We don't go around zapping people with a magic wand. Paul Langlois says the ad represents a double standard. If it had a picture of a Koran or a Bible, or texts from a more traditional faith, people would be up in arms. Pagans, he says, have gotten a bum rap ever since the Romans joined up with the Christians and turned religion into an empire. When Hollywood depicts witches casting evil spells to achieve selfish ends, Langlois, says, moviemakers are bastardizing an important religious practice similar to what Christians do when they pray.
Prayer is a positive thing.
You don't do it because of a crush, or envy, or to get the cute boy down the block to fall in love with you. Individuals have their own spin on the religion, says K.C. Anton, longtime Wiccan and president of the Bay Area Pagan Assemblies in Mountain View. But whatever they are doing, Pagans are not out in the woods taking a knife to Fluffy's throat, hoping to entice Satan to dance the jig in a pentagram. Most followers are nature-centric, worshipping the changing of the seasons rather than the big days of the saints. And contrary to the Camel ad, they are not out sticking pins in dolls.