Etsy Bans Non-Christian Magical Items

At least, those that include the words "magic" or "spell" in the description. The online marketplace has implemented a new policy that bans the selling of any item that is described as having paranormal powers, or even the "vague suggestion" of them. eBay implemented a similar policy awhile back, which resulted in may sellers to move their shops over to Etsy.

So now it looks like they may have to move again if they want to keep their stores online. I do understand that at least some of the spells and so forth being sold online are probably scams, which is what Etsy is trying to avoid, and of course they have the right to prohibit the selling of any class of goods they want. However, I am very concerned that they may be applying the policy in a discriminatory manner against minority religions.

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.”

“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.” Admins in the forums insist that the sales of things like oils, incense, crystals and candles for use in spells are still okay, as long as they don’t claim any magical properties. For many witches, however, that’s not good enough.

I decided to check out the example given in the article, and found this description given for a St. Christopher medal.

This is a beautiful St. Christopher pendant that will look wonderful on your favorite necklace and will comfort you knowing that the Patron Saint of Safe Travels is taking care of your safety. The medal measures 1" x 1" and reads "Saint Christopher Protect Us". Backside is blank. Chain is not included.

Yes, that's a suggestion of paranormal powers right there. So will these items be flagged too? If not, this is straight-up discrimination. If Christians can sell their religious items and imply that they have powers, I should be able to do the same. So should a Wiccan. So should a New Ager. Either that, or any such implications need to be removed from the Christian items as well. This policy is new and Etsy is still in the process of implementing it, so I hope that once it is in place that will be the case. Otherwise, it's pretty clear that the site is favoring one religion over another.

Here's another example given in the article:

“I give the example of the seller who just this week was told to change the title of her listing from 'Archangel Protection Spell Kit' to ‘Archangel Protection PRAYER Kit’ by an Etsy rep,” claimed one vendor. “A spell and a prayer are basically the same thing, putting an intention out into the Universe.”

Yes, they are exactly the same thing if said prayer is intended to produce a physical effect, even something as vague as "protection." I expect that the "respectable" option for Etsy would be to ban all paranormal claims regardless of religion, and that's probably what they eventually will do. But I want to be clear - they can't have it both ways without explicitly giving preferential treatment to Christians. Such treatment could even open them up to a potential lawsuit if it continues.

If I were a person who used Etsy for anything, I would boycott the site until they clarify this policy and either apply it fairly to all religious items or get rid of it altogether. But since I'm not a customer of theirs and don't plan on becoming one any time soon, that wouldn't have much effect.

NOTE: See Update #3 below. After discussion of this post, I no longer think a boycott of Etsy is a good idea. "Metaphysical items" represent only a tiny percentage of the merchandise sold on the site, so all that would do is hurt the sellers. That could also be playing right into their hands, as probably one of the goals of this policy is to get such items off the site. I think that continuing to use Etsy while keeping the spotlight on how this policy is being applied is probably the best way to go.

What you can do, though, is contact the company and let you know that you won't stand for religious discrimination on their part.

UPDATE: Some questions have come up about how the new policy is being implemented, and many magical items are still available. The new policy reads as follows, banning:

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.

The key here seems to hinge on the interpretation of "suggests" on the part of admins. It also seems that as they are starting to ramp up enforcement unevenly and in a possibly discriminatory manner. One commenter on Facebook claimed that her shop sold felted items and just happened to have "magickal" in the name, so she was told to change her descriptions. But another did a search and was able to find a bunch of items that seemingly violate the policy and are still there.

It's possible, too, that this could be the work of a single admin with a prejudice against minority religions. Even if it's not the company as a whole, that's not cool either and needs to be dealt with as soon as possible. It makes no sense for Christians to be able to claim that their talismans work and still be in compliance, but for anybody else to be in violation for doing so.

UPDATE #2: My headline, of course, is deliberately exaggerated. Etsy has not announced "only Christians can sell stuff here." The problem, though, is that mainstream religion gets a pass on metaphysical claims in the minds of many people, and it's starting to look like the Etsy admins are no exception.

The example of someone told to change a "spell kit" to a "prayer kit" is precisely what I'm talking about. A prayer that is intended to produce a tangible effect is the same thing as a spell. Also, a "kit" is not a service but rather a collection of items, so why that would fall under the new policy remains a mystery to me - unless there's an admin out there who just doesn't like the word "spell."

It seems to me that this is being rolled out much like the Facebook "real names" policy, with particular individuals being told to change and/or remove listings and many others so far being unaffected. But I'm making a stink about it now to get ahead of how it looks like the policy is being applied, at least according to initial reports.

The best case scenario as I see it would be for the company to take the hint and revise the policy, or change how they enforce it going forward. Either that, or they could explain exactly the sort of disclaimer an allowed item would require - and then require the same thing on mainstream religious items with similar descriptions.

I do understand the desire on their part to crack down on scammers and people including trivial tangible items with spells to get around the ban on services. However, as I see it not only is this new policy too broad a brush, it also does not seem to apply to "prayers" even if they are alleged to do the same thing as "spells."

For everyone whose items are still up, that's great. Part of the reason I posted this how and when I did is to try and help make sure that they stay that way by drawing attention to the policy now, just as enforcement of it is starting to target a handful of people. Hopefully the bad publicity will prevent it from being implemented in a widespread fashion. Since it's a public company now, it seems to me that this is more likely to work than it would have when Etsy was private.

UPDATE #3: An online petition has been created opposing this policy. If you would like to sign it, you can do so here. That's probably a better way to go than some sort of boycott that will hurt the sellers without making much of a dent in the company's profits, along with ramping up negative publicity about the policy.

I will say, though, after all this if I ever do decide to set up some sort of online storefront for anything, even totally acceptable tangible goods, it won't be through Etsy.