This is a little weird:

Remember: you aren't dealing with a real person, you're working with the perception of that person. It's vital to keep positive: if you allow any negatives into your perception you weaken the potency of your magick.

Understanding that we are talking characters, I can't think of a single interesting character without a downside. Except Zoe, so far, I guess, if I overlook that I don't think Wash is attractive.

Oh yes, that article. Completely took over my pagan mailing list a few months ago. The main problem with it is that New Witch is a cheap rag written at a second grade level.

Well, I've joked that Buffy has taken the place of religion in my life, but isn't it kind of disrespectful to recommend that sincere practitioners of a legitimate religion make altars and say prayers to a fictional cheerleader?

Sorry to bring back painful memories if I did, Jess. I hadn't seen it before.

I admit I read it thinking it was goofy, but on a reread it seems like the writer is basically talking about the same thing as those "What Would Jesus Do?" bracelets -- going to your understanding of a higher being for help through your day. It's like Lennon said -- whatever gets you through the night, whether that's saying the rosary or sacrificing pictures of a TV show heroine.

(And FTR, my own spirtual beliefs are of the wishwashy, new-agey, "god is in everything and everything is in god" sort. Sadly, they don't make t-shirts for us.)

Dude, when I called Munch my spiritual mentor, I was *kidding*. But I would die before writing an article about it...unless...what do they pay?

isn't it kind of disrespectful to recommend that sincere practitioners of a legitimate religion make altars and say prayers to a fictional cheerleader?

Well....no. Because, first, it's not about worshipping Buffy, it's about invoking her. And who's to say that the Slayer is a less legitimate aspect of the Goddess to explore than any other, just because the genesis of the idea came from a screenplay?

Frankly, I think the article is badly written and incredibly shallow. But it's coming from a well-intentioned place, and the ideas it's based on aren't stupid.

Oh, right. I've done that when I meditate but usually it's Cesar Chavez or Dorothy Parker, or somebody. Although a meditation on faith had some uinintended benefits for me once. I used to have "What would Lenny Briscoe do?" as a tagline back when.

Well, I've joked that Buffy has taken the place of religion in my life, but isn't it kind of disrespectful to recommend that sincere practitioners of a legitimate religion make altars and say prayers to a fictional cheerleader?

Jess linked that a while back. I asked a Wiccan Priestess friend about it, on another board. If I recall correctly, she said what you'd be doing, in a case like that, is drawing on the powers the fictional character possesses. Iirc, She was iffy on it herself, for herself, but knew people who did it.

"What Would Jesus Do?" bracelets

Jesus would not succumb to trendy accessories. This means Jesus would never, ever wear leg warmers. Now you know.

Invoking Buffy is one thing; nobody should attempt to worship Sarah Michelle Geller.

Not speaking to the good, bad, or otherwise of the article ... this line, out of context=funny.