Well, I've already admitted to being a mainstream Pagan, and I know many others who feel the same way. In fact, Paganism as a whole is starting to go mainstream. We've already seen some of the signs and started some of the growing pains.

What are the signs we've started to see? We're popping up in Pop Culture-- I've touched on some of these points before-- The Craft and Practical Magic being the most obvious, of course, as well as "Charmed" and "Sabrina, the Teenaged Witch". I know they're not entirely accurate, but it's a start. (I've flogged these particular horses before, and as far as I'm concerned they're dead and there's no point in flogging further. You can check out Prime Time Paganism and my reviews of Practical Magic and The Craft if you want to hear me yammer on the accuracy issue.)

We're also going to start seeing a lot of characters popping up in movies and TV shows that are pagan. A good example of this would be Stir of Echoes-- Illeana Douglas' character was a witch. (Technically, Charmed goes under this category, too.) Furthermore, I expect that before too long we'll have a few celebrities "come out" as Wiccan.

(Note on this: to the best of my knowledge, the only one to do this so far is the lead singer of Godsmack. I've heard rumors abound about Sarah McLachlan (even I fell for that one for a while), Tori Amos, and a few others, but none seem to have any truth to them. Cybill Shepherd really had us going for a while, but that speech where she thanked the Goddess was metaphorical, and not literal. Let's not be rude and start rumors-- even if they're true, it's bad karma to out someone, remember?)

Now here's the problem we're going to face: We're not going to approve of some of this. The characters that pop up in some cases will be... well, they won't all be flattering and/or accurate. Some of the people that out themselves may be really bad examples. We need to keep our cool about this, because it's inevitable, and ultimately, still a good thing.

Once again, we have the advantage that we can look at the historical portrayal of other minorities in the media. Do you think the Gay Community was thrilled by Meshach Taylor's turn as Hollywood Montrose in the 1987 movie Mannequin? I mean, let's face it, this character may have been quite likable, but it was one of the worst stereotypes of a Gay man you'll find short of one being intentionally derisive. However, it's thirteen years later now and Gay characters are portrayed with dignity and respect.

Thanks to our books, magazines, and the Internet, we've developed a subculture with "celebrities" of our own, and we're going to see them start appearing in the mainstream media. This one I'm looking forward to like a full body cavity search from a blind man with the shakes, folks. Oh, our authors and activists aren't so bad, really. Sure, I don't agree with everything they say, but hey-- to me, the beauty of being a Pagan is that we all are entitled to make our own interpretation of the Divine.

But what's going to happen when one of these people gets a spot on Politically Incorrect or Larry King? When they have the temerity to express an opinion that only lines up with what, say, two-thirds of us believes? Or even just one-third? Let's face it, our diversity is our strength most of the time. But I've lost track of the number of conversations I've heard about how much insert author here is just a total affront to the community. Nobody ever notices that insert author here also has a following of people who think they're just great.

But like it or not, we're headed for the mainstream. And if we don't calm down just a bit and take the long view, we're going to look like squabbling fools-- and if that happens, we're up the mainstream without a paddle.

Afternote: Several people have advised me that Tori Amos and Cybil Shepherd are indeed Pagans, as well as told me about other celebrites, ranging from Fairuza Balk to Brian Dennehy. The evidence for Fairuza Balk actually looks pretty good, considering she owns a witchnook (my word for a Pagan shop) in California, but I've seen nothing concrete to support any others-- save for references on websites that have no official connection to the person being discussed. Due to the efficiency of the Internet rumor mill, I'll believe it when I can verify it myself.

© 2000 by Cather "Catalyst" Steincamp