Doreen Virtue's A to Z Kerfuffle

[Joan Marie]

I thought I would take a minute out from worshipping my crystals and adding glitter to my Unicorn collection to ask if any of you have seen the article published by Doreen Virtue that is creating so much havoc all over social media, on twitter mostly. It is inspiring a lot of commentary, much of it hilarious, much of it angry, and in the case of Benebell Wen, Doreen's article is making her think about a class action law suit.

If you haven't seen it, here it is: An A-Z List of New Age Practices to Avoid, and Why, by Dorren Virtue

I admit, I don't know much about Doreen Virtue, just what I've heard. That she used to be into oracle decks and and angels and that she sold courses and "certifications" and then she found Jesus and has kicked all that to the curb and denounced it (although so far no offers of refunds for the stuff she sold that she now swears is actually demonic. Oppsy! Sorry who knew?). She has apologised for her previous ways and is now in the business (literally) of trying to convert people to her new beliefs.

I personally see no real harm in any of this. And as far as the courses and materials she used to sell, which she now claims are really of the devil, I feel like people who bought that stuff did so of their own will and were not tricked into it. They may have been let down later when she renounced it all, but these things happen. I would never fault her or anyone for their beliefs, or change of beliefs. Many people however are expressing chagrin at the realisation that they were unknowingly drawn into, by Doreen herself, what she now says was basically devil worship.

Here is what she says about "Angel cards":

Angel Cards – Demons disguise themselves as angels, and can give amazingly accurate predictions which tangle you up in a satanic web of deceit. The demons will give you a mixture of truth and lies, to hook you in and lead you to deception.

Didn't she sell a shit-ton of those?

Doreen leaves no stone unturned in her zeal to basically spit on basically any belief or practice or hobby that is not in perfect alignment with her (new!) world view. The only thing that saves it is how funny it is.

I also want to refer you to Benebell's very thoughtful response to it. At the end she includes a bunch of links to other responses. I can't wait to read them.

As scandals go, especially these days, this one is pretty entertaining.

It's a lively community!

[jaq]

Well, I have to say that the best part of Benebell's lovely and thoughtful article was the link to the defence of unicorns https://www.patheos.com/blogs/matauryn/ ... -unicorns/. After all, "They smell like sunshine and friendship and they know the way to both candy land and the imagination station."

Oh, I think I'm too old to get all riled up by this. And btw, I have a Doreen Virtue tarot deck that I use once in a while. I'll let y'all know if it turns out that it'll help me communicate with demons and the devil.

[Charlie Brown]

The only DV product I have is the Magical Unicorns deck, French language edition, which I adore.

[Joan Marie]

I think she must have made a lot of great stuff that people really truly love. That's a big part of what makes this A to Z list so awful. And the sheer size of the following she had is why the fallout from it is so widespread.

It's an interesting turn of events and I find the conversations that are starting up over it are about a lot more than just Doreen.

[HRU's Muse]

Huh well if one ever needs to ask Old Scratch for a favor, they can buy a DV angel deck. Good to know, who would have ever guessed it? Maybe this is an extremely subtle marketing technique, to win over a whole new market share.

[Joan Marie]

The sad thing is, although DV is receiving a ton of backlash right now (It seems like every tarot and spiritual blog has responded to this A-Z List and every blog entry has dozens of replies) I know that this tactic of "naming and shaming" spiritual practices and beliefs must be working on somebody. Probably a lot of somebodies. She is convincing vulnerable people to walk away from things that bring them spiritual sustenance and she is encouraging others to join her in demeaning and despising people for enjoying what she is no longer able to.

This can only happen because Doreen Virtue has made such a name for herself over the years. The only reason there is so much discussion now is because of the massive success of her former endeavours.

Doreen Virtue is leveraging her considerable sway in the spiritual community to tell us we are all evil. Nice use of power, no? Even if you don't believe her and think it's laughable, it's still a powerful and pervasive message. And for people who are not secure in their practices, for young people who have to hide their interest in the Cards and such from their parents, messages like Doreen's can have bad consequences.

The good thing that comes out of this is that the community is standing up, not just against Doreen and her stupid (and really hilarious) list, but also we are standing up for each other. This attempt to throw us all under Satan's Bus is instead making us re-think the concept of respect and support for all people and their journeys and we are all the stronger for it. .

I am interested in the unintended consequences of Doreen Virtue's screed, the actual strengthening of the spiritual and esoteric community. And I am concerned about those who will be harmed by the intended ones.