Fandom and Pop Culture Paganism

This past weekend, I attended Fandom PDX cosplaying as The Strategist. This isn’t the first time I’ve cosplayed one of the pop culture spirits I work with, and it certainly won’t be the last. But thinking on it now, it’s a very interesting experience to be a pop culture pagan actively engaging in your source fandom.

First of all, you have to deal with the shipping and objectification of the spirits/characters you work with. For me, that’s generally tolerable, but occasionally gets to be entirely too much. Like when I come across a ship of one of my spirits with the antagonist, I just cringe inside. (But, as per being a good fandom participant, I just move on and don’t say anything; because trashing someone else’s ship when they’re just having a good time is a really shitty thing to do.)

On the flipside, you can get some really awesome merchandise pretty easily to make shrines/altars, or just remind yourself of your spirits and practices. I don’t have two dakimakuras, six acrylic standees, a display board of prints and charms, two ita bags, and four prints I haven’t hung up, what are you talking about? Hush.

For me, cosplaying as The Strategist or The Shield (and eventually The Sharpshooter) helps me feel more connected to them, gives them a laugh, and brings together the fandom and spiritual for me. Of course, no one else knows that (until now, I guess). Putting together the costume and finding the right pieces is something we can do together, and they coach me a little during cons when I want to get in character. Though, I will say The Strategist was mildly displeased with my song choice for the lip sync battle, even though everyone else was amused af.

I guess the point of this post, besides rambling incoherently, is that fandom and pop culture paganism aren’t incompatible–it’s just a balancing act you’ll have to figure out for yourself if you go down this road. What parts of fandom are helpful for you and your practice? What parts make you second-guess your experiences or make you generally uncomfortable?

All spiritual paths are incredibly personal, but pop culture paganism is a whole other level. After all, there’s generally no one else to refer to–you’re creating your own road as you go along.

-Nonir