A Witch Shop's Responsibility

It is a cold raining day in Florida-- we have been getting a lot of those down here lately-- and I decided to do one of my favorite things on days like this​, visit one our many metaphysical shops. We have so many here, each with their own unique feel and personality. I was in the mood for a new book. I am picky when it comes to books, so I spend quite awhile looking at them.

I am sitting in the book area of the shop, pulling out certain books that pique my interest, when three teenage girls are chattering non-stop looking at stones. One of them wanders off towards where I am sitting and opens a large cabinet containing an array of various oils. I hear her say, “Hexing oil!” and her friends quickly come over and giggle.
            “How do you use hexing oil?”

I keep my mouth shut because, well, I do not work in the shop, nor am I the seller of the product. She asks again. Finally, I say, “well there are many ways, you should check with the cashier when you check out.”

Why did I say this? All while I was there, she (the cashier) was assisting customers with their questions on how to use various stones, which candles work best for what, etc.  I assume it was her responsibility to tell the customers how to use things.
After a while, no book to be found, but chime candles held happily in my hand (because you can never have enough chime candles!), I stood behind the three teenage girls in line. They bought a pendulum; did not know how to use it so the cashier showed them. They bought two different colors of calcite; the cashier explained what one did what. They bought……. HEXING OIL!
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            “How do you hex someone?” I hear again the mousy sweet voice of a baby witch.

The cashier immediately changed her tone, “We do not hex people here. We only do white magick. The manager said we only do healing work here. Bad things happen to people who hex and people who hex are bad people.”

Um….” Well, I hex, and I am not a bad person. And some practices hex and nothing bad happens to them because they know how to do it right.” Sorry, I had to stick up for myself. Yes. I hex. Responsibly and only if needed. The cashier looked frightened. Like I was going to suddenly going to explode into a pile of flying bats or something. She continued talking to the girls, but in a lower voice and closer, “While that maybe true, there are other ways to stop people from doing bad things.”

Since I had not burst into a bunch of vampiric blood thirsty bats, I had to interject one more time.

“You claim that your manager states you only do white and healing magick here, and yet you sell products specifically used for the purpose of hexing and other forms of manipulative magick” I went ahead and listed a few of the items I saw around, “And now you are selling a product which specifically says, ‘hexing oil’ to a teenage girl and not explaining to her how to use it or not use it. Rather, you will sell it to her, and let her walk blindly out of the store with a product she has no idea what to do with.”

Crickets. I stopped. I let the transaction happen. Bought my freakin’ candles and left. And then I let the event cycle in my head for twenty-four hours before I wrote this.

Witch shops, metaphysical stores whatever you want to call them, they have a responsibility to the customers they serve. For starters, if you want to be an all-white magick shop, do not sell products that counter that—like hexing oil. I can not think of any healing rituals or spell work that would require hexing oil as a healing element!? If you want your shop to just be an occult/witchy/metaphysical shop—then do not push for the “we only do (insert color of magick) here.” Just sell the products you feel are worth selling and do your thing.

Moreover, you have a responsibility towards the community you are serving. If you are selling products that promote healing and positivity and are willing to assist those customers in finding the correct items, they need to have their desires manifested--- then you owe it to those who are buying other products that may have a completely different purpose to assist them in answering their questions to. Sorry. Otherwise, do not sell those types of products in your store.

Most of us are well aware that teenage girls are using hexing oil for some mundane reason like a bad break up or to get back at someone, which hexing really is not necessary for. As the shops responsibility it would have been better if they addressed the issue and talked the girls out of buying it. I understand the store needed a profit, but we need more educated baby witches out there. Ones that think things through are rational and can tell when a real hexing needs to be done.

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