer Service
100 Phoenix Drive
Ann Arbor, MI 48108

For Barnes and Noble, go here to find the address of a local store. (disclaimer: I am not sure how much they will pay attention to a letter sent to these addresses, if you find an actual customer service snail-mail address please let me know!!!)





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