Within online spaces, Pop Culture Paganism is a more familiar term than Geekomancy. However, some people use the terms interchangeably. But, they are not, in fact, interchangeable terms.  

What is Pop Culture Paganism

In general, it refers to the practice of treating characters from Pop Culture as deities or gods. This could be a practitioner praying to or making offerings to anime characters, or gods from a video game or table top RPG. I would argue that this could expand into veneration of any sort—such as working with the Three Great Faeries from the Legend of Zelda settings. While the ‘RNG-sus’ of random generators and gatcha fame may be more tongue-in-cheek than an honest representation, the idea stands.

Curiously, some gatekeepers within the occult community like to claim that PCP is not ‘real’ worship—or that gods from fictional settings are not ‘real.’ 

This is an amusing take—if one that is a little uniformed. Consider the Hellenic Pantheon—which is one of the most well known. Where did the Greek Gods originate from? Why, verbal storytelling traditions. Also known as…stories. This blogger finds that such attempts to police what people can and cannot do within their own practice within the scope of which traditions are ‘real’ and which ones are ‘fake’ to be rather laughable. After all, most Pagan ‘history’ and tradition can trace itself all the way back to…the 1970s and pagan reconstruction (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polytheistic_reconstructionism). And what is deconstructionism but a very academic term for ‘fan fiction?’ 

What is Geekomancy

Geekomancy, in contrast, is a less-used term. Michael R Underwood coined the term in his novel of the same name. It specifically refers to using fictional settings, constructs, and characters within the non-religious (secular) magical paradigm. This could be using inspiration from Pokemon in an animist practice that relies on befriending Pokemon spirits and training them to become more powerful. This could also involve using the medium of Animal Crossing to conduct rituals—which would be a good space for those who are unable to practice out in the open. An acquaintance of mine has a particular hex based off of spamming the recipient with (wait for it) Sea Bass.

Again, this is a practice that is not as well respected as books written in the 1970s. However, Dante’s Inferno was literally just Bible fan fiction—and much of what he described is taken as ‘fact’ these days within fire and brimstone traditions (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inferno_(Dante)). Indeed, one can actually interpret many of the differing Christian interpretations of Lucifer (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucifer) as conflicting Headcanons. 

Look at these Radical New Eddas, Loki

By the same token of previously mentioned gatekeeping, there is a curious number of ‘real occultists’ or ‘real pagans’ who are feeling they are somehow more legitimate than Pop Culture Pagans who came to their gods by the Marvel Cinematic Universe or Critical Role. Honestly, it reeks of old neckbeards harrumphing because they ‘play only READL DnD’ by which they mean 2nd edition—and the hobby was better ‘before the women got involved.’ 

Those Tumblr Historians among us are probably recalling (with as much cringe as possible) Shortcake Gate. In short, people who are desperate to prove that only they are the most special and ‘real’ and no one else counts probably should get out of online spaces and touch some grass. 

I don’t work with tricksters, and certainly not Loki. But who is going to argue that Loki would probably enjoy his resurgence in popularity—and being an internet sexy man/woman/horse once more? Also the memes. 

Common head canon amongst Thoth devotees is that he would likely be on Tumblr himself and enjoying the fact that Japan turned him into an anime man—as well as made merchandise of him. Just because something is old doesn’t necessarily make it better.