✦ When will we stop all this New Age bullshit? ✦

by Lili Selene

You know, sometimes I wonder if I'm not going to turn myself into a giant incense stick to try to purify all the bullshit floating in the current spiritual atmosphere. No, because right now, between the people who connect to their chakras via their iPhone, those who take moon baths in their plastic bathtubs, and the influencers in satin kimonos who sell you awakening for €222, I feel a little like screaming.

And yet, I too speak to the moon. I too light candles. I read cards. I concoct potions. But I'm not selling cosmic nothingness wrapped in organic linen. I work magic. Real magic. The kind that transforms, that shakes things up, that scratches where it hurts.

So... when are we going to stop all this New Age bullshit?

✦ 1. The problem is not spirituality, it is its commercialization ✦

Spirituality has been digested, spat out, sugar-coated, Instagrammed, monetized, and then filtered through the algorithm. Today, it serves little purpose except to generate clicks. We no longer seek to understand; we want to consume pre-chewed magic.

Example? "Activate your heart chakra with this matcha-oat-gratitude smoothie."
Seriously? My grandmother activates her heart with a plum schnapps and stays more connected than half of TikTok.

We've turned the inner quest into a seasonal trend. And sacred words have become hashtags. #Abundance, #SpiritualAwakening, #ManifestationQueen. But when you scratch a little, it's empty. There's nothing. No grounding, no groundwork, no real practice. Just an aesthetic.

✦ 2. Toxic positivity: the other scourge ✦

You know the story: "If you're feeling bad, it's because you're vibrating badly."
Really? And if I'm depressed because I've been betrayed, bullied, or abandoned, is it because I didn't put enough rose quartz in my panties?

You're being treated like a child. You're being made to believe you can think your way without ever crossing your shadows. This is the complete opposite of magic. True witchcraft forces you to look yourself in the face, to dive into the mud of your history, to bleed a little to be reborn. Not to marvel at a postcard from the universe that says, "You are perfect just the way you are."

No. Sometimes you're not perfect. Sometimes you're broken. And that's precisely where the real alchemy begins.

✦ 3. False gurus & the dictatorship of personal development ✦

Can we talk about guys (and girls too, let's be honest) who think they're spiritual guides when all they have is a weekend tantra course and two hours of guided meditation on YouTube?

They're selling you €997 training courses to "activate your full divine potential." And what's behind it? A paltry Notion page with affirmations and three blurry videos where they look you straight in the eye and whisper, "You are light."
Great. I have a light bulb at home too. That doesn't make me a priestess.

We've gone from witch to benevolent influencer, from sacred circle to sales funnel. And the shadow in all this? Pschitt. Evaporated. Too uncomfortable. Too taboo. Too real.

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✦ 4. The New Age denies social and political realities ✦

Do you want me to tell you about these "spiritual" publications that explain to you that if you are poor, it is because you have not aligned your vibrations?
Sorry, but go get praised.

The reality is that not everyone has the same resources. The same security. The same traumas. And your spirituality can't ignore that. Otherwise, it's just a pastime for the privileged who have never known despair.

Magic has never been neutral. It is political, grounded, embodied. It was born in the margins, in pain, in silence. Not in a beige feed with feathers and plastic Tibetan bowls.

✦ 5. Magic is not "cute" ✦

Magic isn't clean. It isn't pretty. It isn't Instagrammable. It's wild. It's raw. It's messy. It has dark circles, scars, sleepless nights, and muffled screams.

And you know what? That's true beauty.

This isn't your wallpaper with a gold mantra. This is what you do when everything falls apart. This is how you stay standing when you doubt. This is how you choose to live , not just how you look .

✦ 6. Take back power ✦

Now is the time to reclaim our fire. Now is the time to stop letting algorithms decide our truth.
Let's stop buying meaningless "ready-made rituals" like we buy shower gel.
(Because yes, I also sell ritual kits and downloadable rituals. But every word, every ingredient, every intention is weighed, charged, written with my blood if necessary. It's not Wish, it's real. Lili Selene, not a mass-produced mantra generator.)

Let's come back to the body. To the moment. To the living.

✦ In conclusion: a slap in the face ✦

So no, I'm not against New Age. I'm against its brainless, devoid-of-substance version, sold as a wellness product.
I am for a magic that disturbs, that transforms, that makes you grow.
Not for a candy pink version toned down so as not to scare off followers.

If you want to stay in the illusion, that's up to you. But if you want real magic... Then remove the makeup from your soul, burn your glitter filter, and come sit with me. We won't sell anything.
We will just call the ancestors.
And we will remember why we are really here.

Lili.