Etsy Bans Spellwork?

Last updated on: June 18, 2015 at 2:33 pm by Jason Mankey

Etsy Bans Spellwork? 2015-06-18T14:33:22-06:00 Jason Mankey

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Earlier this month the popular website Etsy changed what can be sold there. Of particular interest to the Pagan (and magickal) Community is this one specific change:

Can I Sell Services on Etsy?:

Any metaphysical service that promises or suggests it will effect a physical change (e.g., weight loss) or other outcome (e.g., love, revenge) is not allowed, even if it delivers a tangible item.

Ebay adopted a similar ban in 2012 which is one of the reasons it’s become so popular on Etsy.

Photo by sokolenok, courtesy of Shutterstock.

Upon reading this news I assumed that as long as the disclaimer “for entertainment purposes only” was included with any spell-kit things would be kosher. This is apparently not the case as the Daily Dot reported the other day:

” . . . . under Etsy’s previous rules, spells and hexes were allowed to be sold, as long as they fit two criteria: They didn’t guarantee results, and they produced something tangible. So you could sell a tarot reading as long as it came with, say, a digital download, or a candle that could be used for casting spells, as long as you didn’t guarantee that the spell would actually work. Earlier this year, for instance, I bought a sex spell off Etsy, which came with both photographs of the spell being cast, and a disclaimer that no spell is guaranteed to work.”

This ban goes far beyond candles and spells, it also means that the magical correspondences of herbs, stones, and oils can’t be listed on the site. As one seller pointed out on an Etsy forum:

“Many people sell crystal jewelry or plain crystals describing the believed properties of these gemstones – for example, according to some sets of beliefs and traditions, a certain crystal can be ‘protective’, ‘grounding’ or something of that matter. It’s a wide market including very popular sellers and items – part of their business’ story and the charm of their items are these unphysical attributes linked to certain gemstones. Some individual sellers have now been attacked for describing these things and had their items removed – a majority of these sellers are still there. Is Etsy really going to ban all of these items one by one because the shop owners have described their items in this way, even when they do NOT promise a physical change for a person (ie. curing an illness) ?

How about an essential oil blend that’s described as ‘balancing your moon cycle’ or ‘soothing menstrual cycle’? Purchasing an item like this is because the customer shares beliefs on traditional herbalism and witchcraft with the seller, and I find the thought of an item like this being banned incredibly sad. There are people who sell essential oil blends only based on their scent, but people who purchase essential oils often enjoy them because of the beliefs in herbalism or other such traditions. This too is a wide market, and the sellers seem to have only happy customers.

Where do you really draw a line? Is a good luck charm allowed, but a protective talisman is not?”

Several sellers have had their Etsy stores suspended without warning while others have received notices. The majority of us probably don’t buy spellwork online, but many of the sellers at Etsy are family and friends, and they are having their lives upended. Some have suggested that the recent “no spell” policy is related to Etsy going public last April, other have suggested that there might be some religious discrimination at play. More from the Daily Dot:

“While these theories are all sound, many metaphysical sellers believe that Etsy has a cultural bias against their goods. One forum user compared the sale of crystals that could be used in meditative rituals to the sale of a rosary or a cross. Both items represent spirituality, but neither make the claim that they will heal your ills or help you speak to God.

‘Etsy seems to be only targeting those items of a pagan/occult nature while allowing items of certain faiths traditionally used for protection like St. Christopher medals, to still be marketed,” said another vendor in an email. “Personally I think it’s probably unintended ignorance and failure to consider and think through what banning all spiritual, energetic and magickal claims will really mean.’”

What can you do? What can we do? Signing this petition to Etsy is probably a good first step. For more about this story please read the Daily Dot article I’ve linked to and check out the Etsy forum. Hopefully we can get this changed.

Previous Post

June 16, 2015

7 Ways to Celebrate the Summer Solstice

Next Post

June 22, 2015 Selling Spellwork

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Editorializing Gateways to Paganism Guest Posts Holiday Histories Led Zeppelin News and Views Occult Pagan Pagan TV Club Paganism polytheism Ramble On Reviews Ritual Strange Days Uncategorized

Select a Month August 2026 March 2026 February 2026 November 2025 September 2025 August 2025 April 2025 August 2024 April 2024 February 2024 December 2023 October 2023 August 2023 June 2023 May 2023 January 2023 October 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 April 2012 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What is the last book of the Bible?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Jude Revelation Hebrews Malachi