These past few years in the children’s book publishing industry may be hailed as a turning point for the industry and for marketing strategies that were previously growing mold, and we owe it all to a little boy named Harry Potter. Even aside from the demand for these stories, the profits involved, and the popularity, the Harry Potter books created a dent in a far more formidable world than finance—we’re talking about the realm of the religious right.

Ever since the books exploded onto the American scene, faithful churchgoers all over the world have been squealing loudly in protest of the distribution of books in which the main character goes off to Witch School to learn, of all ghastly things, how to be a Witch! Several parochial schools in England (Catholic) have banned the book, as have some small bookstores across the Bible Belt of the United States. Well, since Hell and Damnation are so attractive to the Thumpers we shall let them have their fun. But in the meantime, it is important for the Witches among us who did not have the benefit of Harry’s education to consider the most important side of this situation.

Don’t worry about the fear of a resurgence of witch-burnings…instead, think about it this way: millions of kids all over the world are growing up reading, and loving, and idolizing a kid who is training to be a Witch! This book does for a much wider audience what the 1980’s movie “The Worst Witch” (starring Fairuza Balk when she was still mousy and cute) tried to do. In that movie, young girls attended a very British Witch Academy to learn how to be proper Witches. Tim Curry even made an appearance as the Grand High Wizard, white flapping cloak and all.

All these children want to be like Harry Potter. They want to learn how to fly on a broomstick, and to have a talking pet animal (a familiar). Most importantly, they want to learn magic in way that is pure fun and not the least bit tinged with guilt or fear. And if this highly successful book series alone doesn’t send kids running to their local pagan supply stores or into the New Age book aisle, the rash of copycat and similar subject fantasy books that are rising in the wake of Mr. Potter certainly will. The things most kids want to read about these days are Witches, Wizards, and Fairies.

And if you think that age will cure them, think again. These children will soon grow into teenagers, and they will turn to paganism and Witchcraft to ease their adolescent aches when they see in our Ways echoes of their childhood fantasies. What better path could be paved for the rising of the Mother than with a new era in children’s book publishing? And even if none of the children who read Harry Potter today picks up a Silver Ravenwolf book tomorrow, they will at least see their benevolent childhood friend Harry in their neighborhood Witch, before they will accept that Harry was an evil monster.

On another note, this is a ripe time for the pagan writers in our community to work on their own young adult fantasy fiction. The Harry Potter crowd isn’t all below the age of ten, and these readers are hungry for more. Authors like Starhawk and Silver Ravenwolf have already begun to churn out pagan fiction, but this is our chance to break out of the New Age aisle and onto the regular fiction shelves.

This is our chance to portray ourselves as the kind, earth-loving, magical people that we are instead of power-hungry seductresses and cultish men. It’s important for us to seize this opportunity, and even more important to support these favorable trends by buying the books that are already out there, as well as encouraging booksellers to keep them in stock and to resist pressure from extremist Christian groups. The very future of our community depends on it.

email me: brennafey@yahoo.com