“Living a Magical Life”: Sacred Consumption and Spiritual Experience in the Italian Neo-Pagan Community

In this paper, I report ethnographic findings from the Italian neo-pagan community. Specifically, I explore the consumption of ceremonial objects and magical ingredients employed in the context of rituals intended to create a sacred space where communication between the human and Divine is made possible. As they engage with alternative spirituality and magical practice, members of the pagan community expose themselves to esoteric writings, selected bodies of scientific knowledge (e.g., history, anthropology) and inspiring images from popular culture (e.g., Buffy, Harry Potter) that shape both material culture and spiritual experiences.



Citation:

Diego Rinallo (2009) ,"“Living a Magical Life”: Sacred Consumption and Spiritual Experience in the Italian Neo-Pagan Community", in NA - Advances in Consumer Research Volume 36, eds. Ann L. McGill and Sharon Shavitt, Duluth, MN : Association for Consumer Research, Pages: 60-63.

Authors

Diego Rinallo, Bocconi University, Italy



Volume

NA - Advances in Consumer Research Volume 36 | 2009



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